We are beginning the year with a block on ancient Greece. I gathered our materials to a sidebar list in case anyone else would like to do a similar study. I am not stressing over daily plans. The History Pockets book is outlining the basic study and we flesh out the information with the Usborne ancient world book. They are also making either an Aesop’s Fable book or a Greek Myth book – depending on the age. (It is very acceptable to make group books and assign each child a portion to complete versus each child making whole books.)

We are reading Theras and His Town aloud. The other titles are for independent reading. There are likely many more titles at your library. These are the standby’s we have come back to from previous experience with Greece units.

We also subscribe to Teacher File Box from Evan-Moor. There are related reading comprehension pages available through them. Both the pages and pockets from E-M are well-suited to independent learning. Make copies and keep them in a magazine file with scissors, colored pencils, and glue sticks (and the reference book) close by and students can select and complete projects successfully with little extra instruction.

In previous years we have used books like Famous Men of Greece. One child loved it. Another’s impression went something like, “There were a bunch of men who became leaders, went to war, and later died.” Ahem. A trademark of Waldorf main lesson block is that instead of attempting to cover EVERY influential figure and event, particularly during the elementary years, you discern which of these best represent the era. Choose a few, learn something compelling about each, and strive for full retention. This practice of doing a few things well fits better with our goals.

I hope to add more images of our finished main lesson book pages to the appropriate albums as we complete them.