Beginning a Classical Education in the Middle

[Amccracken]

I've always homeschooled my three boys (ages 9, 12, 13) using mostly a Charlotte Mason approach.  This has seemed to serve us well.  My boys are readers, they are at grade level with math and they enjoy science.  But this year we hit a wall with writing/composition.  I need explicit  writing instruction for my children because this is not my area of strength.   I found WWS and it has given me the help I need, which led me to read WTM.  I'm sorry I did not read it earlier. So much of it resonated with me.  As I read WTM I see areas where I want to change the way we homeschool but I’m afraid that we are coming to the party too late. 😃

For example, my oldest will be 8^th grade next year.  He started reading early.  I stopped phonics with him as soon as he began reading.  I wonder if that’s why he struggles with spelling.  Would it be worth going through a spelling program with an 8^th grader?  I even wonder if spelling programs work, to be honest.  I’ve always had trouble with spelling myself. 

They’ve all had some grammar, but not consistently.  This year we worked slowly through Easy Grammar 6.  And they’ve done fine, but I’m not sure how much they have internalized. 

I love the idea of writing through the curriculum, keeping a history notebook and reading Great Books for high school.  This seems so much more meaningful than prefab discussion questions and textbooks. I love the idea of them finding topics that interest them to research on their own.  Right now, they’ve not taken ownership of their learning.  Don’t get me wrong, they are somewhat independent, starting their work on time and working till complete.  But I’m the one who directs all of their learning. 

I’m not sure how much of this is possible for us now or how to pull it off, but I would like to move in that direction and try what we can. 

My oldest has one more year before high school. This year he and his brother worked through ancient history together, ending with the fall of Rome.    Should we just continue this progression through (which was my original plan) and end up in the ancients again for 11^th grade or should we start over with ancients in 9^th Grade? I know you can’t answer this specifically for me, since you don’t know my kids, but what has your experience been? 

I think my boys are good readers but I am not sure they will be able to handle great books for high school.  To give you an idea, this year my 7^th grader has read To Kill a Mockingbird, Edith Hamilton’s Mythology and The Eagle of the Ninth. Have you done a mixture of good books and great books? Any suggestions?

Please excuse this long post.  I’m just trying to wrap my head around how we can incorporate these new ideas into our homeschool.  I would appreciate any advice or suggestions you can offer. Thanks!

[Clemsondana]

I'm sure that you will get some fantastic recommendations, but you definitely don't have to pick one approach and follow it all the way through school.  Homeschooling allows you to fill in gaps and change as your family's needs change.  If your oldest needs some spelling intruction, there are books written for teens and even adults.  I use Spelling Works by Halverson with each of mine at some point in middle school.  Some word roots books also help with spelling.  

8th grade is a good time to try a different approach if you think it would be a better fit.  Different kids do better with different things.  One of mine would willingly read dense nonfiction, for instance, but hates learning about history through fiction because he can't tell what is true and what is just part of the story.  Other students have thrived on literature-based programs.  

In some places, high schoolers need 1 year of government/economics, one year of world history, and one year of US history, while in others you have more flexibility.  But, with the first set of requirements, you could continue keeping your kids together in your history cycle for a few years, and then do government or US instead of starting ancients over again. Or you can keep them cycling and just make sure that you have enough that you're comfortable counting it for required credits.  I can't imagine that any outside agency is going to care if you have a 3 or 4 year history cycle in high school, so in that sense trying to get it all starting high school is artificial - if your kid did a history cycle between 7-10th grades, then they have seen everything.  If they want to cover something more in-depth instead, that would also be OK.  I chose to do a 3 year cycle in middle school so that my older will have the background to choose some things to study in high school.  

I don't think there's any problem with changing gears if something doesn't work.  I started with a formulaic grammar approach, but then realized that we needed to work on certain things.  I switched to Michael Clay Thompson's series, where the interactive style was 180 degrees from the written-to--students workbook I had been using.  It worked fantastically, but then I realized that one kid wasn't getting enough punctuation, so we added a Critical Thinking Company workbook.  For my older, we work on writing through writing about history rather than taking tests.  I plan to do the same with younger, but their personalities are different so we may change that.  But, I don't think there's any problem with getting to content too late - if it's a good approach for a particular kid, It might have been best to do it for 12 years, but it's better for them to have it for 3 years rather than no years. And, even with that, sometimes unexpected growth or gaps will necessitate a change even with material that you like.  

[8filltheheart]

There is no such thing as too late.  Learning is a lifelong adventure. 🙂  I also agree with @ClemsonDana that there is no reason to pick a single path for educating our kids.  Not a single one of my children has received an education resembling their siblings'.  They are all very different children with different strengths and weaknesses.  Each of them has their own interests and goals.  Homeschooling means they don't have to conform to a set list of courses/books/curriculum or methodology. Homeschooling means that courses/methodology conforms to their individual needs.

FWIW, I have 3  kids who are horrible spellers (dyslexic). Spelling instruction through graduation was/is a necessity.  (Not huge gains, but enough to make it worthwhile)  I have some who dropped spelling in 7th.  Great spellers who imprinted spelling from just reading.

For grammar, for your older kids Analytical Grammar can catch up kids in a fairly decent way with very limited time.  For younger kids, teaching organically through discussion works better for long term retention and understanding.   I have written about my approach here (2 posts in length)  

For the 12 and 13 yr olds, I would teach them to take notes from their reading.  Outlining is one way.  Creating their own method is fine, too.  SOme of my kids prefer Cornell notes (my 8th grader loves this approach and it has really improved her long-term retention) 

 

 

[Amccracken]

Thank you all for taking the time to reply.  These are all very helpful.  I have a lot to think about over the summer.  I'm just going to have to jump in and see where it leads.  :)  

On 5/10/2020 at 1:49 PM, txk said:

 I knew instantly that it was what I wanted to do so didn't really let their ages stop me.  But I also realized that I would have to ignore the traditional timeline expectations for kids in our country.  So I did that and it worked well for our family due to our particular circumstances.        

This is really what I need to do also.

I'm actually looking forward to planning for the first time in a long time.  We all need a change.  I've been homeschooling for almost 8 years and I've been having serious doubts in my ability to tackle high school successfully.  My husband is a high school principal and would love to have our boys at his school - and they may end up there one day.  But I started homeschooling because I truly believed it was the best educational choice for us.  I still do. Thanks again!  

[Reefgazer]

On 5/9/2020 at 1:45 PM, Amccracken said:

I've always homeschooled my three boys (ages 9, 12, 13) using mostly a Charlotte Mason approach.  This has seemed to serve us well.  My boys are readers, they are at grade level with math and they enjoy science.  But this year we hit a wall with writing/composition.  I need explicit  writing instruction for my children because this is not my area of strength.   I found WWS and it has given me the help I need, which led me to read WTM.  I'm sorry I did not read it earlier. So much of it resonated with me.  As I read WTM I see areas where I want to change the way we homeschool but I’m afraid that we are coming to the party too late. 😃

For example, my oldest will be 8^th grade next year.  He started reading early.  I stopped phonics with him as soon as he began reading.  I wonder if that’s why he struggles with spelling.  Would it be worth going through a spelling program with an 8^th grader?  I even wonder if spelling programs work, to be honest.  I’ve always had trouble with spelling myself. 

They’ve all had some grammar, but not consistently.  This year we worked slowly through Easy Grammar 6.  And they’ve done fine, but I’m not sure how much they have internalized. 

I love the idea of writing through the curriculum, keeping a history notebook and reading Great Books for high school.  This seems so much more meaningful than prefab discussion questions and textbooks. I love the idea of them finding topics that interest them to research on their own.  Right now, they’ve not taken ownership of their learning.  Don’t get me wrong, they are somewhat independent, starting their work on time and working till complete.  But I’m the one who directs all of their learning. 

I’m not sure how much of this is possible for us now or how to pull it off, but I would like to move in that direction and try what we can. 

My oldest has one more year before high school. This year he and his brother worked through ancient history together, ending with the fall of Rome.    Should we just continue this progression through (which was my original plan) and end up in the ancients again for 11^th grade or should we start over with ancients in 9^th Grade? I know you can’t answer this specifically for me, since you don’t know my kids, but what has your experience been? 

I think my boys are good readers but I am not sure they will be able to handle great books for high school.  To give you an idea, this year my 7^th grader has read To Kill a Mockingbird, Edith Hamilton’s Mythology and The Eagle of the Ninth. Have you done a mixture of good books and great books? Any suggestions?

Please excuse this long post.  I’m just trying to wrap my head around how we can incorporate these new ideas into our homeschool.  I would appreciate any advice or suggestions you can offer. Thanks!

I'm going to target my answers to the bolded in order to stay focused:

1.  One word for spelling:  Logic of English.  It has an option for adults and older children to review and learn phonics, as well as a spelling component.  It's a excellent program and very adaptable regardless of your child's age and/or needs.

2.  Grammar:  MCT grammar.  It's so engaging everyone will internalize the concepts.

3.  I would start with foundational literature at the highest level they can handle.  So, Greek and Roman mythology, the Odyssey, etc.  Grab a high school level classic book and if they can't comprehend it, drop down to a middle school level at first (or an audiobook).  But it's important to have a familiarity with those base stories for history and classical studies.

[Amccracken]

4 hours ago, Reefgazer said:

I'm going to target my answers to the bolded in order to stay focused:

1.  One word for spelling:  Logic of English.  It has an option for adults and older children to review and learn phonics, as well as a spelling component.  It's a excellent program and very adaptable regardless of your child's age and/or needs.

2.  Grammar:  MCT grammar.  It's so engaging everyone will internalize the concepts.

3.  I would start with foundational literature at the highest level they can handle.  So, Greek and Roman mythology, the Odyssey, etc.  Grab a high school level classic book and if they can't comprehend it, drop down to a middle school level at first (or an audiobook).  But it's important to have a familiarity with those base stories for history and classical studies.

 

Thank you for the suggestions.  This is very helpful.  I will check these out.