Greek Myths for Kids

The best part of our month-long unit on Ancient Greece was reading Greek myths together.  The kids enjoyed the myths so much that it became an integral part of their dramatic play.  Here's some of what we read...

The Adventures of Odysseys by Hugh Lupton was our nightly read-aloud selection.  The children enjoyed the illustrations and it was age-appropriate and not too scary (but still used rich language).  Afterwards, I heard the twins (almost 6 years old) telling other kids at the playground about the cyclops and Poseidon punishing Odysseus.

After learning about the Minoans of Crete from The Story of the World Vol 1. and playing "bull jumping school" all week (vaulting off the furniture).  We read aloud the Hero and the Minotaur by Robert Byrd, which includes both the story of Theseus and the story of Icarus.  Even H (who is almost 4) built a maze out of magnetic blocks and a bull from legos all on his own accord.

The girls read the picture book version of King Midas by John Warren Stewig as part of their independent reading.  L wrote this narration:

The kids really respond to writing exercises that involve books or topics we're studying.

L loved Pandora by Robert Burleigh and read it multiple times.

L's handwriting (and general writing skills) have improved so much this summer!

Persephone and the Pomegranate by Kris Waldherr was another favorite read aloud with gorgeous illustrations.

Let's Go Pegasus by Jean Marzollo is more of a cartoonish picture book, but it tells the story of Medusa without scary illustrations.  Both girls read it independently multiple times.  Here is E's narration:

And here is L's..  (I love how different they are!)