Curriculum & Materials: What to Teach and How

What most people mean by curriculum is the subjects to be taught, and the materials used to teach them.  

Traditionally, the core subjects for the classical student in the logic phase are as follows:

• Math
• Grammar and Writing
• Literature
• History
• Geography
• Science
• Logic
• Latin
• Bible

In the interest of not spreading myself and the students too thin, I’ve opted to omit Latin from the schedule, at least for this first year. There are many quality self-paced Latin curriculums that students can pursue individually if that is a priority. 

I also plan to integrate logic and math, and approach login in an informal way rather than a stand-alone course. Formal logic can wait until the high school years, in my opinion. 

The courses and curriculum I am tentatively planning are: 

Bible—Veritas Press Bible course, a thorough through-the-Bible timeline approach to building Bible literacy. 

Math—Singapore Math. This curriculum is excellent in a group setting (and more difficult to teach one-on-one in my opinion). Singapore math has a strong focus on mental math, logic, and mathematical thinking skills. It is a rigorous curriculum, and will be offered at two levels to accommodate multiple ages. 

Literature—Using booklists of quality literature from sources such as Veritas Press, Memoria Press, Sonlight, Ambleside, etc., we will study together with discussion, written assignments and projects. Literature will be offered at 2 levels to accommodate multiple ages.  

Grammar—A combination of Shurley Grammar or Fix It Grammar from the Institute for Excellence in Writing, offered at 2 levels to accommodate multiple ages.

Writing—The Institute for Excellence in Writing’s materials for teaching writing with Structure and Style, again offered at 2 levels to accommodate multiple ages. 

History—Veritas Press history, a thorough, time-line approach to history for the logic stage. Taught in a 5 year cycle:  Ancient (Mesopotamia &  Egyptians), Ancient (Greeks and Romans), Medieval (Renaissance and Reformation, Early Modern (Explorers through 1850), and Modern (1850-Present) 

Geography—Legends and Leagues classical geography curriculum, taught on a 4-year cycle, Eastern, Western, Northern, and Southern Hemispheres. Geography will be integrated with History. 

Logic—A casual introduction to Logic, taught in conjunction with math, using materials from the Critical Thinking Company. 

Science—Elemental Science for the Logic Phase, from Classical Academic Press. Taught on a 4 year cycle: Astronomy and Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry & Physics. 

As you can see, what is not included in this curriculum are visual and performing arts, sports and physical education, and vocational courses such as cooking, carpentry, computer science, etc.  Visual art, however, will be integrated somewhat with science. 

Mountain Scholars Academy will be focused on four full days of core academics, leaving plenty of time after school, on Fridays, and on the weekends for students to pursue additional educational experiences, as they desire. 

Shawna

Up Next: Unplugged: The Role of Technology in the Classical Classroom

A Philosophy for Middle School

The last twelve years of homeschooling have given me the fantastic opportunity to explore a wide range of educational methodologies and philosophies.   From Waldorf to Montessori, Classical to Charlotte Mason, un-schooling to unit studies, there are so many good ones out there. 

What works best depends on so many factors, including whether you are homeschooling or classroom teaching, the personality and preferences of the students and the teacher, the ages of the children, the culture in which they are raised, and many more. 

My methodologies and philosophies have varied during different seasons of life. 

Some looked better on Pinterest than they did in real life! And some that I thought were a little out-of-my-comfort-zone proved to be our very favorites.  

If I were to sum up my educational philosophy today, it would be a mash-up of Classical Education, Charlotte Mason Education, and Thomas Jefferson Leadership Education.  

A combination of the best aspects of each of these approaches has the potential to bring a high-quality, rich, and rigorous education to the modern middle-schooler living in an iPod-listening, X-box playing, media-saturated culture.  

Below, you’ll find a list of the qualities I find most helpful from these three educational philosophies, as well as links for more in-depth articles that you may enjoyl:

Classical Education (for more click herehttps://welltrainedmind.com/a/classical-education/)

• Mentally rigorous—virtue is developed through rigor.
• Sets a high academic bar, students rise to the challenge.
• Teaches through the three developmental phases of the Trivium: Grammar (the what), Logic (the why) and Rhetoric  (the application and communication)
• Is “language focused”, not image focused. (Encourages students to process information and ideas with written and spoken words rather than images or screens. This forces the brain to work harder.)
• Knowledge between the disciplines is Interrelated. 
• Uses a  systematic approach—3 & 4 year cycles of history and science. 
• Uses memory work, often in the form of song or rhyme, to store information.

A Thomas Jefferson Leadership Education: (for more, click here: http://simplehomeschool.net/the-7-keys-of-great-teaching-in-leadership-education/)

• Seeks a “Leadership Education” rather than “Conveyor Belt” education—does not simply push students through a series of benchmarks, but prepares them with the Big Ideas and Big Stories, so they can lead and think. 
• Emphasizes classic literature and the great stories. 
• Teaches through 3 developmental stages similar to Classical Model, but starting formal instruction a bit later. 
• Uses a mentorship model rather than instructor model, to inspire students. 
• Values quality over conformity

Charlotte Mason Education (for more, click here: http://simplehomeschool.net/7-characteristics-of-a-charlotte-mason-education/)

• Emphasizes  “Living Books”—quality literature rather than dumbed-down texts.  
• “Language Focused”  rather than screen and image focused.
• Education is for the sake of the joy of being educated. 
• Values Nature Study. 
• Develops good mental “habits” for learning. 

There is much overlap in these philosophies, and they balance one another well.  

Another factor to consider when adopting a philosophy is the reality that few middle school students today have yet had a truly Classical, Thomas Jefferson, or Charlotte Mason education, especially if they have been in a traditional public school.  And, our students today are often saturated in a media-heavy, image-filled culture. 

A transition time is to be expected.  

Therefore, at the heart of a good educational philosophy is the ability of the teacher to hold her ideals, and then to wisely adapt them for the individual student, classroom and culture in which they are serving.  

Inflexibility and philosophical dogma rarely serve in real life…rather, the philosophy is to serve the student and the teacher, not the other way around. 

The educational philosophy is simply the framework upon which a teacher builds. 

The Bible and the Gospel are the foundation. 

And upon that foundation, many philosophical frameworks may be firmly attached and a fine education may be built.  

My personal preference is for a Classical-Thomas-Jefferson-Charlotte Mason-esque framework, built upon the foundation of God’s Word, with plenty of grace, wisdom and flexibility. 

Warmly, 

Shawna 

Why Middle School?

In my ideal world, a high quality Classical Christian education would be a reality from Kindergarten through 12th grade.  And I would love to see that develop eventually.  But for right now, I am focusing on Middle School, for two reasons. 

1. I can’t do it all and still do it well.  This reason is pretty obvious.  My qualifications as a teacher are limited to K-8 education. Also, the academic needs of each of the three phases of the trivium (Grammar ages 5-9, Logic ages 9-14 and Rhetoric ages 14-18 respectively) are all quite distinct. 

2. Middle School is pivotal point of education, and a time when many parents are seeking alternatives to both homeschooling and public schooling.  I’ll elaborate on this second point below.

For the homeschooled student, parents can find that the easy days of natural learning in the home, when life and play and learning are completely intertwined, can start to shift as their kids become older. 

I call these early years of homeschooling the “productive play” years. When we give our children the appropriate environment for learning, they play and they learn. Its natural.  

For some children though, upon reaching ages 9, 10, 11, their tendency to play productively can wane, and we find them needing more structure and accountability. In the absence of such structure, what used to be productive play can give way to entertainment, recreation and social pursuits—all of which are natural and good, but can compete with academic growth if not kept carefully in check. 

Sometimes as homeschooling parents, we find it a challenge to provide our kids the structure that they need to thrive academically and socially during these years.  

(There are exceptions of course….there are highly structured homeschool parents, as well as students, like one of my daughters, who is such a self-motivated learner that she will learn with or without structure.  But, every family is different.) 

For parents with children in public schools, it is not uncommon to find that their child who once thrived in the primary grades is now struggling both academically and socially in the middle school environment.  There is a major culture shift that happens between K-3 and middle school, and some students who once loved learning and flourished socially in the lower grades suddenly falter in the middle grades.  

It is interesting that Charter School enrollment explodes during the middle school years, both for formerly homeschooled and public schooled students.   It is a time when students and parents often are seeking alternatives. 

At the same time, students who develop a strong academic foundation and sense of confidence as a student during these years are well set for success in high school, vocational training, college, and beyond.  

At the end of middle school, a student who reads well, writes with good structure and style, is solid in basic mathematical thinking and skills, possesses a thorough understanding of history, is a confident thinker and communicator of ideas, and considers himself or herself a scholar, capable of achievement, is in an excellent position for whatever comes next. 

And, this is not too much to expect at the completion of the eight grade.  

How is that accomplished? With excellent curriculum and instruction, high expectations, and a school culture that values academic achievement.  

Just for fun, here I am, circa 1988, in all my 8th grade glory!  (back row, 3rd from left)

The Idea

After twelve continuous years of homeschooling, this year I mixed it up a little!

Last spring, I sat down with two fellow homeschooling-mom friends, and we confessed that we were all a little burnt out. Our middle school kids were needing more structure and academic richness than we really had the energy to provide, and they were also seeking community with other students. 

From that reality, we hatched an experimental plan to work together to teach our middle-schoolers this year. 

I’ll spare you all the detais of what we are specifically doing each week and just say that our eight kids are now spending about 75% of their school-time together. They are receiving group instruction for math, writing, grammar, literature, and choir….and its been really great. 

There have been lots of bugs and kinks for work out, and we are still working them. But what I have learned so far is that I enjoy teaching this age student in a group setting, and our kids are thriving in the academic community that has been created.

So out of this experience has come the question:  Might there be sufficient desire among other families of middle-school students to support a full-day, multi-age, teacher-led classroom with a Classical-Education flavor…potentially beginning next school year? 

On this blog, I’d like to share my ideas of how this could practically look, and then gage the interest level before pursuing it further. 

At a glance, here is the general idea:

What: 4-day per week, 8:30-3:00 day class for 9**-14 year olds. Teacher instructed core subjects using a classically inspired curriculum.  

**Within the Classical Education model, the “Logic Stage” starts roughly at age 10 and continues to about age 14.  Some models begin the Logic Stage at age 9.  I would consider a 9 year old in this program, provided that they meet some very specific academic and social readiness criteria.) 

Where:  Located in Mt. Shasta

Cost:  There will be several participation-fee options, starting at $225 per month per student and going up to $550 per month per student. Cost will depend on whether or not parents wish to enroll their student in Golden Eagle Charter School or opt to work as regular support-staff in the classroom.  In some cases, participation fees may be waived completely in exchange for working additional support-staff hours.  Participation fees include all classroom instruction, evaluation, record keeping, curriculum and school supplies. 

What it will take:  This proposed model is based on the participation of 20 students.  In order to pursue the idea further, I will need commitments to participate from 20 students no later than April 1st, 2018. 

I’m planning to send a series of emails to further flesh out this idea. My hope is that you can evaluate your personal interest level, as well as help spread this information to additional families who may benefit from such an option.  

In upcoming emails, I’ll explain why I’m focusing on middle school, what educational philosophies I embrace, the curriculum I would choose to teach, how to know if this may be a good fit for your child, and how it might practically work financially.  

Please feel free to reply back with your comments or questions to shawnabarr@sbcglobal.net!  I value your input, even if you do not have kids in middle school or if this option is not personally for you.  Also, please feel free to forward this information to anyone in your sphere of influence who may want to hear more.

Thanks so much! Hope you are enjoying this gorgeous fall! 

Shawna

“Look on education as something between the child's soul and God. Modern Education tends to look on it as something between the child's brain and the standardized test”.                                              --Charlotte Mason