Kidlit Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 I am a complete newbie, so please forgive me for asking what are probably very ignorant questions. I have two dds, ages 4 and almost 3. We will probably begin some kindergarten work next year (possibly with both of them, since my almost 3 year old is very insistent on being included in what her big sis does). Therefore, I'm really in no hurry to make a decision; I'm still mulling it over in my brain. Okay, onto my question: I get the idea of classical education. I understand that it's based on three stages of development, and that the student cycles through history during each stage. However, what I don't know if I understand is how different curricula work with this. I have been to a HS conference where I saw TOG and SL firsthand, and both were interesting to me. How are they different? Can someone distill this for me in a short form that I can easily understand? Thanks!:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
materursa Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 Let me begin by saying I do not use either TOG or SL... But, the big glaring difference between those two is that TOG follows a chronological path of history that gets repeated 3 times. SL is not chronological. I'm sure those who have hands-on experience with these programs will shine more light though... HTH, Amanda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brehon Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 And, not to muddy the waters too much for you :D, "classical education" can be subdivided into traditional classical and neo-classical. It's the neo-classical strand which uses history cycles (WTM is an excellent example). I haven't used either of your examples. From what I gather SL is more literature based; although, I think many moms & dads do schedule SL in a type of history rotation. I think you'll find many here who use and like both of these programs. I might *gently* suggest not worrying about history right now. If you concentrate on the 3 R's next year (talking about your eldest dd), you'll have accomplished a lot. Assuming no heretofore undx'd learning problems, you can then begin your history studies the next year with whichever program you believe will suit your family the best. Read, read, read, take a deep breath, grab a cuppa to soothe your sore vocal folds, and read some more to your girls. At your girls' ages you have plenty of time. And have fun researching, exploring, learning all you can/want about all the different strands of home education! Have Fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trivium Academy Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 I might *gently* suggest not worrying about history right now. If you concentrate on the 3 R's next year (talking about your eldest dd), you'll have accomplished a lot. Assuming no heretofore undx'd learning problems, you can then begin your history studies the next year with whichever program you believe will suit your family the best. Read, read, read, take a deep breath, grab a cuppa to soothe your sore vocal folds, and read some more to your girls. At your girls' ages you have plenty of time. And have fun researching, exploring, learning all you can/want about all the different strands of home education! Have Fun! :iagree: But it is a good time to be looking into programs for first grade, it isn't a decision that you have to make quickly so you have time to read, explore and research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidlit Posted August 18, 2008 Author Share Posted August 18, 2008 Thanks for the responses! I'm really not too worried about it even for K; I know the consensus (with which I concur) is that the best thing to do for the early grades is to read, read, and read some more. We do that a good bit already. We're working on learning the phonemes (more about what we're doing on my blog). Other than that, we're just reading. I'm just one of those people who obsess about things waaaaaaaaaaay before I should, I guess. It's endlessly fascinating for me to contemplate what's out there. Anybody else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in NS Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 I am a complete newbie, so please forgive me for asking what are probably very ignorant questions. I have two dds, ages 4 and almost 3. We will probably begin some kindergarten work next year (possibly with both of them, since my almost 3 year old is very insistent on being included in what her big sis does). Therefore, I'm really in no hurry to make a decision; I'm still mulling it over in my brain. Okay, onto my question: I get the idea of classical education. I understand that it's based on three stages of development, and that the student cycles through history during each stage. However, what I don't know if I understand is how different curricula work with this. I have been to a HS conference where I saw TOG and SL firsthand, and both were interesting to me. How are they different? Can someone distill this for me in a short form that I can easily understand? Thanks!:D No question about homeschooling is too ignorant for these boards - that's what they're for. :) Believe me, I've asked (and continue to ask) lots of questions that I felt ignorant about, too, but got lots of support. You can use a program that has a neo-classical pattern (chronological history, one science per year, lit. that follows the history cycle) all mapped out for you, or you can piece the pattern together yourself using various books that fulfill the principles of the pattern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prim*rose Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 I'm just one of those people who obsess about things waaaaaaaaaaay before I should, I guess. It's endlessly fascinating for me to contemplate what's out there. It must be something with the name "Amy" - I do the same thing. Oh my dear, it only gets worse! You have no idea the internal debates I had about second grade programs. I'm sure high school will be infinitely worse! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidlit Posted August 19, 2008 Author Share Posted August 19, 2008 I think my own love of learning (and yes, even school) is one reason I want to homeschool? Is that wrong?:tongue_smilie:I love thinking about what we can do together as a family! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Kirsten~ Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 I'll join your mulling (obsessing?) club! :D Have you read The Well-Trained Mind yet? That might be a silly question, as I don't remember it addressing TOG at all, and that's what you're really asking about, but I found it amazingly, incredibly helpful with pulling things together and giving me a starting point as well as some specific curriculum options. Like Jessica mentions, I wanted to start thinking about this and making some decisions for the future now, so that I don't start panicking when kindergarten arrives next year (my eldest has a May '04 birthday, too, by the way). Best wishes as you ponder! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 This Tanglewood curriculum (free online or you can customize your own program based on it) has a good explanation of the what its classical and Charlotte Mason elements are here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILhsMOM Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 We just completed first grade with Story of the World, focused on Ancient history. We will be doing this 3 times for each child so I wanted to make this time really fun. We did the pages--coloring, maps and games. We also did the Evan-Moor history pockets (ancient). We made and did things at least once a week. We read books from the library on topics and we made a timeline from www.homeschoolinthewoods.com. We just printed them out and put them on the wall in order of dates. We will make several of these probably. We also color coded our according to godly and ungodly characters. :) For kindergarten, I really focused on READING and MATH. We did Math-u-See because I am math-phobic and it is so well explained. We used a phonics program (it wasn't so great so it will be left un-named) but I am using Memoria Press's First Start Reading now with Kindergarten for second son and we really like it. We read all the time, going to the library at least once a week. I would also recommend Memoria Press copybooks. My oldest loves these as you get to draw you own picture after you copy the work! :) Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinF Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 I love the Tanglewood site. I also think http://www.simplycharlottemason.com has an explanation of the difference in classical and CM. I was reading somewhere that CM would have been considered neoclassical. SL and TOG are both great programs and you would be hard pressed to miss out on choosing either of them. We used SL for K and have used a couple of other choices out there before we settled on TOG. If I had it to do over again from the beginning. I would have pulled all the resources from Peace Hill Press and filled in any gaps with other WTM recommendations. Also if money wasn't a consideration I would have bought the IG's for TOG starting in 1st grade. Then by now I would have all four IG"s purchased and could spend my curriculum budget on books. I know that there are others that don't agree with using TOG for the lower grades but I see it being a rich learning experience. (We use the SOTW resources with TOG.) If you start with SOTW vol 1 in 1st grade it will be a fun year and you can use the library and the activity guide to have a great year with your kiddos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Wow, I think that's the oldest thread I've seen brought up to today! So, Hopeistheword, How's it going? LOL:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Actually, cycling through history isn't really a necessary part of classical ed. Many classical educators use a cycle like that (3, 4, or 5 years usually,) but some don't. There's actually a lot more to classical education, imho: classic literature, classical languages, a focus on beauty and value, etc. I would spend less time worrying about specific curriculum at this age, and instead spend that time reading many books about education, classical education, teaching reading and math, etc. Search these boards for threads that we have had recommending books and talks that deepen an understanding of classical education. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Wow, I think that's the oldest thread I've seen brought up to today! So, Hopeistheword, How's it going? LOL:D ha! got me! (I thought it was odd to see Jessica posting... :D) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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