Welcome Back Odysseus!

As part of homeschool, I read The Iliad to 12 yodd a year-and-a-half-ago. In a way it was like the legally blind leading the blind, since it was also my first reading. Shortly after finishing, we started reading The Odyssey. Life happened and gradually reading The Odyssey fell by the wayside.

Recently, my dear husband spent a couple of weeks at home due to a bout with vertigo. There is nothing like being with the "principal" 24/7 to make one feel guilty over the lack of learning taking place. Hence, the return of Odysseus. We found him where we had left him ... in the hall of the Phaiakians telling them of his adventures.

Having watched the movie , we found following the story and pronouncing the names to be easier. But, I knew we could, and should, be getting more out of The Odyssey. As the teacher I knew it was my job to make this happen. At the same time, I didn't want to spend hours slaving through some dry literary commentary. Thankfully, The Teaching Company had their course "The Odyssey of Homer" on sale. We have spent the past two weeks watching 1/2 hour lectures which have made the story much more meaningful. I was worried that dd would find the lectures "boring" (what happened to my sweet girl? female hormones!), but they have motivated her to read more about Ancient Greece and Greek myths. She already had a good background from reading children's books (D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths, Usborne Greek Myths for Young Children, Favorite Greek Myths retold by Mary Pope Osborne, The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus by Aliki, etc.). Now, she has added non-fiction books (juvenile and adult) to her store of resources. Yeah!

For those interested in The Teaching Company course, I personally think CD's would have worked just as well for this particular course.