For the past two years, our homeschooling approach has been decidedly classical, as opposed to the heavily eclectic approach we had been using. We still mix in some ecclectic elements, but our focus is based around the trivium.

Basically, a Classical education consists of 3 stages, also known as the trivium.

1. The first stage, The Grammar Stage, encompasses grades 1 through 4 and lays the foundation for all future learning. This is the stage when the basics, rules, and facts are taught.
2. The second stage, The Logic Stage, encompasses grades 5 through 8, and it is a time when relationships between different knowledges are woven together in a logical way. 
3. The third stage, The Rhetoric Stage, encompasses the high school years and has the student putting the first two stages of grammar and logic together to draw conclusions. This is the time when specialization in certain fields can begin also.

To me, one of the neatest elements of a classical approach is the repetition process it applies to education. A twelve year plan of study will have the student repeating each of the 4 stages three times. The study pattern is as follows:

1. The Ancients (5000 bc – ad 400) – Biology, Classification, Human Body – Grades 1, 5, 9
2. The Medieval Period through The Early Renaissance (400-1600) – Earth Science, Astronomy – Grades 2, 6, 10
3. The Late Renaissance through Early Modern Times (1600-1850) – Chemistry – Grades 3, 7, 11
4. The Modern Times (1850-present) – Physics, Computer Science – Grades 4, 8, 12

I appreciate this approach because it begins in the beginning. Seeing as how history does not occur in a vacuum, and the United States does not exist in a vacuum, why should it be studied that way? Perhaps we give children too little credit when we assume that they are only interested in and capable of learning about that which is familiar.

Also, the classical approach respects a child’s intelligence and begins introducing original sources as early as possible. For example, when learning about Ancient Greece, our daughter read The Odyssey by Geraldine McCaughrean, which is a very well-done retelling of Homer’s original. Next time we work through Ancient Greece, she will read the original, and as she has already been exposed to it, it will neither be too difficult nor too boring for her.

Kate is a happy wife and stay-at-home, homeschooling mother of four children, ages 9, 4, 3, and 1 1/2. When not cooking from scratch, preparing lesson plans, wiping noses, folding an unending heap of laundry, or changing diapers, Kate spends her time writing and blogging. She maintains two personal blogs, A Simple Walk and Cooking During Stolen Moments, as well as co-founding Happy To Be At Home.

Photo by bluedaisy