I have enjoyed this block of Norse myths; I remember doing Greek myths in the fifth grade in my public school education but I never formally did Norse myths so these stories are fairly new to me. It is always very exciting as a homeschooling parent to delve into uncharted lands!
I also think Norse myths fit and match the moral ambiguity the post-nine year change child is discovering in the world. The Norse myths, as they head along toward Ragnarok, also bring forth new depths of emotions in the complexities. Many children are outraged, saddened, in disbelief of the ending.
One other thing that has been interesting to me and my own development as a teacher has been drawing on the blackboard for this block. I wanted to share some of my drawings with you…
I drew this recently……Here is Odin on Sleipner, his eight-legged stallion:
Here is another one of Odin I drew at the beginning of this block; I feel my drawing abilities have improved a lot through this block:
Here is a picture of Freya, the goddess of love and beauty, riding in her chariot with little Noss.
A big view:
And a closer up view:
This block has been one of drawing Celtic braids, knots and forms; poetry, writing, and drawing. We have also done a lot of modeling, both of simple transformational exercises (for example, such as sphere to egg to oval, etc) but also of the human form. I enjoy modeling in the three dimensional realm and then taking parts of it into the two dimensional world through drawing.
Hope to hear what you all are working on in your homeschooling!
In Joy,
Carrie
The Parenting Passageway 
Lovely black board drawings, Carrie!
Well, my husband just told me “black board” is one word, so lovely blackboard drawings, Carrie :)!
Eva, LOL. Thank you! And thank you Apple too!
Lovely to hear from you all tonight…the year has been off to a crisis mode start in many areas outside of my own family, so nice to just breathe for a minute and think of you all!
Many blessings,
Carrie
Carrie those are amazing drawings!!!! Nice work mama!
Beautiful drawings! The one of Freya and Noss is amazing!!
Lovely drawings!
I can’t wait to do Norse Myths. When I was little, we used to have an old encyclopaedia set with a few colour plate illustrations featuring Norse Myths. I never did get to really read them. But I looked at those illustrations soooo many times. 🙂
Great blackboard work too , Carrie
Love the drawings! We’re also going through the Norse myths. It’s BIG stuff. Living in a Scandinavian country we have a close relationship (and a “pride” of the past) with these myths, so I’m enjoying it immensely – especially seeing how he connects the myths to the historical knowledge he also has because of the places we’ve traveled and seen. I love seeing how he soaks up some of the strength these myths have, while truly experiencing that there is also a darker side to it…
Stella,
I should know which country you are in by now, but please tell me again. My husband’s family is Danish and his father just had that DNA testing…and his DNA traces back to Viking lines….so Scandinavian things are exciting to us as well around here! We keep thinking for our 25th wedding anniversary we will take a trip alone because all of our children will be 8 and up by then..
Thank you all for your kind wishes!
In Joy,
Carrie
Carrie, those are phenomenal drawings!
One of these days I’d love to do some family history research. My Nana’s name was Nonah Nordstrom and her mother was from Karlsheim, Sweden. I’d LOVE to go there on a family holiday. But its a long way from New Zealand. Imagine travelling all that way to start a new life…she was an adventurous woman! What was the DNA testing you mentioned, Carrie?
Those are awesome. My son just finished a study on the Greek myths and this is inspiring me to move on to the Norse myths. Thanks for posting those! You rarely post photos and I am loving it!
Thank you Carrie for sharing your drawings. We are just about to start Norse Myths this term and appreciate seeing your drawings for me to get inspired by. Thank you for taking the time! Madeleine.
your drawings absolutely blew me away! thank you for always sharing. your words often get me through some of the more difficult moments of parenting.
seraphine from france
Seraphine,
Welcomet to you ! So glad you are here and reading this space from France!
Many blessings,
Carrie
Carrie,
What book did you use for your Norse Mythology block?
Hi MamaKerr!
This one: http://www.amazon.com/DAulaires-Norse-Myths-Ingri-dAulaire/dp/159017125X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388412497&sr=8-1&keywords=norse+myths+d%27aulaire
I would not let your child see the pictures in this until the block is over. I did find the pictures okay for me to draw from for chalkboard drawings, though. 🙂 It is just the artwork is very distinctive.
Blessings,
Carrie
My 10 year old has declared she is done with Norse myths. She is more than half way through children of odin, but she said it is just grossing her out too much. Super mom fail, i have not read ONE story. I have four other small kids so i send her off to read a few stories on her own and then draw a pic in her main lesson book. When she describes why she is done with it, i can’t say i blame her. I wish there was a ‘parent’s guide’ to walking your kids through it. I really don’t think it has been a helpful block. I am sure much of that is because i have not prepped. But still, time is of the essence with all these kids. Some days i need a T.A.! So skipping it for now and heading into local geography. Any advice for working through this for the next four kids??
Hi Meghan,
Is your daughter a young 10? I do think the essence of those stories is in the telling; I would use D’Aulaires and not show the images until after you have done the stories. I would try to tell those rather than read them if you can. You may not be able to finish with her this year with those, but you could do The Kalevala. Those have a very different feeling. I like the version by Babbette. Another way to tackle Norse Myths is to do it play style- check out the Waldorf Library on LIne; there are books of Waldorf plays in ebook form and I bet there are some there. You could also focus on Viking food, strong rhythmic poetry and more. I would look for more artistic projects – maybe modeling the figures in beeswax, making a Viking ship moving picture (paint a background, paint the ship, use a popsicle stick to move the ship through a slit cut in the background). For this year, I guess I would let it go unless you think you could prepare and pull her back in as the very last block or something. Did you have a curriculum to use? If you want to shoot me where you were, and how much time you could devote to an end of year block, email me at admin@theparentingpassageway.com and I am sure I could help you put a basic plan together that wouldn’t be too taxing!
Lots of love and hugs, it will be better next time around!
Carrie
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Hi Carrie! Are you familiar with Isabel Wyatt’s book of Norse stories? I was wondering about using it as a supplement (we have D’Aulaire’s already), possibly as an evening read aloud or as a book that my daughter could read to herself once she has completed the Norse block. Thoughts? And thanks!
I often use it at a different point in the year to bring form drawing, painting, or drawing lessons. I think it could be a read aloud, but perhaps before or after the block….too many stories at once is hard to sleep on! 🙂
Blessings,
carrie