classical approach

As for memorization, I believe in memorizing Bible verses, and I really don’t mind memorizing poetry at a young age, but otherwise no, I’m not a fan of rote memorization at ANY age. Let children learn through application – THAT is the learning that will stay with them, typically with better success. I memorized scores of history dates as a student. I don’t remember one of them. But I remember events and happenings that were interesting to me, things that I engaged in through projects, special reading etc…

I learned math facts and grammar through usage, not drill.

My kids prefer to memorize poems, songs etc – things they can act out and have fun with.

I think I’m done now, lol.

Grammar is such an abstract subject.  Do you want them to define its terms by rote memorization, and possibly learn to hate it, at a young age?  Or wait until it is more useful to learn it with a good understanding of applying it?  They learn grammar indirectly in the lower grades through copywork, literature, and poetry.  That sets a foundation for later when grammar is taught more formally and directly.

We have been participating in Classical Conversations this past year. Honestly, I’m still not sold, but it was a good socialization opportunity for the kids and that’s kind of how I viewed it. And I picked over the things I thought it was useful for the kids to memorize and let the rest go. We won’t be participating again next year, because (hopefully) we are starting a CM coop instead. Now, before I let it rip, I want to clearly state that I love my homeschooling friends who are Classical homeschoolers. I believe that they truly believe in the system they are using. But I can also say that many of my kids’ teachers have asked what we are doing at home, because my kids have a knowledge base and interest level that is lacking in many of the Classically educated kids. This isn’t because my kids are better than theirs! I believe it points back to the difference in methodology between the CM method and the Classical method.

I just finished “Consider This: Charlotte Mason and the Classical Tradition” and it really helped me understand how CM principles are actually more consistent with how Classical education worked historically and how far afield we have gone in what we are calling Classical education today. I am not against all memory work, and neither was Charlotte. But her method of synthetic learning and ‘setting the child’s feet in a large room’ of ideas is vastly different than feeding them snippets of information or trying to fill a pail with a never ending supply of factoids.

I do understand the concept that Classical Conversations and other Classical methodologies are trying to incorporate: that the child will build a framework (pegs) of knowledge, which will later be filled in with information in more detail. The problem is that they are viewing the child as a creation of the knowledge they are filled with, rather than a ‘born person’ with the capacity and desire to connect with great thoughts, great literature and great ideas. The trivium was never broken down into age or developmental segments, historically. The emphasis on memory work (and almost exclusively memory work) in the early stages of the child’s education is a modern concept – it was not part of the historical trivium. The trivium we are presenting through these programs is not the trivium that was taught to Greeks, Romans, or our forefathers. The purpose of the trivium was to connect the learner to great literature  (thus the emphasis on Latin, the only language the great books were accessible in historically). And Charlotte Mason’s methods are actually much more consistent with that purpose, in my mind, than the so-called Classical programs of today.

If you are interested in finding out more about the Classical method and tradition and about Charlotte’s approach to learning, I highly recommend “Consider This”. I am not sure how you feel about the CM method or how it is working for you, but I wouldn’t feel inadequate or try to duplicate what you see in these programs. Ask God to lead you to what will work for you and your kids!

At the top of the forum (or home page) select Plan CM and then Free Curriculum Guide. It gives great information and walks you through each grade, and what to do for each subject.

In our family, 7 or 1st grade, we start copy work. Just short sections at a time and build up to longer sections.