Getty Villa, Percy Jackson & Mythology for Fourth & Up
Mythology hooked my kids in fourth grade. They dove into gods and goddesses, primarily in Greek culture, but learned about mythology from around the world. Here are some of our adventures and resources as they explored the magical world of mythology over the next few years.
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Field Trip to the Getty Villa
Getty Villa
While in Los Angeles for a weekend we visited the Getty Villa. This is one of the two Getty Museums in LA. It has Greek and Roman antiquities housed in a re-created Roman country home.
The Getty Villa makes a huge effort to be family friendly. There are a lot of activities for families at the museum. The super cool thing for kids who love mythology is that you can take an immersive audio tour of the museum.
My kids absolutely loved having the characters in their ears as they explored the museum on their own personal quest. Access the audio tour here or ask for more info at the information desk.
Getty Villa
17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272, USA
Open 10a – 5p, Closed Tuesdays
FREE to visit, $20 to park.
Must reserve a time slot online beforehand.
Website
Percy Jackson
Percy Jackson was our way into Mythology and I expect we’re not alone. Once my kids had read THE LIGHTENING THIEF, especially my daughter, they were hooked. Suddenly they wanted to know all about all kinds of mythology.
Percy Jackson Inspired Activities
- Make sure you visit the Rick Riordan website. There is a wealth of information including these Teacher Guides.
- There is a Lightening Thief Unit Study on Proverbial Homemaker.
- Fabulous Classroom has a huge list of resources about Percy Jackson learning inspired by the release of Sea of Monsters on DVD but they would work for a general unit as well in most cases.
- Here are some fun ideas if you want to have a Percy Jackson bookclub meeting from Adventures in Mommydom.
- Go see the musical adaptation: The Lightening Thief
Early Chapter and Middle Grade Book Recommendations:
There are SO many Percy Jackson books and related books, but in case your voracious mythology fan needs some more ideas here are some more series we’ve enjoyed.
- Hopeless Heroes series by Stella Tarakson
- Zeus the Mighty series by Crispin Boyer
- Thunder Cluck! Chicken of Thor by Paul Tillery and Meg Wittwer
- Goddess Girls series by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams
- Heroes in Training series by Tracey West
- Nico Bravo graphic novel series by Mike Cavallaro
- Wings of Fire series by Tui T. Sutherland
Adult Book Recommendations:
Bull
by David Elliott
Link to Book
Lovely War
by Julie Berry
Link to Book
Mythology
Once my kids were exposed to mythology via Percy Jackson, they seemed to thirst to learn all they could.
Books to Read
- Usborne Illustrated Stories from the Greek Myths
- Myth Atlas: Maps and Monsters, Heroes and Gods from Twelve Mythological Worlds by Thiago de Moraes
- National Geographic Kids: Everything Mythology by Blake Hoena
- Gods and Heroes: Mythology Around the World by Korwin Briggs
Activities
- Impressive and diverse twelve week mythology study that covers all the curriculum areas on Redhead Mom.
- Watch the Crash Course series on Mythology on YouTube
- Try writing your own myths or an updated, modernized version of a myth.
- Listen to the soundtrack from EPIC the musical. It is based on the story of the Odyssey.
- Create maps of myths. My kids made one of Telemachus’ journey in the Odyssey story and a geographic map of the area.
Mythical Creatures
Mythical Creatures are some of the most fascinating parts of mythology, especially for kids who are huge animal fans like mine. If you want to go down this rabbit hole, here are some books and activities to explore.
Books to Read
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J. K. Rowling
- Mythopedia: What A Beast by Sophia Kelly
- Miss Turie’s Magic Creatures by Joy Keller – This is a cute picture book. If you’re diving into Mythology and Mythical Creatures with an early elementary schooler I definitely recommend this one.
- Wings of Fire series by Tui T. Sutherland is all about dragons that have to save their magical world. These are also good on audio.
Games to Play
- Createures Drawing Deck: This is game / art activity that is loads of fun if your kids enjoy drawing.
- Runes & Regulations: This is a strategy game that’s funny and also plays with mythical creatures.
