Classical Education

The method or style that we're going to use to homeschool our kids is the classical method.  The classical method adheres to the trivium, which is an educational theory suggesting that kids grow and learn in three distinct phases.  There's the grammar stage, the logic stage, and the rhetoric stage. 

The grammar stage is approximately 1st - 6th grade.  At this stage, young minds are excellent sponges and they tend to soak up facts like they're going out of business.  So a lot of memory work (not necessarily with context yet) happens at this stage; they may memorize the US presidents, a history timeline, the 3 types of blah blah blah in science, etc.  During the grammar stage, young minds typically aren't developed enough to creatively write, reason, and express themselves. 

The next stage, the logic stage, is in the junior high years.  This is where more of the context gets filled in on what the student learned in the grammar stage.  The cause and effect of situations is studied (what caused WWI, for example) and the student's ability to reason is grown.

The last stage, the rhetoric stage, is the high school years where the students learns to persuasively express the opinions, reasoning, and logic that they developed in the logic stage. 

The classical model is also great because it teaches students how to learn.  First you learn the "grammar" of a subject.   Then you study the "why" of the subject.  Then you can express your findings through substantive expression. 

There are many resources for learning more about the classical model of eductation.  The following books have given us a solid foundation in the classical method:

• The Well-Trained Mind
• Teaching the Trivium
• The Core

You can also look on the Well-Trained Mind website for more information on the classical model.

There are many other homeschool styles out there:  traditional, ecclectic, unschooling, unit studies, Charlotte Mason...  But we chose the classical method because A) it is a rigorous method of studying  B)  it teaches the kids how to learn  C)  it will hopefully instill in the kids a love for learning.