We’ve been working our way through ancient history this year, as I think the idea of doing history in order on a four-year(-ish) cycle, as presented in The Well-Trained Mind, is a great one. As Captain Science has shown a great deal of interest in the mythology and dieties of these early cultures, I decided it would be fun to make a large project out of it, something to tie together the whole year. After all, the way a culture worships and the things they believe says a lot about that culture [moment for pointed silence whilst my readers consider what much of the beliefs and worship in our culture says about us -- hint: it ain't particularly flattering, from this secular homeschooler's perspective].
The idea for the Pantheon Project sprang from “oh crap, you mean we’ve finished Egypt and I haven’t quite gotten all my Greek materials yet? Uh…research the Egyptian gods this week!” Captain Science loved it! He read about the gods and wrote paragraphs about each of the ones he considered most important to the pantheon. He seemed so enthusiastic about the topic that I had him do the same for Greece and Rome. I started calling it the Pantheon Project and developing some longer-term goals with it.
As we move forward with ancient cultures of Asian, Africa, and the Americas, Captain Science will continue to compile information on the deities and religious practices. At the end of our school year, we’ll use all of this data to do a large comparative religions project, integrating art and writing into a giant Cage Match of the Gods card game.
No, really.
The thing Captain Science loves even more than weird ancient religions is inventing/designing card games with Officer Daddyman. What could possibly make a more awesome subject for a battle-style card game than various gods with strange powers and bizarre requirements for worship? Move over, Pokemon, because Poseidon, Osiris, and Kwan Yin are entering the arena! Instead of energy cards, I forsee cards like “burnt offering.” Instead of trainers, maybe priests and priestesses? The actual designing of the cards will likely take place over the summer. Captain Science and I will work on the information (review-style) and then I’ll turn it over to Officer Daddyman for game design. Should be fun times.
I wonder if any other homeschoolers would be interested in snagging a copy of this irreverent battle royale?
I can guarantee you they likely would.
This doesn’t sound too unschooler, does it?
I don’t know. Is there any playing of Club Penguin involved?
Club Olympus, maybe.
Clearly, you’re covering calculus, drama, very formal logic, and gardening through this project, but as long you don’t drop your curricula for those subjects while doing the game, no, it’s not unschoolish.
Hey, developing stats and mechanics for a game system is pretty complicated math, ok? I’ve had to do it (mechanics for brainwashing for my “cults” chapter in Antagonists). It’s HARD.
Making a game is very hard work and a lot of fun!
I’m sure you’d find a niche market.
Officer Daddyman is actually teaching a game design class out of our house, starting next Tuesday morning. We found a site that has templates for easily designing real, professional-looking board and card games!
Way to go, Officer Daddyman! Cool there are sites out there to help with that. My Dad liked to create games for us when we were kids and they were always a lot of fun.
Sounds awesome. As long as it doesn’t morph into some kind of Dungeons and Dragons scale addiction whence Captain Science will emerge, blinking in the daylight, in about 20 years time lol.
You say this like it’s a bad thing.
My oldest stepkid-type did the same thing, pretty much exactly. Research pantheons, make cards, battle. He was ostensibly doing it for the sake of his four younger brothers. I think the cards are still floating around my computer somewhere. This project had no bearing on his ability to get that associate’s degree that got him that ridiculously high paying for an associate’s degree job, but it directly aided him with the D&D games that take up his time now in lieu of getting a higher college degree.