The Curriculum Choice

Kristen

First Language Lesons for the Well-Trained Mind (Levels 1 and 2)

Classical, Language Arts, Writing 5 Responses »

Sep 102009

I pulled an old friend off the shelf today. I’m starting First Language Lessons with my third child. Having studied English with my 6th grade son and 4th grade daughter using this resource, I am confident that it will be an excellent introduction for my 2nd grade son as well. First Language Lessons Cover

First Language Lessons was written by Jessie Wise, the co-author of The Well-Trained Mind. The text contains 200 lessons designed to be used during the first and second grades. The book uses a “Four Strand Approach” to teach grammar rules, usage, and beginning writing. The “Four Strands” are:

Memory work
Copying and dictation
Narration
Grammar

So what is it about this book that keeps me coming back?

Ease of Use – The lessons are scripted. That is something that people generally love or hate, and as a general rule I don’t like scripted lessons because they tend to sound unnatural. But I like these. Even though the lessons are short and simple, the students learn and retain so much. The scripts include reminders to review poems, as well as provide review within the lessons.

Content – A student completing this text will have memorized the definitions of all the parts of speech, lists of helping verbs and prepositions, as well as ten poems. He will have practiced narrating short stories and completed regular copy work and dictation exercises. All of this provides a terrific foundation for further study of grammar and composition.

Oral lessons – This book provides a great opportunity to have some one-on-one time with your student. The lessons are mostly oral, with the exception of the copy work and dictation. Because of that, the book can be used for students for whom writing is a struggle. I used the book for kindergarten and first grade with my two older children because they were both ready for it. Although it is not necessary for the child to be reading well (most of the reading is done by the parent), it is important to decide if the time spent might be better used in reading practice. That’s why I chose to wait to use this with my 2nd grade son until now. He has struggled to learn how to read, so reading has been our primary focus in his schooling up to this point.

I am looking forward to our English study this year! I recommend this program to anyone who is interested in teaching English to a first or second grade student. For more information, you can visit the Peace Hill Press website.

Written by Kristen – A Classical Homeschool Mom of 4

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Harmony Fine Arts – Art and Music Appreciation

Art, Charlotte Mason, Classical, Music No Responses »

Aug 272009

Art and music appreciation are subjects that if not given priority, fail to be done in our home. (It’s probably safe to assume that is true for many homes.) It seems like every year I plan on adding art appreciation to our long list of subjects and at the end of the year I realize that once again I haven’t done it. One of the problems is that I know next to nothing about art. It should be simple enough to add in picture study to accompany history. But that would require me to actually know which artists and paintings are most significant. Sure, I could probably research, learn and figure some things out. But thankfully I’ve discovered that someone else, much more knowledgeable than I, has already done the work for me.

Harmony Fine Arts is an art and music appreciation program written by Harmony Art Mom – Barbara McCoy. If you’re thinking that name sounds familiar, it should, because she’s one of the contributing writers here at The Curriculum Choice. Barb has put together an art and music program with 12 yearly plans that are linked to a chronological 4-year history cycle, and are divided into the stages of learning of the classical trivium (grammar, logic, and rhetoric). That is exactly what I would do! (If I knew how, that is.)

Beach Scene - Guernsey, Renoir, 1883

I received the plan for Grade One to review. Grade One is different from the other plans in that it does not cover art from its time period in history. Since the study of ancient art is not a study particularly well suited to the early grammar stage, she chose to make Grade One an overview of a variety of artists. Among the included artists are Renoir, van Gogh, Manet, and Cassatt. The study includes 8 artists with 4 works by each artist. The plan contains 3 different options for art study. Option 1 is picture study only. (Don’t worry, instructions on HOW to do picture study are included.) Option 2 takes picture study a step further combining the study of art in art appreciation books with a short related activity. Option 3 combines picture study with coloring books. (The student will be able to color a picture of the work studied.) In addition to the various options for art appreciation, there is also a section for composer study that includes suggested resources for listening and reading.

What do I like about this program?

Coordinates with history studies.
(It’s not like adding “another” subject.)
Simple to use.
(The plan is clearly laid out. The additional resources are clearly listed.)
Variety of options
(I love that the plan includes different options with different time committments.)
Flexible for multiple ages.
(It is written with a “grade” assigned, but it is not necessary to use only with the specified grade.)
Low cost.
(The grammar and logic levels are $19.95 for each year plan. Rhetoric levels are $9.95.)

With everything already planned for me, I’ll have no one to blame but myself if we don’t finally begin our art and music appreciation studies this year! To learn more about the Harmony Fine Arts Program, visit HarmonyFineArts.com.

Written by Kristen, A Relaxed Classical Mom of 4

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Rod & Staff English

Junior High Language Arts, Language Arts 3 Responses »

Jul 302009

Sometimes it seems like curricula create confusion. Brightly colored texts, songs, jingles, computer programs, and educational games can all be useful learning tools, but perhaps we think that learning always has to be fun and exciting. Do all the extras really help, or could they actually be a detriment?

Simple, systematic, and effective. These are all words that describe Rod & Staff’s English curriculum. Rod & Staff is a Mennonite company, and the unhurried simplicity of the Mennonite lifestyle shines through in their curriculum. Scripture, family, community, and agriculture are prominent themes in the exercises included in the texts.

Simple

Rod & Staff teaches:

Sentences
Parts of Speech (Each part of speech is studied separately)
Punctuation
Capitalization
Reference Books

The text is written with excellent explanations and examples. It can be read to the student by the teacher, or read independently by the student.

Systematic

Beginning in 2nd grade, with texts available through 10th grade, each year of Rod & Staff English builds on the skills learned in the previous one. The format of each text is similar. There is a short lesson which is found in both the student and teacher texts. Following the lesson, there is first a section of oral drill, then written exercises. The exercises progress from simple to more challenging.By simple, I do not mean it is not a rigorous program. We have currently completed years 3 through 6 of the program, and I have already seen topics that I don’t remember studying in school.

Effective
Its simple instruction and systematic review make Rod & Staff a very effective grammar program. One of my favorite features of Rod & Staff English is its use of sentence diagramming. The process of dissecting a sentence and rearranging it is wonderful for gaining understanding of the sentence structure. In addition to a student text and a teacher text, optional workbooks and tests are available. The worksheets allow for extra practice if necessary, and the tests are a great assessment if desired.

Not only is Rod & Staff effective at teaching English, it is also a cost-effective program. The exercises are written on separate paper, making the texts entirely non-consumable. Included throughout each text are writing lessons and practice, so no additional composition program is necessary. Each entire year set can be purchased for under $50.

I have been extremely pleased with my students’ understanding of English grammar after using Rod & Staff. I highly recommend it. Being a Mennonite company, Rod & Staff does not have an official website. Free catalogs are available by calling 606-522-4348.

Written by Kristen, Neo-Classical Mom of 4

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Singapore Primary Mathematics U.S. Edition

Mathematics, Uncategorized 13 Responses »

Jul 162009

When I began to research math curricula before I began homeschooling, I had two main criteria. I wanted a program that would teach math in such a way that it is understood by the student, and I didn’t want to pay a fortune for it. I found several curricula that didn’t meet either requirement, a few that met one of my requirements, and one that met both of my requirements. My choice was Singapore Primary Mathematics.

p1010460

Mastery Based

Singapore Math was the official math program used in the schools in Singapore from 1982 through 2001. It uses a Concrete–> Pictorial –> Abstract sequence to teach new concepts. It also utilizes a mastery approach to mathematics in which one concept is introduced and practiced thoroughly before adding to it with a higher level concept. It does however, introduce all of the operations and various other concepts such as fractions and decimals in the most simple manner before moving on to another topic. Topics are then revisited in later books. There are also periodic reviews in the text. So it is not a mastery program in the purest sense, but would not be considered a spiral program.

Word problems

Singapore Math has an emphasis on word problems that sets it apart from other math programs. A unique visual method using bars to illustrate quantities enables students to solve problems that are more typically solved using algebra. The problems are widely varying so that students aren’t able to memorize a method, but need to think in order to determine the solution.

Ease of Use

For each school year there are two textbooks and two workbooks. Each lesson in the textbook is correlated with one or more workbook exercises. In our home, I go over the lesson in the textbook orally with my student before having him complete the workbook problems independently. The workbook exercises typically contain few problems per page. I have found the few problems to be a good fit for my children who are easily overwhelmed by long assignments. Also available are Home Instructor Guides that include additional explanations for the instructor, reinforcement activities, manipulative ideas and answers to the problems.

Low Cost

Each year of Singapore Math includes 2 softcover texbooks and 2 workbooks that retail at $9 each. The optional Home Instructor Guides are $16.50 each. That equals one year of math curriculum for as little as $36! Plus, the textbooks and Instructor Guides are non-consumable so they can be used for younger students, further reducing the cost of the program.

I have been extremely pleased with Singapore Primary Math. My oldest child has almost completed the series and has an excellent understanding of mathematics. I believe this series is terrific preparation for algebra and other high math courses.

For more information on Singapore Math visit their website, www.singaporemath.com. Included on the websites are tables of contents for each text, sample pages, and a placement test.

Written by Kristen, Math-loving mom of 4

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Geography 8 Responses »

Jul 022009

I’m going to be honest. Geography has not been a subject that I’ve done a good job of working into our schedule. Every year I have plans to add more geography study to our days, and every year I start off strong and then let our geography studies fizzle out. My husband is a geography fanatic. (He memorized all the nations and capitals in the world just for fun!) So if it weren’t for my geography secret weapon, he wouldn’t be too happy with our progress in geography.

My secret weapon is an educational tool called the Oregon Scientific Smart Globe. We bought it for our kids one Christmas.

smart-globe1
I have been very pleased with the response my kids have had to this globe. They fight over it I mean they wait patiently for each other to finish with it…sometimes.

The globe comes with an electronic pen that you touch to the surface of the globe. You can set the globe to provide any of the following:

country name
capital
leader
population
current time
area
highest point
play the national anthem
language

and more. It’s like an interactive almanac. There is also a function to compare things such as the flying time or distance between two places. There are games where the globe asks you to find specific continents, countries, or cities. It is very simple to operate.

Another nice feature is that it is updatable. The pen can be connected to a usb port on your computer and new information is downloaded to the pen. That way, constantly changing things such as world news and leaders can be kept current.

What I like most about this globe are the results. All of my children can locate all the major nations of the world. (Even my 2-1/2 year old!) They can also find many, many not so major countries. Can you find Burkina Faso on a map? Do you even know what continent it’s on? My children can and it’s all from playing with this globe.

To see and hear the globe in action, please watch this short video. It shows my 2-1/2 year old daughter finding countries on the globe.

Globe demonstration video

Written by Kristen – Classical mom of four

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Living Memory: A Classical Memory Work Companion by Andrew Campbell

Classical, Philosophies, Uncategorized No Responses »

Jun 182009

Many people today think that memorization is unimportant. They argue that anything that they need to know, they can look up on-line. But can a person be truly educated if he doesn’t “know” anything? I think not.

We need knowledge in order to understand new concepts. Critical thinking programs are wasted if there is no foundation of knowledge to build upon. The writer has nothing to write about if they know nothing. Truthfully, anything that we know, we have memorized. We may not have tried to memorize it, but if it is in our memory, we have memorized it.

One of the key components of a classical education is memory work. Unfortunately in our home, it is an area that we have been sadly lacking. When my husband and I had our year-end homeschool evaluation, memory work was one of the major things we decided to work hard at implementing in our homeschool. As I began my search for help in doing memory work, I saw many references to Living Memory by Andrew Campbell on the Well-Trained Mind Forums. (Andrew Campbell is also the author of The Latin-Centered Curriculum.) When The Curriculum Choice contacted Mr. Campbell, he graciously sent me a copy of Living Memory to review.

Living Memory is a substantial volume with 452 pages! The first section of the book explains the value of memory work and how to memorize. Mr. Campbell suggests that memorization is most effective when utilizing four basic language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Included are suggestions for incorporating each of these skills in your memory work program. In addition, there are instructions for preparing a memory work notebook. This information covers only the first 14 pages of the book. The remainder of the book is filled with suggested memory work. The selections are divided into the following categories:

Latin
- Grammar and Vocabulary; Proverbs; Poetry and Prose;
  Scripture; Prayers; and Hymns and Carols.
Greek
- Grammar and Vocabulary; Proverbs; Poetry and Prose; Scripture; and Prayers and Hymns.
Arithmetic and Mathematics
- Addition and Subtraction Fact Families; Multiplication Tables; Euclid’s Definitions; and Area and Volume Formulas
Grammar and Composition
- Grammar Poem, Grammar Catechism, and Common Misspelled words
Literature
- Literary Facts and Lists; Sayings, Proverbs, and Famous Quotations; Teaching Rhymes; Poetry; and Dramatic Speeches from Shakespeare’s Plays
Religion
- Scripture, Prayers, Catechism, Poetry, Hymns, and Carols
Geography
- Continents; Oceans; States and Capitals; and Nations and Capitals
World History
- Major People and Events from around the world
United States History and Civics
- Key dates in American history; Founding Documents; and Patriotic songs, verse, and oratory
Natural Sciences
- Lists and mnemonics for natural science
Reference Charts
- Charts of Greek and Latin paradigms

Living Memory contains ample material for an entire school career of memory work! There is wonderful variety in the selections. It includes everything from “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” for my 2 year old, to the Gettysburg Address for my middle school son, plus more advanced material to use in the future. I am so excited about setting up notebooks for my kids for next school year. The hard tasks of narrowing down things to memorize and compiling the material has been done for me in Living Memory. Now I can customize our memory work to correspond with our other school subjects. With a list, though long, of suggestions, I feel confident that I will be able to add valuable memory time to our daily schedule. I highly recommend Living Memory to anyone seeking ideas for classical memory work. It is available from Lulu.com.

Written by Kristen, Classical mom of 4

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Miquon Math

Mathematics, Uncategorized 1 Response »

Jun 042009

Miquon is a unique math program designed for students in the first through third grades. There are a total of six workbooks consisting of math “labs” . In the labs, the student explores and discovers math concepts for himself.

Cuisenaire rods are essential to completing many of the labs. The rods are a manipulative that can be used to perform mathematical operations and demonstrate concepts such as area and volume. There are rods of different colors to represent each number 1 through 10.

Cuisenaire rods

The white rod is the unit cube and has dimensions of 1 cm X 1 cm X 1cm. The next rod, red, is 2 cm long; the following green rod is 3 cm long, etc.

Addition and Sutraction with Cuisenaire rods

This picture illustrates how the rods can be used for addition and subtraction. When a student is using them to add, he finds rods to represent each of the addends and puts them in a row. Then he searches for a rod of the correct length for the sum and checks it by laying it beside the addend row. To subtract he would lay the two rods beside each other. To find the difference he finds the rod that fills the leftover space. For example, on the left side of the photograph there are two white rods placed in a column. To the side of the white rods is a red rod. This physically demonstrates the equations 1+1=2 and 2-1=1. On the right side of the photograph, there are a green and a red rod placed beside a yellow rod. This can represent the equations 3+2=5, 2+3=5, 5-2=3, or 5-3=2.

Miquon sample page

A sample page from Miquon Orange, the first book, is shown above. In this lab, the student is to discover all the addition equations that are equal to 4. The rods are placed directly on a diagram of the rods on the page. The pages in the Miquon workbooks are simple and uncluttered, and there are typically few problems per page. Miquon is a great for both visual and kinesthetic learners.

You might be wondering why I, one of the classical education ladies at The Curriculum Choice, would choose a program like Miquon. Isn’t classical education about drill and memorizing facts? I must agree that Miquon does not seem to fit into the classical mold. However, before I was a homeschool mom, I was an engineer. So I really like math. I think math is fun and I want my kids to see and understand that from a young age. Not only do I want my kids to think math is fun, but I want them to understand math. Having a good understanding of basic arithmetic is crucial in understanding higher maths. The Cuisenaire rods are wonderful for showing mathematical operations in a concrete way. Miquon is not our main math curriculum because I prefer a primary math curriculum that is more logical and systematic in its presentation. I recommend Miquon as a fun supplemental math program because it helps children to think about math in a different way. Miquon is available for purchase from Key Curriculum Press.

Written by Kristen, Well Trained Classical Mom

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Apologia Elementary Science

Charlotte Mason, Classical, Science, Unit study resources 1 Response »

May 222009

Apologia publishes a full-range of science texts for the Christian homeschool. They began with high school science texts which have been very popular with homeschoolers for many years. More recently, Apologia began publishing elementary texts. Currently, the elementary science series includes five titles: Astronomy, Botany, Flying Creatures, Swimming Creatures, and Land Creatures. These texts follow the immersion principle of learning. Rather than study a wide-variety of unrelated science topics during the course of a school year, these texts dig deeply into one science topic.

Features of Elementary Apologia Books

Engaging hard-cover text with many full-color pictures
What Do You Remember? questions to discuss
Common household items used in experiments and projects
Master list of necessary materials
Notebooking activities included

All of these texts have 13 or 14 lessons. But don’t be fooled into thinking that with a small number of lessons the books won’t last a whole year. These are not short lessons. They each include 10-20 pages of text (I read these aloud). In addition, all the lessons include at least one notebook assignment and either an experiment or project. Many lessons have both a project and an experiment. I like that the author has clearly separated projects and activities from experiments. In the experiments, the scientific method is emphasized including discussions of variables, controls, hypotheses, data collection, and drawing conclusions. So although the book could easily be read in less than a school year, completing all the included notebook pages, projects and experiments will extend this text to easily encompass a year’s study. However, if you do want to complete more than one of these texts in one school year, the Astronomy and Botany books are a little shorter than the Zoology books.

I love that this one text can be used with all my students. I can customize the notebook assignments to fit their abilities. (Some of the notebook assignments have two options: one for older students and one for younger.) My first grader loves to sit and look at the pictures. He doesn’t participate in very many of the activities, but he is still learning with us. Many first graders could easily participate more than mine does. My daughter who is in 3rd grade now, completed the astronomy book when she was in kindergarten. She completed the notebook assignments and still remembers much of what we studied. I say this as a reminder that this text is easily adapted to the needs of families with widely varying ages and abilities of children.

So why would anyone not like Apologia?

You will not like this text if you do not want to include any of the Bible in your science lessons. These texts are unapologetically (pardon the pun) Christian. The author believes in creation and presents evidence that supports creation in the text. It does not give equal time to evolutionary theory believing that is better left to science geared to older students. Of course, most any animal book checked out of the library contains references to evolution, so this book helps provide a balance with its absence of evolutionary content.

You might not like this text if you want a more traditional approach to science including worksheets, tests and quizzes. The reinforcement of material in these texts is through talking about the text and creating notebook pages. The writing style is also different than most science books. These books are written like the author is talking directly to you. I don’t mean vernacular speech, but it contains questions that are somewhat rhetorical. It also goes into great detail. Additionally, if you want to study many different topics in one school year, these texts would not be a good fit.

If you are interested in purchasing any of the other Apologia Elementary Science books, they are available from many vendors of homeschool products. They can also be purchased directly from Apologia at their website for $35.00.

Written by Kristen

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Review of Tapestry of Grace

Classical, History, Literature 2 Responses »

Apr 252009

What is Tapestry of Grace?

Tapestry of Grace is a Christian, classical, history-focused, multi-disciplinary, unit-study curriculum for the entire family.

Christian

Christ is the central focus of this curriculum. Tapestry of Grace presents the history of the world showing that history truly is His Story. Christ, His coming, and His sovereignty are woven throughout the threads of this comprehensive curriculum. I should mention however, that the curriculum makes use of many secular resources.

Classical

Tapestry of Grace uses the classical model of the Trivium for instruction.The assignments are divided into Grammar (Lower and Upper), Dialectic, and Rhetoric levels. In the dialectic and rhetoric levels there is an emphasis on reading many of the “classic” works.

History-Focused

Tapestry studies the history of the world chronologically and all the other subjects are studied within their historical context.

Multi-Disciplinary

Tapestry of Grace includes assignments in history, literature, Bible, worldview, geography, government, philosophy, art appreciation, hands-on activities, and composition.

Unit-Study

Each year of Tapestry of Grace (there are 4 total) is broken down into 4 units. These units are history related and within each unit are assignments in the before-mentioned disciplines.

For All Ages

Tapestry of Grace can be used for all your school-aged children at once. Not only that, but there are extensive teacher’s notes for mom to learn as well. They even have a special summary CD for dads called the Pop Quiz.(not included in the year plans) The unit celebrations are intended to be shared with the entire family, or even extended family and friends.

How does Tapestry of Grace work?

There are four different year plans in Tapestry of Grace.

Year 1: The History of Redemption: From Creation to the Fall of Rome

Year 2: Between Ancient and Modern: From Byzantium to the United States Constitution

Year 3: The 19th Century: From Napoleon to Teddy Roosevelt

Year 4: The 20th Century: From Teddy Roosevelt to September 11th (Coming soon)

The program is designed so that a student completes each year plan and then begins the rotation again, studying the same topics again at a higher level. It is not necessary to begin at Year 1.

Each year plan has four units with nine weeks per unit. The introduction of each unit begins with a summary of the history included in the unit, and an explanation of how the unit fits in with previous history studies. It outlines the scope of the unit and provides some general information about the topics that will be studied. Also included are ideas for a unit celebration. These unit celebrations provide an opportunity for a compilation of everything studied in the unit to be displayed and presented. Unit 1 of each year plan also contains a guide to help users get started with Tapestry.

Following the unit introduction are the week plans. There are nine weeks in each unit, for a total of 36 weeks of study in each year plan. Each week’s plan is divided into several sections.

Threads - These are the weekly learning objectives for each of the subjects studied in Tapestry of Grace. The objectives are divided by subject and level. (1 – 2 pages)
Reading Assignments – These sheets give the assigned readings for all the threads and levels for the entire week. The scheduling of the reading is flexible, and will vary between families and from week to week within a family. There is one page of primary resources and one page for alternate and extra resources. The alternate resources provide additional flexibility to the program. (2 pages)
Weekly Overview – These pages include vocabulary words, people to know, time-line dates, activities, and geography activities for the week. (2 pages)
Writing Assignments – There are 12 different levels of composition assignments. These assignments are usually related to the history lessons that week. (3 pages)
Student Activity Pages – These pages are designed to be used by the student. They contain questions about the history and Bible reading for the week, as well as geography assignments and suggested activities. There are often separate literature assignment sheets. These are usually about 2-3 pages for both the lower grammar and upper grammar sections, and longer for the dialectic and rhetoric levels. These pages are conveniently color-coded in the corners by level for easy identification.(Length varies – Year 3 Unit 1 Week 1 has 14 pages)
Teacher’s Notes – This section is usually the longest section of the week. It contains articles with background information for the topics studied in the week. In addition, it contains the answers to the literature worksheets and the discussion questions. One of the most impressive portions of this section, and perhaps of the entire curriculum, are the discussion outlines to be used with dialectic and rhetoric students. (Length varies – Y3U1Wk1 -14 pages)
Glance into next week - This handy page lists things the parent should be aware of in the upcoming reading assignments. It sometimes includes budget-stretching suggestions for combining students of different levels into one text. (1 page)

What do I like the most about Tapestry of Grace?

Multi-level teaching – I love being able to teach all my children at once. Right now, it is not as hard to do, because my youngest is only 2-1/2 and not in school. But as I look ahead, I see the value in being able to have the entire family studying the same history topics when my children are in, for example, 9th, 7th, 5th, and 1st grades,
Non-consumable and reusable – Tapestry of Grace is more than the typical non-consumable curriculum that can be passed down to younger siblings. It can be reused by the same students, as well as being passed down to younger siblings. I can conceivably use each of the Tapestry of Grace year plans four times!
Unit-study approach – I love how so many subjects are covered in Tapestry of Grace. I love to add in projects and writing assignments that go with our history studies. Also, understanding the Bible in its historical context is invaluable.
Flexibility – There are so many ideas and resources listed each week, that it would be impossible to do them all, so I can pick which ones are best for my family. I have the ability to schedule the reading as well. Many of the suggested books are available from the library and often there are easy substitutions for those that are not.
Product Support – The customer support at Tapestry of Grace is excellent. They have promptly answered questions and provided help. There is a user’s forum at the Tapestry website, as well as very active Yahoo groups for general and year specific support.

What are some specific topics?

I received Year 3 Unit 1 Digital Edition to review. In addition I received the corresponding Map Aids. The unit is entitled Napoleon’s World. The 9 weeks are:

When John Adams was President
Napoleon: The Man and His Career
Early Industrial Revolution
Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase
Jefferson and the Supreme Court
Madison and the War of 1812
Reshaping Europe and South America
South America in Transition
Monroe and the American Hemisphere

I love the literature selections for this unit. One of my very favorite books, Pride and Prejudice is studied for four weeks of the unit by the rhetoric students. One of the dialectic books is Frankenstein and the Swiss Family Robinson is included for upper grammar. You can search and see the recommended books for any of the units or the entire year plan at www.bookshelfcentral.com. The searches are quick and easy.

There are some great activity suggestions for this unit. Lower Grammar Students can write with a quill pen, make a water wheel out of Legos, make a silhouette, and practice counting money. Upper Grammar students spend much of the unit on an invention product and learning about the branches of American government, including preparing a Supreme Court scrapbook. Dialectic and Rhetoric students make a display board with major Napoleonic figures and an inventor project, as well as building models of the Supreme Court Building and the Arc de Triumph. All levels listen to violin music, learn how to cook food from South America, study the Star Spangled Banner, and learn proper etiquette concerning the American flag.

The Map Aids are a tremendous time saver. They include black-line maps specific for each week. You don’t have to worry about finding maps, just print them out and go.

What about the Digital Edition?

I have been using a print copy of Tapestry for this school year. The unit that I received to review was the digital edition (DE). The download was easy. I find the DE easy to navigate and it has a very convenient search feature that allows you to use your computer to search instead of flipping through hundreds of pages trying to find something you know is in there. I like the fact that the DE saves space. Each unit of Tapestry of Grace fills up a 2″ binder. Storing 16 total binders for all the year plans might have been a problem. One important thing to note is that the digital license does NOT allow the DE version to be resold. I personally find the DE a very convenient format for Tapestry of Grace. I would not print out very many of the pages so I don’t think that increased printing costs will be an issue for us.

How much does Tapestry of Grace Cost?

There are several different ways to purchase Tapestry of Grace. All purchases are made directly from the Tapestry of Grace Store.

One year plan – printed = $225 + shipping
One year plan – digital = $170
One year plan – digital + print = $270 + shipping
One year bonus bundle – digital = $250
One year bonus bundle – print only = $295 + shipping

* Bonus bundles include entire unit, the Loom, and Map Aids, plus your choice of a bonus option (Writing Aids, Complete year lapbook kits, complete year evaluations, or complete year Pop Quiz) and a bonus item (one level of evaluations, one unit lapbook kit, or one unit Pop Quiz.)

The units are also available individually.

One unit digital = $45
One unit digital + printed = $76.40 + shipping
One unit printed = $60 + shipping

The stand-alone printed versions are not currently available for all the year plans. Be sure to check the store for the unit you are interested in to see what is available.

Bookshelf Central provides the resource books for Tapestry of Grace plus suggested grammar and spelling curricula. The books are also available from major book retailers. In addition, many of the books are available through the library or can purchased used.

Conclusion

I love Tapestry of Grace for my family and plan to use it for a very long time! I think it provides the framework to provide my children with an excellent understanding of history and God’s sovereign hand in history. If Tapestry of Grace sounds like something your family would like, be sure to go to their website to download their free samples. You can see the layout of the program and try out the digital version for yourself.

Written by Kristen

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The Journal of Best Practices: A Memoir of Marriage, Asperger Syndrome, and One Man's Quest to Be a Better Husband

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Classical Education

Classical, Philosophies No Responses »

Apr 202009

Evaluating a Classical Education

It’s that time of year again. No, not spring cleaning. (although I’m working on that too!) It’s the time of year where we’re winding down and I’m evaluating. What did we learn this year? What has worked well? What didn’t work? What do we need to do better next year?

One of the things on my mind a lot lately is classical education. I was introduced to classical education when my oldest was in preschool. My husband and I were both very inspired by the research we did on classical education, and planned to implement the classical model in our homeschool.

So what is classical education exactly? That is somwhat dependent on whom you ask because there is a tremendous amount of variation among classical educators. However, there are two basic schools of thought in classical education.

On one end of the spectrum are what are sometimes called the neo-classicists. The essay by Dorothy Sayers entitled The Lost Tools of Learning details three stages of learning. These three stages she has called the poll-parrot, the dialectic, and the rhetoric stages. Sayers goes on to suggest that instruction during these stages should match the strenghths of the children. In The Well-Trained Mind, authors Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise expounded on Sayer’s original essay by detailing educational methods that capitalize on these natural stages in students. In this book, these respective stages are re-named as the grammar stage, the logic stage, and the rhetoric stage.

The grammar stage is the first stage and ranges from first through around fifth, sixth, or seventh grades depending on the child. This stage is characterized by the child’s ability to memorize facts and their thirst for knowledge about many different things. The student should not be performing analysis on these facts at this point, but rather acquiring knowledge that will be used as a foundation in further studies. An excellent summary of the grammar stage written by Christine Miller can be found at Classical Christian Homeschool.

The grammar stage is followed by the logic or dialectic stage. This stage typically begins around the middle school years. You can recognize when a student is beginning to enter this stage by the questioning of the student. The logic stage is when the student begins to constantly ask “Why?”. Students at this stage exhibit the desire and the ability to understand how things are interrelated, and an increased capacity for logical thought. Many students will exhibit some of these aspects of logical thought at an early age, but parents must be careful not to push them out of the grammar stage too soon. A more thorough exposition of the logic stage can be found here at Classical Christian Homeschool.

The third stage is the rhetoric stage. This stage of learning usually coincides with the high school years.This usage of the term rhetoric should not be confused with the common usage of political rhetoric. The rhetoric stage is characterized by the student learning to effectively communicate his own thoughts and ideas. These thoughts and conclusions are drawn from the study of great literature and philosophers of the ages.

These three stages proceed in a logical fashion with each stage building on the other. Students will be able to reason more effectively if they have learned lots of facts and correct useage of grammar in their elementary years (grammar stage). In turn, students will be able to more effectively communicate in the rhetoric phase if they are able to quickly retrieve the correct facts, and then assemble those facts together in a logical manner.

The neo-classicists place great value in the study of history, literature, and language. The Well-Trained Mind suggests that history should be taught chronologically in a repeating 4 year rotation. History is divided into 4 periods represented approximately by Ancient History, Middle Ages and Reformation, Colonial Times through Victorian Ages, and Modern (20th Century) History. Ideally these topics would be taught in 1st-4th grades, then repeated in 5th-8th grades, and again in the 9th-12th grades. There are many curriculum providers that have modeled their programs after this design.

Another key portion of classical education is the study of at least one classical language, usually Latin, although some people add or substitute the study of Greek or Hebrew. Many classical educators begin Latin instruction very early, in the grammar stage, because that is a good time to memorize all the various declensions, conjugations, and vocabulary required in learning Latin. There are many benefits to the study of Latin. It greatly increases English vocabulary because so much of English is derived from Latin. Also Latin is a language that requires rigorous thought and thus is good training for the mind. An excellent argument by Cheryl Lowe of Memoria Press that more thoroughly expounds the benefits of Latin study can be found at the Memoria Press website.

The study of Latin and/or other classical languages is the single biggest point in common between the neo-classical and the traditional classical schools of thought. In addition the study of logic is included by both. Another commonality is the study of the Great Books, although there is some disagreement about what is included in the list of Great Books.

In my opinion, the greatest difference between the two models is their focus. Where the neo-classicist focuses more on method in education, the traditional classicist’s focus is on content. A traditional classicist also values the study of history, but the focus is on Western History with a strong emphasis on the Greeks and Romans. The 4-year history rotation is absent from the traditional classical classroom. The use of the terms grammar, logic, and rhetoric do not apply so much to developmental stages to the traditional classical educator, but are titles of disciplines to be studied. The stages are naturally to be followed in any study independent of the age of the student. For example, a student who is in the “logic stage” according to the neo-classical model, but is just beginning to study Latin, must still begin with the grammar stage of learning the Latin language.

So what have I gleaned from my reflection on the definitions of classical education? Do I still agree with this philosophy? How am I doing in implementing these ideas in our home?

After reviewing the principals of classical education I must give a resounding “yes”, that it is still the direction I want our homeschool to take. I still lean more strongly toward the neo-classical side of the spectrum. I am particularly enamored with the 4-year history rotation.

How are we doing in practice? On the positive side, we are completing a year of studying the ancients in history. This is the second time through this time period for my oldest child. We will be continuing on in our chronological history study next year. My two older children are studying Latin and Greek which is crucial to a classical education.

The place where I have failed the greatest is in memory work. I have not done a good job implementing memory work in all of our subjects and I have not used sufficient drill in our Latin, Greek, and math courses. Unfortunately, I’m beginning to see some of the consequences of that now. My older son is having problems translating in Latin because he doesn’t know his vocabulary and word endings as well as he should. Both of my older students need work in math computation speed. (I got a huge reminder of that last week when I administered their standardized tests.)

What am I changing for next year? I hope to implement memory work in all our subjects. Also, my oldest is soon entering the logic phase, so he will be adding logic to his studies soon. I want to add more drill for Latin and Greek so that they will better retain what they have learned. In addition, I plan to add more drill in our math program. I think I’d better get to planning!

Written by Kristen

Other related titles:

The Journal of Best Practices: A Memoir of Marriage, Asperger Syndrome, and One Man's Quest to Be a Better Husband

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