Q: The holiday known as Purim celebrates the Jews' escape from destruction in ancient Persia. What is the name of the Persian ruler in this Biblical story?

A: It was King Ahasuerus, also known as Artaxerxes, and not to be confused with Xerxes, who ruled Persia during the time that the Purim story takes place. 

Thanks so much to our friends at the Asheville JCC for sponsoring this week's question!  

Students in our 3-5th grade classroom supplied these two trivia questions, based on their geography and American history units this session.

Q: The Jordan River connects which two bodies of water?

A: The Jordan River connects the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. (It's also the lowest river in the world!) 


Q: Which war is considered the bloodiest in American history?

A: The Civil War, which claimed over 620,000 lives, is considered the bloodiest war in American history. Interestingly, well over half the deaths were from disease, primarily intestinal disorders like typhoid fever and dysentery.

It's always amazing to witness the variety of games, activities, and stories our students create when they're out on the playground, and so interesting to see the way topics and themes from our (indoor) curriculum weave themselves into their play. 

They bake chocolate bread with mud and sunshine. They grind rocks against each other to make crystals and then sell them, each priced according to the value of its specific power. 

Sometimes, they barter: bread for crystals, pine cones for bamboo. 

They are archaeologists digging for pottery, miners digging for gold, American Indians tracking buffalo, pioneers cooking dinner over the fire. They are explorers, nurses, and engineers; they are slaves, gods, and spies. 

They invent, revise, negotiate, and collaborate. They get serious....

And they get silly.

They inhabit the playground with their bodies and their brains, their wishes and their fears. Each day, anew, they bring that plain plot of land to life. Magic.

Q: What flower is named for the mythological Greek youth who fell in love with is own reflection in a pool of water?

A: The narcissus flower. According to myth, Narcissus eventually died because he could not pull himself away, and the gods turned his remains into a flowering plant.

Thanks so much to Blossoms at Biltmore Park for sponsoring this week's trivia question!

These days, TNCA students are immersed in the study of ancient Greece. They love this unit; in particular, they're drawn to the drama of the divine soap opera otherwise known as Greek mythology.

The first and second graders made gorgeous paintings of their favorite gods. Here is Ares, god of war. Note that his name, as well as the artist's, are written in Greek! 

Fifth graders made business cards. (Zeus will "water your garden" and "control your universe." Dionysus is available for party planning.) So much fun! 

Q: What two continents are separated by the Suez Canal? 

A: Asia and Africa. 

Q: What events were included in the original Olympic pentathlon? 

A: Discus, javelin, long jump, running, and wrestling.

[Special fungus edition!]

Q. What does a mycologist study? 

A. Mushrooms and other fungi. 

Q. Are fungi more closely related to plants or to animals? 

A. Despite appearances, fungi are in fact more closely related to animals than to plants. One major similarity: Neither animals nor fungi produce their own food.