Written by Purva Brown of The Classical Unschooler

We delved into Algebra this week. I had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I had been looking forward to it for years. I was one of those kids who actually enjoyed algebra in school.

On the other, I was dreading the tears that would inevitably follow learning any new math concept – or so I thought.

Would you rather listen to this post?

Imagine my surprise then, when after some work, my daughter said she understood. In front of my (saucer-eyed, I’m sure) gaze, she then proceeded to solve a few easy problems substituting numbers in place of letters. Best of all, there were zero tears.

I was surprised, but I shouldn’t have been.

After all, we have been using the half step method within our “classical unschooling” approach for years.

Classical Unschooling & The Half Step Method

Okay, so this isn’t an official method. I just coined that phrase and I’m sure you’ve been doing it in some capacity since you’ve been homeschooling. I just want you to be intentional about it.

Let me give you an example with reference to double digit multiplication. This comes to mind because my third child – aged 8 – is currently working on it.

Double digit multiplication is usually the first rung on the ladder of tears reserved for math. But I get it. Going from single digit multiplication to double digit is a huge jump.

So what do we do? We break it up. Into small steps.

And then we practice those steps until they are second nature. If those steps are too hard, we break each one up into half steps. And then we practice those steps until they come easily.

My eight-year-old, in the example above, specifically had trouble understanding where to place his numbers.

Going from single to multiple digit multiplication, there were suddenly a lot of numbers he was dealing with – the extra zero, the carry overs and the fact that the units, tens and hundreds place didn’t align for the second line of numbers like it always had up until this point in his brush with math.

So we went back half a step.

I wrote down multiple digit multiplication problems for him with no carry overs. We are currently working through this. Once he gets it, we will move on with numbers that require carry overs.

At this phase he is already well versed in his tables – we have done those separately and perfected them with flashcards over time.

Why I Hate Most Math Curricula

I came up with this method after being disillusioned with most math curricula on the market.

“I need more practice work!” I remember saying to another homeschooling mom.

“But why not move on if the child has already got it?” she asked.

The current debate in math curricula seems to center around using mastery or a cyclical approach as the dominant style of teaching and learning.

I’m not sure which side I’m on, because I think both miss the point. In my experience, most math workbooks introduce a concept, give you basic questions to answer and then make the numbers bigger before you have established second nature competency.

I hate that.

I have always said that math is something you should be able to do in your sleep. In my experience, most math curricula on the market prevents that rather than helping that along. They go for too much too quickly.

Full Steps Up Ahead!

The best thing about doing math with this half step method instead is that it actually saves time.

Instead of revisiting a concept that hasn’t become second nature and then having to go back over it before moving forward, this half step and practice, practice, practice approach makes for much more pleasant days.

And although some days the practice seems like mere busy work, it is mostly effortless and gets done.

This helps us move forward boldly because the basics are solid. Repetition is the mother of mastery. After all, that is the classical part of classical unschooling. (afflink)

If that makes me less of an unschooler, so be it. I’m in this for my children, not for any homeschooling ideology anyway.

Have you discovered a method of teaching something in your homeschool that works so well for you, you want to shout it from the rooftops? Tell us about it in the comments!

What’s Your Homeschool Mom Personality? Take Jamie’s quiz now and receive a free personality report to help you organize your homeschool based on what your personality type needs most!

The following is a guest post by Laura Thomas of This Eternal Moment.

If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking. –Haruki Murakami

I have a confession to make — I did not grow up reading classical literature.

While I have always loved to read, I have another confession to make: part of this love came, at least initially, through an incentive.

You see, when I was in elementary school, my parents sought to encourage my brother and me to read by offering us a penny a page for any book we read that they felt was at our current reading level or beyond.

For several months I read … and read … and read until something happened — my parents saw that I was now officially “hooked” on reading and they were no longer going to offer pennies as an incentive.

And – Eureka! They were right! I kept reading!

While I was exposed to a few classics in middle and high school, they were always viewed by my fellow classmates as “long,” “boring,” and “too hard to read.”

I don’t remember anyone cracking open a classic with me and saying, “Now look — here is a good story!”

During college, I worked in a Christian bookstore for a time and admit to spending more than half of my salary on the books there. While some of these could be considered classics, the only “classic” literature I read often was the Bible.

The truth is, I didn’t think I was missing out on anything. I was learning and growing through the books I read and didn’t see the need to expand my reading circle.

Fast-forward to today. When I started homeschooling my daughter Grace, we joined a program called Classical Conversations. Through this group, I began to learn more about the beauty, timelessness and enduring legacy of classical literature.

A friend of mine noticed my interest and encouraged me to read a book called, How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler. The title intrigued me and I dove in.

One quote from his book really sums up how it impacted me:

“ … a good book can teach you about the world and about yourself. You learn more than how to read better; you also learn more about life. You become wiser. Not just more knowledgeable — books that provide nothing but information can produce that result. But wiser, in the sense that you are more deeply aware of the great and enduring truths of human life.”

I found myself wanting to read more books that had endured the ages — that spoke to, what Adler called, “the great and enduring truths of human life.”

And I wanted my daughters to begin to be exposed to these books as well.

Our first adventure into classics as a family was Little House on the Prairie, and we plunged into the lives of Ma, Pa, Mary, Laura and Baby Carrie as they traveled and made a home on the rural Kansas prairie.

We felt the wind on their faces, the fear in their hearts when they faced prairie fire, grave sickness or dangers in encountering the neighboring native tribes. We rejoiced with them when they overcame difficulty, danced in the firelight to Pa’s fiddle, or were given a cup, a penny, a candy and a cookie for Christmas.

We were changed by Little House. Through their simple living, we were challenged to simplify. By their contentment with small blessings, we began to be more grateful for our own. Through their endurance of great trials, we saw our own as small in contrast.

In fact, for the girls’ birthday party last year, we became them for a day.

As a writer, I came to realize through Adler’s book that I would only be able to write as well as the books I read. At that point, most of the books I read were at my current reading level — they were interesting and informative to me, but they did not challenge me much to think critically or grow as a reader or writer.

So I made a New Year’s Resolution to read five classics in 2014.

As a family, we will continue to work through the “Little House” book series.

And for my first personal selection, I chose something I didn’t think would be too daunting (insert sarcasm here): The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It’s a 900-pager written by a Russian theologian.

Since I’m being really honest here, I might as well confess that the first 50 pages of this book were a struggle for me – a lot of introductions and long Russian names to remember made it tempting to just choose another book.

But after the first 100 pages I was hooked and when, while washing dishes or folding laundry, I found myself pondering Father Zosima’s final words or sympathizing with young Alyosha’s struggles, I knew that I had chosen a winner.

My final confession: while I am now committed to reading and exploring classical literature and putting lots of it in front of my kids, I refuse to be a book snob.

I will still enjoy many newer books and believe that many of them speak to our generation in important and relevant ways as well.

But, as C.S. Lewis said, “It is a good rule after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between.”

Along with Laura Ingalls Wilder, Beatrix Potter and A.A. Milne, my daughter is also reading books about Fancy Nancy, Amelia Bedelia and the Berenstein Bears.

She (and I) are learning that reading can be both fun and thought-provoking, entertaining and challenging, silly and inspiring. And all of it is important.

And the best thing is – I don’t think I’ll have to pay her in pennies for it.

Do you find yourself drawn to the classics as part of your homeschool?

Amelia Bedelia. Pippi Longstocking. Anne of Green Gables.

These are just a few of my favorite book characters from growing up.

I love reading. I always have. My husband likes “reading” by listening to books. We’ve both found a place in teaching our children to read classically.

Our children are ages 7, 5, 4, and 2. I’d like to think we are teaching all of them to read right now and I believe the classical model supports this.

How so?

We spend lots of time enjoying words from a wide range of books in a variety of modes. Classical education first prescribes phonics teaching to develop pathways and a sturdy foundation for a child.

Symbols (letters) make sounds and those sounds put together make words. Start by teaching the alphabet and the sounds each letter makes. The brain is wired to make these connections, which will later help when reading, writing or spelling more difficult words.

Next, read lots of quality material. Before you start thinking I mean Plato, Shakespeare, etc., let me give you a few things we look for when selecting books to read.

• Has the story stood the test of time? Although the times may have changed, is the story still appealing and enjoyable? Think an original Winnie the Pooh or Curious George storybook.

• Does it teach something good? Think Aesop’s Fables or Pilgrim’s Progress.

• What books do I love? There are so many books that I remember with fondness from my childhood and would be sad if my littles missed out on them. For me, that’s Fuzzy Rabbit or The Secret Garden (& so many more! including the titles listed above.)

If you’re wondering where to start, check out the lists found at 1000 Good Books .

What does this look like in our daily life?

In the morning, my children often turn on the iPod while we’re eating breakfast to listen to The Boxcar Children or A Bear Called Paddington.

After breakfast, they each memorize a Bible verse from their Awana books and draw about what the verse means.

Mid-morning, I work on a phonics program with my 5 year old. Throughout the day, my 7 year old and I read toddler type books to my 4 and 2 year old.

A current favorite of my daughter is We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. It gets read a lot. : ) Before nap, we snuggle on the couch to read Anne of Green Gables together.

While everyone is enjoying rest and quiet in the afternoon, my 7 year old reads something fun to himself. Right now, he’s reading The Jungle Book, followed by any number of animal books.

Anytime we jump in the car, they all beg my husband to put on the next chapter of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. He happily obliges, because he enjoys the story too.

And finally, at bedtime, my husband reads to them from the Bible, while allowing each of them to take a turn at reading the next three chapter titles.

My 7 year old is the only independent reader right now among our bunch. Two years ago we completed Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. I was looking for a strong phonics emphasis and chose this one for its ease of use. Since then, we’ve simply been reading.

I, myself, have actually been doing a great deal of reading recently too. My reading has been on classical education. I was happy to discover my natural inclination to simply allow him to read fit the classical model.

As Leigh Bortins says in The Core, reading should occur in 3 ways:

1. your child should read at his reading level
2. your child should read below his reading level
3. you should read to your child above his reading level

Why is this?

Reading at their level gently challenges them, reading below their level is enjoyable for them and allows for mastery of common words, and reading to them above their level exposes them to an immense vocabulary.

An audio book above their level can do the same thing. All of this exposure will give them a recognizable comfort around words, which has the intent of making reading far less intimidating.

Through all this reading, both by them and to them, we’re reveling in the beauty and diversity of the English language and teaching them that reading is fun, especially when a really good story is involved!

For my 7 year old, this has worked like a charm. For my 5 year old, I see it working a little more slowly, but working nonetheless.

So, for us, we’ll keep with this simple approach to reading. Because reading well is fundamental to becoming a lifelong learner of any and all subjects, which is, after all, one of our greatest goals in homeschooling our children.

How about you? How do you approach reading in your home?

Written by Tsh Oxenreider of Simple Mom.

Ages of my children: 7, 4, & almost 2
Educational philosophies I pull from: Classical, Interest-Led Learning

A few weeks ago, I spent the weekend visiting Peace Hill Press and its founder, Susan Wise Bauer. Known for fostering a modern-day movement of the classical method of teaching, she is someone I’ve long admired. It was an honor to meet her.

So it might surprise you to hear that we’re not homeschooling next year. Oh, well, of course we are in the organic, basic rudimentary definition of the word—I hold the belief that education always begins at home, whether or not families are aware. But formally, we are taking a step of faith and enrolling our kids in a local private school.

This was a tough, tough decision, and most of my closer friends and family know that we wrestled with this decision most of the spring semester. But in the end, we feel a strong peace that this is our learning path next year, and we’re excited.

So why am I participating in the curriculum fair here, you might be asking? Well, because we’re going to try out something that I learned about this past spring, and it’s one of the things that released me from the disappointment in not homeschooling next year.

It’s called afterschooling.

Afterschooling: What is it?

It’s almost silly that this even needs a name, in many ways, but afterschooling is simply homeschool, after school. It can look a lot of ways, just like homeschooling. I’ve jokingly come to call it Homeschool Lite.

Increasing in popularity, many families choose to do afterschooling in order to go deeper in an area a student’s school isn’t able, to cover a topic that’s completely ignored at school, or to foster more interest-led learning. I learned a great deal about afterschooling at Teaching My Baby to Read, and the Well Trained Mind forums also has a forum just for afterschooling.

As we considered the possibility of afterschooling, one of our highest criteria was finding a school with a low homework policy. After all, kids need tons of play (where some of the best learning happens!), and I have no intention of bogging down our kids with more than is necessary.

We’re going to try it out this next year, and if it ends up being too much, we’ll slow down. We might even shelve the idea for awhile and pick it back up later. Or we may stop doing the private school and return to only homeschooling.

Our afterschool plan

We’re going to ease into it, and we may not even do afterschooling every week. But these will be our resources.

1. First Language Lessons

I really do love everything from Peace Hill Press, and their grammar curriculum is at the top of their game. We’ll continue doing First Language Lessons, since it worked so well for us this past year. I’m guessing we’ll do one to two lessons a week, tops.

2. The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading

Our 7-year-old learned to read using this curriculum when she was four, and we didn’t even need to finish it—it just clicked for her. I have a hunch it won’t be the same for her 4-year-old brother, but he’s showing eagerness to learn. We’ll pull out our Ordinary Parent’s Guide this summer and ease into phonics, slowly.

3. Story of the World

Of course, right? We love this history curriculum, especially the mp3 version. We just listen to Story of the World in the car, talk about it a lot, and pursue the activities and further research if the kids are interested. Tate begs to listen to SOTW, so it’s fun for her.

4. History sentences (and songs) from Classical Conversations

We participated in CC this past year, and we loved the 24 history sentences, easily learned by song. I’m blown away by how much history our entire family memorized. We’re not participating in our local chapter next year, but I’ll still order next year’s CDs and play those in the car as well.

5. Geography maps and memory work from Classical Conversations

My first-grader also learned an enormous amount of geography, and she loved it. We’ll keep on with the CC map tracing, memory work, and exploration of cultures and places as the interest arises.

I also love Writing With Ease and Telling God’s Story from PHP, and we’ll also incorporate these if it works out.

I know I’ll miss the longer hours of homeschooling next year. But we’re very much a year-at-a-time, kid-at-a-time family—I don’t for a second doubt that we’ll homeschool again. It might not be the best fit for our family next year, but that doesn’t mean that’ll always be the case.

Have you ever tried afterschooling? What was it like for you?

(Peace Hill Press gave me complimentary curricula for review.)

Children’s ages: 6, 3, and 1
Educational Philosophy Influences: Classical, Charlotte Mason, and Leadership Education

I‘m a newbie when it comes to homeschooling. This can’t be overstated enough — those of you who feel completely green at homeschooling, count me among your throngs.

While we have a very nomadic lifestyle, I actually thrive quite a bit on structure, so my homeschool plans reflect this. Part of this is preemptive: I also have two other little ones, a business to run, a book to start, speaking engagements, and travel plans. If I don’t somewhat structure our school, I’m afraid it’ll never happen.

So. Here are our plans for first grade this next year.

Classical Conversations

We will most likely sign up for Classical Conversations this next year. I like its emphasis on memory work, even though this next year’s subject matters won’t exactly align with what we’ll learn at home. I value the basic act of memorization, and the content will eventually come in handy at some point.

The other main reason for our involvement will be to socialize — we’ll be in a brand new city, and it’ll be a helpful way to meet people.

Learning words: Grammar, Writing, Handwriting, Spelling, and Reading

I really love Peace Hill Press. I love their philosophy of education, their materials, and the people behind the scenes. So ultimately, most of my resources come from them.

I plan to use Writing With Ease and First Language Lessons for grammar and writing. I admittedly haven’t used them yet, but many of my friends have, and in flipping through these texts, I think they’ll serve us well. We’re going to ease into this gently.

Tate learned cursive in kindergarten this past year, so I’m going to just keep going with it. I use StartWrite software to create our own handwriting practice pages. We mostly do Bible verses, poems, and quotes to aid our memorization.

We’ve used Spelling Workout this past year, as part of our after-schooling activities. It’s nothing fancy, but it works. We’ll start with workbook B next year. We may veer into All About Spelling, after reading Heidi’s glowing post.

For reading, we’ll do lots of quality read-alouds and provide plenty of solo free reading time. Hooray for library cards!

Learning the world: Geography, History, Foreign Language

Understanding the world is a high priority in my educational philosophy. It is vital to me that my children understand geography and cultures, not only because we travel a lot, but also because the world is shrinking. One of my favorite reasons for us living overseas is that it gives our kids a unique, global perspective on life.

For history, we’ll use Peace Hill Press’ Story of the World, volume 1. I love the emphasis on learning history chronologically, so we’ll study Ancient Times. We have the audio version, so we’ll listen to them in the car, check out books at the library, and create a master timeline.

For geography, we’ll copy maps repeatedly, improving cartography skills slowly over time. We’ll make this our major focus on geography, but we’ll also include Operation World as a text, exploring a new country every couple weeks or so. This is something we’ll do as a family, since we all love exploring the world and its myriad cultures.

I asked Simple Mom readers what foreign language Tate should study this next year, and I agree with the consensus — whatever she wants. She’s currently interested in all things French — the food, the language, the wine making process (no idea why!), Madeline, you name it. So we’ll be doing French 1 on Rosetta Stone as a family — not only because she wants to, but also because French is a genuinely useful language worldwide. It’s one of the mostly widely-spoken second languages, and we could live anywhere in the world, literally, in the next few years.

I used Rosetta Stone when we lived overseas and had great results with it. I also used it to help teach English to Albanian students in Kosovo about ten years ago. It’s expensive, but I’m a fan nonetheless.

Learning how things work: Math and Science

Because Kyle and I both work from home, often working on projects together, he has agreed to take on primarily teaching math and science this year. Otherwise, I simply won’t have time to write.

Jamie gave me an unopened copy of the alpha level of Math U See, so we’re going to try that out as our primary math resource. We may also supplement this with Singapore Math.

We’re going to explore plants, animals, and the human body (life science) using mostly the library and creation. But our main texts at home will be DK First Animal Encyclopedia, Kingfisher First Human Body Encyclopedia, and Green Thumbs. We’ll keep this pretty low-key and interest-led, which shouldn’t be a problem, since both Kyle and Tate enjoy learning these things. We also have the Planet Earth series, so we’ll use that, too, just for fun. And nothing can beat walking outside, collecting bugs, and seeing what happens.

Learning other stuff: Bible, Art, Music, Home Ec, and getting out the wiggles

Peace Hill Press sent me their new Bible curriculum, Telling God’s Story, and we’ve already used it a little bit. I love it! I really appreciate how the curriculum starts with Jesus, His life, and His teachings. It keeps Him as the center and foundation, and the lessons provide lots of opportunities for discussion throughout the week. It’s also flexible — we can study the same passage every day for a week, or we can just do the lesson for a few days. There’s plenty of activity ideas to pick and choose. We’ll keep using it in the fall.

Tate enjoys drawing, so I’ll do my best to kindle this interest of hers with Drawing With Children. We’ll also study an artist each semester or so. None of us in the family are musically inclined, but we do love listening to it, so we’ll also study a different composer each semester.

I want our kids to leave the house knowing how to bake bread, balance a checkbook, and sew the basics, so home ec is important to me. Tate has chosen cooking for her first course — so this year, I’m looking forward to Spaghetti, Scrambled Eggs, and Smoothies 101. (This mostly involves her helping me cook dinner.)

We’ll probably join Bend’s Park and Recreation and enjoy living in a beautiful location! We love being outside, so Tate may join a hiking group or some other sport. Or we may just spend lots of time together, running around.

Finally, Tate is traveling with me to the Middle East this fall, which will undoubtedly provide myriad learning opportunities, as well as good mother-daughter bonding time. I genuinely look forward to our next year together, exploring the world.

Alright, more experienced homeschoolers — what are some good chapter books for a six-year-old, for both reading aloud and solo reading? I need ideas.

Classical Conversations: An Introduction ~
Written by Heidi Scovel of Mt. Hope Chronicles

A note from Jamie: Take my quiz here to get personalized tips to help you organize your homeschool based on what your personality needs most!

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For many families, homeschooling is a much broader reality than the designation implies. The variety of educational opportunities is steadily increasing along with the realization that school isn’t a one-size-fits-all proposition.

Tutoring groups, homeschool co-ops, community classes, umbrella schools, field trips, online classes — sometimes the sheer quantity of choices is staggering. And very often homeschooling families find themselves out of the home for one or more days each week.

After several years without outside commitments, my family chose to join a local CC community this year and found it a perfect fit for our needs. When I was first introduced to the program I had so many questions, and it took a while for me to decide whether it would be right for us.

Now that we’ve been participating for several months, I can say that it has been a wonderful opportunity for my boys. I would love to share some details about Classical Conversations.

Classical Conversations is a nation-wide program that helps train and equip parents to provide their children with a Christian classical education.

Individual communities hire parents to be trained as tutors through Classical Conversations practicums, who then lead small classes of children in weekly meetings.

A quick overview of Classical Conversations:

Foundations

For the grammar stage (grades K4-6th), the Foundations program meets for twenty-four weeks during the school year. The classes meet one morning each week for three hours. (Leaving plenty of time during the week as well as during the year for additional studies.)

During the morning classes, tutors introduce the students to memory work in history, science, geography, English grammar, Latin, math, Bible, and the history time line.

Each student gives a short presentation in front of their class to learn public speaking skills. Science experiments and four six-week fine arts studies (drawing, tin whistle/music theory, famous artists/art projects, and instruments of the orchestra/composers) complete the schedule.

Parents are required to attend classes with their children so that they observe and learn from the teaching modeled by the tutors, which will in turn help them guide their children in reviewing the memory work at home.

The memory work outlined in the Foundations classes is designed to prepare the students for the higher-level classes. CC recommends that parents teach phonics, math, and handwriting studies at home.

Essentials

Beginning in 4th grade, an afternoon session is available to supplement the Foundations classes through 6th grade.

During Essentials, students learn language arts and structure with The Essentials of the English Language Guide, writing through the Institute for Excellence in Writing programs, and math through challenging problems and games.

Challenge

Day-long (30-week) Challenge programs for logic and rhetoric stages begin in 7th grade.

These classes cover math, Latin and Spanish, literature and writing, science labs, debate, rhetoric, and geography (mapping the whole world free-hand from memory!).

Students complete lessons and assignments at home during the remainder of the week.

Why I decided that Classical Conversations would be right for my family:

After some time of deliberation, I had a list of benefits this program would provide for us.

• Consistency and discipline in memory work across all subjects.
• Outside accountability.
• A social network of families interested in the same educational philosophy and goals.
• Experience in a classroom situation.
• Opportunity to make new friends.
• Learning from other adults and mentors.
• Hands-on science and fine arts projects.
• Practice in public speaking.

What students memorize during the three year-long cycles of Foundations:

It felt like Christmas the day my Foundations Curriculum Guide came in the mail. I pored over it and felt my excitement growing. It contains all the memory work for all three cycles.

Every year, Foundations students memorize all of the Veritas Press History Timeline cards from ancient history to modern times. Students also memorize the U.S. presidents yearly.

Math memory work is also the same each cycle: skip counting numbers up to 15 and other math facts such as the formula for finding the area of a circle.

Students memorize an astonishing amount of geography (new material each cycle): not only countries but also mountains, bodies of water, deserts, the U.S. states and capitals, territories, and more! The students practice tracing and drawing maps.

Other memory work includes weekly history sentences (the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World, the Bill of Rights, Charlemagne), Latin (declensions, conjugations, and Bible translation), English (parts of speech, participles, irregular verb tenses, and clauses), and passages from the Bible.

Each family has the flexibility of using the memory work however they wish during the week. We have used it as a spring-board for additional science and history reading and discovering, to solidify our math and grammar skills, and as a way of exploring our world through geography.

Further Links:

• The Case for Memorization by Stefani Austin at Simple Homeschool
• I share reasons why I value the memory work at my blog, Mt. Hope Chronicles.
• A peek inside our day at Classical Conversations classes.

Have you participated in outside classes or homeschool groups? Have you found the experience to be a positive one?

What’s Your Homeschool Mom Personality? Take Jamie’s quiz now and receive a free personality report to help you organize your homeschool based on what your personality type needs most!