As I write this, many homeschoolers are in the throes of planning for the new school year. I have watched on social media as parents have shared photos of towering book piles and the complicated systems they use to keep track of their curriculum choices. While I am in awe of their dedication and the…
Don’t you just love a good lit-based curriculum? What could be more thrilling to the heart of a homeschooling parent than the promise of snuggling on the couch, reading all those beautiful books with your children? Imagine teaching not just literature but also history, science, and even math through engaging narratives rather than boring, dry…
Classical education is facing a reckoning, and one that is long overdue. While some classical educators cling to what Jonathan Roberts describes as “a nostalgia for something that never existed” and continue to tout the false narrative of Western Civilization, others have had enough. Convinced that the classical method is nothing more than a relic…
I’ve always chuckled at the bumper sticker that reads “Not all who wander are lost.” It’s a quote from one of my favorite authors, J. R. R. Tolkien, and that in itself makes me smile. But seeing it plastered on the back of a car reminds me that it’s probably not the best idea to…
Teaching essay-writing is a challenge for many teachers. I’d like to share a method I’ve used successfully with middle school and high school students both in the classroom and as a private writing tutor to homeschoolers. The method relies on recognizing how a well-structured paragraph can be expanded into longer and longer essay forms. The…
If you’ve been around the homeschooling world for a while, you’ve no doubt heard about classical education (CE). Known for its academic rigor, the classical method provides a liberal arts education that emphasizes strong language skills and a solid grounding in literature and history. Most classical homeschoolers follow the method outlined in The Well-Trained Mind…
I get it. You want to give your child the very best education, but you’re overwhelmed. There are so many moving parts: phonics, math, science, history, and on and on. It’s hard to keep all the different methods in order. What’s the difference between classical (or is it “neoclassical“?) and Charlotte Mason? What does “literature-based”…
Why, in the age of Google, would we want our children to commit facts to memory? Why can’t they just look them up when they need them? The short answer is “the Matthew effect.”1 In education, this refers to the observation that students who come to their studies (specifically, reading) with more background knowledge are…