Rome wasn't built in a day... but Athens kinda' was.
Between the four of them, my kiddies are kinaesthetic, visual and auditory learners. When we work on projects together it is important that they are all engaged and able to process what they are learning. So today, working on our Ancient Greece unit, we made a 3D interactive map of Athens.
They each chose facts about the city that they found interesting and produced some splendid work.
Interestingly, during the rebuilding of Athens after the Persian invasion, the city connected itself to the coast via two parallel walls, allowing it to produce the most powerful naval force in the whole of Greece, as well as using it for trade and food supplies, without the risk that another city-state would shut the city from her port.
The Acropolis and Parthenon
Greek women were not permitted in public except for collecting water from the fountains. This is where they socialised and caught up with news.
The Agora Market. Agora means gathering. This was where the main hustle and bustle of the city took place.
The sixty feet high Northern Wall and Southern Wall, connecting the city to the coast four miles away.
The Boy made a super fountain.
Of the 30 000 citizens of Athens, a quarter were slaves.
The land was not suited to cow farming, so the Athenians used goats and sheep for their milk.
The Hill of the Nymphs
The Athenian navy's warships.
Unlike our courts today, the Ancient Greeks had no lawyers and so had to defend themselves, to a jury of 500. Vote counting was done using metal discs placed in pots labelled, guilty and not guilty. The children took turns to defend themselves in court and the jury had to decide their fate!
After lunch and outside play we went to the library.
Meaning an afternoon of reading ensued...
...and listening to story cds.
This evening the two eldest have Ballet and then Ballet Girl is off to a Seamanship course for the whole weekend.
