It's almost the end of the summer holidays and the Mythical Maze challenge is coming to a close. I hope you have all read your six books and collected your stickers?
I visited Portchester, Stubbington, and Portswood Library this last week. At Portchester I had lots of suggestions to help me draw a goblin, and when I drew a water demon one of the children thought of giving him eyes on top of his head like a crocodile – brilliant! Then the children crowded around a table and there was lots of enthusiasm to join in and draw their own mythical creature. There were evil ones, good ones, a spiky one, one with wings, and even a smart one with a tie and buttons. I was particularly impressed with one called a ‘Drageagle’.
I visited Portchester, Stubbington, and Portswood Library this last week. At Portchester I had lots of suggestions to help me draw a goblin, and when I drew a water demon one of the children thought of giving him eyes on top of his head like a crocodile – brilliant! Then the children crowded around a table and there was lots of enthusiasm to join in and draw their own mythical creature. There were evil ones, good ones, a spiky one, one with wings, and even a smart one with a tie and buttons. I was particularly impressed with one called a ‘Drageagle’.
At Stubbington I faced the Mythical Maze challenge myself when I was put on the spot by a group of youngsters who really knew their mythology. I was quizzed about my knowledge of Loki, which luckily, I had just been reading a book about - thank you to author Joanne Harris for her Gospel of Loki!
Next, one of the boys drew a fantastic mythical creature based on Scylla, a monster that lived on one side of a narrow channel of water, opposite its counterpart Charybdis. In Greek mythology, the saying ‘between Scylla and Charybdis’ has come to mean being between two dangers, choosing either of which brings harm - it is the same as our modern saying ‘between a rock and a hard place’.
Next, one of the boys drew a fantastic mythical creature based on Scylla, a monster that lived on one side of a narrow channel of water, opposite its counterpart Charybdis. In Greek mythology, the saying ‘between Scylla and Charybdis’ has come to mean being between two dangers, choosing either of which brings harm - it is the same as our modern saying ‘between a rock and a hard place’.
My final Mythical Maze talk of the summer was at Portswood Library. The children were really enthusiastic about drawing their own mythical creatures and they did some beautifully coloured drawings for my website, featuring rainbows, pink unicorns, goblins of course, and several Icelandic elf houses.
So now the Mythical Maze Summer Challenge is almost over I am looking forward to all the school visits I have planned for next term. Keep a look-out on my Visits Diary because I might be visiting your school next. With the summer holidays almost over, I am sure you are all really looking forward to going back to school, too. (Stop groaning everyone!) See you all soon.