We have officially begun our first Norse Mythology block at City Garden School! This classic fourth grade main lesson block absolutely delights 9 and 10-year-old students! The stores of Odin, Thor, and Loki are exciting and filled with breathtaking scenery and an entire tapestry of unforgettable characters.

Why Norse Mythology

The transition from early childhood is complete; puberty has not yet begun. The fourth grader feels, “I am here. The world is there.” Amid separateness and questioning, even defiance, the child’s newly emerging ego consciousness seeks reassurance and uprightness in the world around them. The ten-year-old’s zest for life, quest for knowledge, and intense desire to socialize can challenge some of the established rhythms of the first three school years.

This week the children heard the fascinating Norse origin story of the gods, the earth, and the great cosmic World Tree, Yygdrasil, which is said to hold up our planet and many others. The children were very taken with the unusual content of the story and exclaimed their surprise aloud as each part of our known world was carefully formed from various body parts of a slain ice giant.

The fourth-grade curriculum provides the child with many expressions of conflict and separation, of confrontation, indicating paths for healthy resolution and integration. In such subjects as history, the child explores the question, “Who am I?” while science allows them to ask, “What is the world?” Some subjects, such as geography, incorporate both, stimulating a healthy “breathing” that can bring inspiration.

We used the origin story as writing material for the first independent summary since our history and geography. The children were able to remember and write in so much detail.

The gods, goddesses, and giants all embody different personality characteristics. Thor is known for his temper and strength in the fight against evil, and Loki for his cleverness and mischief-loving ways that eventually turn poisonous. Through the Norse myths, the children experience courage and strength, a taming of the wild, an undisciplined element, and a transformation beyond that state.