The Coolest Heracles Ever!

Joe as Heracles (a.k.a. Hercules, Alcides and "the glory of Hera")

Our little Gods and Goddesses requested that today - their final day of first grade - be spent entirely on Greek Mythology.

We were more than happy to oblige.

This year we read, retold and acted out many Greek myths as students fought over chose favorite characters to dramatize. Popular figures included Athena, Andromeda, Perseus, Poseidon, Zeus, Hades, Persephone, Odysseus, and Hera.

But none proved more riveting than Heracles and his twelve labors.

In anticipation of our day, Joe entered this morning decked out in full Heracles attire (sans the pelt of the Nemean Lion).  He told us he stayed up past 9:00 last night working on his sword and shield, although my favorite part is the Ruffles potato chip bag wrist guards.

The story of Heracles is expertly
told in Hera by George O'Connor

So, we happily spent our morning reading The Twelve Labors of Hercules whilst the children challenged this text for not providing the proper background and motivation behind the story.

They learned those details from the magnificent George O'Connor and his exquisite Olympians graphic novel book series.

As our final day together drew to a close our impressive students selected one labor (the capture of the Cretan Bull) to act out.  They worked together to assign roles and create the setting before packing up for a final goodbye.

As they lined up for dismissal our young Heracules became a sensitive little boy once again. He hugged me for a really long time and told me he is going to miss me.

I will miss him too.

I will miss all of them.