Mythology for Grades K – 2 and 3 -4

Today I did a very quick program for children entering Kindergarten – 2nd grade in the fall.  I read aloud “Bellerophon and the Flying Horse” and “Theseus and the Minotaur” in Usborne Greek Myths for Young Children by Heather Amery.  This group of myths are written for younger children and are quick reads.  Afterward we created our own monster using a simple template I made in Microsoft Word.  The kids did an amazing job of creating their very own monsters and were really excited to share with me what animals they chose.  Afterward, the kids spent a little time working on a maze I found online and added a picture of Theseus to.  This was only created as a 30-minute program which was just enough time for our stories and activities.  Sometimes, I find that hour long programs are not as necessary.
After the program for the little ones, I did a 45-minute program for third and 4th graders.  I read “Bellerophon and the Flying Horse” but this time I read it from Fantastic Creatures from Greek Myths by Pat Posner which gave a little more detail to the story.  We talked about bragging and vanity and the kids really responded well to the story.  After the story we talked briefly about the gods and goddesses and I let the kids choose a god or goddess and create a trading card with their name, an illustration, and some attributes.  The kids were very creative.  Afterward, we made constellation tubes using toilet paper tubes, and premade constellations from Kids Activities Blog.  The kids loved seeing these constellations.  As we worked I talked about how many constellations have stories from Greek myths.  I also challenged the kids to make their own constellations as well.  The kids used a copy of the constellations (which we colored the back of with a black crayon because the copy wasn’t dark enough) and a safety pin.  We didn’t have any accidents with the pins and all the kids were very conscientious and careful.  Overall, both programs went very well and made for a very busy morning!