What are you doing for self education?

[Ellyndria]

Just what it says, I want to know what you are doing for your self education (if anything)!

 

What have you done in the past?

What are you currently working on?

What do you have sitting on your shelf waiting for you?

What are your long term plans/goals?

What books are you using?

 

Thanks!

[Jane in NC]

Many of us on this board are autodidacts. Currently I am learning French with my son as well as reading Don Quixote (Smollett translation). One of my volunteer projects involves bird rehabilitation. With the upcoming migration season, I'll be busy--and learning a lot along the way.

 

My longterm goal has been expressed by T.S. Eliot in his poem Little Gidding, one of the Four Quartets:

 

We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time...

 

Jane

[Saille]

Right now, I'm mostly using my kids' education as an excuse to beef up my own. So, I'm doing Henle Latin, and I'm reading a lot of medieval history, both non-fiction and fiction. Right now, I have Four Queens on CD in my car and My Lady Elizabeth (novel) and Warriors of God (a book juxtaposing Richard the Lionheart and Saladin) in the house.

 

Four Queens is particularly fascinating. It's about four Provencal sisters who married, respectively, the King of France, the King of England, the King of England's younger brother (who became King of Germany), and the King of France's younger brother. It goes into some detail about Blanche of Castile (Louis the IX's mother) as well, and she was one powerful woman! I'm finding it a very different view of the role of women in medieval history, and it's very empowering.

 

I subscribe to a load of podcasts, and will read about almost anything. I had a copy of the Well-Educated mind at one point, but can't find it. Y'all got me fired up about giving that a serious look now that my youngest is getting bigger.

 

I'm curious to read others' responses.

[momee]

Two big things -

I'm reading the bible Genesis to Revelation and actually studying it as I go (it's taking forever but I am learning many valuable things)

 

and

 

I'm doing TOG's rhetoric level all except the writing alongside my son. We're also doing Algebra I together.

 

Whew, exhausting but gratifying.

[mom42terrificgirls]

I am currently brushing up on my Spanish. I had nine years of Spanish but haven't used it in years. I just bought some advanced grammar books at Barnes and Noble. Also, I have the Alpha Omega course on Power Point which I need to do soon because I am looking for a job and it is listed on many job requirements.

[Guest tylerupchurch]

Just what it says, I want to know what you are doing for your self education (if anything)!

 

What have you done in the past?

What are you currently working on?

What do you have sitting on your shelf waiting for you?

What are your long term plans/goals?

What books are you using?

 

Thanks!

First, as a bit of a prologue, I am a 19-year old first-year eclectic college student ( emphasizing standardized tests ) who feels to an extent that he wasted the opportunity he had in his home school education. I particularly am interested in theology and philosophy, but just about any fact I can figure out how to add to my bank of knowledge interests me. Thus, classical self-education and, later on, home-education hold a lot of interest and intrigue for me.

 

Now, I suppose my plan is to buy TWEM and use that as a bit of a guide to what I should read in order to ground myself in literature. In the next few years, I hope to learn Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, while perfecting, or at least making explicit, my inadequate grasp of English. Through soaking myself in authors Greek, Roman, English, &c and by learning to express myself elegantly in at least one language, I hope to become a true man of letters.

 

Some resources I hope to tap include the Teaching Company, Regent Audio, Chalcedon, WordMP3, Biblical Training.org, Monergism, & Covenant Media Foundation. For books, I hope to find many a deal at Amazon, ABE Books, & Froogle ( I refuse to call it Google Product Search ). I hope perhaps some of you might find some of these links useful if you haven't seen them previously. :-)

[LibraryLover]

I have taken up raising organic chickens. It's been very satisfying so far. I didn't know this city girl could be so happy and at peace cleaning out a barn.

[mommaduck]

I'll be doing Latin with my children. While teaching them sign language, I'll be expanding my SL abilities. I'm also doing a Medical Terminology course independently, college Algebra independently, and taking Cherokee I online. I will also be reading the same literature books my eldest will be reading with his Omnibus I course.

 

Long term goals are to eventually go back to college.

[Vida Winter]

Just what it says, I want to know what you are doing for your self education (if anything)!

 

What have you done in the past?

What are you currently working on?

What do you have sitting on your shelf waiting for you?

What are your long term plans/goals?

What books are you using?

 

Thanks!

 

First of all I have little ones and a frantic schedule most days -- so in this season of my life I need to scale back on what I'd really like to do, which is take a bunch of Teaching Company classes. That would just be too time consuming (and expensive) to do now.

 

What I do instead is read and listen to (on my Ipod) as many of the classics and other more recent, enjoyable books as possible. I am also learning Latin, Art History, and World/American History along with my children.

 

That's about it for the next few years, anyway! I love math (in my former life I was an engineer), so I'm looking forward to revisiting it when my children are doing more advanced math later on.

 

Added: Currently I'm listening to an audio of The Count of Monte Cristo - very enjoyable!

 

~Dana

[Peela]

I had high ideals after reading the Well Educated Mind but couldn't get through Don Quixote. That's ok, because every now and then I read one of the books in there for some other reason, and I feel good about it!

 

I read Walden earlier this year. That had a big impact on me. Then I read some Emerson essays.

I am reading ahead of the kids now, especially since we are doing Ambleside, and discussing books is a large part of things. I don't want to read everything aloud, but I do want to have read it so I can discuss it with them. So I am reading the Ambleside Year 7 medieval booklist (and enjoying it!). I just read Charlotte Mason's Book 6.

Recently I read A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Kite Runner- I dont normally read novels except for school, but someone insisted- I learned a lot from those two books about Afganistan.

Other than that, I learn Latin and French with the kids, I am building a website (well, I've started, haven't got far) which is a huge learning curve, have just finished some interesting books on health and cooking......self education is just a given for me, I am always into something....though it doesn't always look "classical". I just read what I get interested in and my interests change and vary widely. Recently it was a book on Economics called The Long Tail- fascinating, but I would never normally read Economics books!

I am reading Sophie's World at present- a novel about the history of Philosophy. Along with about 4 other books.

Oh yes, right now also is French Women Don't Get Fat- delightful light read!

 

My long term goals are never to make self education into a chore, and continue to read widely, following my interests and also gently extending myself beyond my comfort zone.

[Pamela H in Texas]

I went back to school!

 

Actually, it's an online school so until my student teaching, I will be working from home except for proctored tests :)

[MicheleinMN]

Just what it says, I want to know what you are doing for your self education (if anything)!

 

What have you done in the past?

What are you currently working on?

What do you have sitting on your shelf waiting for you?

What are your long term plans/goals?

What books are you using?

 

Thanks!

 

I have worked on learning a bit of Latin (and am ahead of my 4 younger students).

 

I'm working on Algebra 2 both Foerster's and Saxon's. (I took calculus in high school and college, so it should be review.)

 

I'm reading through the Great Books with my two older children. (The Confessions right now with Beowulf up next.)

 

Don Quixote is still sitting on my shelf waiting for me. I had high hopes for this summer, but it didn't happen. Socratic Logic is also there next to it....still waiting.

 

I would love to go back to college, but I plan on waiting to do that until my youngest is at least 13/14.

 

I am using WEM and a huge variety of Latin resources (mostly Latin Prep and Henle these days).

 

Michele

[cstitches]

I'm reading The Epic of Gilgamesh, using WEM to guide how I approach it. I've also been reading about ancient Mesopotamian history, but I had to return all my history books to the library last week ;_; I'm moving this weekend (which includes moving to a new library system), so I'm waiting to borrow more books after I'm settled.

 

I plan on reading the first five books of the Bible next, and reading about the history of ancient Palestine. After that it'll be on to Egyptian history/literature.

[Cathy in TX]

The two oldest and I have made our way through the first five units of Henle I. It has been slow going, but we are plowing along.

 

 

My 10 year-old has been begging to learn Chinese for a couple of years now, so we are dropping the Latin for her. I ordered the Chinese curriculum today, and I can't wait to begin it. It's been 12 years since I studied Chinese, and I find I can't write more than a handful of characters anymore. Learning them again will be fun...especially since this time I'll learn the simplified ones.

 

Then of course I'm studying great books and plays ala WEM with my 9th grader. We just finished "The Importance of Being Earnest." The whole family took parts and read it out loud. A great way to kick off the year! Now it is time for my 9th grader and I to really dig into it. I know I'm looking forward to it much more than she is. :001_smile:

 

Cathy

[Colleen in NS]

Just what it says, I want to know what you are doing for your self education (if anything)!

 

What have you done in the past?

What are you currently working on?

What do you have sitting on your shelf waiting for you?

What are your long term plans/goals?

What books are you using?

 

Thanks!

 

I am mostly keeping ahead of my oldest, and teaching myself all the things I never learned, so I can teach my kids.

 

- Latin, with Latina Christiana 2

 

- math, with R&S 6 (refreshing my math skills)

 

- English grammar, with R&S 5 (I never knew what a comma splice was until a few weeks ago, so it's getting more challenging for me now!)

 

- reading middle grade versions of Gilgamesh, ancient Egyptian myths, Roman myths, Greek myths, and any supp. history reading books for my kids from the library

 

- reading bits and pieces of the kids' science info. books - currently on plants

 

- learning the sequence and "how to" of the writing process, so I can teach it.

 

Future: just keeping ahead of what I want to teach. Logic, rhetoric, more grammar, more math, more advanced lit. reading, more Latin (planning on Henle).

[lauranav]

Well, right now I am in the last semester of a 2 year EMBA program. I have learned a lot with that. Mainly that I know more math from just living it than I picked up from class, but it still isn't my strength.

And now that I'm homeschooling, I'm trying to stay a few steps ahead of the 15 year old.

I have always been a big reader and I'm looking forward to getting back some time to do more of that again.

[Nan in Mass]

I'm doing Latin with my children.

Some day, I hope to recapture my Greek.

I'm always working on my French, mostly by reading novels.

I want to learn Japanese some day.

I'm teaching myself classical guitar and some day I'm going to take proper lessons.

Someday I'm going to get better at riding horses.

And go back to ballet.

Every summer I dabble with Egyptian hieroglyphics and work on pennywhistle.

Someday I'm going to learn wood carving, which I love, but I decided I'd better learn to draw first.

I've been pretty successful at improving my drawing this last year.

I'm struggling to learn watercolours.

I'm always working on natural history.

And I'm doing great books with my children. Sort of. Our version, anyway.

I'm also, reluctantly, relearning chem this year, although I have a much better idea of why it is important after working on natural history for ages now.

I've been rather successful at not learning any history along with the children.

I'm sure I'll wind up learning a bunch of things my husband wants us to learn. Spelunking won't be one of them (one of his less successful ideas for a fun hobby for us).

I find learning things very cheering.

-Nan

[Kris]

What a great thread. It's amazing what so many people have been able to accomplish!

 

I have to take it slow. I tend to get too ambitious and submarine myself before I even get started. There is so much I *want* to do, but for now --

 

I'm going to start working on Wheelock's Latin with the new LatinStudy group that's starting up in a couple of weeks. While I had the good fortune to be placed in an accelerated English class in middle school, I'm finding that most of the grammar I learned "way back when" has been lost somewhere along the line, so to get back up to speed I'm working through English Grammar for Students of Latin.

 

I'm also wanting to work on The Iliad a la TWEM -- and can do that as soon as we get the book back. It's making the rounds of my son's friends, it appears. :)

 

I have a couple of years of Spanish, so I'd like to do more with that. And I always wanted to learn French, but my mother said no -- it had to be Spanish. So French is on the list, too, but I don't think I'm the kind of person who can work on two languages at the same time.

 

Other than that, I'm a voracious reader and always have a few books going -- lately from the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list.

[lllll]

What have you done in the past?

What are you currently working on?

What do you have sitting on your shelf waiting for you?

What are your long term plans/goals?

What books are you using?

 

 

this sounds like it could turn into an immense essay. But I'll resist... unless of course, someone actually wants that.

 

 

Past - can't remember so much of that. Would have to sit and think and write at home. If you really want to know, let me know and I'll attempt it.

 

Currently - Spending all my 'spare' time on logic and math, with a spattering of Greek (Bible is a given at all times). Guess you could say all those other subjects are sitting on the shelf waiting for me. They all glare at me every time I pass by the shelf, but I do my best to ignore them. I've tried to explain to them that it's all I can do to keep up with the logic and math, but they aren't convinced. Not sure I am either.

 

Anyway, dc and I are all doing Suppes' first book together. They all seem to know what they're doing, so my goal is to stay a few exercises ahead of them so's I can check my answers against theirs (they do theirs in our group logic time - 45min time allotted for logic, Mon-Thurs afternoons, where we do about 1 of the Russian Mathematical Circles problems + Suppes book. I stink at the Russian problems.)

 

I love this logic book. I get up in the middle of the night to work on it, sometimes. Turn on TheClassicalStation.org, pull out my white board, and get totally lost in it. (Ds says I get up in the middle of the night to 'catch my brain off guard'. Some truth in that ... And it works even better if I'm riding the exercise bike, too.;)) I haven't had this much fun with a 'subject' since I can't remember when. And the white board is an absolute necessity, by the way. I can sit and try to do a problem on paper, hitting a dead end every time; but as soon as I put it on the white board, the answer pops out at me.

 

I'm also doing Frank Allen's Algebra book. That's much easier now that I've gotten into the logic (we're at the end of Ch. 3 in Suppes). And, the usual Math history, primary source, and R&S - all of which I do with dc.

 

We also do Hermeneutics together. And read Puritan writings and Christian bio's together. Currently, we're finishing up Jeremiah Burrough's "Treatise on Earthly-Mindedness ..." and will start a bio next. We choose those together. We're also running through Moutoux's Diagramming books together.

 

I spend some time testing new vegan recipes most weekends. This keeps us from eating the same foods ad nauseum, since dc don't do a terrible lot of experimenting when they cook.

 

We're learning tons about black bears by watching them in the yard/property. For instance, you never let your 6 pound Chihuahua outside when a male bear and a female bear are hovering over your backyard birdfeeder. The Chi runs right between the two bears, the big male swats the Chi, and you spend half your Saturday at the emergency vet hospital getting the grass and dirt cleaned out of her mouth and her bottom lip sewn back onto her chin (and thanking God it was nothing worse). Then, you come home and make her special foods for a week or two (brown rice, chicken broth, mixed veggies, and tiny chunks of meat) because she can't eat very well (and also because you feel like the worst dogowner in the world...). There's plenty more to learn, but bears were probably not what you were asking about.

 

Anyway, my computer is about to time out, so I'll have to end this a little abruptly. If I think of other things, I'll post them later. Maybe I'll even write it up at home and let dh post it. It helps me to write it.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[Ellyndria]

I am loving all of these replies. Ready to hear some more! Share as much as you'd like.

[Nan in Mass]

Yikes! I only have fishers and coyotes to contend with. And bass. And the occasional swan and hawk. Everything else is pretty friendly. The ticks and mosquitos are altogether too friendly.

[Kfamily]

but I need to work harder(I am not far enough ahead):001_smile:

 

Dh and I are watching Teaching Company's Great Authors of the Western Literary Tradition.

 

I am reading Famous Books Ancient and Medieval and trying to stay ahead of dd11 and her books. There are so many more books for me to read!:lol:

 

 

HTH

[TeacherZee]

I am waiting for In our time to start back up on BBC Radio 4. It gives me a little bit of everything and I usually find myself following up on what I have heard.

[Mommy22alyns]

What have you done in the past? I've always been an avid reader, but nothing formal. I did finish reading Moby Dick, Pilgrim's Progress, Gulliver's Travels, The House of Mirth, The Awakening, and King Lear in the past few months.

 

What are you currently working on? Henle I and reading ancient literature (The Iliad). Also reading SWB's History of the Ancient World. I was using Lingua Latina to supplement Henle, but hit a snag around Chapter VI - I think I need to concentrate on Henle more before picking that back up.

 

What do you have sitting on your shelf waiting for you? The Odyssey and tons of ancient plays, How to Read a Book, and Climbing Parnassus, for starters!

 

 

 

What are your long term plans/goals? I want to read a whole Great Books list and learn enough Latin to read original works in Latin and teach the girls successfully. I also want to brush up on my grammar, and I'm going to have to do some math work before Becca goes too far in school. Luckily, math isn't where she's most advanced! :001_huh:

 

 

What books are you using? The Well-Educated Mind, The Latin Centered Curriculum, and others listed above.

[hswarden]

I have taken up raising organic chickens. It's been very satisfying so far. I didn't know this city girl could be so happy and at peace cleaning out a barn.

yay chickens! I feel like a wierdo, but it's true that they are so soothing and anytime my homeschool life is tipping me over the edge, a few minutes with my "wild birdies" puts a big goofy smile on my face. I just have a backyard flock, but some of the hens set on eggs and hatch babies and it is the coolest thing I've ever seen--and I foster kittens too. These chickens even beat kittens, in my book.