Our Classical Curriculum - The ABC's of Homeschooling

The letter of the week is C! As I've just returned home from a used curriculum fair and have been thinking a lot about our materials for next year, my post today is about Classical Curriculum.

Our homeschool has evolved into a mostly Classical environment. I'll share with you what we are doing that is Classical, and if you have anything you do, or any suggestions for me, I would LOVE to hear them! I'm a relative newbie on this journey and can use all the help I can get!

I am so thankful for Susan Wise Bauer, author of The Well Trained Mind. This book sits on my shelf and is read OFTEN. This description of Classical Education, taken from The Well Trained Mind website is a great summary:

A classical education, then, has two important aspects. It is language-focused. And it follows a specific three-part pattern: the mind must be first supplied with facts and images, then given the logical tools for organization of facts, and finally equipped to express conclusions.

But that isn’t all. To the classical mind, all knowledge is interrelated. Astronomy (for example) isn’t studied in isolation; it’s learned along with the history of scientific discovery, which leads into the church’s relationship to science and from there to the intricacies of medieval church history. The reading of the Odyssey leads the student into the consideration of Greek history, the nature of heroism, the development of the epic, and man’s understanding of the divine.

This is easier said than done. The world is full of knowledge, and finding the links between fields of study can be a mind-twisting task. A classical education meets this challenge by taking history as its organizing outline — beginning with the ancients and progressing forward to the moderns in history, science, literature, art and music.

(image courtesy Google Images)

This is what our Classical homeschool looks like:

• History - we are following the 4 year history cycle as prescribed in The Well Trained Mind. To this end, we are using The Story of the World Volume 1 right now, and will be using Volume 2 next year. History is the peg upon which we hang everything else in our homeschool, and WHAT FUN IT IS!

• Grammar - my youngest does First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind and my oldest listens each day (she uses Easy Grammar and loves it, so I'm not changing!)

• Math - we have used Horizons Math from the start. I selected it because it was what came with our Sonlight package the first year of homeschooling. Sonlight has never disappointed me and I feel that they recommend Horizons because of its rigor, mastery, and short spurts of new activities. My children both do well with it and I don't see the need to change. It seems that Saxon Math is the recommended course of study for Classical education - correct me if I'm wrong! I found a very interesting article entitled "An Apology for Latin and Math" - if you have a minute it is quite interesting.

(image courtesy Spurlock Museum)

• Latin - this is where I'm taking a leap! I just purchased (for $17 for BOTH, I might add!) Prima Latina and Latina Christiana. I think we will start gently (since I will have a first and fifth grader next year) with Prima Latina together and if all goes well progress to Latina Christiana.

• Writing - I'm struggling here, so could use some suggestions. We used Writing Strands this year and it was pretty much a flop. I'm thinking of Writing With Ease next year. I also am confident that lots of reading produces good writers, so I don't harp on writing too much right now. As my children get older will get more serious about this.

• Science - This is my weakest area. Currently we are very Charlotte Mason where science is concerned, with a lot of nature discovery and eclectic science units thrown into the mix. I don't know that there is a need for change, because it's working for us, but I wouldn't call our approach to science "Classical".

• Art & Music - I try to pull in artists and composers from the time period we are studying. Since I have a music degree the music part is fairly easy, and with research, the art falls into place. I don't have a set curriculum for either of these subjects.

(image courtesy Google Images)

I like to be spontaneous and use an occasional unit study or go off on a tangent that interests my children, but for the most part we are a classical home educating family. Do you have any thoughts/recommendations for me? I'd love to hear from some of you experienced homeschoolers out there!

Also, hop over to Five Kids and a Dog to see what other people are blogging about today that starts with the letter C!

*Linking up as well with The Hip Homeschool Hop!

Our Curriculum is Posted! Looking Back on the First Year

I've been spending some time tonight posting the curriculum we are using this year for Miss B and GMan. We have fallen into a great rhythm, and I feel like I am really getting to KNOW my children and the way the learn and what makes them tick. What an honor it is to spend these days with them and learn side by side.

Truthfully, when we first started homeschooling nearly a full year ago, I wondered how on earth I would adjust to this new lifestyle and how we would ever make it all work. Now, I cannot imagine going back to our old way of life. I knew God was calling us to homeschool, I just wasn't entirely sure I could do it. We have had many struggles and tears, but through it all I had the peace of mind that what my children were learning was consistent with our family's values, and they were safe and loved each and every day. My husband and I remarked tonight that God has provided us all of the tools we needed to educate our children at home. It has been the ultimate faith testing and building adventure for all of us.

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

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What's Working for Us

I enjoy reading The Homeschool Chick's blog, so I've linked up to her blog hop today. Honestly, I could get lost in blog hopping, so some days I have to keep it short, but tonight I have some quiet time to relax and see what's out there.

After a good six weeks of homeschooling for this year it has started to come to my attention the things that are working for us.... truthfully, not much isn't working, but I think that is because we started small and add on something new every couple of weeks. For my own records, I thought I would write a little about what our favorites are so far:

Sonlight Core 3

I can't say enough about this great program. My daughter began it last November. Right now we are finishing Carry On, Mr. Bowditch and also studying the US Constitution. Today my daughter wrote a preamble to the constitution of our household and completed a US Constitution crossword puzzle. Sonlight provides wonderful direction in its history and for a book lover like my daughter it is a perfect fit.

Horizons Math (K and 3)

I had heard so much about other math programs and many people had steered me away from Horizons, but I am glad I went with my instincts on this one. I am amazed at the difficult concepts my children are grasping, and without much difficulty. Horizons' spiral approach and constant review makes new concepts easy. Today, for example, we were working on fractions with like numerators and different denominators. I was illustrating to my daughter that the fractions with more parts (larger denominator) would always be the lesser fraction. She said "I knew that - we went over that already." Yes, we had - but just in a very brief introduction yesterday. I was impressed she made the mental leap.

The Kindergarten program is accelerated and engaging. My son is 1/2 way through, and I anticipate by the holidays we will be ready for level 1. We use the manipulatives daily, and both of my children like the colorful workbook and sophisticated approach to math.

Easy Grammar (Grade 4)

There are lots of different thoughts out there about grammar, but I believe in a rigorous approach that teaches the rules and teaches them early, so that my children have the tools to be good writers. Easy Grammar is great - understandable lessons and I'm shocked to hear my daughter say grammar is her favorite subject.

First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind

I have blogged about this before and still contend it is a beautiful introduction to grammar. My five year old has memorized several poems, is learning about common and proper nouns, and is learning to narrate to me quite nicely. We do a lesson each day, and use our large (portable) dry erase board and lots of fun colors of markers to practice writing.

These are the "biggies" for us right now. I have other thoughts about science, handwriting, music, writing, etc..., but I just wanted to highlight the big ones. All in all I would say homeschool is successful for us. Sure, we have our difficult days and times when I would really love to have a whole day to myself like most other moms. But, those days and times are fleeting, and we wouldn't be normal if that didn't happen.

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