If you’ve just started homeschooling, or are still pretty new to the homeschooling community, you’ve probably heard the terms “classical education” or “classically educating” or discussions about the classical approach to homeschooling.
So let me briefly define the term as it applies to modern homeschooling:
Classical education refers to an education approach that recognizes a three phase learning process call the trivium. The trivium consists of the grammar stage, the logic stage and the rhetoric stage which corresponds with the age/grade level of the child. This education method usually works through the history of the world chronologically and ties in most other subjects with the study of history, especially literature.
My journey to classical education
I didn’t discover the classical approach until I had homeschooled my own children a little over three years. We starting homeschooling using public school textbooks but I began to notice how redundant the books were. Each year the next grade level added a only little more knowledge and everything was very generic. We were all bored.
During this time, I joined a homeschool support group and some of the ladies were discussing a book they had found very helpful. The book was called The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise. I purchased the book and it has been my homeschooling “spine” every since.
When I say this book is my homeschooling “spine” I am saying I use it as a constant reference. This book thoroughly describes the classical approach to homeschooling and it goes much further. It is full of resources, curriculum suggestions, book lists by time period and so much more.
Here’s a couple of places you can purchase it online. Sometimes Amazon offers used books for a little cheaper but I would recommend getting the most current version since there are so many curriculum choices and books listed in the book.
From Christian Books:
The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home, Revised and Updated Third Edition by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise
From Amazon.com:
The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home (Third Edition)
Still confused?
In the simplest form, classical education recognizes three stages of learning call “the trivium.”
Stage 1 The Grammar Stage (typically 1st through 4th grade)
This is the stage for learning facts. Most kids love memorizing at this age and generally don’t question what they’re learning.
Stage 2 The Logic Stage (typically 5th through 8th grade)
This is the stage students begin to wonder why. The facts aren’t enough anymore, they want to understand the process and/or the reasons.
Stage 3 The Rhetoric Stage (typically 9th through 12th grade)
By this stage the student is ready to defend what they know and understand.
Now these are very basic explanations. Personally I used the classical method very loosely. I do notice that for the most part, my younger kids don’t really care why, they just want to know “what.” I And, I definitely noticed a defining moment between the logic stage and the rhetoric stage. A student still in the logic stage gets very frustrated when asked to do rhetorical tasks.
These stages often help me understand how much information to give my students. I find a lot of parents, such as myself, make the mistake of pushing a student beyond their phase and that is where a lot of frustrations can start. If you grammar stage child is excelling, give them more facts, don’t start pushing logic on them before they are ready.
What I love the most about the classical method – relating subjects
Though I’ve transformed from a strict classical home educator to a casual classical home educator, there is one element of classical education I will always recommend. A classical education relates subjects. For example, the basic method of a typical classical curriculum involved covering world history over the course of four year, beginning with ancient and ending with modern times. This cycle is repeated in every stage so the student gets a complete world history three times over the course of their education. You connect literature with the time period you are covering in history.
For example:
If you are studying Ancients times
Your grammar student will be reading (or you will be reading to them) Tales of the Greek Heroes
Your logic student will read Rosemary Sutcliffe’s Black Ships Before Troy: A Retelling of the Iliad
Your rhetoric student will read Homer’s The Iliad
I can’t count how many times that my children have been able to associate historical fact with a book from the time period or about the time period.
Classical curriculum
First things first, if you purchase the The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home, you’ll be able to put your own curriculum package (grammar, math, history, literature, science etc.) together based on the books suggestions. It’s a lot of footwork and you’ll need to work up your own schedule but you can really adapt your homeschool to your children and lifestyle. A lot of the literature books can be picked up at the library and you can save money by buying used curriculum.
But, a lot of people appreciate curriculum that is already scheduled for them. The good news is several publishers offer curriculum that is based on classical education methods. In fact, many of these companies offer full curriculum choices, also known as “school in a box.”
Some great comprehensive classically based curriculums to check out:
- Sonlight comprehensive homeschool curriculum for grades K-12, can be ordered as “school in a box”
- Tapestry of Grace/Digital Edition: Year 1 classically styled curriculum that works for all age level. Great for homeschools with multiple grade levels.
