The Ancient Olympics - Come Learn with Me!

The ancient Olympics were a real scene back in the day. That's coming from this total non-sports fan. You see, it wasn't ALL about the sports. The games, originally dated to 776 BCE, were held at the religious sanctuary of Olympia, one of the most beautiful places in Greece. People came from all over not only to participate as athletes but also to watch and support the games, all in honor of Zeus, king of Olympian gods. Imagine Burning Man but all about sports instead of music and crazy. What would it have been like to travel to Olympia and experience the games?

If you're wondering that, you need to consider applying to attend an awesome teacher workshop that Dr. Bob Holschuh Simmons and I are hosting in July of 2024. Bob will discuss the actual sporting events and teach how to reenact them. I'll be showing you the everyday life stuff like weaving, writing, and bathing. And we won't be alone - we've got experts lined up to talk about papyrus, pottery, beekeeping, etc. Since the National Endowment for the Humanities is sponsoring us, we'll get to offer generous stipends to participants that will offset the costs of travel and accommodations. In addition to learning some really amazing stuff, you'll have time to research your own lesson and take home the ready-to-use lessons of the other teachers you'll learn with. Did I mention you get to live on the beautiful campus of Monmouth College in western Illinois? Can you say "idyllic"?

It's going to be the best two weeks of professional development ever! Interested? All the information can be found on our Website for the project, linked here. We can't wait to host you!

The official invitation for applications begins TODAY so starting thinking about next summer!

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NEH K-12 Summer Institute: The Olympics and Daily Life in Ancient Olympia: A Hands-On History

K-12 educators across disciplines but especially classics are invited to apply for a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute from July 8-19, 2024, at Monmouth (IL) College that focuses on the ancient Olympics and the daily life surrounding this famous quadrennial event. Participants will not just read primary and secondary sources (in English) on those topics, but learn, physically, how to carry out and teach Olympic athletic events and a range of daily ancient technologies like weaving, the construction of paper and ink, and the composition of concrete. The NEH provides stipends of $2200.00 for chosen participants to help defray their costs.

The directors of the institute, Bob Holschuh Simmons of Monmouth College and Nathalie Roy Mitchell of Glasgow Middle School in Baton Rouge, LA, encourage applications from teachers of any subject that could incorporate hands-on Classics into its curricula. Teachers, at any K-12 level, of Latin, social studies, physical education, a range of sciences, and English are just a few of those whom we would encourage to apply. The application deadline is March 5, 2024.

Please see the institute's Website for more information and application procedures: https://sites.google.com/view/nehancientolympics/home