Our Homeschool. Part III

Classical Education

After reading The Well-Trained Mind by Dr. Susan Wise Bauer, I knew that classical education was the right learning model for our family. While I doubt we will be hard-core classicists, the neo-classical education spelled out in detail by Dr. Bauer is exactly what I want for my children. I will spare you the experience of reading my thoughts and knowledge on the subject (which would probably come out convoluted at best) and instead provide links which will give the reader a basic idea of classical education.

What is Classical Education? by Susan Wise Bauer

Why Our Model of Classical Education May Look Different by Susan Wise Bauer

The Joy of Classical Education by Susan Wise Bauer

Classical Education according to Wikipedia

The Lost Tools of Learning by Dorothy Sayers

One of the aspects I am most looking forward to is the four-year history rotation. If all goes according to plan, we will study ancient history in first grade, Medieval-early Renaissance in second, late Renaissance-early modern in third, and modern history in fourth. Hopefully, we will be able to repeat this journey through history two more times in the next eight years. I am thrilled that Susan Wise Bauer has written an engaging narrative of world history for elementary-aged students which is broken down into four volumes corresponding with each historical period. The Story of the World also has an activity guide with maps, coloring pages, review cards, book lists, and activities. After four years, I hope to finally have a solid grasp of history!

I am also looking forward to covering Latin, logic, rhetoric, and the Great Books. When I have finished schooling all three boys through high school, I will be ready for anything!

Marva Collins in Marva Collins' Way:

...I went beyong the required curriculum in many of my lessons. For example, I taught my students how to add and subtract, but I also taught them that arithmetic is a Greek word meaning to count and that numbers were called digits after the Latin word digitus, meaning finger, because people used to count on their fingers. I taught them about Pythagoras, who believed that mathematics made a pupil perfect and ready to meet the gods. I told them what Socrates said about straight thinking leading to straight living. I read aloud to them from The Great Quotations and 101 Famous Poems. We talked about Emerson's "Self Reliance," Bacon's "On Education," and parts of Thoreau's Walden: "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer."

...Until you reveal a larger world to children, they don't realize there is anything to reach for.

Part I of the homeschooling discussion: The Background Story

Part II of the homeschooling discussion: Why We Homeschool

The resources we are currently using.

Pictures of our library/school room.