With today’s technology we can send messages across the world in three seconds. In this fast-paced world, who needs to write a letter? With email, fax machines, and telephones (and the list goes on), who needs a good old-fashioned piece of paper and a pencil? Unfortunately, this is the view of most people today. According
My husband, Robert, grew up on a farm in the 1950s. He attended one of the last one-room schoolhouses in northern Illinois, and his days were filled with the kind of adventures that happen to a little boy living in a rural setting. Our children never tire of hearing “Daddy’s” farm stories–like the time an
Awkward. Even the spelling of the word is disturbing. If we look back, we likely have memories of high school or college teachers having scribbled the ugly “Awk” word in the margin of our paper, leaving us with the tremendously helpful insight that whatever it was we were trying to communicate didn’t quite work.
The best methods of teaching spelling cater to multiple learning styles. They address all three of the main learning channels: visual (seeing), auditory (hearing), and kinesthetic (doing). Unfortunately, the kinesthetic (or “tactile”) channel winds up neglected in many cases. There are a number of effective tactile ways to practice spelling. Some of these include: Building
God knows that homeschooling can be tough sometimes. Some days are wonderful, and you can see the fruits of your labor. Your child’s handwriting is neat, the answers are correct, and his attitude is cooperative. On those days, you know why you homeschool. We all love those days–reading together as a family, working together on
Although Encyclopedia Brown is famous for what he did know, Encyclopedia Dad is famous for what he doesn’t know. Knowing so little, how did I earn that nickname? You may have guessed it-by my pernicious habit of stopping whatever I’m doing, leaping out of the chair, and bounding over to the bookshelf to grab a
By Amy Hastings Olsen A Primer for the Progymnasmata Two boys are working on their writing assignments. Nathan stares at a blank page, chewing on his pencil; his assignment is to write a cowboy adventure story. Jimmy, next door, bends over his paper scribbling away. His assignment is to rewrite the story of Sir Galahad;
For those of you who have no clue what classical education is, I will attempt to explain it in lay terms. You will hear the word, “Trivium” which is basically a breakdown of learning stages into three main levels: The Grammar Stage–From K through elementary, the focus is mainly on memorization of the facts of
Andrew Kern is the director of The CiRCE Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. CiRCE’s purpose is to “promote and support classical education in the school and in the home,”a mission it accomplishes through teacher training, writing workshops, conference speaking, and an annual CiRCE conference. After hearing Andrew Kern speak at the Classical Christian Home Educators
Have you ever met a conference speaker or curriculum provider that you listen to on a regular basis? It is like meeting a long-lost friend. These people faithfully assist us in our daily responsibilities, and I, for one, appreciate it greatly. A recent addition to our day is Traditional Logic from Memoria Press, and, thanks
TOS chatted recently with Gene Edward Veith Jr., popular author, WORLD Magazine columnist, and new Academic Dean of Patrick Henry College. Dr. Veith shares his thoughts on Christian life, homeschooling, and classical education. TOS: So how did an English professor come to be the cultural editor at WORLD Magazine? GEV: Marvin Olasky had been the