Almost 20 years ago, I was listening to a radio broadcast on Christian radio and heard the host describe a list of things that were statistically known to help children walk well along their Christian journey. One of the items on that list was “having an adult, other than parents, who spurred them on in the faith”.  I encourage you to be that person. And if you are the grandparent of a homeschooler, you have an extra special opportunity.

Understand the Benefits

The homeschool community is growing but still contains only a fraction of school-aged children in Canada. Many parents waffle a bit as they entertain the idea of homeschooling, and it can be a challenge for grandparents too; I encourage you to get on board early. Here is a list of benefits that might help you understand why your children have decided to take this on.

1. There is more time to bond as a family
2. Children are not immersed in competing worldviews day in and day out
3. Families are less reliant on the government
4. There is more time available to spend with grandparents
5. Increased opportunity for one-on-one instruction
6. More time to pursue interests
7. Freedom to avoid the hurried pace of the typical school experience
8. Children can more easily work at their own pace

If you are still struggling with the idea of your children homeschooling your grandchildren, consider being supportive despite your reservations. Over time you will witness the benefits and may even become an advocate.

The Nuts and Bolts

If you’ve decided to jump in and support your children and grandchildren there are a few key things that would be helpful for you to know.

1. Each province and territory in Canada has a different set of homeschooling regulations. Find out what they are in your area.
2. Some homeschool families remain connected to the public school system while others are able or choose to be independent. For families connected to the public system, there are often checklists to complete throughout the school year; maybe there is something that you can take on.
3. Here is a starter list of common homeschool terms for you to research
   1. classical education
   2. charlotte mason education
   3. unschooling and deschooling
   4. traditional homeschooling
   5. eclectic homeschooling
   6. outdoor/forest/wild schooling
   7. read-alouds
   8. copywork, dictation and narration
   9. living books and twaddle
   10. unit studies

Support

Once you are armed with basic information, you are ready to find out where you can fit in. You have talents, passions, interests, and wisdom to pass on to your grandchildren. Talk about it with the parents to see how you might be able to serve, but be sure to figure out what will work for them; maybe it will be once a week, maybe it will be once a month. I know an involved homeschooling grandma who is planning to teach German to her grands, but the subject matter does not have to be academic in nature. You can pass on your gardening skills, mechanical giftedness, start a book club or a weekly bible study.

There is no shortage of ways to serve a busy family even if you are not interested in teaching. Take the time to figure out what might be a good fit for you. My Mum has been a huge blessing to us over the years. Once a week she came to help with laundry, make dinner, play games, and visit with the children. Those days often became my appointment and errand days, and I was regularly able to take time for phone calls and visits with friends.

What I’ve described so far might seem like too big of a commitment for you or maybe your family is just too overwhelmed, at the moment, to figure out how to include you. Honestly, the smallest gesture can be so helpful. In an attempt to feed my family healthy food, I often found snack time challenging. Making homemade muffins, or dropping off a fruit or veggie plate might be just the thing to help your family.

If you have the means, consider helping financially. When a family decides to homeschool, they take on a significant financial commitment, often living on one income and having to purchase all the needed curriculum, lessons, books, and supplies. Offer to pay for a set of swimming lessons, buy the art supplies, or fund a book-a-month club.

Try to Avoid

A key benefit to homeschooling is the opportunity to develop an individualized education that is tailor-made for each student. Therefore, it is counterproductive to compare one grandchild to another, either within a family or between families. It is completely acceptable to have students who start reading at age 4 and in grade 4.

Avoid using spot quizzes to gauge how well this homeschool thing is working out. Instead, look at the relationships, and the developing character, faith, and love.

Socialization is not something you need to worry about unless your grandchildren never leave the house. If they are going to the grocery store, getting together with other families for walks, hosting visitors in their home, and visiting you, they are learning how to socialize.

Instead of being offended by your adult child’s decision to do something differently from you, take it as a compliment; you have raised a brave, courageous, independent, and responsible adult.

Final Thoughts

Your adult children are pulling a wagon and it contains the vision they have for their family and it’s a heavy load because they have a host of forces that are trying to pull that wagon in other directions. They need you to come alongside and help pull that wagon. Take the time to discover what their vision is and then, even despite not understanding all the parts of the vision, pitch in.

Note to Parents

If your children have a grandparent that helps pull your family wagon in the direction that you are trying to go then Grandparents Day is the day to give them extra praise. They really are a valuable resource.

Thanks to my own sweet Mum. I want to be just like her when I grow up.

by Adrianne Curwen

Adrianne is a wife to a public-school educator/administrator and a homeschooling Mama to seven children. She believes that we have a unique opportunity as homeschoolers to design individualized education that suits giftings, interests, and passions. She and her husband have used a blend of registered homeschooling, enrolment with independent DL schools, and participation in public trade school programs to design individualized programs for their children.  She is passionate about using as many read-alouds, picture books, novels, and conversations to educate her children but also gets excited by the amazing homeschool-designed curriculum that’s out there.  Adrianne is thrilled by her new role as Communication Specialist for Classical Education Books and is grateful to have an opportunity to learn something new.  She is grateful, every day, for her saviour, Jesus Christ, and has no greater joy than when she sees her most important missions field walk with Him.

The post My Adult Children are Homeschooling My Grandchildren – Now What? appeared first on Classical Education Books.

We don’t run a rigorous homeschool, but I like to be productive and can get discouraged when the hours float away with little to show for it. I am on a constant quest to improve our mornings and am a firm believer in the idea that winning the morning is key to winning the day; those days become weeks and months before you know it.

In part one, I wrote about Homeschool Morning Time/Morning Baskets as part of a successful morning; you can read about that here.

Habits help your mornings.

Another key ingredient that I aim to include in our mornings is good habits. If we were to all sit-down and share our visions for a successful morning, none of us would include spending 20 minutes looking for the grammar textbook before starting the grammar lesson! Instead, we should be building in ourselves and our children some foundational habits of orderliness. Good habits are important, and your morning habits set you up for the rest of day; poor morning habits have a way of reaching into your evening, and poor evening habits reach into the next morning (morning girl hates late-night girl).

Values and Habits

You need to decide for yourself what habits are important to you. Start by thinking about what you value and go from there to build habits in yourself and your children. We don’t all value the same things, in the same order of priority and that’s ok. There are many categories of habits: health & wellness habits, spending & financial habits, social & relationship habits, cleanliness & orderliness habits, productivity habits…the list goes on. It really is worth sitting down, thinking things through, and coming up with a plan to incorporate the habits that align with your values.

What works for me, might not work for you.

I’m someone who values orderliness and so in my world, washing the breakfast dishes right before having to make lunch is a madness maker but really there is no law that says breakfast dishes must be washed immediately after breakfast. I believe what’s important is that you have a plan and live with a quiet confidence in your plan. Those breakfast dishes need to get done and if washing them at noon fits better into your day then go with that. What I think is hard to live with on a day-to-day basis is to arrive in the kitchen at noon and realize, “Oh right, I haven’t done the breakfast dishes yet”.

The morning is key!

As you work through the process of identifying your values and then deciding on what habits need to be worked on, focus on morning habits for now. There is no need to tackle an entire days’ worth of habits or every single beneficial health and wellness habit all at once. Instead, focus on what you want your mornings to be like and evolve from there.

Training your Children

Your children are building habits whether you guide them in this or not and they will be habits that will serve them well in the future or compound the challenges of life.

Training the habits of children is challenging and sometimes slow going. If we were enjoying a cup of tea together, I would encourage you to start young but with a long view in mind; avoid too much too soon as small changes over time make a big difference. Begin with a few foundational habits that are important to you, master them and then add more; be gentle but consistent, and inspect what you expect.

Classical Education Books carries a stack of resources to help you with your habit training.

Laying Down the Rails

Teaching Character Through Literature

Manner of the Week Wall Chart

Healthy Happy Habits

Good Manners for Kids

Myself & Others

Mind Your Manners

New Americal Cursive – manners

by Adrianne Curwen

Adrianne is a wife to a public-school educator/administrator and a homeschooling Mama to seven children, ranging in age from 7 to 23. She believes that we have a unique opportunity as homeschoolers to design individualized education that suits giftings, interests, and passions. She and her husband have used a blend of registered homeschooling, enrolment with independent DL schools, and participation in public trade school programs to design individualized programs for their children.  She is passionate about using as many read-alouds, picture books, novels, and conversations to educate her children but also gets excited by the amazing homeschool-designed curriculum that’s out there.  Adrianne is thrilled by her new role as Communication Specialist for Classical Education Books and is grateful to have an opportunity to learn something new.  She is grateful, every day, for her saviour, Jesus Christ, and has no greater joy than when she sees her most important missions field walk with Him.

The post Do Mornings Well part 2 appeared first on Classical Education Books.

“Win the Morning, Win the Day!”

I see this quoted often in books, on blogs, Instagram feeds, and Facebook pages that are dedicated to productivity, entrepreneurship, personal growth, and habit development.

I’m not an entrepreneur, but I’m a bit of a productivity/habit/organization nerd, and over the last several months, I’ve been wondering how some of the excellent advice that is given in the business space might apply to homeschooling. One of the key concepts that I come across on a regular basis is the idea of setting yourself up to win your mornings. In the business world that often means being up at 5 am, getting in a good workout, answering emails, reviewing the day’s schedule of meetings, and planning out a list of tasks.

Winning the morning is a concept that can be applied to anyone’s life and I’ve got three topics that I’d like to share with you over the next several months that will help you win your homeschool mornings.

1. Morning Time
2. Building Habits
3. Bullet Journaling

Morning Time:

Mornings with my children have always been a treasured time. So much so that it was a challenging adjustment as my children grew and started to be out of the home most mornings with work and post-secondary classes. The memories of first morning smiles from my babies, first hugs of the day from my toddlers, and big kids who always seemed to be in the mood to snuggle first thing in the morning are some of my favourite mothering moments.

Our homeschool mornings have always been gentle and slow-moving, but productive. The nighttime nursing years rarely saw me out of bed before the little ones, but now, with my nursing years behind me, I’m able to get out of bed before my children and accomplish a few things before waking them up to get started with their day. I encourage you not to miss the opportunity we have to make special morning memories. It’s worth seeking out how to do them well.  And winning the morning sets you up for a great day.

I first heard about morning time at a homeschool conference (also called morning baskets, lunchtime learning, together time, morning meeting, family learning time, and circle time).  The concept is simply gathering your children together to learn something together and it is a great way to start the day.

We have tried implementing this concept at other times of the day, and you should do what works for you, but I think there are real benefits to sticking to mornings. Morning Time starts your day with order and routine, ensures that enrichment studies get done, and my favorite…if the rest of our day falls apart, we have still engaged in meaningful learning.

Getting Started with Morning Time

You don’t need heaps of time.  Start by setting aside 20-30 minutes and build up from there. I like to use several resources each morning, but you can start with one, and add on as you go.  If you are already doing a regular morning devotion, add one more component to your Morning Time to get you started.

Storage for Morning Time Resources

When I first heard about Morning Time, it was referred to as a Morning Basket and I opted to use an actual basket. We outgrew that basket quickly so I currently use a 3-tiered rolling cart, but you could use a bookshelf or box. Portable storage is ideal if you think you might want to do morning time curled up on your bed one day and at the kitchen table the next.

Scheduling your Homeschool Morning Time

Once you have built up a stack of resources you will want to consider scheduling.  My preference is a flexible loop schedule. I set things up so that I can move a resource that I’ve used one day to the back of the stack to wait for another day.  The only one I use daily is the bible resource.

You could opt for a set schedule too, where you have particular resources that are used on certain days.

I prefer to keep things flexible.  I make morning time a priority but there are times where I have to set it aside or we have to cut our time short so looping through the resources seems to work best for us.

Ages & Stages and Morning Time Resources

I’m currently spending my mornings with my four youngest (ages 7-15).  I have found that when we have used a resource that is geared towards younger children, the older ones have found the review helpful; when the resource is geared towards older ones, the younger ones still seem to be able to glean bits of information that build over time. I would encourage you not to fret over the age for which a particular resource is intended.  The bible resource we are currently reading is designed more for my 10-year-old but I know that it is a helpful review for my 12 & 15-year-old and my 7-year-old is making connections to the resource we used last year that was geared towards his age.

Key Components of Your Morning Time

Devotions. Reading a chapter-a-day from the bible works well or you can opt for a Bible storybook. At times we’ve added bible memory work. And when we attended a large church, we had a special prayer project where we rotated through praying for our missionaries (a practical geography lesson too). I would highly recommend any of these resources; we’ve used many of them.  The Ology and Wonderfull are next on our list after we are finished with The Children’s Illustrated Bible.

Other Bible Storybook Resources Include:

The Big Picture Story Bible

The Children’s Illustrated Bible

The Child’s Story Bible

The Story Bible

The Golden Children’s Bible

Jesus Storybook Bible

Story Bible for Older Children

The 100 Most Important Events in Christian History

When you’re ready, add a creative component: drawing, picture studies, poetry, a simple seasonal craft, and music study are a few ideas.  Keep in mind that the idea isn’t to do all of these every day. You want to loop through them throughout the week.

Bible Picture/Picture Study Portfolios

How to Draw…

A Child’s Book of Poems

Favorite Poems Old and New

The Gift of Music

Great Composers

A Child’s Introduction to the Orchestra

Read Alouds are my favourite resource.  I’m always finding books that I want to read to my children and have quite the stack. Read Alouds help you introduce your children to all kinds of topics; during a typical week, we might learn about owls, a far-off land, a historical figure, and how cities are built.  Read alouds are the best!

Katy No Pocket

Random House Book of Fairy Tales

King Arthur

My Side of the Mountain

Call It Courage

Wingfeather Saga

Buford the Little Bighorn

Blueberries for Sal

All of a Kind Family

The Green Ember Series

Listening for Lions

Review in the form of games, flashcards, and discussions.  This is a new component for us.  I’m trying to be more purposeful in our discussion topics and have recently purchased a few games to help us review math facts.

…Facts That Stick (Math Facts)

If you were a…(grammar picture books)

I haven’t tried long-term projects but I think this could work too.  Personally, I would avoid projects for morning time that will be too time-consuming with set up or clean up.

While everyone is gathered, I like to spend a few minutes on the administrative details of our day and week.  This is where I assign chores, give reminders about appointments, and review expectations about the grocery store trip that is planned for that day.

I love a well-written homeschool curriculum but the resources that I find that are easily pulled into our family morning time are my absolute favorite!

Check out our Morning Basket Whiteboard Video on our Youtube channel. It’s a great summary about how to get started with a Morning Basket/Morning Time.

by Adrianne Curwen

Adrianne is a wife to a public-school educator/administrator and a homeschooling Mama to seven children, ranging in age from 7 to 23. She believes that we have a unique opportunity as homeschoolers to design individualized education that suits giftings, interests, and passions. She and her husband have used a blend of registered homeschooling, enrolment with independent DL schools, and participation in public trade school programs to design individualized programs for their children.  She is passionate about using as many read-alouds, picture books, novels, and conversations to educate her children but also gets excited by the amazing homeschool-designed curriculum that’s out there.  Adrianne is thrilled by her new role as Communication Specialist for Classical Education Books and is grateful to have an opportunity to learn something new.  She is grateful, every day, for her saviour, Jesus Christ, and has no greater joy than when she sees her most important missions field walk with Him.

The post Do Mornings Well! Part 1 appeared first on Classical Education Books.

Summer had a certain “feel” growing up; it started with that walk home on the last day of school. Two months seemed endless and I welcomed, even as a kid, the change of pace. Bedtime was later, sleeping in was the norm, mornings were lazy, and we spent huge amounts of time outside. I still welcome the change of pace that summer brings, but I’m not a fan of taking two entire months off from routine and productivity. Instead, I like to use the summer to do all I can to make life easier through the upcoming school year, to get things done that I struggle to get to, and to enjoy a change of pace.

Today I’m sharing Seven Summer Suggestions for homeschoolers. I hope the warmer months bring a sweet balance of sleeping in, productivity, and a few extra lazy mornings.

Summer Suggestion #1 – Plan but not too much!

The days so easily slip into weeks, then months, and before you know it summer is over, and you’ve accomplished little. I like to create a summer wish list in June to give myself vision and structure for the coming weeks. My list contains all kinds of things: new recipes to try, places to visit, people to see, books to read, and tasks to complete. It’s important to be realistic, perhaps quite conservative regarding what you plan to accomplish. Remember, you want structure, not stress.

One of the items on my list is to organize weekly science experiments. My children enjoy science experiments but they are just one of those things that I struggle to find time for during the regular school year. Classical Education Books carries several science experiment resources; here is the one I have my eyes on for this summer.

Big Book of Science Experiments

If your school year is typically full of science experiments and activities then this resource probably isn’t for you. Maybe these easy reading resources would be a better match for some light summer learning.

Astronomy

The Periodic Table

Biology

Physics

Planet Earth

Engineering

Chemistry

Summer Suggestion #2 – Training

The summer months make great training months. Take the time to make a list of chores you hope to see your children doing as part of their daily routine when fall rolls around and take the summer to train them. You’ll be grateful once the busyness rolls around that your children know how to put dishes away, switch a load of laundry and make a simple meal.

Sometimes the focus needs to be on training character & behavior. The low-pressure season of summer provides a great opportunity for assessment and strategy. Teaching Character Through Literature is a great resource to use as you come alongside and train your children.

Summer Suggestion #3 – Win (most) Mornings

I like to indulge in the later evenings and mornings that summer affords but not for weeks on end. I prefer not to unravel our morning routine completely so this summer my plan is to treat every weekend as a long weekend and then set my family up to follow a routine during the rest of the week: regular bedtimes, waking times, and chores along with a morning learning time.

Our Morning Basket or Morning Learning Time always includes a selection of picture books…summer-themed of course.

The Little Island

One is a Snail, Ten is a Crab

Kermit the Hermit

Why Mosquitos Buzz in People’s Ears

Lucy’s Summer

Amos & Boris

My Shadow

The Storm Book

Roxaboxen

Blueberries for Sal

Summer Suggestion #4 – Learn Something New and Review

Sadly, all kinds of learning are pushed to the side during the regular school year. Summer is a great time to check off those extra-curricular boxes and this summer I’ve got my eye on “Art in a Box”.

Summer is also a great time to fill in gaps or master some learning that was a bit wobbly through the year like multiplication or penmanship. Take the time to discern what truly needs work; don’t take it all on. Remember, structure, not stress. This Summer Cursive workbook is a great way to get in a little extra practice before the year starts. It will make the school year better if this skill becomes effortless.

Summer Suggestion #5 – Get Organized

Although, I’ve had to adjust my standards over the years, starting the fall with everything in its place is important to me. I enjoy the process and admit that it comes naturally to me; I’m fortunate that way. We all have to outsource at times so maybe hiring an organizer is something you should consider.

Following is a list of organizational project ideas:

• Room by Room Organizing and Deep Cleaning
• Organize Recipes & Fall Meal Planning
• Digital Organizing (photos, files, email)
• Homeschool Supplies & Resources
• Closets & Clothing Inventory
• Christmas Planning
• Garage & Shed
• Deep Clean Vehicles
• Set up/Organize Emergency Supplies
• Plan, Organize and Shop for Birthdays

Summer Suggestion #6 – Build Habits with Habit Stacking

Habit Stacking is simple and summer is the time to introduce this concept. Pick a habit that you want to incorporate into your daily routine and attach it to an existing habit. That’s it! Do you forget to take your supplements each day but remember to brush your teeth? Put the supplement bottle in your toothbrush drawer. Do you have a child that has finally mastered making their bed every morning but forgets to put their pajamas away? Work on attaching the desired habit to the existing habit. It’s not enough to just discuss this idea unless you have a house full of self-starters. You’ll need to commit to inspecting what you expect.

Summer Suggestion #7 – Stock up on Summer Resources

Summer boredom inevitably creeps in at times. It’s a good idea to allow children to figure out solutions to their boredom but I do enjoy having a few things on hand to help things along. These boredom buster resources are great to have on hand. Pre-buying the supplies and having them tucked away is the way to go.

Lighthouses of the World

Let’s Explore Sea Animals

My First Book About the Oceans

Simply Classical Crafts – book 1

Simply Classical Crafts – book 2

Everyone here at Classical Education Books hopes you have a wonderful summer. We are around if you need anything.

by Adrianne Curwen

Adrianne is a wife to a public-school educator/administrator and a homeschooling Mama to seven children, ranging in age from 7 to 23. She believes that we have a unique opportunity as homeschoolers to design individualized education that suits giftings, interests, and passions. She and her husband have used a blend of registered homeschooling, enrolment with independent DL schools, and participation in public trade school programs to design individualized programs for their children.  She is passionate about using as many read-alouds, picture books, novels, and conversations to educate her children but also gets excited by the amazing homeschool-designed curriculum that’s out there.  Adrianne is thrilled by her new role as Communication Specialist for Classical Education Books and is grateful to have an opportunity to learn something new.  She is grateful, every day, for her saviour, Jesus Christ, and has no greater joy than when she sees her most important missions field walk with Him.

The post Summer Strategies for Homeschoolers appeared first on Classical Education Books.

Way Back When

I’d like to take you back to a time before the phrase “classical education” emerged. Way back to the time when communication between human beings was primarily oral, or speaking. Some people were beginning to create systems of writing where words could be put down in a concrete, tangible ways. But it was not easy to do, so only the most important, or valued words were set down in a way that could exist outside of the human mind. Many of the texts that we have from that beginning are a good source for us to learn about who we are as human beings, but also how human beings have behaved and how or if that has changed. We need to pay special attention to some of the civilizations that existed before the birth of Christ such as the Greek, Roman, and Jewish cultures. These are three cultures whose words were put in written form and passed through the ages. When we take a closer look we will see that, as some of the first recorded thinkers, they presented foundational truths that have been built upon.

To be fair, it’s not easy to take a few thousand years of history and boil it down to into a neat little summary. However, like a valiant student of the subject who can’t always distinguish between brash and brave, I’ll delve in with you and take to heart what G.K. Chesterton said: “If a thing is worth doing, it’s worth doing badly.” And I believe so strongly that it’s worth learning about our past because I believe that there is no other way to change our future. So let’s give this a try.

Some Truth and Good Ideas

The Greek civilization was keen to look at man as more than a physical phenomenon. Through the works of Plato we learn that man is more than a body; more than what is visible to the eye. Plato tells us about another part of man which we know to be the soul. He goes on, at tedious length I might add, to discuss what that means, and how a man can take control of his actions and become self-governed. He explains to us that to become more human, man must learn to conduct himself in a way that benefits the greater good, and the wider community of mankind. While all these ideas resonate with us, we feel something lacking. That’s because there was a major piece missing in Greek thought which became evident when, despite their efforts to be man in perfection, they were invaded by a barbarian horde who became their rulers.

Some of the barbarian hordes listened to the ideas that the Greeks had put forward, and these ideas resonated with them too. As a result, they tamed their wild natures to be able to get along for the greater good of the community, or you could say they learned to be civil. And thus, we come to one of history’s greatest civilizations, the Roman Empire. The Greek ideas became the teachers in this new order, and the idea of a self-governed man became alive as the civilization began to set up structures to rule over other people. The self-governed man was learning to rule as a governor of many men, but also how to live under a governor or many governors as good citizens. As a result of their thoughts and actions, they were able to extend their rule over less governed people and barbarians became civilized.

An Unavoidable Problem

As lovely as it might sound, this was not the utopia that man was longing for. Self-government and learning to live under man’s rule as a good citizen did not work out the way it had been planned. While many Romans were courageous and lived honorable lives, there were many cowardly and dishonest Romans. So it’s fair to ask the question: if these ideas are so great why was Greece conquered? Why did Rome fall?

Because man cannot be the perfectly self-governed individual. We know that this is true because before Plato ever drew breathe, a man named Moses lived. He was the leader of a small tribe of ex-slaves, wandering like nomads in the desert. Moses famously ascended a mountain to receive instruction from his God, the great YHWH. Moses received the powerful words spoken and etched into stone by YHWH for all the world to read: the two stone tablets of the law. He presented these words to his people and they scorned him. This Moses, beloved of YHWH, receiver of these great words was unable to contain his fully human anger towards the people. According to his God, the great YHWH that was the point. YHWH had been saying for many generations that His people could not keep these laws. But that didn’t stop Him from presenting the law to His people anyway, even after Moses destroyed the first copy deciding that the people were not worth of these great words.

Jesus is the Answer

So it was no small matter that, at the height of the Roman Empire, during the reign of one of Rome’s greatest governors, or Emperors, YHWH fulfilled his promise to take matters into His own hands and make everything right. He became man, in the form of a small baby, born in backwoods Jerusalem, far from the glory of Athens or Rome. This God-Man was to be the only perfect self-governed Man, and the only perfect Citizen that the world had ever seen. But what’s more, He would fill that longing that persisted in all mankind, even after we followed the Greek and Roman words that resonated as truth within our souls. That man was Jesus, the fulfillment of the words delivered by Moses, and the Saviour of a world that, despite its grasping for truth, would not be able to achieve perfection without Him. Because He was of another world, another Kingdom, and He calls us to be part of that kingdom too.

The Greeks present us with a model for good character. The Romans gave us the ideals for good citizenship, and the Jews bring us to Jesus and the truth of Christianity which holds all things together.

Character
Citizenship
Christianity

These three things are the foundation of becoming more fully human, and they build on each other. St. Paul works this out in his letters to the early church which, as you may remember was emerging from within the Roman empire. St. Paul’s instruction for good character is called the Fruit of the Spirit. St. Paul largely summarizes the verbose Plato in the succinct verse in Galatians 5:20 where he talks about the Fruit of the Spirit. We routinely pull this verse out when we are dealing with bad behaviour as if that one chapter and verse will convert a heart. Just like a good Greek would have looked to Plato’s texts. But without the Spirit, Plato’s law could not be fulfilled, and and humans had no hope of bearing fruit.

St. Paul also gives us instructions on obeying governments. It comes to us in a book of the Bible titled: Romans. St. Paul was writing to the Roman Christians on how to be good citizens. Isn’t it a bit ironic that St. Paul thought he had something to say about citizenship in a culture and age that prided itself in defining citizenship?

And finally, Jesus reveals to us that all our efforts are wasted unless we lose our lives to this world and allow him to resurrect us with our souls into the City of God; the eternal Kingdom. It’s only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we will be able to become more self-governed and therefore be good citizens.

What does all this have to do with education?

Before we choose the curriculum that we want to use to teach our kids, we have ideals that we want to teach. Most of the time our ideas or goals are not what we start with, but what we unintentionally end with. This is with good reason, since we have to deal with day to day practical issues that overshadow the ideals and lofty goals we may have. Things like the vast array of textbooks to review, government requirements to follow, and financial constraints to abide within. Then there’s the child’s attitude towards his education and work.

These things can consume our time and mental space, but if we don’t allow ourselves time to think about our ideals and goals, we will inevitably follow the spirit of the age and go with the ideals that don’t challenge us, but actually contribute to our wandering off that ancient path of truth, beauty and goodness.

The Heart of a Classical Education

So what if we turned our process on its head. What if we spent time thinking through what’s really important to us; to our children? What does it mean to be nurturing them in the fear and admonition of the Lord? What if we allowed the gospel and the stories of faithful people gone before us to influence us in how we come to our ideals?

This is behind what we know today as Classical Education. It’s also why there can be so many voices contributing to the definition of Classical education. Reading classic literature, teaching a thorough history chronologically, following a guided stage of learning for the child via the trivium; these are all tools we can use to teach character and citizenship in the context of Christianity.

While Greece and Rome fell away under the corruption of unredeemed human nature, we can follow the works of many Christians who used the foundational ideas and added to them the fulfillment of Jesus’ life and resurrection in those ideas. In the writings of the early Christians, we can learn how Jesus is the fulfillment of the longing for truth. Christianity points us to a new city, a greater kingdom whose King is perfect, who redeems us to perfect obedience even as we live in this fallen world. But it’s not just in the writings of early Christians that we see these ideas being worked out.

Tools to Use: Literature

Let’s take a look at some of the tools that can be used to teach these three ideals of character, citizenship, and Christianity.

Literature has always been a big part of education. It is a kind of upside-down pyramid that borrows heavily from the past as it tells us the story of human nature. Both the hero and the villain are characters that we can identify with easily as we delve into excellent stories. What is it that causes us to cheer for the underdog who performs heroic acts in the face of hopelessness, or perhaps we applaud wildly when the villain is defeated while at the height of his power?

Why do these things thrill us? Why do we want to share in this story? Because it fulfills the longing for the good, the true, and the beautiful. And ultimately finds its fulfillment in Jesus, the underdog who turns out to be King of the eternal kingdom. But it’s not just about the hero going out in a ball of flame. It’s also about the unseen work. The baby born in a stable, dying a humiliating death on a cross. A seemingly useless life. This story is only heroic because of Christianity. Because while the Romans and the Greeks were focusing on man and trying harder in their own strength, Jesus was showing us that we don’t have to be perfect and take over the world to have meaning. We can, and we must learn to have meaning in the quiet of our hearts, in prayer and contemplation. Only then can we find the strength to be the hero.

Practically that looks like the honors student who graduates from medical school. He gets a job at a lab and now he’s just one of the many employees with a number and a task. His work is in researching infectious diseases and creating antidotes. But in creating the antidote, he must first understand the disease, possibly even recreate it. One day, there in the back of the cluttered and noisy lab he realizes that he has the ability to bring humanity near to death while holding in his hands the power to heal them. What will he do? Now all his medical knowledge has reached the end of its usefulness. Mathematics and technology are no good to him. He needs to know what is good, true, and beautiful. He needs a moral compass to guide him, an instinctive truth embedded in his soul that will influence his decision. The world might never know that he faced this crisis that would have enveloped it. His decision at that moment may never be exposed, but he is, in secret, a hero if he chooses good.

Tools to Use: History

History is a fundamental part of who we are and how we came to be here. Our participation in community is evident in our local cities and churches, but we are also a part of a community that’s lived throughout the ages. Decisions that our ancestors made have directly affected us, and we had no control or influence in those decisions. But we still have to live the life they made for us. As the saying goes, “if you don’t know your history, you are bound to repeat it.” So what are we going to do with our lives to change the future?

Tools to Use: The Trivium

The trivium and the quadrivium are a way for us to sort out all the information that we want to teach to our dear ones. It also helps us to understand when and how we can teach certain subjects in a way that’s most effective. Since every subject is related to all the others, it’s important to know where to start so that we can let the subjects inform us about each other and help us to learn more over a shorter period of time. It also helps us to teach according to the natural development of a child. It’s no use trying to teach a 2-year-old logic. Any parent who has ever tried, me included, has had to learn that some things just need to wait for the child to be ready for it.

Tools to Use: Foreign Language

Foreign languages are important to help us understand other cultures and their practices. As I just mentioned, no subject exists in isolation, and foreign languages are crucial to helping us understand the practices and thoughts of other cultures, and just as importantly our own western civilization. Ideally, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew should be learned because these were the languages that were spoken around the birth of Christ and the languages of the emerging church. If we want to understand Christianity today, reading the early church writings will help us to see how God worked in history beyond his story given to us in the Bible. Practically, it’s easiest to start with Latin since it contains the same alphabet and grammatical structure as English. This would be an example of how we can teach many subjects in one lesson.

There is so much more that I can talk about but for the sake of time, I’m going to leave it there and encourage you to do some of your own reading and research into the ideas behind classical education.

Other Voices in the Conversation

I believe there are many educational philosophies of today that fall under this idea of teaching character, citizenship, and Christianity. One of the more popular methods that come to mind is the Charlotte Mason method. Charlotte Mason is a great example of how these ideas have been brought through the ages. She has written so much on character training, including basing her ideas of education on properly formed habits. Habits are essential to building good character and we would do well to listen to Charlotte Mason’s advice on this matter. Her inclusion of ancient literature like Plutarch or medieval writers such as Shakespeare are a glimpse into her own classical education.

Plutarch tells us of the lives of the Roman lawgivers. This relates directly to explaining what citizenship looks like. Shakespeare is mandatory reading for Charlotte Mason as a development of human nature. It’s no accident that many of Shakespeare’s plays have to do with kings and rulers. We cannot forget that good character loves “our neighbor as ourselves” and takes care of the community. In our day and age, we have large layers of governments ruling over us and we always have something to complain about regarding them. But have we thought about ourselves as good citizens? Even more than that, have we thought about ourselves as statesmen with an obligation to use our education to lead a government? Have you considered that you are educating tomorrow’s statesmen? Governors? How are you preparing them?

Charlotte Mason rooted everything she taught in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Her body of writing is so clear and concise on these ideas that it’s no wonder so many people love and follow her. She thoroughly and thoughtfully lays out to a modern world that there are foundational truths to being a human. Truth has not changed over thousands of years and it never will. We know that because, like Charlotte Mason, we root ourselves in the God of Christianity who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Her books show that her own education was firmed rooted in classical thought, and she gives us a very clear and bold way to teach our own children.

More recent writings about classical education are helpful, and need to be read and considered. But always against the backdrop of ancient writings and medieval thought. As we begin to rediscover what they mean we will see many differing views and opinions on how best to teach the past. We need to consider them, but not all of those voices will be right on everything. So we need to be discerning for our own families.

Final Thoughts

Are we just trying to recreate the glory of pagan cultures of the past? Go back in time? By no means. What Christianity points us to is a greater civilization and a Kingdom that’s out of this world. We are moving towards that kingdom, not looking back at fallen civilizations. However, we are not the first people who are traveling this road. Many people have gone before us, and many of them have laid the foundations for the road we are traveling on whether they acknowledged the destination to be the eternal kingdom or not. By listening to their thoughts as they first walked this path we can both avoid dangers that they fell into, and also strengthen the path for those who will come after us.

There are many philosophies of education and so many voices encouraging us to be the best we can, to do the best we can. But if we boil it down, it all still starts at the beginning. We want our kids to have good character, we want them to be good citizens, but most of all, we want them to be Christians because we know that that is the only thing that ultimately matters.

If you would like to read more about this, I encourage you to read:

The Liberal Arts Tradition by Ravi Scott Jain and Kevin Clark
Myth Made Fact by Louis Markos

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“Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, ⁴ and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, ⁵ to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.” Titus 2:3-5

Here’s what I know for sure.

1. If we need to be trained, the standard must not come naturally.
2. Loving our husbands and children is an imperative, a command, an obligation. It’s compulsory!
3. That last phrase, “that the word of God may not be reviled”, is an enormous consequence. It leaves me feeling like I have work to do.

A little bit of background

The Greeks had several different words that we would translate to the English word, love.  The scripture being studied here focuses on the Greek word, “philios”. It is the love for a friend; someone dearly loved in a personal way. It is experience/action-based love.  It’s the same love that Jesus calls us to in John 13:35, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.”

At first, it struck me as strange that the same word used to describe love for a friend would be used to instruct wives and mothers on how to love their husbands and children.  Surely, the love for one’s own husband and children is in a whole other category; at a whole other level.  The love for a friend seems a bit general.

I don’t always love what is revealed as I ponder these things, but it didn’t take long for me to realize that I have lacked understanding and my actions reflect it.  I started to think about the love I show to my friends and the love I show to my husband and children and I noticed a few things.

I handle offenses differently

If I’m honest, I overlook offenses much more easily when it comes to my friends.  Oh sure, it’s easy to justify these differences.  Living day to day with hurts from a husband is more challenging than the occasional hurt from a friend and I’m responsible to train my children so I need to point out what they are doing wrong.

I’m not suggesting that we don’t communicate with our husbands how their words or actions affect us.  And clearly, we should not forsake training our children.  I am suggesting that more could be overlooked, grace could flow more freely, and communication and correction should come from a better place; a place bathed in prayer; a place where there is a sincere hope for the relationship to be better; a place of genuine concern over their actions and behaviour.

Instead, our communication and correction often come from anger, fear, insecurity, selfishness, embarrassment, pride, perfectionism, and laziness.

I’ve learned a few things about handling the sin of others.

Handling the sin of another is tricky business.  I’ve seen this played out humbly and horribly, and I’m guilty of botching this one with friends and family.  My top takeaway when I’ve witnessed this played out well is that the “confronter” comes alongside as a fellow sinner, with humility, and compassion.  I imagine they were able to do this because their own sin was not some far-off unfamiliar thing.  Sincerely confessing our sins to God and others is a key ingredient to this familiarity.  We need to be well acquainted with our own sins and shortcomings if we are going to be able to come alongside our husbands and children in humility, compassion, and hope.  There is a way to interact with our sin that keeps us humble, compassionate, and merciful without burying us under guilt and shame.  You will need a full understanding of the gospel to do this.

My friends call upon me regularly to pray for them and I do pray. My husband and children don’t. Why?

I pray for my husband and children every day. I’m not sure why they don’t call on me for prayer but I know what I want to do about it. I have a very loyal prayer warrior friend.  I don’t know what her system is.  Maybe she has a list of names that she loops through, maybe my name is written on some calendar, maybe it’s something that just happens naturally when you are such a devoted prayer warrior, I don’t know, but she sends me a message every few weeks asking how she can be praying for me.  There is a well-worn path between her and me when it comes to prayer and she has been the one to clear that path!

My final thoughts:

There is a direct connection between our love for others and our witness for Christ; our love shows that we are his disciples.  This is so much bigger than having a good marriage or having children that turn out ok.

May we all seek the Lord in prayer, asking Him to reveal to us how we are falling short in the area of loving our husbands and children. May we display wisdom, restraint, and care as we communicate. And may we all have well-worn paths between us and our husbands and children, where we seek them out, asking them how we can pray for them.

by Adrianne Curwen

Adrianne is a wife to a public-school educator/administrator and a homeschooling Mama to seven children, ranging in age from 7 to 23. She believes that we have a unique opportunity as homeschoolers to design individualized education that suits giftings, interests, and passions. She and her husband have used a blend of registered homeschooling, enrolment with independent DL schools, and participation in public trade school programs to design individualized programs for their children.  She is passionate about using as many read-alouds, picture books, novels, and conversations to educate her children but also gets excited by the amazing homeschool-designed curriculum that’s out there.  Adrianne is thrilled by her new role as Communication Specialist for Classical Education Books and is grateful to have an opportunity to learn something new.  She is grateful, every day, for her saviour, Jesus Christ, and has no greater joy than when she sees her most important missions field walk with Him.

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The Mitchells Series

The Penderwicks Series

The Fairchild Family Series

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Instead…

Reflect

Grab a pen and start writing about your year.  What was fantastic and what flopped?  Keep what worked and ditch what didn’t.  This exercise can be done in note form.

Hopes and Plans

What are your hopes and plans for this year?  Write them down; get them on paper.  I know, these sound just like resolutions and goals, and the truth is I’ve repackaged them a bit.  But keep reading.  Goals do give you a direction and something to aim for but that’s about it.  Too often I’ve made the mistake of thinking that goal setting will get me to where I want to be and the truth is that it doesn’t!

Build a Habit

As you focus on your hopes and plans, I encourage you to think in terms of habits.  What habits can you change or develop that will help get you closer to your hopes and plans for the year ahead?

By the way, when you are deciding on which ones to focus on, start with the one that causes you the most stress, anxiety, and worry.  Y’know the one that keeps you up at night?  Yeah, that one…choose that one!

Once you’ve identified the biggest, most challenging goal ahead of you, it’s time to start figuring out what habits need to go, change, or be developed.  Think it through, write it out, then start implementing the habits that will you help you get to your destination.  Even small, seemingly insignificant habits can have a huge impact over time.

A Personal Flop

One of my flops in 2019 was reading novels aloud to my children.  It didn’t really happen.  That changed in 2020 and it was addressing habits that really made the difference.  I changed the time of day and location from late afternoon on the couch to first thing in the morning, in pajamas, on my bed, under the covers with my kiddos.  What a great way to start a homeschool day and the new habit changed everything.  Sidenote,  did you know that you can wake up, exercise, do your personal devotions, shower, and then put your pajamas back on and crawl back into bed with your kiddos?

A 2021 Hope

At the top of my hopes and plans list for 2021…BEDTIMES!  This is going to be big for us and many habits will need to be addressed to make this plan a reality.  I will need more time to sit and think through things but my guess is that it will need to start with our dinner time habits.  An earlier dinner time would certainly make room for a better bedtime routine.

I hope you can see that stating resolutions/goals isn’t really enough.  You need to develop habits…good ones!

by Adrianne Curwen

Adrianne is a wife to a public-school educator/administrator and a homeschooling Mama to seven children, ranging in age from 7 to 23. She believes that we have a unique opportunity as homeschoolers to design individualized education that suits giftings, interests, and passions. She and her husband have used a blend of registered homeschooling, enrolment with independent DL schools, and participation in public trade school programs to design individualized programs for their children.  She is passionate about using as many read-alouds, picture books, novels, and conversations to educate her children but also gets excited by the amazing homeschool-designed curriculum that’s out there.  Adrianne is thrilled by her new role as Communication Specialist for Classical Education Books and is grateful to have an opportunity to learn something new.  She is grateful, every day, for her saviour, Jesus Christ, and has no greater joy than when she sees her most important missions field walk with Him.

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