The Foundation of a Fabulous Classical Homeschool
The Well-Trained Mind by Susan and Jessie Wise-Bauer:
What an amazing work.
After reading this book, I felt as if I had been invited to an everything-you-need-t0-know session given by homeschooling experts! I also felt totally inundated and overwhelmed.
But in navigating through this homeschool encyclopedia, not only did I gain some insight to new teaching ideas, curricula choices and scheduling suggestions, but I also had some epiphanies regarding what was working for us... and what needed some serious tweaking.
These realizations will ultimately be the foundation of our upcoming homeschool year.
Realization # 1: My own entire learning experience was built on a modge-podge of dates, relevance, and time periods, all gooped together as teachers saw fit. Because of this, I could not build a historical time line to save my life, with out having the dates already laid out in front of me.
Realization # 2: I know a few key facts about key figures in history, but for instance, I couldn't tell you what kind of art, music, cuisine or literature was popular during Julius Caesar's rule.
Realization # 3: In order for my children to absorb information in a thorough, thought-provoking and chronological manner, I must conduct our homeschool in completely different form than the way I was taught.
This year, we are starting from the beginning.
As the book states, the word HISTORY contains the word STORY. And that is really what it is all about. History tells a story. And like any good story, it doesn't start in the middle. It always begins at the beginning.
This year, we will begin with Genesis, and progress through Romulus Augustus, the 6 year old Roman Emperor! Along the way, we will learn hieroglyphic writing, common cuisine in Ancient Rome, some common teachings of Confucius, and the lore of the Greek Gods. We will learn of their art forms, their music, the maps of the areas at the time, and what the Bible says about the leaders of that age.
And in the end, I will be certain that my kids can create a timeline.
