February Session 2 Play On! Materials
L’Orpheo
CHECK OUT THIS MAP OF ANCIENT GREECE!
This is what Greece looked like thousands of years ago:
A mainland peninsula (land that is surrounded by water on three sides) and hundreds of small islands surrounded by three major seas; it’s no wonder the Greeks were such great sailors!
Do you know the name of the missing 3rd sea?
Courtesy of Core Knowledge
Do you recognize any of the names on the map?
Mount Olympus was the home of the Greek Gods and Goddesses!
The Greeks believed in a lot of gods. Do you know how many there are?
Athens was named after the Greek Goddess Athena, who won the cities’ love by gifting them a sacred olive tree after defeating Poseidon for their patronage, which is a fancy word for worship!
What other legends or myths do you know about these places?
In the lowland areas such as, Sparta, it was super-hot, but perfect for farming products like: wheat, grapes and olives. Remember the olive leaves I used to make my olive crown?
NOW YOU CAN MAKE YOUR VERY OWN OLIVE CROWN!
Follow the instructions below:
1. Gather your materials!
You can use any alternatives, but for our crown we used pipe cleaners, foam sheets, a marker, hole punch (optional), and scissors.
2. First, cut out the shape you want your olive leaves to look like. Here we did a simple pointed oval.
Then trace that shape onto your foam sheets – we made 24 traces for our crown.
3. Next, safely cut out the leaves you traced on the foam sheets.
4. Now using the scissors or a hole punch, poke holes in one end of your leaves and then string them through your pipe cleaners.
5. Finally, measure the pipe cleaners around your head and twists the ends together.
Fan out your leaves so there’s space between them
And Viola! You now have your very own Olive Crown!
DO YOU RECOGNIZE THE ANCIENT GREEK GOD OF THE OCEANS?
He kind of resembles King Triton from The Little Mermaid, because King Triton is actually the son of the Ancient Greek god Poseidon!
Can you see the family resemblance?
CHECK OUT THESE YOUTUBE LINKS FOR MORE FUN!
How to make a lyre at home:
Ancient Greek Music - The Lyre of Classical Antiquity:
February Session 1 Play On! Materials
L’Orpheo
ANCIENT GREEK DANCE:
Dance was an important art form in ancient Greece. Everybody loved to dance. The Greeks had war dances, funny dances, funeral dances, wedding dances, and even dances for special occasions, like the birth of a child. It was a law that parents had to enroll their kids in dance lessons as early as 5 years old. A lot of noise went along with dancing too. When the ancient Greeks danced they used bells, tambourines, castanets, lyres, flutes and more.
We learned a lot about ancient Greece's passion for dance from images found on pottery, sculptures and architecture: see some examples below!
LEARN TO DANCE THE HASAPIKO A GREEK DANCE – MUSEUM AT HOME:
MAKE IT YOURSELF ACTIVITY
HOW TO MAKE GREEK POPSICLE PUPPETS:
Materials: (these are just some options, you can use anything you’d like!)
Foam sheet / Construction paper (various colors)
Popsicle sticks, sticks found outside, etc
Googly eyes, beads, pom-poms, etc
Scissors
Glue
Magic markers, colored pencils, crayons, etc
Choose your favorite ancient Greek god from the image below and make him/her into a popsicle puppet:
Step by Step process:
Collect your supplies and prepare your art making space.
These are just examples, but you can use anything you’d like to create your puppet!
2. Cut your foam or paper into different shapes for the body and head of your puppet. You can also make props like instruments, for your puppet!
3. Using the glue of your choice, attach your puppet pieces together to make the body, and then glue the body to a stick so you can easily move your puppet around!
4. Next use craft supplies that remind you of eyes, arms, hair, etc. and glue them to your puppet to give them some personality. Using pipe cleaners allows you to pose your puppet differently for each story you tell!
That’s right! It’s Apollo
5. And viola, your popsicle puppet is ready for its opera debut!
Can you guess which Greek god/goddess I made?
COLORING IMAGES OF ANCIENT GREECE:
In ancient Greece, theaters provided a safe space where artists and audiences could come together to perform dances, music and plays in theaters just like this one.
Want More Fun?
OPERA STARTS WITH OH! IS A VIRTUAL PROGRAM PART OF
KNOW SOMEONE WHO WOULD LOVE THIS?
Send them this link and have them register for the next class or the full series!