I asked Giselle what she wanted to study during the last years of high school, and she named three things: classical mythology, medieval Europe, and art history. She was really young when our older children learned more about these in previous school years, and she said she wanted to study those.
I was thrilled with Giselle's ideas, and planned to put these ideas in successive order, beginning with classical antiquity.
Partway through planning for the year, Giselle told me she might want to attend a new high school with her friends. I told her that she could choose to go, but I asked her to pray about it first and asked Heavenly Father what He wanted her to do. A few days later she came back to me and told me that she wanted to learn at home. So I got back to work.
The idea for our school year corresponded to an idea in the book,The Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, by Rick Riordan. This is the idea that the Western civilization flame of liberty traveled from the Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans, to the United States of America:“You mean the Greek gods are here? Like...in America?”
“Well, certainly. The gods move with the heart of the West.”
“The what?”
“Come now, Percy. What you call ‘Western civilization.’ Do you think it’s just an abstract concept? No, it’s a living force. A collective consciousness that has burned bright for thousands of years. The gods are part of it.” ...The fire started in Greece. Then...the heart of the fire moved to Rome...Wherever the flame was brightest, the gods were there. They spent several centuries in England.
All you need to do is look at the architecture...you can see them in paintings, in
,_NW_view_up.jpg)
statues, on the most important buildings. And yes...they are now in your United States. Look at your symbol, the eagle of Zeus. Look at the statue of Prometheus in Rockefeller Center, the Greek facades of your government buildings in Washington. I defy you to find any American city where the Olympians are not prominently displayed in multiple places. ...America is now the heart of the flame. It is the great power of the West."
HEROES QUEST: Mount Olympus and the Guardians of the Flame
RATIONALE
Our children will take a quest as demigods—sons and daughters of God--to rescue Western Civilization, specifically the American values and way of life. They will learn and understand how Western civilization began and what it entails, including the Greek, Roman, & Hebrew influences; how the American civilization--the promised land blessed by God as a land of liberty for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ-- sprang from and built upon Western civilization; why American civilization, “the last, best hope on earth” and the only civilization which perpetuates liberty for all mankind, is superior to all other values, cultures, and civilizations; and why the only sure way to defend and perpetuate liberty is to worship Jesus Christ, the God of this land.
One of the distinguishing marks of Western Civilization is the search for truth. The Greeks had their minds, but we have more—a connection to the King of the Universe. We can go directly to Him, the Source of all truth, to understand the mysteries of this life in every aspect, including all spiritual and temporal things.
WESTERN THOUGHT/CIVILIZATION
It is clear that Western culture, with its life-giving and life-sustaining magnificence and elevation of human rights, is the greatest culture—deserving universal admiration and praise.
JUDEO-CHRISTIAN VALUES
God is central to the American experiment. A society cannot function in atheism. We are rooted in Judeo-Christian soil.
AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM (A City on a Hill)
The American values, different from all other nations’ values, can all be found on a U.S. coin:
- Liberty—everyone is born equal, but where you end up is your business—you choose your life
- In God We Trust—God is the source of our rights
- E Pluribus Unum—we don’t care where you come from, just work to make America, and you’re one of us Dennis Prager
PASSING THE TORCH
"A primary object should be the education of our youth in the science of government. In a republic, what species of knowledge can be equally important? And what duty more pressing than communicating it to those who are to be the future guardians of the liberties of the country?" George Washington
UNDERSTAND THE PAST IS THE KEY TO THE FUTURE
(From Empires of trust: how Rome built--and America is building--a new world Thomas F. Madden)
During those years (after 9/11) I learned about the importance of “ancient history.” Simply put, ignorance of the past is dangerous. We are in large part defined by our culture and our civilization. If we fail to learn its history, then we have no defense against those who would warp it or corrupt it. In other words we leave to others, including our enemies, the task of defining us.
The organization of the year is taken from a quote by John Adams, and the ideas of Aristotle:
“I must study 1--politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study 2--mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study 3--painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain.”
Aristotle held that there were three basic activities of man: theoria, poiesis and praxis. Three types of knowledge corresponded to three kinds of activity:
1—poietical, to which the end goal was production
2—theoretical, to which the end goal was truth
3—practical, to which the end goal was action
These 3 divisions became our 3 large components, along with the first two smaller components at the beginning:
ZERO TO HERO: Hero Training -- how to become a true hero
TITANS OF VALOR-- Greek, Roman and American heroes
LYRE, LYRE PARTHENON ON FIRE: poiesis -- Greek and Roman arts, architecture, etc.
ARTEMIS AND THE HUNT FOR THE GOLDEN MEIN: theoria -- science, math, philosophy...
LET FREEDOM WING: praxis -- politics, economics, war
“You mean the Greek gods are here? Like...in America?”
“Well, certainly. The gods move with the heart of the West.”
“The what?”
“Come now, Percy. What you call ‘Western civilization.’ Do you think it’s just an abstract concept? No, it’s a living force. A collective consciousness that has burned bright for thousands of years. The gods are part of it.” ...The fire started in Greece. Then...the heart of the fire moved to Rome...Wherever the flame was brightest, the gods were there. They spent several centuries in England.
All you need to do is look at the architecture...you can see them in paintings, in
,_NW_view_up.jpg)
statues, on the most important buildings. And yes...they are now in your United States. Look at your symbol, the eagle of Zeus. Look at the statue of Prometheus in Rockefeller Center, the Greek facades of your government buildings in Washington. I defy you to find any American city where the Olympians are not prominently displayed in multiple places. ...America is now the heart of the flame. It is the great power of the West."
HEROES QUEST: Mount Olympus and the Guardians of the Flame
RATIONALE
Our children will take a quest as demigods—sons and daughters of God--to rescue Western Civilization, specifically the American values and way of life. They will learn and understand how Western civilization began and what it entails, including the Greek, Roman, & Hebrew influences; how the American civilization--the promised land blessed by God as a land of liberty for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ-- sprang from and built upon Western civilization; why American civilization, “the last, best hope on earth” and the only civilization which perpetuates liberty for all mankind, is superior to all other values, cultures, and civilizations; and why the only sure way to defend and perpetuate liberty is to worship Jesus Christ, the God of this land.
One of the distinguishing marks of Western Civilization is the search for truth. The Greeks had their minds, but we have more—a connection to the King of the Universe. We can go directly to Him, the Source of all truth, to understand the mysteries of this life in every aspect, including all spiritual and temporal things.
WESTERN THOUGHT/CIVILIZATION
It is clear that Western culture, with its life-giving and life-sustaining magnificence and elevation of human rights, is the greatest culture—deserving universal admiration and praise.
JUDEO-CHRISTIAN VALUES
God is central to the American experiment. A society cannot function in atheism. We are rooted in Judeo-Christian soil.
AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM (A City on a Hill)
The American values, different from all other nations’ values, can all be found on a U.S. coin:
- Liberty—everyone is born equal, but where you end up is your business—you choose your life
- In God We Trust—God is the source of our rights
- E Pluribus Unum—we don’t care where you come from, just work to make America, and you’re one of us Dennis Prager
PASSING THE TORCH
"A primary object should be the education of our youth in the science of government. In a republic, what species of knowledge can be equally important? And what duty more pressing than communicating it to those who are to be the future guardians of the liberties of the country?" George Washington
UNDERSTAND THE PAST IS THE KEY TO THE FUTURE
(From Empires of trust: how Rome built--and America is building--a new world Thomas F. Madden)
During those years (after 9/11) I learned about the importance of “ancient history.” Simply put, ignorance of the past is dangerous. We are in large part defined by our culture and our civilization. If we fail to learn its history, then we have no defense against those who would warp it or corrupt it. In other words we leave to others, including our enemies, the task of defining us.
“I must study 1--politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study 2--mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study 3--painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain.”
Aristotle held that there were three basic activities of man: theoria, poiesis and praxis. Three types of knowledge corresponded to three kinds of activity:
1—poietical, to which the end goal was production
2—theoretical, to which the end goal was truth
3—practical, to which the end goal was action
These 3 divisions became our 3 large components, along with the first two smaller components at the beginning:
ZERO TO HERO: Hero Training -- how to become a true hero
TITANS OF VALOR-- Greek, Roman and American heroes
LYRE, LYRE PARTHENON ON FIRE: poiesis -- Greek and Roman arts, architecture, etc.
ARTEMIS AND THE HUNT FOR THE GOLDEN MEIN: theoria -- science, math, philosophy...
LET FREEDOM WING: praxis -- politics, economics, war
-----
Tammy and I began to plan the year, and then seven more families joined us. This is a photo of our curriculum writing group. I invited them all wear a sheet-toga for this photo in front of a canvas backdrop that Karen painted. 
We all wore these classical name tags, since several people were new to each other.
Karen drew and colored our magnificent year mind map, which we printed on parchment.
I wanted a Greek temple/stage like the one at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. I performed privately on that stage twice, and I wanted our students to perform a Greek play in a place like this. 
Attribution: David Ball, Wikimedia Commons
I called up Tammy and asked, "Do you want to have a Greek temple in your backyard? She immediately responded, "You know I do!" So I drew up plans and showed them to Hal and to Tammy's husband, who got right to work! Our temple would be 8 feet deep and 16 feet wide.
Some of the other dads also got involved. The biggest design hurdle was the columns. What could we use to make columns?
Tammy's husband got some donated insulation tubing, which was perfect!
I was so excited when the pediment went up.
Unlike Point Loma's amphitheatre, with open columns all around, and which overlooked the ocean, ours had to have a back wall which I decided to paint like Karen's ocean.
The moms and daughters painted it, (Larissa and Giselle on the left).
It's definitely the Aegean Sea behind temple pillars. I forgot to paint our temple columns with vertical indentations like real Greek columns, and I didn't have any Elgin Marbles for the pediment, but I loved this stage/temple!
Later we got a roof, and half columns on the back wall. I thought it was very impressive!
ZERO TO HEROBefore the opening day of school, Mercury delivered a message from the Mount Olympus gods to Giselle by way of some winged shoes. It described her quest if she chose to accept it:
"Your quest is to rescue Western Civilization, specifically the American values of liberty and justice for all, and the American way of life..."
She was told that in order to do this, this year she would learn:- Greek, Roman and Hebrew influences on America
- how America is a promised land blessed by God and founded as a Christian nation
- how American civilization is the only only which perpetuates liberty for all mankind, making it superior to all other values, cultures and civilizations
- Why the only sure way to defend and perpetuate liberty is to worship Jesus Christ, the God of this land.
Each family held Zero to Hero training at home for two weeks. One of our moms put together this Heroes Quest handbook to help the students explore talents and strengths, and chose a personalized demigod identity, such as Hercules. They each chose a name and an Olympus parent. This book also had tests about American government, and contained some American documents.
Our EPIC Adventure began quietly at home. After the usual overview of the year, and a trip to buy fabric, Giselle put together her costume for the opening day of school.
She wanted to go take photos at our temple. Like Perseus, she found a gift from the gods--a bow. A lot of posing and photo taking took place, as usual.
During her hero training Giselle chose her demigod persona--Malaina, daughter of Hades. She added weapons to her costume--a bow, sword, cat-o-nines (gold chainmail which she made), a leather sling which she also made, and a whip. She had fun taking photos before we headed to opening night ceremonies--
OPENING NIGHT AT MOUNT OLYMPUS
Zeus and Hera welcomed everyone, (Tammy's folks were awesome!)
The demigods were introduced. Giselle had more weapons on her person than anyone!
The gods were introduced, and the Quest was read to the demigods.
There were many grandparents and other visitors who came to enjoy the evening.
After all the festivities outside, we had a Greek-inspired buffet dinner, and the students received tee shirts to be worn during upcoming field trips.
It was funny and a little surreal to see a bunch of gods and demigods running around our temple.
Hal was there taking photos, but he was glad to be in the background. Giselle and I loved the night, and were excited to start the school year! 
It was a really wonderful evening and a fun kick-off for our EPIC adventure!
I was so excited when the pediment went up.
- Greek, Roman and Hebrew influences on America
- how America is a promised land blessed by God and founded as a Christian nation
- how American civilization is the only only which perpetuates liberty for all mankind, making it superior to all other values, cultures and civilizations
- Why the only sure way to defend and perpetuate liberty is to worship Jesus Christ, the God of this land.
She wanted to go take photos at our temple. Like Perseus, she found a gift from the gods--a bow. A lot of posing and photo taking took place, as usual.
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