We got a good start on Greek Mythology this week. As we began a class read of The Black Ships of Troy, a translation of The Iliad, the students were somewhat overwhelmed with the number of characters, how to pronounce their names, and who was married to whom. It is a struggle I have as well, and I've been reading Greek myths and legends for a long time. I tell you this so that you can be encouraging to your child and emphasize to them the fact that the most important thing is to listen to the stories and know that we will be taking them slowly. Talking about them also helps, if you would like to query them. Thus far we know that Menelaus, the king of Sparta, has assembled a body of warriors to go with him to get Helen, his wife, back from Paris, the son of the king of Troy. The back stories that lead to this event include the wedding of Peleus, a hero, and Thetis, a sea nymph, Paris’ challenge to give an apple to the fairest of the goddesses and Aphrodite’s response to being chosen, and why Achilles was hidden by his mother, dressed as a princess, on the island of a friend. These might be conversation prompts to help your child begin to recapitulate the epic poem in their own words. The book they are reading is not in dactylic hexameter (which may have been the reason I never grasped the story line :-), but in prose. There is much soul matter in the Greek myths and legends, and I am looking forward to several more weeks of exploration with your children. The inserted links are pronunciation guides for the names.
We started the practice book Fractions 2 this week, and I assigned a new book/book report. The book they choose can be any of their choice. The format for the report is the same, and is due on Friday, Feb.26.
Two of my global goals this semester are:
1.) to help the students get better organized, i.e. write details about assignments in their journals, attach loose papers to their clipboards, copy spelling words neatly onto a single page of their spiral notebooks, etc.
2.) to help them approach quizzes and tests more like scavenger hunting with the brain and to relieve the stress of not wanting to miss anything. For the most part their concept of “failing” a test or quiz is “you miss one, you fail.” Having a discussion about grading is a great lead in for our next math block, which will be decimals. Both of these efforts have produced some anxiety for everyone, which I hope will subside once they adjust to the daily logging of information and the preparation they make for assessments.
I hope that all of you will enjoy this break, and that everyone remains well and gets some good sunshine into their bodies.
Blessings,
Kathee