FreeBEE Fridays - Mythology Unit Study Resources

Jen, from Gricefully Homeschooling, and I team up, every Friday, to bring you a list of freebees...on both of our blogs.

PLUS ...with the added bonus of this being a weekly link up...where you can showcase your freebies, things you've found online, and also, things you've received in the mail, totally FREE in the last week...or so. 

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FreeBEEs:
I love the unit study topics my children choose. This month the kids chose mythology. I love that they get to learn about what interests them most and that I get to find all the fun resources to facilitate their learning. We will be learning about mythology, legends, lore, folktales, fables, etc from different cultures including Greek, Native American, Norse, Japanese, African, Egyptian, Chinese, Mayan, Scandinavian. We also be learning about Dragons, Fairies, Unicorns, etc. Follow me on Twitter @kbalman and then follow hashtag #mythunitstudy to see what we are up too each day. I have so many fun things planned for this unit study. Many of the things we will be doing are listed below but I have some surprises too. And keep an eye out on my blog each week for fun posts about how what we are learning in our mythology unit study.

Image(s): FreeDigitalPhotos.net

So what constitutes a myth, legend, fable, folktale and lore?

Myth: A story that is not based in historical fact but which uses supernatural characters to explain natural phenomena like weather, night/day, etc. Ancient people used myths to make sense of the world.

Legend: An ancient story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but unauthenticated.

Lore and Folktale: A body of traditions and knowledge on a subject or held by a particular group, typically passed from person to person by word of mouth.

Fable: A short story, not fact, written to teach a strong moral lesson. Often they use animals as the main character.

We will also be delving into how religions and legends can prove that events like Creation, The Great Flood and Tower of Babel occurred. We will be using a NEW book I received as part of the Moms of Master Books called The Genius of Ancient Man. There is also some great stuff in this book about dragons and giants. 

MYTHOLOGY RESOURCES:
-This fabulous resource from Shiver Academy is the one we will probably be using the most. There are some great ideas and even FREE lapbook components for all the different cultures.

-Greek mythology for kids - stories, games, crafts, powerpoints etc.
-Greek and Roman art lessons - activities, lessons and more
-Norse Mythology 
-Barbie mummification
-Squidoo Ancient Egypt lapbook ideas - also lots of crafts, printables etc
-Mythology lesson plans from Scholastic
-Greek Gods notebooking idea
-Ancient China activities - clay soldiers, pictograms, dragons and more
-Ancient Africa activities
-Egypt activities here and here - more great activities from Creekside Learning
-Mythology lesson plan
-Mythology lapbooks from Homeschool Share
-Lots of great resources from Learning Through History for Greek Mythology
-Native American legends
-Native American lesson plans 
-Scandinavian mythology unit study ideas 
-Interactive program where you can write your name in Runes
-Norse unit study ideas
-FREE mythology lesson plans - there are some great ones and you can break it down by grade level
-Winged Sandals a fun iterative website with games, stories, printables and more about Greek Gods
-Greek mythology webquest
-Wonder Book The Chimara from CurrClick

Not FREE but very good resources for a mythology unit study:
-History Scribe - 100 People of Mythology - $1.00
-Ancient Greece Unit Study Helper - $1.50
-The Viking Age Notebooking and Coloring Pages - $3.99
-Classical Mythology Unit Study - $3.50 

Movies and Documentaries:
My kids love watching videos that go along with our unit studies. Here are a few we will be using. If you want to see more you can check out our YouTube channel. Please use discretion on movies and documentaries listed.

-Ancient Gods and Goddesses Part 1 and Part 2 (YouTube)
-Norse Mythology Slideshow (YouTube)
-Lord Shiva (YouTube)
-The Lightning Thief Percy Jackson
-Hercules (several versions on Netflix) and of course the Disney version
-The Golden Compass
-Jim Henson's The Storyteller - Myths (Netflix)
-Thor Tales of Asgard (Netflix)
-Who's Who in Greek and Roman Mythology
-Clash of the Titans (watch for FREE online)
-Clash of the Gods - History Channel show (watch online for FREE)
-NOVA several great videos that can be watched online FREE
-African Tales (YouTube)
-The Lost Gods (watch for FREE online)
-Jason and the Argonauts
-Achillis
-The Trogan Horse
-The History Channel has lots of great shows that can be watched online for FREE make sure you take time to search and look around 

CRAFTS/ART:
-Totem Pole
-Percys Sword
-Olive wreath and togas
-Lots of Greek Mythology craft ideas
-Crafts, worksheets and more DLTK Kids
-Craft ideas from eHow
-Printables, crafts and coloring pages
-Ancient Greek pots
-Mud brick making
-Alexander the Greats horse
-Egyptian God art

FOOD:
-Eating like the Greeks
-International recipes for kids
-Ancient food
-Food History

FIELD TRIPS:

-Carlos Museum in Atlanta GA has a great exhibits to go along with a Mythology unit study. There are Greek, Egyptian, African, Asian exhibits as well as many others. (FREE on select Thursdays)
-Atlanta History Center currently has a great Native American exhibit that we will explore.

-PBS virtual tour of Pyramids
-Virtual/interactive tour of Greece and Greek Mythology (this is an awesome resource)
-Virtual/interactive tour of Ancient America (another fabulous resource)
-Greek Mythology virtual field trip

KINDLE E-BOOKS:

-A Primary Reader Old-time Stories, Fairy Tales and Myths Retold by Children
-The Children of Odin The Book of Northern Myths
-Heroes, or Greek Fairy Tales for My Children
-Myths That Every Child Should Know A Selection Of The Classic Myths Of All Times For Young People 

And LOTS of books from the library:

Upon request from a Facebook reader I am including a short book list. I have over 50 books checked out from the library for our unit and that is just way too many for me to type up so I am including the ones that I think are going to be the most useful. If you click on the photo below to enlarge it you should be able to see the titles of others not listed

-D'Aulatires' Book of Greek Myths 

-Gods and Goddesses of The Ancient Maya
-Golden Tales (Myths Legend and Folktales from Latin America)
-Behold the Dragons
-The Adventures of Odysseus
-Mythical Birds & Beasts From Many Lands
-Pegasus
-Scandinavian Mythology
-Mythology Series - African Mythology, Mayan and Aztec Mythology, Chinese Mythology, American Indian Mythology - These books are great and have discussion questions after each story
-The World of Mythology Series - Japanese, African, Indian
-Landscapes of Legends Series - Sacred Skies, Fabulous Beasts, The Waters of Life, Mighty Mountains, Cities of Splendor

ANDROID APPS:

-Egyptian Myth and Legend
-Greek Mythological Figures (use discretion some images are more for adults)
-Greek Mythology Match Up
-Native American Myths
-Greek Mythology 

And of course our exploration box will be filled with new goodies for our bird unit study. I will post about this over the weekend so check back.

The links above as well as others are pinned to my Mythology Unit Study Pinterest Board. If you're interested doing a Mythology Unit Study you may want to follow the board because there are more great ideas on the board that I didn't share here and I will be adding more FREE resources as I find them throughout October.

I hope you find these resources useful. If you ever have any questions feel free to leave me a comment or email me. Also be sure to follow my FB page where I post FreeBEEs daily.

Link up: FreeBEE Fridays with Kathy's Cluttered Mind and Gricefully Homeschooling

Remember when it comes to FREE resources the internet and a good search engine are your best friend.

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Linking up with 3 Boys and a Dog