Unit Study for The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

I've collected a number of useful links for THE LIGHTNING THIEF by Rick Riordan. We've finished reading it (and enjoyed it very much), so I thought I'd share the links with you. We didn't do everything on this list, but we did complete a fair number of these activities.

Unit Studies from Other Teachers
Read for NeNe - HERE
Scholastic Interview with Rick Riordan + Discussion Guides - HERE
Kathleen Joaquin's complete unit study on Rick Riordan's site - HERE
Louisiana State Library's Unit (.pdf) - HERE
Hyperion teacher's guide (.doc) - HERE

Empire State Building
Kids FAQ about ESB - HERE
Coloring Pages - HERE
Virtual Tour for Kids - HERE
Printable ESB model - HERE
Short kid-hosted video about ESB - HERE

ART PROJECTS
Storytelling vase (uses styrofoam cups!) - HERE
Greek pottery designs (no pottery involved) - HERE
Greek vase designs (uses pre-made pot) - HERE
Medusa mask (looks complicated) - HERE
Another (easier, but really ugly) Medusa mask + shield - HERE

ANCIENT GREECE PRINTABLES
Variety of printables - HERE
Greek god cards (use for games like Memory) - HERE

Kind of a Bust, or is it?

Kind of a bust is how I'd describe this week as far as academics. Between me starting the new work-at-home position, Emily's birthday on Thursday, Bob taking two of the kids to the homeless shelter to volunteer (in the middle of the night) and our horrendously long Monday, we didn't accomplish much bookwork. No Science, No History. The public schools are off today, so I don't feel too bad. (Teacher Day??? Didn't they just HAVE that? And snow days galore?)

We did, however, do a couple days of math and a couple lessons of Greek and read two chapters of The Lightning Thief. We also did a couple days of Bible study and are working on our March hymn and praise chorus now.

Once the girls get up (they were most of the night at the shelter), we'll do the 3rd Greek lesson and read more of the book, maybe 2 more chapters. I'll make the kids do math this afternoon. It's a sunny day, though cold, so they'll get some outside time today too.

They all had a Spanish lesson on Monday. Emily and James had their monthly art class on Wednesday afternoon. David had his ACT essay class on Wednesday (which I teach) and wrote an essay before class and one in class. We've been to the library a couple times. They've done a lot of free reading (mostly Garfield books, so don't get too excited! lol) and listening to audio books -Beverly Cleary for the girls, James has Diary of a Wimpy Kid on CD, and I'm not sure what David's been listening to beside horrid music that I detest, but I'd guess The Hunger Games again.

They've been cooking too, as well as doing housecleaning and chores. And making projects.

So maybe it's not such a bust after all!

I'm going to make up some kind of chart so we can all stay on our routines, when I have to be holed up in my bedroom/office working.

Better get some lunch on and then do some more work....

It's All Greek to Us

Today we started our study of New Testament Greek, using the free program at Kid's Greek.

I chose this program for three reasons.

1 - It's free.
2 - No charge for the program.
3 - I don't have to pay anything.

You think I'm kidding, don't you? LOL Well, I am. A little bit anyway.

Of course, I really don't have any money to spend on this study. I own a book called Basic Greek in 30 Minutes a Day. But I did some of the lessons in ink way back in 1992. I would have used this, but since I didn't use pencil (I hate pencil), there was really no way to reuse it. I didn't want to order more copies, since I'd have to spend money, plus wait for them.

So, google to the rescue! I found Kid's Greek and it looks just right. Not too complicated, especially at the start, pronunciation models are integrated and it's step-by-step to make it simple. There are printable worksheets to reinforce the concepts. Plus, I don't need to know anything, which I do not despite having started learning Greek 19 years ago. lol And not least of all, this adorable cartoon dude is the teacher. ----->

So, one lesson down.

In case you forgot, the reason we are learning Greek is to go along with reading The Lightning Thief. The main character, Percy, studies Ancient Greek in the book.
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Lisa's Logbook - February 28

Outside: Overcast. Lots of snow on the ground.

Sounds: Christian radio playing. James plunking away on the computer and talking to his friend on the phone.

Home: Talking with David about paint colors as he plans to paint his bedroom

Projects: planning a party for my teenage daughter's birthday!

Pondering: being the mom of two teenagers!

Teaching: working on a unit study for The Lightning Thief

Gratitude: thankful that today is the LAST day of February! Come on, Spring!

Recipes: Sausage Quiche and One-Bowl Brownies were hits this past week.

Duds: Jeans, black tank, red long sleeved shirt (with Christmas design), grey Pistons hoodie.

Reads: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier (author of Girl with a Pearl Earring). Next up? Wuthering Heights.

Vids: Cities of the Underworld, State of Play, I Hate Valentine's Day, Post Grad, Moon, Veggie Tales Pistachio, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (see mini-reviews at Mirkwood)

Hopes: that a new battery will "fix" my van since it doesn't want to start anymore and Bob can't find anything else wrong with it.

Love: the new Veggie Tales, Pistachio: Little Boy That Woodn't!

Plans: Start production for my new job, Spanish, Essay class, Unit study on The Lightning Thief (begins Tuesday), celebrating Emily turning THIRTEEN!

Pic:

Suzy and her very good friend, at co-op.