I’ve been reflecting recently on the essential work of storing up language in children. I don’t mean merely learning individual phonics sounds or word families or even isolated vocabulary words. No, this important exposure to words is deeper than that. In her book, Proust and the Squid, author Maryanne Wolf highlights the significance of a child’s exposure to the language of ideas at a young … Continue reading Storing Up Treasures in the Grammar Stage
In response to Ian Mosely’s recent blog post, I agree that with older students, question-asking and roundtable discussion are indispensable methods for learning and important preparation for what lies ahead. As a college writing instructor, I often lament the inability (or disinterest) of students to participate in discussion of the main ideas and key questions of a text. They simply want me to disseminate the … Continue reading A Few More Thoughts on Classical Pedagogy: A Response to Ian Mosley and Joshua Gibbs
It’s an interesting practice to think through favorite reads from any given year. The list almost reads like a series of signposts marking key lessons learned, challenges conquered, or adventures undertaken. 2018 has been another year of learning for me, and my list of favorite reads testifies to that. I started off in January with Rethinking School—a book largely focused on meeting the needs of … Continue reading My Top 5 Books of 2018 (Sara Osborne)
Few things create anticipation and excitement in my youngest child quite like a monthly book order. In his pre-school mind, the opportunity to choose a book from the flyer is the highest form of reward. He lights up at the sight of the order form, carefully combs it over through numerous viewings, carries it around with him for days, and then asks with increasing urgency when … Continue reading Engaging Young Readers: Building a Healthy Diet of Good Books
I’ve happily noticed a recent surge of interest in addressing children with special needs in classical Christian education. Writers and educators have noted that this is an area of weakness in the resurgence of classical Christian education. Due to school size, staffing, and perhaps a general lack of energy or time to devote to the issue, addressing special needs has simply not fallen within the … Continue reading Moving Forward: Classically Educating Children With Special Needs
Warmer days and longer light mean that summer has nearly found us once again. For most of us, the advent of summer brings a slower pace and freer schedule. This combination provides parents with a unique opportunity to promote learning and engage their children’s minds outside of the classroom. Regardless of the season, however, the thought of “education at home” can be intimidating. Planning and … Continue reading Four Ways to Grow Your Classically Educated Child This Summer
By Sara Osborne Warmer temperatures and longer days are building excitement for students and their families as summer approaches. We’re all eager for a change of pace and a break from the burn-out often associated with the end of the school year, yet we worry about our kids losing their skills over the summer. This need not be the case, however, if parents consider the … Continue reading Get Ready for Summer! Part 5—Latin and Other Languages
By Sara Osborne Warmer temperatures and longer days are building excitement for students and their families as summer approaches. We’re all eager for a change of pace and a break from the burn-out often associated with the end of the school year, yet we worry about our kids losing their skills over the summer. This need not be the case, however, if parents consider the … Continue reading Get Ready for Summer! Part 4—History and Geography
By Sara Osborne Warmer temperatures and longer days are building excitement for students and their families as summer approaches. We’re all eager for a change of pace and a break from the burn-out often associated with the end of the school year, yet we worry about our kids losing their skills over the summer. This need not be the case, however, if parents consider the … Continue reading Get Ready for Summer! Part 3—Reading/Writing/Grammar
By Sara Osborne Warmer temperatures and longer days are building excitement for students and their families as summer approaches. We’re all eager for a change of pace and a break from the burn-out often associated with the end of the school year, yet we worry about our kids losing their skills over the summer. This need not be the case, however, if parents consider the … Continue reading Get Ready for Summer! Part 2—Science
By Sara Osborne Warmer temperatures and longer days are building excitement for students and their families as summer approaches. We’re all eager for a change of pace and a break from the burn-out often associated with the end of the school year, yet we worry about our kids losing their skills over the summer. This need not be the case, however, if parents consider the … Continue reading Get Ready for Summer! Part 1—Math
by Sara Osborne One of the beauties of classical education is its aim to take students deep in the quest for knowledge. We live in a world in which “all that glitters is not gold” and students are bombarded by false messages masquerading as truth. Part of our task as teachers and parents is to prepare our students to mine beneath fancy rhetoric in order to … Continue reading Be a Bee
The Classical Thistle 