thowell Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 From a Christian perspective do you teach your children about the mythical Greek gods. If so what age? I have dd9 and dd6 and we are about to start our unit on Greece. Most of what I am seeing is dealing with the Greek gods. Yes, I can tell them they are fictional and back it up through our scripture but they have had a hard time processing that dealing with Egypt history and Greek goes alot further into other gods. Any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 Just a quick question--what did they tell you that showed they had a hard time processing, as you said? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thowell Posted November 12, 2009 Author Share Posted November 12, 2009 For instance, in our lit reading the Golden Goblet it talks about Khefts, these mythical gods that come out at night and snatch away unguarded children. My dd6 had nightmares. Mostly the dd6 had a hard time understanding how all these other gods are mentioned and talked about but not real. She said ok when I explained they were not real but then would question later that made me think she was unsure. I'm wondering if there is a good age to introduce them to these things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovetobehome Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 I taught this stuff to my K-er, my firstborn, and I deeply regretted it. He was traumatized. Really affected by it. Some kids are, others are not. We ditched the 4 year schedule after that, and waited until he was older, instead opting for gentler topics...we concentrated on American history for awhile, and gentle OT history (MFW 1st and Adventures). By 8 or 9 it went over well, for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thowell Posted November 12, 2009 Author Share Posted November 12, 2009 I taught this stuff to my K-er, my firstborn, and I deeply regretted it. He was traumatized. Really affected by it. Some kids are, others are not. We ditched the 4 year schedule after that, and waited until he was older, instead opting for gentler topics...we concentrated on American history for awhile, and gentle OT history (MFW 1st and Adventures). By 8 or 9 it went over well, for us. Ok that actually makes me feel better because I am sure this is what is happening with dd6 and I felt horrible about having to ditch 4 year cycle. Any others have these experiences? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovetobehome Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 Honestly, I think a LOT of kids do. And I know a LOT of Christian parents who put off this period of history because for some young children, it is confusing to learn about gods/goddesses etc when they are trying to learn about God. Most PS curricula, and MANY homeschool curricula focus on American history and lighter topics at the young elem ages (or at least avoid the harsher stuff). TruthQuest, Beautiful Feet, Heart of Dakota, My Father's World. I know SOTW was quite brutal for my little ones. My 7 yo still gets upset with SOTW, there is so much beheading, war, torture, etc mentioned. My 9.5yo is ok with it. I think the 4 year chronological history is a fabulous idea...but we learned the hard way, for our family, to wait until the kids are older to begin that. You are not alone...IMO, protect them while they are young---if something bothers them, take it out. There will be plenty of time for the realities of the world and our history, later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LND1218 Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 We don't go into detail - we simply teach "facts" and memorize things. (By facts, I mean - the Greeks had the following gods....) We keep the stories light and simple. For example - my kids know who some of the gods are and what they were the god of. But we keep the mythology light until they older. We just move right on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newlifemom Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 We don't go into detail - we simply teach "facts" and memorize things. (By facts, I mean - the Greeks had the following gods....) We keep the stories light and simple. For example - my kids know who some of the gods are and what they were the god of. But we keep the mythology light until they older. We just move right on. :iagree:That's what we did. Of course, I just finished a picture book of Beowulf with my 2nd graders. They loved it! All of the scary gory details. Who knew. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thowell Posted November 12, 2009 Author Share Posted November 12, 2009 ok next question we are using AWOA. This study covers almost everything but is compeletly base on World history. Can I just scrap it for now and start with American History three months into our school year? As of now we have just finished up our study of Egypt. I have other Grammar and writing programs we can use but I will have to buy American History. Any suggestions from a good Christian standpoint? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 I decided not to--not because I thought it would mess up their theology, but because so many myths are dark or have "adult themes." I waited until middle school and they loved them. My youngest is now in middle school and I have not regretted this decision a bit. They lost nothing, and we avoided some yucky content at an age when I don't think all of them would have processed it well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 We didn't have any problems. They never confused the gods with God. While they couldn't watch anything scary on tv or movies the Greek Myths never bothered them. We stayed with books for young people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Lynn Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 We introduced them early to our dd, maybe around 5. She really loved ancient history and had already spent time with the Egyptians and had learned some of their gods by this age. She never had trouble with them, but I explained them in a different way from what I usually hear. I taught her that God puts in our hearts a spiritual need. If people do not know Him already, then they try to find other answers to try to fill that need. Each group comes up with something a little different, but there are some similarities, too. There is often a main god or most powerful one and often one for harvest or fertility, etc. We talked about (on a simple level) how there culture and their religion went hand in hand. Rome was always at war and favored the god of war. The greeks included Athena/wisdom. AND the Bible mentions Diana. Did their beliefs bring them comfort? No. The gods appear just as crazy as people, only with more power. I used the teaching to help her feel compassion for people caught up in fear based beliefs. I tried to focus on the people who believed such things rather than the gods they believed in. How do our beliefs affect us? That sort of thing. That took the mystical and creepy out of it and yet laid a foundation the showed how beliefs impact a society. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmacnchs Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 We introduced them early to our dd, maybe around 5. She really loved ancient history and had already spent time with the Egyptians and had learned some of their gods by this age. She never had trouble with them, but I explained them in a different way from what I usually hear. I taught her that God puts in our hearts a spiritual need. If people do not know Him already, then they try to find other answers to try to fill that need. Each group comes up with something a little different, but there are some similarities, too. There is often a main god or most powerful one and often one for harvest or fertility, etc. We talked about (on a simple level) how there culture and their religion went hand in hand. Rome was always at war and favored the god of war. The greeks included Athena/wisdom. AND the Bible mentions Diana. Did their beliefs bring them comfort? No. The gods appear just as crazy as people, only with more power. I used the teaching to help her feel compassion for people caught up in fear based beliefs. I tried to focus on the people who believed such things rather than the gods they believed in. How do our beliefs affect us? That sort of thing. That took the mystical and creepy out of it and yet laid a foundation the showed how beliefs impact a society. WOW That brings a whole new perspective on things. That is wonderful. I need to remember this so I can do this with my kids in the coming years. That take is full of wisdom and I thank the Lord for giving it to you. I am glad I was able to read it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 We didn't have any problems. They never confused the gods with God. While they couldn't watch anything scary on tv or movies the Greek Myths never bothered them. We stayed with books for young people. This has been our experience also. We did not dive into alot of detail about the gods or goddesses, but they never confused those with God nor were they bothered by the stories. There are things in the Bible that would scare them too that I don't teach until they are older too, so it really is more about what is age appropriate no matter what the subject matter for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwjx2khsmj Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 Thanks for bringing up the question. I've been wondering about how to approach this portion of history. I don't want to spend a lot of time on the gods but the stories are engaging in a super heroish way. I know the dc will enjoy that. I taught her that God puts in our hearts a spiritual need. If people do not know Him already, then they try to find other answers to try to fill that need. Each group comes up with something a little different, but there are some similarities, too. There is often a main god or most powerful one and often one for harvest or fertility, etc. We talked about (on a simple level) how there culture and their religion went hand in hand. Rome was always at war and favored the god of war. The greeks included Athena/wisdom. AND the Bible mentions Diana. Did their beliefs bring them comfort? No. The gods appear just as crazy as people, only with more power. I used the teaching to help her feel compassion for people caught up in fear based beliefs. I tried to focus on the people who believed such things rather than the gods they believed in. How do our beliefs affect us? That sort of thing. That took the mystical and creepy out of it and yet laid a foundation the showed how beliefs impact a society. I love this perspective. Thank you for the wisdom and the common sense that you've employed here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thowell Posted November 12, 2009 Author Share Posted November 12, 2009 After thinking about this for awhile I think it may best benefit my kids to put off this time in history and do Early American history. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehogs4 Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 We are studying Ancient Greece and I bought D'Aulaires Greek Myths. The kids seem fascinated by them, and so far I haven't encountered anything too horrible. I teach the kids that since the fall of man, people have worshiped everything but the true God, and that they were even willing to worship false / demon gods and make fairy tales about them. So, we end up reading them as fairy tales. My son, 8, loves the stories of Hercules in particular. My daughter, 4, enjoys the stories as well. Greek tales and literature are so foundational to our own literature and culture, and even the study of astronomy, I believe it is doing a disservice to the kids to not study it, but call it what it is--false religion and fairy tales... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thowell Posted November 12, 2009 Author Share Posted November 12, 2009 I agree my girls should be taught these things I just think dd6 is to young right now. When she is having nightmares because of our studies I think I need to put on the brakes. I think it depends on the child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 Of course. It's historical fact that people believed in them, so of course we'll learn about them, as well. They're interesting stories, and in our lives there are many references to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karenciavo Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 The TOG website has a pdf you may be interested in reading called Teaching Mythology: Why do it, and how? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsrevmeg Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 After thinking about this for awhile I think it may best benefit my kids to put off this time in history and do Early American history. Any suggestions? Since they have had a somewhat traumatic time with the ancients, how about making studying Early American historian really fun. Last year we did a unit study on the American Revolution. We ate hasty pudding (yuck!), kept our muskets at ready, (since I have boys, they were eager to be Minutemen), and kept a huge map that we put important dates and battles and such on. At their ages you do not have to any certain time period and worry that they will miss out. If something is disturbing to them, I say find something light and make it fun! My kids can tell you more details about the Revolutionary than most people I know and we never went into a lot of detail about the scary aspects of war. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thowell Posted November 12, 2009 Author Share Posted November 12, 2009 Since they have had a somewhat traumatic time with the ancients, how about making studying Early American historian really fun. Last year we did a unit study on the American Revolution. We ate hasty pudding (yuck!), kept our muskets at ready, (since I have boys, they were eager to be Minutemen), and kept a huge map that we put important dates and battles and such on. At their ages you do not have to any certain time period and worry that they will miss out. If something is disturbing to them, I say find something light and make it fun! My kids can tell you more details about the Revolutionary than most people I know and we never went into a lot of detail about the scary aspects of war. HTH! I think this sounds great! At this point we definitely need something lighter and more fun. What did you use for American History? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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