ALB Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 My dd is becoming fascinated with the mythology we've read along with SOTW 1. I'm looking at purchasing D'Aulaires' Greek Myths, and I see that Memoria Press has a study guide. I know its usually for older students, but my dd is a very strong reader and writer. I'm curious to hear any thoughts from people who have only read the book or have used the study guide alongside it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 I used it for a third grader. It is a lot of writing, but we did it during a school year break when he did not have as much other writing to do. You could do some of it orally with a younger child. He did not enjoy the workbook and complained about it. It is pretty dry, as most of those lit comprehension guides are. But I think he remembers the stories and personalities better because of it. :) He has had other exposure in the form of other retellings of the myths (Nathaniel Hawthorne and others). Percy Jackson, too, though I doubt that has helped that much. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubiac Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 I am firmly of a mind that all children should have unfettered access to D'Aulaire's Greek Myths from early childhood on. It is delightful and important and can be grazed lightly or studied in depth for many years. Just let him free with this wonderful book! $.02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristenR Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 I am firmly of a mind that all children should have unfettered access to D'Aulaire's Greek Myths from early childhood on. It is delightful and important and can be grazed lightly or studied in depth for many years. I haven't seen the guide so I can't give you any advice on that my we LOVE out D'Aulaire's book and I consider it a very worthwhile purchase. That being said, I was bummed when I saw it at a used curriculum fair for less than half what I had paid for it. But c'est la vie. I am still very glad I have it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peony Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 We love D’Aularies’ Greek Myths here. I read to my kids when they were 5 and 6, and they (7 and 8 now) read it to themselves every now and then. We love all D’Aulares’ books and have most of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 I am firmly of a mind that all children should have unfettered access to D'Aulaire's Greek Myths from early childhood on. It is delightful and important and can be grazed lightly or studied in depth for many years. Just let him free with this wonderful book! $.02 :iagree: My kids loved D'Aulaire's so much we had to buy a second. The first got destroyed by being taken outside as a play guide, being kept in the bed with a sleeping child, being in the car, taken to appointments. It was money well spent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 I am firmly of a mind that all children should have unfettered access to D'Aulaire's Greek Myths from early childhood on. It is delightful and important and can be grazed lightly or studied in depth for many years. Just let him free with this wonderful book! $.02 :iagree::iagree: It inspired a huge love for all mythology for our youngest, 6 years later she is still passionate about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 My dd8 loves D'Aulaire's Greek Myths too. It's her favorite book. I plan on getting the guide for this next school year and starting MP's classical studies. Even though we've read the book already, I don't think she would mind going through it formally a second year, only this time memorizing names and learning deeper meanings with the guide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 (edited) I was supposed to read Edith Hamilton's Mythology book in 7th grade, with no background in mythology, and I found it very difficult. I think it's much better to have an early introduction to these matters. I am reading through Classic Myths to Read Aloud at present, then will do the d'Aulaires book. I wonder of the added usefulness of the MP guides?? Edited June 12, 2012 by stripe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALB Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share Posted June 13, 2012 My dd8 loves D'Aulaire's Greek Myths too. It's her favorite book. I plan on getting the guide for this next school year and starting MP's classical studies. Even though we've read the book already, I don't think she would mind going through it formally a second year, only this time memorizing names and learning deeper meanings with the guide. I guess I could do that, too. We could get the book and read it now, then do it again with the study guide later. Although, we're studying ancients now, so it kind of makes sense to just do the guide. I'm not sure I'd want to save it for 5th grade. Hmmm.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniferLynn Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 We have only read the book but the Greek and Norse myths are DD5's favorites right now. I usually read them to her but she also will read them herself. It's worth the purchase and I am on the lookout for a used copy for my other kids since the first is looking extremely 'well-loved'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
materursa Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 He did not enjoy the workbook and complained about it. It is pretty dry, as most of those lit comprehension guides are. But I think he remembers the stories and personalities better because of it. :) :iagree: Same here and this was with my myth loving child! The page on Memoria Press' site for the D'Aulaire's book has sample pages. This same format is repeated for each section. Take a look and see if it will work for your family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I just let my son read the book on his own and don't worry about a study guide. He reads it and reads it and reads it. In fact, his birthday is coming up, and one thing he asked for was the Norse Gods book. My MIL is getting him that. :D Personally, I would not want to use the MP guide with my son in early elementary. I think it would kill the love, big time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleeplessnights Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 My kids love the D'Aulaires Greek Myths book, but I think that the study guide would quench their enthusiasm. My kids will read and re-read the stories many times. I read one story per sitting and then I have someone re-tell the story. Look at the pictures closely. There are a lot of details in the pictures that are part of the story. Then I keep the book in an accessible spot so they can grab it and peruse it when they have a couple minutes. My kids also like Jim Weiss' retelling of Greek Myths too. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five More Minutes Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I am firmly of a mind that all children should have unfettered access to D'Aulaire's Greek Myths from early childhood on. It is delightful and important and can be grazed lightly or studied in depth for many years. Just let him free with this wonderful book! $.02 :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALB Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 Ok, I'm convinced :001_smile:. I'm making the purchase, but without the study guide. Thanks for the responses. After reading such rave reviews, I can't wait to get it in our hands! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homemama2 Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 If you aren't buying the study guide, I just bought Greek Myths from Veritas Press for $10.97. :D Here's a link if you're interested *(note: the price reads $19.99, but if you look directly under that it says special pricing, which is what you actually pay.) http://www.veritaspress.com/prodinfo.asp?number=490360 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 I am firmly of a mind that all children should have unfettered access to D'Aulaire's Greek Myths from early childhood on. It is delightful and important and can be grazed lightly or studied in depth for many years. Just let him free with this wonderful book! $.02 This. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALB Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 I just had to resurrect this thread to say that I can't believe how much both my kids LOVE this book!!! It is seriously one of the best things we've used in a long time. My dd has been curled up reading it on the couch almost daily, and my ds 4 begs me to read more and more each day. Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 My dd is becoming fascinated with the mythology we've read along with SOTW 1. I'm looking at purchasing D'Aulaires' Greek Myths, and I see that Memoria Press has a study guide. I know its usually for older students, but my dd is a very strong reader and writer. I'm curious to hear any thoughts from people who have only read the book or have used the study guide alongside it. We have D'Aulaires, and especially like the pictures, which I think make it very suited to a young child. Its version of the Achilles story is that he was held over fire, rather than dipped in the Styx--I had never seen that before and it did not fit what I had told my ds, since he'd heard dipping version first, it made the fire seem suspect... Took some explaining about different versions existing of same basic stories :)... I know this is a resurrected thread, but anyone else notice big differences from the more common versions, such as fire vs. Styx? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebereid Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 I am firmly of a mind that all children should have unfettered access to D'Aulaire's Greek Myths from early childhood on. It is delightful and important and can be grazed lightly or studied in depth for many years. Just let him free with this wonderful book! $.02 I grew up with it, loved it, reread it many many times. I remember it very very well and can't wait to introduce it to my son. I've always had an abiding love for the Greek myths because of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 If you want supplemental activities, the Olympian Gods packet for the National Mythology Exam is full of them, since D'Aulaires is the primary text for the core section. DD is a worksheety kid, and she's enjoying a lot of them (I just printed a copy and put it in a binder for her to pick and choose from-I think you can buy a hard copy if you don't want to print your own). There's a wide range of activities, presumably because you can potentially have a 3rd grader and a 9th grader both preparing for the test. Some are better suited for a group than individually, but some are pretty independent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2teach0307 Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 We just read the book here, too. We used alot of different sources for learning Greek myths when studying ancient Greece and she loved the myths. I finally found D'Aulaire's at a library 45 minutes away (our libraries do not communicate around here:001_huh:) and she inhaled the book. Last month, I found it at a used book sale and couldn't wait to bring it home. For us, using a lit guide would have ruined the joy of reading it. I'm so glad it's on our shelf. Just discussing the book aloud gets most of the intent of using a lit guide, imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehogs4 Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 I was supposed to read Edith Hamilton's Mythology book in 7th grade, with no background in mythology, and I found it very difficult. I think it's much better to have an early introduction to these matters. I am reading through Classic Myths to Read Aloud at present, then will do the d'Aulaires book. I wonder of the added usefulness of the MP guides?? :iagree: We have read through both D'Aulaire's and Classic Myths to Read Aloud. My kids love both, but especially love the Classic Myths to Read Aloud. The language was a bit easier, but the stories are every bit as good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubiac Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 I just had to resurrect this thread to say that I can't believe how much both my kids LOVE this book!!! It is seriously one of the best things we've used in a long time. My dd has been curled up reading it on the couch almost daily, and my ds 4 begs me to read more and more each day. Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! So glad to hear it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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