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dreaming of pomegranates…

 

 

 

 

I have become so immersed in Greek mythology it’s intruding into my dreams. Do you ever notice that sometimes there is a phrase or person who seems to be present during a certain time? This last week was a perfect example. We started Greek mythology in class, and I told my students about the three little pomegranate seeds that brought Persephone into an unfortunate marriage (although, I think she’s actually kind of digging the power now). Then, I wrote myself an email reminding me to bring in a pomegranate to class in case someone hadn’t seen one before. Next, my husband brought up pomegranates out of the blue. Then, pomegranate juice was being advertised all over Facebook. I know it seems like silly coincidences, and they are, but brains do love patterns. Last night I dreamed that Hades would place three pomegranate seeds on the threshold of the Underworld to keep Persephone (Proserpine) in check.  

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/religion/persephone.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZImeaytF3Y

I like the above student video very much, but..I think it was not Helios who told Demeter in another version. Can you find out who?

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Exploring Mt. Olympus (Oxygen Tanks Optional!): Greek/Roman Mythology

Nike - Winged Victory

One subject area I’ve been looking forward to teaching is Greek/Roman Mythology. Learning about the bad behaving antics of the mythological deities is like picking up a copy of People magazine!  It’s ancient celebrity stories, all the dirt, all the fun!  Fights, romance, extra-marital affairs, quests, and Nike shoes – these folks have it all!

The only small, nagging concern is that we won’t have enough time in class to cover what we need. However, what I want to stress to my students is to remember, please, with humus and honey, that they have the power of technology that the majority of students in our nation do not have. Please make good use of it—the power of the technology isn’t just that it’s a resource –it’s TIME. You now have TIME: time to learn more about what interests you, time to extend your learning far beyond the classroom walls, time to ask questions and retrieve answers at your pace, with no one else judging or demanding an immediate answer.

So, let’s work out a little Grecian formula, and show what you know (meaning – get your assignments turned in!)  Here are some links to get you started. These are also on our Moodle ™ site as well:

http://www.herricks.org/webpages/SResearchProgra/fifthproj.cfm?subpage=6567

http://www.greekmythology.com/

http://www.mythweb.com/

http://messagenet.com/myths/