What Type of Homeschooler Are You?
Mr. Potato Head
Sunday, June 25, 2006
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What Type of Homeschooler Are You?
Mr. Potato HeadYou have your ideal of how things should look, but youre flexible enough to allow for change. You are not bothered by changing methods, mid-course if necessary. You use an eclectic combination of curriculum sources. Visit my blog: http://www.GuiltFreeHomeschooling.blogspot.com
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What Type of Homeschooler Are You?
Mr. Potato Head
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Yet another Pre-History Update
I'd have gotten afraid of boring you guys with all these planning posts and written up a couple of amusing anecdotes ala Reader's Digest or something if my sense of humor wasn't arse deep in to-do lists.
Sorry.
On a happier note, I finally found a wonderful website about teaching the cosmic curriculum strictly from the science perspective, complete with my favorite kind of printables (free!) and lesson plans.
Horray!
It also explained exactly how to introduce and use the Clock of the Eras, which is another of those things I kept reading about but never really understood. I was like, "Yeah, okay it's a pie graph, big whoop.", but turns out it is a fantastic spine all on its own. Who knew?
At 1:30 am last night my Word file of Pre-history lesson plans was at 55 pages, and I still haven't even finished up to the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Sigh.
It is always fun to start a big, challenging project, but then it just loses its fun around 1:00 am or page 54, whichever comes first.
Double sigh.
Sorry.
On a happier note, I finally found a wonderful website about teaching the cosmic curriculum strictly from the science perspective, complete with my favorite kind of printables (free!) and lesson plans.
Horray!
It also explained exactly how to introduce and use the Clock of the Eras, which is another of those things I kept reading about but never really understood. I was like, "Yeah, okay it's a pie graph, big whoop.", but turns out it is a fantastic spine all on its own. Who knew?
At 1:30 am last night my Word file of Pre-history lesson plans was at 55 pages, and I still haven't even finished up to the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Sigh.
It is always fun to start a big, challenging project, but then it just loses its fun around 1:00 am or page 54, whichever comes first.
Double sigh.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Are they seriously blaming the technology for this?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/techcreatesabubbleforkids
Seems like an obvious side effect of the peer-saturated/ absent adult school system mentality to me. That and all that feel-good , everybody-is-wonderful -just-the-way-they-are educational psyche bullheck that passes for education in this country.
~EH
Seems like an obvious side effect of the peer-saturated/ absent adult school system mentality to me. That and all that feel-good , everybody-is-wonderful -just-the-way-they-are educational psyche bullheck that passes for education in this country.
~EH
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
10 foreign objects that should have broken our Dyson
10. about 2 lbs of "premium" rabbit food pellets
9. A prismacolor #pc905 Aquamarine colored pencil
8. a kneaded eraser
7. 3 paper clips joined together
6. Animal Planet cherry fruit snacks (or as Ugha calls them "Woot Nax")
5. alfalfa hay
4. a "shooter" marble (those are the bigguns)
3. a mini plastic triceratops
2. a long tinkertoy
1. about 3 feet's worth of dining-room curtain
Guess which children are no longer allowed to vacuum their rooms unsupervised?
The Eccentric family Dyson is proof of that this really is the world's first vacuum that really doesn't lose suction.
Ever.
I mean E-V-E-R.
If I hadn't unplugged that sucker it would have devoured the entire curtain and still had suction enough to have a sporting go at the rod!
Viva la'Dyson!
Deep down within the waters dark, There lurks the dangerous Mr. Shark
One of the eccentric family's all-time favorite authors is Roald Dahl.
We actually stumbled into the Harry Potter series from reading an article comparing JK Rowling's style to his. How funny is that? Here the entire world was going gaga around us singing the praises of HP and I was completely disinterested.
What an idiot!
I swear sometimes I enjoy the HP novels more than the children. I stayed up all night to read the latest one, which was preordered in hardback edition and arrived in my mailbox promptly on the day of release! I have never done that with any other book. I still haven't read a single word of it aloud, I decided to save my breath and wait for the library to get the audio. Those books are just getting too darn long for read-alouds.
We actually stumbled into the Harry Potter series from reading an article comparing JK Rowling's style to his. How funny is that? Here the entire world was going gaga around us singing the praises of HP and I was completely disinterested.
What an idiot!
I swear sometimes I enjoy the HP novels more than the children. I stayed up all night to read the latest one, which was preordered in hardback edition and arrived in my mailbox promptly on the day of release! I have never done that with any other book. I still haven't read a single word of it aloud, I decided to save my breath and wait for the library to get the audio. Those books are just getting too darn long for read-alouds.
The kids are so jealous.
Anyway, back to Roald Dahl.
We've read nearly all of his novels. The lonely remaining two (I think), The BFG and The Witches, are already waiting on the shelf. We're only about four chapters into The Hobbit and I am already itching to start one.
The kids love The Hobbit, and they are learning a ton of new vocabulary, it's not that. It's just that our latest bit of memory work is Mr Dahl's poem, "The Shark", which has me all riled up for more.
If you love good-quality, funny, innocuous but sometimes bordering-on-rude children's poems (think: Shel Silverstein) then you should check out RD's Vile Verses. It's got hysterically funny poems from many of his best-loved novels including James and the Giant Peach, The Enormous Crocodile, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I would also highly recommend reading those books. Matilda is another favorite. And don't be satisfied that you've seen a movie version or two, the best part about Roald Dahl's books is the humor contained in his writing style and rhymes, you lose much of that in a movie version. We always read the books first, and whenever I ask my kiddos which they liked better, they have always chosen the books.
In addition to poems from some of his novels, Vile Verses also contains amusing verse retellings of many classic children's stories which your kids are probably already familiar with. He puts his unique spin on Snow White, Goldilocks (that "brazen little crook" ..."Had I the chance I wouldn't fail, to clap young Goldilocks in jail"), The Tortoise and the Hare, etc.
So anyway, back to "The Shark". The language in "The Shark" is rich and not dumbed down, it has the complex sentence patterns you want in a memory poem, and it manages to reamain young-child-friendly and full of fun after many repeated readings/recitations.
Here is an excerpt from the ending stanza of "The Shark" to give you an idea of what a treat you are in for...
He lay there gnawing, nibbling, munching
Chewing, burping, grinning, crunching,
Until the whole of little Jim
Was pretty much inside of him.
He murmured as he ate the feet
"Small boys are awefully good to eat."
Check out Vile Verses, and spice up your poetry memorizations!
Anyway, back to Roald Dahl.
We've read nearly all of his novels. The lonely remaining two (I think), The BFG and The Witches, are already waiting on the shelf. We're only about four chapters into The Hobbit and I am already itching to start one.
The kids love The Hobbit, and they are learning a ton of new vocabulary, it's not that. It's just that our latest bit of memory work is Mr Dahl's poem, "The Shark", which has me all riled up for more.
If you love good-quality, funny, innocuous but sometimes bordering-on-rude children's poems (think: Shel Silverstein) then you should check out RD's Vile Verses. It's got hysterically funny poems from many of his best-loved novels including James and the Giant Peach, The Enormous Crocodile, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I would also highly recommend reading those books. Matilda is another favorite. And don't be satisfied that you've seen a movie version or two, the best part about Roald Dahl's books is the humor contained in his writing style and rhymes, you lose much of that in a movie version. We always read the books first, and whenever I ask my kiddos which they liked better, they have always chosen the books.
In addition to poems from some of his novels, Vile Verses also contains amusing verse retellings of many classic children's stories which your kids are probably already familiar with. He puts his unique spin on Snow White, Goldilocks (that "brazen little crook" ..."Had I the chance I wouldn't fail, to clap young Goldilocks in jail"), The Tortoise and the Hare, etc.
So anyway, back to "The Shark". The language in "The Shark" is rich and not dumbed down, it has the complex sentence patterns you want in a memory poem, and it manages to reamain young-child-friendly and full of fun after many repeated readings/recitations.
Here is an excerpt from the ending stanza of "The Shark" to give you an idea of what a treat you are in for...
He lay there gnawing, nibbling, munching
Chewing, burping, grinning, crunching,
Until the whole of little Jim
Was pretty much inside of him.
He murmured as he ate the feet
"Small boys are awefully good to eat."
Check out Vile Verses, and spice up your poetry memorizations!
Monday, June 19, 2006
20 Totally Random Things About Me
1. I grew up outside of Philadephia, the land of grease-dripping cheesesteaks with 3 bars and 3 churches on every block. Oh, and really good chinese food. With duck sauce.
2. When I first moved to El Paso, I thought tumbleweeds were incredibly cool. After 3 years they no longer impress me, and I can't wait to get back to the world of GREEN plants.
3. If I drink more than 2 sodas a day I get ocular migraines. (I see strange flashing distortions in one eye.)
4. My house is well-organized, but always a mess and sometimes downright dirty.
5. I love to play Literati. I used to have an impressive rating until I lost over 20 games in a row.
6. I've written one and a half (probably) unpublishable novels and never tried to sell them.
7. My favorite book of all time is Tom Robbins' Jitterbug Perfume.
8. I am a former US Marine, but you would never, ever guess that from looking at me.
9. I have 2 tattoos, both from my Marine Corps days. Most of the time I am embarrassed of them.
10. I dress like a casual nerd.
11. At first glance I look at least 10 years younger than I really am.
12. My hair stops only 2 1/2 inches shy of my waist.
13. I have been described as "intimidating" even though I am only 5 foot 1.
14. My eyes are the exact color of the canals of Venice...on a really cloudy day.
15. When we lived in Germany my Dodo got so horribly carsick we never got to see this.
16. I almost always hide how smart I really am, and I never volunteer information about how smart my kids are in the real world since it sometimes makes people freak out. I never, ever mention the word "gifted".
17. Homeschooling was the best decision I ever made. We love it.
18. If I had a different husband I'd probably have lots more kids.
19. I'd secretly like to become Jewish.
20. I am a good cook, but a lousy baker. My cakes taste fine but they always come out slanted.
2. When I first moved to El Paso, I thought tumbleweeds were incredibly cool. After 3 years they no longer impress me, and I can't wait to get back to the world of GREEN plants.
3. If I drink more than 2 sodas a day I get ocular migraines. (I see strange flashing distortions in one eye.)
4. My house is well-organized, but always a mess and sometimes downright dirty.
5. I love to play Literati. I used to have an impressive rating until I lost over 20 games in a row.
6. I've written one and a half (probably) unpublishable novels and never tried to sell them.
7. My favorite book of all time is Tom Robbins' Jitterbug Perfume.
8. I am a former US Marine, but you would never, ever guess that from looking at me.
9. I have 2 tattoos, both from my Marine Corps days. Most of the time I am embarrassed of them.
10. I dress like a casual nerd.
11. At first glance I look at least 10 years younger than I really am.
12. My hair stops only 2 1/2 inches shy of my waist.
13. I have been described as "intimidating" even though I am only 5 foot 1.
14. My eyes are the exact color of the canals of Venice...on a really cloudy day.
15. When we lived in Germany my Dodo got so horribly carsick we never got to see this.
16. I almost always hide how smart I really am, and I never volunteer information about how smart my kids are in the real world since it sometimes makes people freak out. I never, ever mention the word "gifted".
17. Homeschooling was the best decision I ever made. We love it.
18. If I had a different husband I'd probably have lots more kids.
19. I'd secretly like to become Jewish.
20. I am a good cook, but a lousy baker. My cakes taste fine but they always come out slanted.
amo, amas, amat
It's amazing how much little kids can learn just from being around the bigger ones.
Today Dodo and I were conjugating amo according to the song we learned from LfC.
If you aren't learning Latin from LfC I'll tell you it goes like this,
amo, amas, amat
amamus, amatis, amant
amo, amas, amat
amamus, amantis, amant
amo-I love
amas-you love
amat-he is loving
amamus-we love
amatis-you all love
amant-they are loving
If you've ever heard the LfC dvd you'll immediately know the tune, it is very familiar but I can't seem to think of it just now.
Well, anyway, as I was saying, we were chanting today and little Ugha was chanting right along with us! It was so cute.
Here is Ugha's version...
amo, amas, amat
amamus, amatis, amant
amo-I love
amas-you love
amat-he a muffin
amamus-we love
amatis-you-gulls love
amant-they a muffin
~EH
Today Dodo and I were conjugating amo according to the song we learned from LfC.
If you aren't learning Latin from LfC I'll tell you it goes like this,
amo, amas, amat
amamus, amatis, amant
amo, amas, amat
amamus, amantis, amant
amo-I love
amas-you love
amat-he is loving
amamus-we love
amatis-you all love
amant-they are loving
If you've ever heard the LfC dvd you'll immediately know the tune, it is very familiar but I can't seem to think of it just now.
Well, anyway, as I was saying, we were chanting today and little Ugha was chanting right along with us! It was so cute.
Here is Ugha's version...
amo, amas, amat
amamus, amatis, amant
amo-I love
amas-you love
amat-he a muffin
amamus-we love
amatis-you-gulls love
amant-they a muffin
~EH
Friday, June 16, 2006
Pre-history Planning Update
Okay, so I mentioned before that I was developing a pre-history curriculum for my rising first grade ds, who I don't feel is quite ready for SOTW 1 yet. (and also I am not quite ready to reteach it so soon) It is supposed to based on a blend of TWTM and montessori's cosmic curriculum, remember?
Since you readers do not really exist except inside my head I won't wait for a response. It was mostly rhetorical, anyway.
I've been toiling away at it and man it is much, much, much more work than I realized it would be.
I spent hours just paging through the science books we already own and trying to coordinate them chronologically.
I never realized what a mish-mash some of those books are. Especially the dinosaur books. They jump back and forth and upside-down and start with Cretaceous, dabble in the Jurassic dinosaurs , then back to Cretaceous...And the only way you'd ever know it is the tiny timeline boxes or charts that usually accompany the illustrations.
Sigh.
Here are the plans, still in early development and missing a few resources, but a bit more fleshed out than last post...
Unit One
The Story of the Universe and Solar System
The basic idea to all the units is this...We use the clock of eras as our spine, and progress through natural history as it evolved. We pull in books (some read by me, some by them) on topics as we encounter them and have a montessori free-work period for doing research and using any materials/experiments that have already been presented.
It all begins with
creation/big bang blend story script with props, pictures and demos ala Mario Montessori (nope, not a typo...It's her son)
from Children of the Universe
Selected resources to give you an idea
What is a Star? Do Stars have points? Life cycles of Stars brainpop and stellar evolution video
Born with a Bang
What's the world Made of?
Solid/liquid/gas experiment &demo
Galileo'ss Drop & who can beat Gravity?
Children of the Universe Script 2-Solar System
Magic School Bus Solar System
3D solar system, inflatable activities
What makes day and night?
Demo/experiment
Moon seems to change, moon cycle chart
What is the moon?
Brainpop movie eclipse
eclipse activity with inflatable SS
Planets
Magic school bus lost in space video
Solar system puzzle
Gid constellations book /stargaze
Field Trip: EPISD Planetarium and Space Exhibits
Memory Work: Planets in order from sun, and in order by size
Distance to the Sun
Distance to the moon
Phases of the Moon
songs from twin sisters Space Cd
Unit Two
The Story of The Earth
Children of the Universe Script 3 presentation with volcano demo
Begin clock of eras: The Hadean
Selected resources
How mountains are made
What is a mountain?
From Here to There
Eyewitness volcano movie
Fire and Ice mountain kit and activities
What is a volcano?
Why volcanoes blow their tops
Layers of the Earth
Rocks and Minerals
I am a rock
Lets go rock collecting
"Geology Field trip in a bag" activities
"Brother Air "--Everything Kids: air experiments
field trip-kite flying
"Sister Water "--
Waterdance
What is a river?
MSB at the Waterworks
Watercycle shower curtain and brainpop movie
What is rain?
What is an ocean?
Field trip-Rio Grande River & Elephant Butte Dam and manmade lake
Magic school bus Rocks and Rolls (if I can find it)
Erosion brainpop
Yahooligans weather brainpop movie
Caves and Caverns
I am a rock
ODYSSEY magazine
Carlsbad Caverns curriculum suggestions & web photos
What are Stalagtites?
Selected montessori-esqe activities to choose from
See here for ideas
Field trip: Carlsbad Caverns
Memory Work: Three types of rocks,
Seven continents by size
10 longest rivers by length
water cycle
Oceans
Unit Three
The Story of Life
part 1
(one-celled organisms up to the extinction of the dinosaurs)
Clock of Eras
From Lava to Life
Children of the Universe script 4
Long Black strip
(30 m of either black yarn or party streamer with 1 cm red to show age of earth/life time ratio)
Eyewitness Life movie
All about Fossils
Guide to Dinosaurs
1st encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Life
Dino Detectives
Archeology dig discussion/owl pellets (mimic an archeological dig)
Nature study-fossils with hands on activities (will post later)
"First Life: one celled"--
World in a drop of water
Bacteria farm kit & activities
Bacteria: The Good, the bad and the Ugly
Triops: Dino Shrimp activity/ nature study
Trilobites
Clams
Invertebrates classification chart
Sorting cards
nature study: Worms mix soil
Magic school bus coral reefs
Coral nature study
Scorpions nature study
Squids and Octopi
"Age of Fishes "
Prehistoric fish coloring book and tape set,
Big Creatures of the Past
Amazing World of Plants
Eyewitness Shark
Plants-moss
Making coal
Large insects (big creatures)
First lizard
First encylopedia
moss
Amphibians and reptiles
Classification chart
1st encyclopedia
I can read about prehistory
1st encyclopedia
prehistoric sea life coloring book and tape
plants conifers
dinosaurs cd, tape, coloring book
dinosaurs activity book (dover)
Magic School Bus in the Time of the Dinosaurs
Dinosaur days step 2
Graveyards of the Dinosaurs
Dinosaur dig
dinosaur skeleton foam (from Mindware-looks just like wood) puzzles
Guide to Dinosaurs
Ch 7 Dinos of land, sea , and air
Did Dinosaurs live in your backyard?
Dinosaur World
Toy dinosaurs collection for sorting/playing and name ID and matching and activity cards
finish Did dinosaurs live in your backyard?
finish 1st encyclopedia
finish News about dinos
Eyewitness Dinosaur movie
Walking with Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs before Dark
Field Trip: El Paso Natural History Museum @ UTEP
When the same book appears multiple times it means Ive had to separate sections by topic, I left the page numbers out for expediency's sake. Even if you imaginary readers really did exist and were interested, odds are you would be using a different set of resources, since many of my dinosaur books were bought second hand and are probably out of print.
I still have two more sections to plan: the Story of Life parts 2 and 3, and The Story of Man.
Since you readers do not really exist except inside my head I won't wait for a response. It was mostly rhetorical, anyway.
I've been toiling away at it and man it is much, much, much more work than I realized it would be.
I spent hours just paging through the science books we already own and trying to coordinate them chronologically.
I never realized what a mish-mash some of those books are. Especially the dinosaur books. They jump back and forth and upside-down and start with Cretaceous, dabble in the Jurassic dinosaurs , then back to Cretaceous...And the only way you'd ever know it is the tiny timeline boxes or charts that usually accompany the illustrations.
Sigh.
Here are the plans, still in early development and missing a few resources, but a bit more fleshed out than last post...
Unit One
The Story of the Universe and Solar System
The basic idea to all the units is this...We use the clock of eras as our spine, and progress through natural history as it evolved. We pull in books (some read by me, some by them) on topics as we encounter them and have a montessori free-work period for doing research and using any materials/experiments that have already been presented.
It all begins with
creation/big bang blend story script with props, pictures and demos ala Mario Montessori (nope, not a typo...It's her son)
from Children of the Universe
Selected resources to give you an idea
What is a Star? Do Stars have points? Life cycles of Stars brainpop and stellar evolution video
Born with a Bang
What's the world Made of?
Solid/liquid/gas experiment &demo
Galileo'ss Drop & who can beat Gravity?
Children of the Universe Script 2-Solar System
Magic School Bus Solar System
3D solar system, inflatable activities
What makes day and night?
Demo/experiment
Moon seems to change, moon cycle chart
What is the moon?
Brainpop movie eclipse
eclipse activity with inflatable SS
Planets
Magic school bus lost in space video
Solar system puzzle
Gid constellations book /stargaze
Field Trip: EPISD Planetarium and Space Exhibits
Memory Work: Planets in order from sun, and in order by size
Distance to the Sun
Distance to the moon
Phases of the Moon
songs from twin sisters Space Cd
Unit Two
The Story of The Earth
Children of the Universe Script 3 presentation with volcano demo
Begin clock of eras: The Hadean
Selected resources
How mountains are made
What is a mountain?
From Here to There
Eyewitness volcano movie
Fire and Ice mountain kit and activities
What is a volcano?
Why volcanoes blow their tops
Layers of the Earth
Rocks and Minerals
I am a rock
Lets go rock collecting
"Geology Field trip in a bag" activities
"Brother Air "--Everything Kids: air experiments
field trip-kite flying
"Sister Water "--
Waterdance
What is a river?
MSB at the Waterworks
Watercycle shower curtain and brainpop movie
What is rain?
What is an ocean?
Field trip-Rio Grande River & Elephant Butte Dam and manmade lake
Magic school bus Rocks and Rolls (if I can find it)
Erosion brainpop
Yahooligans weather brainpop movie
Caves and Caverns
I am a rock
ODYSSEY magazine
Carlsbad Caverns curriculum suggestions & web photos
What are Stalagtites?
Selected montessori-esqe activities to choose from
See here for ideas
Field trip: Carlsbad Caverns
Memory Work: Three types of rocks,
Seven continents by size
10 longest rivers by length
water cycle
Oceans
Unit Three
The Story of Life
part 1
(one-celled organisms up to the extinction of the dinosaurs)
Clock of Eras
From Lava to Life
Children of the Universe script 4
Long Black strip
(30 m of either black yarn or party streamer with 1 cm red to show age of earth/life time ratio)
Eyewitness Life movie
All about Fossils
Guide to Dinosaurs
1st encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Life
Dino Detectives
Archeology dig discussion/owl pellets (mimic an archeological dig)
Nature study-fossils with hands on activities (will post later)
"First Life: one celled"--
World in a drop of water
Bacteria farm kit & activities
Bacteria: The Good, the bad and the Ugly
Triops: Dino Shrimp activity/ nature study
Trilobites
Clams
Invertebrates classification chart
Sorting cards
nature study: Worms mix soil
Magic school bus coral reefs
Coral nature study
Scorpions nature study
Squids and Octopi
"Age of Fishes "
Prehistoric fish coloring book and tape set,
Big Creatures of the Past
Amazing World of Plants
Eyewitness Shark
Plants-moss
Making coal
Large insects (big creatures)
First lizard
First encylopedia
moss
Amphibians and reptiles
Classification chart
1st encyclopedia
I can read about prehistory
1st encyclopedia
prehistoric sea life coloring book and tape
plants conifers
dinosaurs cd, tape, coloring book
dinosaurs activity book (dover)
Magic School Bus in the Time of the Dinosaurs
Dinosaur days step 2
Graveyards of the Dinosaurs
Dinosaur dig
dinosaur skeleton foam (from Mindware-looks just like wood) puzzles
Guide to Dinosaurs
Ch 7 Dinos of land, sea , and air
Did Dinosaurs live in your backyard?
Dinosaur World
Toy dinosaurs collection for sorting/playing and name ID and matching and activity cards
finish Did dinosaurs live in your backyard?
finish 1st encyclopedia
finish News about dinos
Eyewitness Dinosaur movie
Walking with Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs before Dark
Field Trip: El Paso Natural History Museum @ UTEP
Memory Work: Animal Classification, songs from twin sisters Dinosaurs and Zoology, common dinosaurs names &ID, Triassic-Jurassic-Cretaceous, carnevore/herbivore/omnivore
That's as far as I've gotten.
When the same book appears multiple times it means Ive had to separate sections by topic, I left the page numbers out for expediency's sake. Even if you imaginary readers really did exist and were interested, odds are you would be using a different set of resources, since many of my dinosaur books were bought second hand and are probably out of print.
I still have two more sections to plan: the Story of Life parts 2 and 3, and The Story of Man.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Children of the Universe
If you haven't heard from me lately that's because I have been trekking all over the internet trying desperately to find out more about the montessori "cosmic" curriculum.
All I could find were vague generalities about it how it was a chronological elementary study cycle which began at Creation/Big Bang, and segued from astronomy to physics to geology, archeology & geography into biology and ultimately history. I kept reading allusions to the "5 great lessons" but I was having a terrible time trying to figure out exactly what the heck those were, and how they were taught.
I finally found a (kooky new-age) website called "We are all made of Stardust" which was some sort of freaky montessori cult run by a catholic priest and a pagan lady (at least that's what they looked like from the photos) who tour the country speaking at "schools and open-minded churches".
It reminded me a little bit of all that scary psudo-religion you see when you scratch the surface of those "Waldorf" schools. The site did had some interesting skit scripts for a small group of children and an adult to act out with interesting topics of the topics like the life cycles of stars or extinct animals (and not the common ones either). It was interesting, but not what I was looking for. I was looking for a lot less "ritual" and a lot more structure (and science).
10,000 websites later and still no luck.
Finally I stumbled upon a review of a book called Children of the Universe , which seemed to be exactly what I needed.
I promptly ordered ordered it direct from parent-child press, and paid full-price. This should tell you just how desperately I wanted to read it. I can't even remember the last time I paid full price for a book. It must have been before I discovered Amazon.com and Booksamillion, and I can't for the life of me remember a time without them.
Anyway...
It much closer to what I was looking for, although not perfect.
After reading I was still left with many lingering questions, but it wasn't a total waste of money, since for each of the "great lessons" the book included a narrative and suggestions for visual aids and demonstrations showing how the montessori teacher might introduce the lesson. These were a nice blend of non-denominational spiritualism and hard science, and even better they tied the whole of what I was trying to accomplish together in a nice psudo-spinal way.
So my curriculum is starting to get some structure at last.
Each unit will begin with the script/demo and end with a local field trip, and in between we will have that same chronological combination of shared reading, independent reading, narrations, memory work, and hands-on activities that I so love about SOTW.
The topics covered in the book are
Cosmic Education: What it is and Why we teach it
Evolution and Cosmic Education
Cosmic Education and the Cultural Curriculum
The Story of the Universe
The Story of the Solar System
The Story of the Earth
The Story of Life
The Story of Humans
The Story of Civilizations
Cosmic Education and the Future
Appendix 1 - Scope and Sequence
Appendix 2 - Classroom Resources
Glossary
References
But I only plan to take it to the end of Story of Humans and then next year begin SOTW 1 with him.
The tail end of the book was a collosal waste of time. The scope and sequence in appendix 1 didn't make much sense to me, it took a nice, logical, linear progression and jumbled it up over haphazardly over several years. And the resources were too few, and too outdated. Like I said, the best part of the book are the scripts.
It also lacked a certain amount of depth of coverage of the curriculum that I have come to hope for (and find lacking) in most curriculum books since reading TWTM. Few resources live up to that standard, unfortunately.
I really wish there was a WTM-style book which covered this, but for now I will have to make it up as I go along.
It seems so hard to me, but really all I am doing is compiling a massivly organized year-long unit study. Or a series of unit-studies. A long series of massively organized unit studies. A really long series of...
~EH
All I could find were vague generalities about it how it was a chronological elementary study cycle which began at Creation/Big Bang, and segued from astronomy to physics to geology, archeology & geography into biology and ultimately history. I kept reading allusions to the "5 great lessons" but I was having a terrible time trying to figure out exactly what the heck those were, and how they were taught.
I finally found a (kooky new-age) website called "We are all made of Stardust" which was some sort of freaky montessori cult run by a catholic priest and a pagan lady (at least that's what they looked like from the photos) who tour the country speaking at "schools and open-minded churches".
It reminded me a little bit of all that scary psudo-religion you see when you scratch the surface of those "Waldorf" schools. The site did had some interesting skit scripts for a small group of children and an adult to act out with interesting topics of the topics like the life cycles of stars or extinct animals (and not the common ones either). It was interesting, but not what I was looking for. I was looking for a lot less "ritual" and a lot more structure (and science).
10,000 websites later and still no luck.
Finally I stumbled upon a review of a book called Children of the Universe , which seemed to be exactly what I needed.
I promptly ordered ordered it direct from parent-child press, and paid full-price. This should tell you just how desperately I wanted to read it. I can't even remember the last time I paid full price for a book. It must have been before I discovered Amazon.com and Booksamillion, and I can't for the life of me remember a time without them.
Anyway...
It much closer to what I was looking for, although not perfect.
After reading I was still left with many lingering questions, but it wasn't a total waste of money, since for each of the "great lessons" the book included a narrative and suggestions for visual aids and demonstrations showing how the montessori teacher might introduce the lesson. These were a nice blend of non-denominational spiritualism and hard science, and even better they tied the whole of what I was trying to accomplish together in a nice psudo-spinal way.
So my curriculum is starting to get some structure at last.
Each unit will begin with the script/demo and end with a local field trip, and in between we will have that same chronological combination of shared reading, independent reading, narrations, memory work, and hands-on activities that I so love about SOTW.
The topics covered in the book are
Cosmic Education: What it is and Why we teach it
Evolution and Cosmic Education
Cosmic Education and the Cultural Curriculum
The Story of the Universe
The Story of the Solar System
The Story of the Earth
The Story of Life
The Story of Humans
The Story of Civilizations
Cosmic Education and the Future
Appendix 1 - Scope and Sequence
Appendix 2 - Classroom Resources
Glossary
References
But I only plan to take it to the end of Story of Humans and then next year begin SOTW 1 with him.
The tail end of the book was a collosal waste of time. The scope and sequence in appendix 1 didn't make much sense to me, it took a nice, logical, linear progression and jumbled it up over haphazardly over several years. And the resources were too few, and too outdated. Like I said, the best part of the book are the scripts.
It also lacked a certain amount of depth of coverage of the curriculum that I have come to hope for (and find lacking) in most curriculum books since reading TWTM. Few resources live up to that standard, unfortunately.
I really wish there was a WTM-style book which covered this, but for now I will have to make it up as I go along.
It seems so hard to me, but really all I am doing is compiling a massivly organized year-long unit study. Or a series of unit-studies. A long series of massively organized unit studies. A really long series of...
~EH
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Some Tips and Tricks from 2005-2006
1) Sand glued to the backs of paper/cardstock materials makes them work perfectly on a flannelboard. I've also heard that dryer lint works but haven't attempted itmyself yet. If you don't have a flannelboard but would like one, don't waste your money on an already made version like this, instead buy a piece of posterboard (the kind with the foam center), and cover it with a yard of felt or flannel for a total of about 3 dollars at walmart. Or you could cut up an old box, use an old picture frame or ceiling tile, a cereal box, or even the back of a bookcase and cover with felt.
2)Walmart sometimes has packs of 10 yellow gluesticks in a strip for $1.00, which is an even better deal than the 4 packs from Dollar Tree. I found them up near the checkouts in the bargain-bins and stocked up.
3)Don't buy an Epson Stylus CX6400 all-in-one unless you are prepared to spend 50 dollars every other month on ink cartridges. Sadly it's too late for me.
4)Mr. Clean magic erasers can clean permanent markers, dye, and paint off of wood tables or chairs super easily, and they are completely odor free!
5) If you have a list of things your child needs extra help keeping straight or in memorizing in order and you want the practice to be fun you can use packaging tape on your wooden blocks and write each item on a block and the child can practice stacking them in order. You could also make a strip showing the order of the answers and the child can check his/her own work. We are using this to learn the Stairway of Time.
6)A child-sized carpet sweeper is handy if your schoolroom is carpeted. Children can clean up their own messes without disturbing the others who are still working. Ours is a huge help.
7)If you have rabbits you can put a small amount of non-scoopable (the cheaper stuff, it's nontoxic) cat litter in their bathroom corner or box under their usual bedding. It cuts the odor down to almost nothing and keeps the whole cage area fresher for longer.
8)You can get 25 lbs of magic mud from Dick Blick for 30 dollars (This is a huge amount of clay). This stuff is just like the big blocks of natural clay you remember from your school art classes and it air dries beautifully without a kiln. It feels fantastic (much better texture than a polymer clay like sculpey or regular modelling clay) and even if it dries out you can crumble it up and add water and it is back in action. You can paint it or glaze it after it's dry.
9)Have kids use dry erase crayons for your wipe-able books/cards/placemats instead of markers and you won't have to worry about replacing expensive markers when the kids put them away with the caps left off or improperly sealed. Oh, and these are the BEST whiteboard markers ever.
10)Watercolor crayons create a much cleaner/neater finished painting than traditional watercolors for younger children who sometimes make the paint too watery and get frustrated when it runs. They can make their own "paint with water" books this way too.
2)Walmart sometimes has packs of 10 yellow gluesticks in a strip for $1.00, which is an even better deal than the 4 packs from Dollar Tree. I found them up near the checkouts in the bargain-bins and stocked up.
3)Don't buy an Epson Stylus CX6400 all-in-one unless you are prepared to spend 50 dollars every other month on ink cartridges. Sadly it's too late for me.
4)Mr. Clean magic erasers can clean permanent markers, dye, and paint off of wood tables or chairs super easily, and they are completely odor free!
5) If you have a list of things your child needs extra help keeping straight or in memorizing in order and you want the practice to be fun you can use packaging tape on your wooden blocks and write each item on a block and the child can practice stacking them in order. You could also make a strip showing the order of the answers and the child can check his/her own work. We are using this to learn the Stairway of Time.
6)A child-sized carpet sweeper is handy if your schoolroom is carpeted. Children can clean up their own messes without disturbing the others who are still working. Ours is a huge help.
7)If you have rabbits you can put a small amount of non-scoopable (the cheaper stuff, it's nontoxic) cat litter in their bathroom corner or box under their usual bedding. It cuts the odor down to almost nothing and keeps the whole cage area fresher for longer.
8)You can get 25 lbs of magic mud from Dick Blick for 30 dollars (This is a huge amount of clay). This stuff is just like the big blocks of natural clay you remember from your school art classes and it air dries beautifully without a kiln. It feels fantastic (much better texture than a polymer clay like sculpey or regular modelling clay) and even if it dries out you can crumble it up and add water and it is back in action. You can paint it or glaze it after it's dry.
9)Have kids use dry erase crayons for your wipe-able books/cards/placemats instead of markers and you won't have to worry about replacing expensive markers when the kids put them away with the caps left off or improperly sealed. Oh, and these are the BEST whiteboard markers ever.
10)Watercolor crayons create a much cleaner/neater finished painting than traditional watercolors for younger children who sometimes make the paint too watery and get frustrated when it runs. They can make their own "paint with water" books this way too.
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Package-palooza '06
The buying frenzy has begun!
Of course Ssgt Eccentric would say his bank statements claim it never ended. That would be a gross exaggeration.
Don't you dare believe anything that spews out of that man's lying mouth.
Well maybe not quite a gross exaggeration, exactly.
More like...
um...
minor?
Okay, okay, he'd be pretty close to the truth.
Okay, he'd be RIGHT.
Are you happy now?
Are you?!! ARE YOU?!!!?!!!
Whoo-hoo, my bipolar swing is finally heading back towards the middle, what a relief. Excuse my breakdown. Back to your regularly scheduled post.
He would surely have attempted to put an end to it once and for all had he been anywhere near to the same continent as his bank account this past year.
But he wasn't.
If there is an upside to war, the uncensored curriculum buying free-for-all is it. It's pretty darn-near impossible to replace a living, breathing husband with an orgy of online shopping, but that doesn't stop me from trying. and trying. and trying.
So, anyway, here are some of my pending deliveries for the month of June...I'll post reviews next month for all my loyal, nonexistant readers.
Artistic Persuits K-3
and coordinating art supplies
Spelling Power
2 spelling power notebooks
This one we really did need.
Walter Canis Inflatus : Water the Farting Dog in Latin
An elitist and highbrow introduction to reading the Latin classics we couldn't live without, I thought. I think Ssgt Eccentric would agree, how could he not? I don't normally allow that sort of mind-rot garbage reading in English (capt undershorts and his ilk springs to mind) but this was way too amusing to miss. The eccentric children are going to love this one.
Latin for Children level A curriculum package that includes book, teacher guide, dvds, activity book, Cds and a history reader
Latina Christiana I teacher's guide and CD
I got a great price on this used, so I got it even though I loathe the southern-accented Cds. We really liked Prima Latina, except for the aforementioned CD, so even though I had already ordered LfC I am thinking of using both, but just skipping the LC workbook and doing excersizes orally or on the markerboard.
A boxed set of 6 prehistoric coloring books and 6 coordinating story tapes to go with them
A prehistoric colorable wall timeline
Children of the Universe
This is a book about the montessori cosmic education curriculum that I am going to tweak and eccentricize to suit my evolving (pun intended) plan for a year of pre-history for ds.
I also ordered a bunch of books and activities to go along with this theme, which is sort of like a SOTW approach to prehistory only technically it is science. Am I confusing you yet? Well, I don't have it all fleshed out yet (hense this book) but basically what we are going to do is cover everything that scientists (and other people) think happened before SOTW 1 chronologically from the beginning of time. Start with the big bang (and genesis and other creation myths) and proceed through evolution. As we hit upon interesting topics we will pull in other books and resources (kits, science experiments, coloring pages etc). The way I figure it we should cover the following topics in roughly this order (a lot depends on our spine which is still TBD, but I am leaning towards the sharing nature with children series Born with a Bang, From Lava to Life and Mammals who Morph, but I haven't seen these in person yet. I am also considering the Usborne Prehistoric World ).
Creation
The Universe
The Solar System
--gravity, day/night cycles, etc
The Earth
--earth science, volcanoes, geology
Life on Earth
--the basics of evolutionary thought
--life science as we encounter them
-----for example, when we learn about one-celled life from our spine, we read about protozoa and bacteria and then we can use our microscope and bacteria farm. Later on we learn about the first creatures of the sea, then amphibians, then reptiles (DINOSAURS!), ad nauseum. We will probably spend several months on the dinosaurs alone. Then prehistoric mammals, and eventually we will hit upon human evolution, and learn about prehistoric humans.
Of course Ssgt Eccentric would say his bank statements claim it never ended. That would be a gross exaggeration.
Don't you dare believe anything that spews out of that man's lying mouth.
Well maybe not quite a gross exaggeration, exactly.
More like...
um...
minor?
Okay, okay, he'd be pretty close to the truth.
Okay, he'd be RIGHT.
Are you happy now?
Are you?!! ARE YOU?!!!?!!!
Whoo-hoo, my bipolar swing is finally heading back towards the middle, what a relief. Excuse my breakdown. Back to your regularly scheduled post.
He would surely have attempted to put an end to it once and for all had he been anywhere near to the same continent as his bank account this past year.
But he wasn't.
If there is an upside to war, the uncensored curriculum buying free-for-all is it. It's pretty darn-near impossible to replace a living, breathing husband with an orgy of online shopping, but that doesn't stop me from trying. and trying. and trying.
So, anyway, here are some of my pending deliveries for the month of June...I'll post reviews next month for all my loyal, nonexistant readers.
Artistic Persuits K-3
and coordinating art supplies
Spelling Power
2 spelling power notebooks
This one we really did need.
Walter Canis Inflatus : Water the Farting Dog in Latin
An elitist and highbrow introduction to reading the Latin classics we couldn't live without, I thought. I think Ssgt Eccentric would agree, how could he not? I don't normally allow that sort of mind-rot garbage reading in English (capt undershorts and his ilk springs to mind) but this was way too amusing to miss. The eccentric children are going to love this one.
Latin for Children level A curriculum package that includes book, teacher guide, dvds, activity book, Cds and a history reader
Latina Christiana I teacher's guide and CD
I got a great price on this used, so I got it even though I loathe the southern-accented Cds. We really liked Prima Latina, except for the aforementioned CD, so even though I had already ordered LfC I am thinking of using both, but just skipping the LC workbook and doing excersizes orally or on the markerboard.
A boxed set of 6 prehistoric coloring books and 6 coordinating story tapes to go with them
A prehistoric colorable wall timeline
Children of the Universe
This is a book about the montessori cosmic education curriculum that I am going to tweak and eccentricize to suit my evolving (pun intended) plan for a year of pre-history for ds.
I also ordered a bunch of books and activities to go along with this theme, which is sort of like a SOTW approach to prehistory only technically it is science. Am I confusing you yet? Well, I don't have it all fleshed out yet (hense this book) but basically what we are going to do is cover everything that scientists (and other people) think happened before SOTW 1 chronologically from the beginning of time. Start with the big bang (and genesis and other creation myths) and proceed through evolution. As we hit upon interesting topics we will pull in other books and resources (kits, science experiments, coloring pages etc). The way I figure it we should cover the following topics in roughly this order (a lot depends on our spine which is still TBD, but I am leaning towards the sharing nature with children series Born with a Bang, From Lava to Life and Mammals who Morph, but I haven't seen these in person yet. I am also considering the Usborne Prehistoric World ).
Creation
The Universe
The Solar System
--gravity, day/night cycles, etc
The Earth
--earth science, volcanoes, geology
Life on Earth
--the basics of evolutionary thought
--life science as we encounter them
-----for example, when we learn about one-celled life from our spine, we read about protozoa and bacteria and then we can use our microscope and bacteria farm. Later on we learn about the first creatures of the sea, then amphibians, then reptiles (DINOSAURS!), ad nauseum. We will probably spend several months on the dinosaurs alone. Then prehistoric mammals, and eventually we will hit upon human evolution, and learn about prehistoric humans.
Friday, June 09, 2006
Itinerary for our summer day
1) wake between 8:30 and 9:00 am, see that all the eccentric pets are fed and watered check
2) eat something, most likely in the cereal/cereal bar +fruit family check
3) gather swimsuits off the wrought iron courtyard fence (Yep, we really are that classy.) check
4) kids dress for pool check
5) re-dress Ugha so all key anatomical parts are covered this time check
6) pack contraband snacks and bury them under towels check
7) fill up water jug with ice water check
8) stuff towels into 2 month old 20 dollar pool bag, lament the broken straps which were hasily tied together and wonder if we could possibly be more white-trash check
9) take a good, hard look at the state of the eccentric children's hair and answer #8 with a definite "No." check
10) spend 20 minutes trying to find shoes, yet only find a total of seven. I could have sworn there were 8 when I bought them. Oh well, it's only the pool. At least I have my shoes this time. check
11) pile into the dusty van. realize that it drizzled just enough during the night to give my van a nice breading of sand, like a large black chicken nugget. Think guiltily of what SSGt Eccentric would have to say about the state of cleanliness were he not busy lying on a mountainside in Afghanistan wondering why the afghanis make strange underpants-like garments for their goats. check
12) consider washing aforementioned van all the while acknowledging it is not likely to happen anytime soon. check
13)10:00 am arrive at poolside Ugha and Goat begin lessons. Dodo cavorts ecstatically like a spastic porpoise in the 3 feet area. check
14)10:30 Dodo's lessons, and Ugha and Scote put on their lifejacket suits (Spiderman and butterlflies) and head to the shallows. I read a little of Confederacy of Dunces, but mostly just vegetate in the shade.
15)11:45 we pack up and head home, hang swimsuits and towels on the fence to dry and head in for lunch check
16)1:00pm Dodo and I do Latin while Scote plays einstein Jr, rosetta stone, or zoombinis on the computer check
17)1:30pm Dodo and I do history while Scote and Ugha devise a game that involves underpants, plastic insects, a puppet named Professor Boo-tee Cack, and a broken vaccum. I decide I already know too much about this game for my own mental health, and choose to ignore it so long as they are reasonably quiet. check
18) 2:30pm I read aloud from Prince Siddartha : the Story of Buddah while the three eccentric children color and listen quietly at the table. check
19) 3:00pm Ugha plays with blocks, and Goat and Dodo are "writing books" at the table. They are allowed to do anything at this point, except TV or video games. I hit Yahoo! games and watch my once glorious Literati rating sink into mediocrity. check
20) 4:00 pm The kiddos are now "free". This means they can now watch PBS kids or videos. The video games are "broken" (i.e. "unplugged") right now from being played too much by Scote. check
21) 5:30 pm eat fancy home-cooked meal of boxed mac and cheese, fishsticks and lima beans that no one will touch except me check
22)5:45 pm kids go into the backyard for the further adventures of Professor Boo-Tee Cack. I consider cleaning, but decide I must bring up myLiterati rating first. check
23) 6:30 "Back of the House" time. Eccentric kids can do whatever they like, so long as they don't fight and stay in someone's room and don't come out to bother me. check
24) 8:30 read a picture book and read and discuss one chapter from The Hobbit. check
2) eat something, most likely in the cereal/cereal bar +fruit family check
3) gather swimsuits off the wrought iron courtyard fence (Yep, we really are that classy.) check
4) kids dress for pool check
5) re-dress Ugha so all key anatomical parts are covered this time check
6) pack contraband snacks and bury them under towels check
7) fill up water jug with ice water check
8) stuff towels into 2 month old 20 dollar pool bag, lament the broken straps which were hasily tied together and wonder if we could possibly be more white-trash check
9) take a good, hard look at the state of the eccentric children's hair and answer #8 with a definite "No." check
10) spend 20 minutes trying to find shoes, yet only find a total of seven. I could have sworn there were 8 when I bought them. Oh well, it's only the pool. At least I have my shoes this time. check
11) pile into the dusty van. realize that it drizzled just enough during the night to give my van a nice breading of sand, like a large black chicken nugget. Think guiltily of what SSGt Eccentric would have to say about the state of cleanliness were he not busy lying on a mountainside in Afghanistan wondering why the afghanis make strange underpants-like garments for their goats. check
12) consider washing aforementioned van all the while acknowledging it is not likely to happen anytime soon. check
13)10:00 am arrive at poolside Ugha and Goat begin lessons. Dodo cavorts ecstatically like a spastic porpoise in the 3 feet area. check
14)10:30 Dodo's lessons, and Ugha and Scote put on their lifejacket suits (Spiderman and butterlflies) and head to the shallows. I read a little of Confederacy of Dunces, but mostly just vegetate in the shade.
15)11:45 we pack up and head home, hang swimsuits and towels on the fence to dry and head in for lunch check
16)1:00pm Dodo and I do Latin while Scote plays einstein Jr, rosetta stone, or zoombinis on the computer check
17)1:30pm Dodo and I do history while Scote and Ugha devise a game that involves underpants, plastic insects, a puppet named Professor Boo-tee Cack, and a broken vaccum. I decide I already know too much about this game for my own mental health, and choose to ignore it so long as they are reasonably quiet. check
18) 2:30pm I read aloud from Prince Siddartha : the Story of Buddah while the three eccentric children color and listen quietly at the table. check
19) 3:00pm Ugha plays with blocks, and Goat and Dodo are "writing books" at the table. They are allowed to do anything at this point, except TV or video games. I hit Yahoo! games and watch my once glorious Literati rating sink into mediocrity. check
20) 4:00 pm The kiddos are now "free". This means they can now watch PBS kids or videos. The video games are "broken" (i.e. "unplugged") right now from being played too much by Scote. check
21) 5:30 pm eat fancy home-cooked meal of boxed mac and cheese, fishsticks and lima beans that no one will touch except me check
22)5:45 pm kids go into the backyard for the further adventures of Professor Boo-Tee Cack. I consider cleaning, but decide I must bring up myLiterati rating first. check
23) 6:30 "Back of the House" time. Eccentric kids can do whatever they like, so long as they don't fight and stay in someone's room and don't come out to bother me. check
24) 8:30 read a picture book and read and discuss one chapter from The Hobbit. check
Monday, June 05, 2006
The Latin-Centered Curriculum Quandry
The release of The Latin-Centered Curriculum from the (twangy, hillbilly-accented) people over at Memoria Press seems to reopened that old classical vs neo-classical can of worms, and most of us teetering-on-the-brink worms seem caught somewhere in the middle scratching our wormly heads with our tails in a semi-permanent, "Yes, but..." state.
Or at least I am.
Or am I?
I really can't seem to decide either way.
+Part of the problem is the sheer persuasive power of the classical-educationalists.
Studying rhetoric obviously has its advantages, I won't argue that, but it is also possible to manipulate and distort reality through rhetoric. Hitler was a very persuasive and charismatic leader, with many loyal followers, he must have said things that made sense to his people on some level. But there must have been some people scratching their heads and saying, "Yes, but..."
(No, I don't think the Memoria Press folks are evil dictators set on world domination. I quite liked their Prima Latina, and would recommend their products...I am just philosophizing on their ideas of what education should be.)
It is just like the purpose of the Socratic Method. You use carefully chosen questions to determine what the other person believes, then you use questions to break down his confidence in those beliefs and replace them with a "closer approximation" to reality.
But who's "closer approximation" of reality is it you are installing here? There is no such thing as an objective reality, so obviously you are attempting to make the other person think more like you, or more like Aristotle or whoever you happen to be studying at the time. This is not without its dangers.
I'm not arguing that it isn't beneficial for helping a developing child grow intellectually and gaining a grasp on the complexity of the adult perception of the world, but what happens when you do this to an adult?
Couldn't you conceivably supplant a perfectly reasonable and functional perception of reality with your own, different version not for growth, but for, say, the sale of your books and materials or the spread of your religious worldview?
Just a thought.
+Another thing that has me second-guessing the validity of their version of a "truly classical" education is the fact that while it is based on the education of the rich young boys of Athens and Rome, this form of education was developed predominantly in the medieval times, more specifically in the monasteries. I can think of some other things (the crusades, the Spanish Inquisition) which also developed of this era that I wholeheartedly disagree with.
They didn't call them the "dark ages" for nothing.
Now, this doesn't mean it is not a valid method, or not worth considering, but saying something is worthwhile simply because it is old and has survived so long is silly.
Now correct me if I am wrong, but the middle ages are not particularly well-known for their intellectual enlightenment. Are they really arguing that the people of the middle ages were more intelligent than modern men living in the information age?
To compare the relatively small populations of educated elites in classical Greece or the medieval monasteries to the billions of people in the modern West is hugely unfair.
If we were to segregate the sons of the rich and highly educated and send only them to public school from the age of 10 or 12 while all the "peasants" and girls stayed home I have no doubt they would be suitably advanced. You notice they never mention the learning levels of the 5-12 year old children of beggars, prostitutes, and peasants of the middle ages, yet man students in our public schools are just that. The teachers are forced to concentrate on those poor unfortunates and the other kids’ needs get neglected. (okay, the prevalent anti-intellectualism in our culture plays a part in that neglect as well, but I am getting off topic here).
And while a monastery education was quite the thing for a medieval monk, I am not so sure it is relevant for a 6 year old child in a well-educated, enriched, modern home in the year 2006.
I mean, think about it. I am sure that in those times, learning to illuminate a manuscript (and read and write them) was extremely beneficial for developing the aesthetic sense, small motor-control, visual discrimination etc. but should we then dedicate the next 12 years focusing on that? We could "bring in" other things as they pertain to the manuscript they are so diligently working on, like perhaps weaving a tapestry, spinning wool, or teaching them to hunt wild boar.
Just think of all the nature study they could learn hunting grouse or all the knowledge of anatomy they'd gain if we bought cadavers from the peasants to dissect in our dungeons, why they might even discover the miracle cure of leeching, or maybe laudanum! Maybe through our study of classical Rome they will discover what a tasty food additive lead is, and how beneficial as a building material for water pipes. After all, they never studied science except as it relates to classical times, so they wouldn’t know any better.
To act like there have been no development in thought worthy of study in the last 2000 years is insane.
And for PE they could run around in their 200 lbs of war armor or ride their war ponies, battle each other with little wooden swords!
Monasteries were like an oasis from the surrounding darkness, I get that.
They had libraries full of classical and biblical texts not because they were the best but because that's all there was. They learned Latin, not so they could develop their powers of thought, but so they could be "educated" ie so they could READ those texts.
It was (and is) through the actual reading of meaty texts and literature and the thinking about and using numbers and problem solving that the facilities of the mind were (are) honed. The content, far from being second to the acquisition of the tools, is the PURPOSE of learning those skills. The REASON for those skills.
Phonics is extremely beneficial, as is grammar, as is Latin...but they are just tools, means to an end.
And that end is reading and studying what the greatest minds of all time have to say about the world. We teach them math so they can solve problems and untangle puzzles, maybe discover some new truths of the world. We teach them logic so they can make sense of what they read and hear, know if a writer or speaker makes sense or doesn't. We teach them Latin so they will develop proficiency with languages (our own included) and have daily mental challenge to encourage mental growth. We teach them History so they will see the world and time from a broader perspective than the one at the ends of their noses, so they will be exposed to the most meaningful stories, so they can learn from the past and understand the present.
What possible sense is there to concentrating exclusively on classical history? You have the benefit of not seeing some of the evils that have sprung out of Christianity in the last 2000 years, I guess.
You also miss the whole sweep of growth and change that has taken place. Never in history have things changed so much in so little time, have so many advancements and improvements in daily life happened, and you want to ignore all that and focus on the Greek Gods?
Personally, I love Greek Mythology. I love Latin, and Philosophy. I want to share those things with my children. I think any educated person in modern times should be exposed to those things. I can also see the benefit of systematic, persistent Latin instruction to the mastery level.
But I can't see ignoring 2,000 years of history, mathematical and scientific advancement in favor of it.
Hmm. Guess I am not on the fence at all, am I?
Neo-classicists here, and darn proud of it!
Or at least I am.
Or am I?
I really can't seem to decide either way.
+Part of the problem is the sheer persuasive power of the classical-educationalists.
Studying rhetoric obviously has its advantages, I won't argue that, but it is also possible to manipulate and distort reality through rhetoric. Hitler was a very persuasive and charismatic leader, with many loyal followers, he must have said things that made sense to his people on some level. But there must have been some people scratching their heads and saying, "Yes, but..."
(No, I don't think the Memoria Press folks are evil dictators set on world domination. I quite liked their Prima Latina, and would recommend their products...I am just philosophizing on their ideas of what education should be.)
It is just like the purpose of the Socratic Method. You use carefully chosen questions to determine what the other person believes, then you use questions to break down his confidence in those beliefs and replace them with a "closer approximation" to reality.
But who's "closer approximation" of reality is it you are installing here? There is no such thing as an objective reality, so obviously you are attempting to make the other person think more like you, or more like Aristotle or whoever you happen to be studying at the time. This is not without its dangers.
I'm not arguing that it isn't beneficial for helping a developing child grow intellectually and gaining a grasp on the complexity of the adult perception of the world, but what happens when you do this to an adult?
Couldn't you conceivably supplant a perfectly reasonable and functional perception of reality with your own, different version not for growth, but for, say, the sale of your books and materials or the spread of your religious worldview?
Just a thought.
+Another thing that has me second-guessing the validity of their version of a "truly classical" education is the fact that while it is based on the education of the rich young boys of Athens and Rome, this form of education was developed predominantly in the medieval times, more specifically in the monasteries. I can think of some other things (the crusades, the Spanish Inquisition) which also developed of this era that I wholeheartedly disagree with.
They didn't call them the "dark ages" for nothing.
Now, this doesn't mean it is not a valid method, or not worth considering, but saying something is worthwhile simply because it is old and has survived so long is silly.
Now correct me if I am wrong, but the middle ages are not particularly well-known for their intellectual enlightenment. Are they really arguing that the people of the middle ages were more intelligent than modern men living in the information age?
To compare the relatively small populations of educated elites in classical Greece or the medieval monasteries to the billions of people in the modern West is hugely unfair.
If we were to segregate the sons of the rich and highly educated and send only them to public school from the age of 10 or 12 while all the "peasants" and girls stayed home I have no doubt they would be suitably advanced. You notice they never mention the learning levels of the 5-12 year old children of beggars, prostitutes, and peasants of the middle ages, yet man students in our public schools are just that. The teachers are forced to concentrate on those poor unfortunates and the other kids’ needs get neglected. (okay, the prevalent anti-intellectualism in our culture plays a part in that neglect as well, but I am getting off topic here).
And while a monastery education was quite the thing for a medieval monk, I am not so sure it is relevant for a 6 year old child in a well-educated, enriched, modern home in the year 2006.
I mean, think about it. I am sure that in those times, learning to illuminate a manuscript (and read and write them) was extremely beneficial for developing the aesthetic sense, small motor-control, visual discrimination etc. but should we then dedicate the next 12 years focusing on that? We could "bring in" other things as they pertain to the manuscript they are so diligently working on, like perhaps weaving a tapestry, spinning wool, or teaching them to hunt wild boar.
Just think of all the nature study they could learn hunting grouse or all the knowledge of anatomy they'd gain if we bought cadavers from the peasants to dissect in our dungeons, why they might even discover the miracle cure of leeching, or maybe laudanum! Maybe through our study of classical Rome they will discover what a tasty food additive lead is, and how beneficial as a building material for water pipes. After all, they never studied science except as it relates to classical times, so they wouldn’t know any better.
To act like there have been no development in thought worthy of study in the last 2000 years is insane.
And for PE they could run around in their 200 lbs of war armor or ride their war ponies, battle each other with little wooden swords!
Monasteries were like an oasis from the surrounding darkness, I get that.
They had libraries full of classical and biblical texts not because they were the best but because that's all there was. They learned Latin, not so they could develop their powers of thought, but so they could be "educated" ie so they could READ those texts.
It was (and is) through the actual reading of meaty texts and literature and the thinking about and using numbers and problem solving that the facilities of the mind were (are) honed. The content, far from being second to the acquisition of the tools, is the PURPOSE of learning those skills. The REASON for those skills.
Phonics is extremely beneficial, as is grammar, as is Latin...but they are just tools, means to an end.
And that end is reading and studying what the greatest minds of all time have to say about the world. We teach them math so they can solve problems and untangle puzzles, maybe discover some new truths of the world. We teach them logic so they can make sense of what they read and hear, know if a writer or speaker makes sense or doesn't. We teach them Latin so they will develop proficiency with languages (our own included) and have daily mental challenge to encourage mental growth. We teach them History so they will see the world and time from a broader perspective than the one at the ends of their noses, so they will be exposed to the most meaningful stories, so they can learn from the past and understand the present.
What possible sense is there to concentrating exclusively on classical history? You have the benefit of not seeing some of the evils that have sprung out of Christianity in the last 2000 years, I guess.
You also miss the whole sweep of growth and change that has taken place. Never in history have things changed so much in so little time, have so many advancements and improvements in daily life happened, and you want to ignore all that and focus on the Greek Gods?
Personally, I love Greek Mythology. I love Latin, and Philosophy. I want to share those things with my children. I think any educated person in modern times should be exposed to those things. I can also see the benefit of systematic, persistent Latin instruction to the mastery level.
But I can't see ignoring 2,000 years of history, mathematical and scientific advancement in favor of it.
Hmm. Guess I am not on the fence at all, am I?
Neo-classicists here, and darn proud of it!
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