Seat Time vs. Instructional Time

I am happy to get private emails about homeschooling with Leadership Education principles. I've been getting a few about Transcripts lately. This is a challenging subject for the following reasons:

• Each person is different and is going to study different things.
• Each person is going to do different things once they "graduate" from homeschool. They will attend different colleges and universities, or just different types of careers. Each college/university has their own entrance requirements.
• Each state has different requirements for homeschool students. One state has no requirements other than an agreement to teach certain subjects while another has hours that need to be met each year. Yet another has subjects and hours per subject plus yearly state testing. This means each student will have to jump through different hoops.

Another thing to consider is how public school hours work. They have what they call "seat time" and then "instructional time". Seat time is the hours they are at school - 8am to 3pm. Instructional time for high school is 15 minutes of each 1 hour period. A student that goes to 6 periods a day actually only receives 1 1/2 hours of instruction time. Anyone who actually does a Scholar Phase is going to have tons more than that.

What are the other "seat time" hours spent on? - standing in line, walking between classes, lunch, waiting for class to start, waiting for class to end, finishing busy work assigned in class, etc.

So 180 days of instruction for 1.5 hours a day is actually only 270 hours of instruction per year, yet the public schools claim 1260 hours a year. I worked in public schools as a teacher and heard many discussions about seat time and instruction time.

If your child is spending 3-5 hours a day for 180 days a year, they are studying (not just sitting in a seat or standing in line) 540-900 hours a year. By the way, most state homeschool laws say they want 900 hours of instruction per year, which we all know is ridiculous for anything below high school and that the public schools don't even come close to that.

Underground Lava River Hike

The average Scholar will study 5,000 hours in their Scholar years! Divide that by 4 years of high school and you get 1250 hours per year of instructional time, not seat time. 

Granted, not all young people will finish their Scholar Phase in the "high school" years. This is okay. As you can see by breaking down the hours that even a student who is Transitioning until their Junior Year and then gets down to business for 2 years will have enough instructional time.

Seat Time - NOT!

Seat time is a myth. Who says learning only takes place in a seat? Think of all the things that are learned through homeschooling. We get out into nature. We get out into the real world to learn about how things work and to work with others of all ages. 

I was also asked about Physical Education. During good weather, we spend a lot of time outdoors with a 2 hour per week park day where we invite other families and play basketball, tennis, baseball, etc. We also schedule hikes and visit various National Parks and things that are available to us.

Over the years we've hiked canyons, visited several kinds of caves including naturally formed and man-made, visited Indian ruins and cliff dwellings, seen Civil War battlefields and outdoor museums, visited National Grave Sites, etc. We've been to the Grand Canyon and seen natural waterfalls. Probably the funnest place we saw when they were little was the City of Rocks and Cliff Dwellings in New Mexico.

The world is our school!

Review: The Real Thomas Jefferson

The Real Thomas Jefferson: The True Story of America's Philosopher of Freedom by Andrew M. Allison
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I typically do not love biographies, but I truly loved this one. I found it very well written and paced in a way that kept the reader engaged. The first half of the book goes through Thomas Jefferson's life while the second is a reference for topics and what he wrote or thought about them. Both are worth the shelf space to keep handy.

I'm thankful to have read about this great man. I enjoyed learning what he was passionate about and what motivated him. I wish I would have read this sooner. I wish all Americans would read this book and catch a glimpse into the true meaning behind the Constitution of the United States of America, what these brave Founding Fathers sacrificed, and compare with today's political environment. Oh how I wish the citizens of this great nation would see things through more than the colored lens of the moment and think through to the full end as people like Thomas Jefferson teach us.

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Review: LeaderShift

LeaderShift: A Call for Americans to Finally Stand Up and Lead by Orrin Woodward
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow! What a profound book! I had a little trouble with the business parable, because my brain does not work that way, but in all I think I was able to grasp the magnitude of what the authors are trying to teach Americans. We must all become citizen-leaders. No way around it.

In general I found the reading style very easy to understand, other than as I stated above, the business terms are beyond me sometimes. I wish I understood it better. If I did, I would most likely be more successful in business.

I can see influences of Cleon Skousen in this book and the definitions of what needs to change and the proposals made by the fictional characters to the Constitution are definitely in that category of Skousen-es thinking. I truly love Skousen's books and logic, so this greatly appeals to me on many levels. The type of think-tank the book describes is beyond anything I've ever experienced and I would not know the first thing about forming, attending, or becoming part of one.

As I read Part IV, I kept thinking in my mind, "the general citizenship is too lazy to do this." Who will put down there remotes, phones, tablets, etc. long enough to do the kind of work this new direction for America needs from its citizens? In the Founders time, they did not have the menagerie of entertainment. Yet, they also spent more time in the basics without the time saving conveniences we have. So, did they really have more time on their hands?

I hate to say it, but I don't think most people will buy in to the idea. Most will say, "Wow! Cool book." and then put it down and never do anything about what they learned. I guess that is why the book talks repeatedly about the 10% needed to make this happen. But will 10% even take the time? I hope so!

My last thought is about myself. What part do I play? Where should my efforts be spent? Who else can I bring along? What do I do?

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Review: Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus

Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus by John Gray
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus has been around for several years. I remember my mom reading it, yet I don't remember it helping them much. I guess maybe that is why I never felt impressed to read it myself.

I ended up with a free copy from a church Free Sale. I can't pass by free books very often. My daughter read it and told me, "This is so you guys (my husband and I)." So, I had to read it to see if she was right.

And she was...to an extent.

I do see the parallels with many of the generalizations Gray makes in his defining of Men and Women, their differences, and the problems when Men and Women communicate. I could also tell this book was obviously written by a man because of the many times he tells women to just accept men the way they are. I've always had trouble with books that do that because so many men in my life have been abusive. Why should women accept men the way they are if they are abusive people? That just never set well with me.

My husband is not an abusive person, so he doesn't fit my statements above. After I got over my initial dislike of some of the content, I did find many chapters on better communication and getting over past hurts that cause problems in our relationships as the main reason for reading this book. For those chapters and thoughts, I rated this book a 4.

In all, I think most people can find some good information in this book. Unless of course you are a homosexual, then this won't help you in your relationship at all.

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Reviews: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I spent a lot of time in the reading of this book, mainly because I did not want to treat it too lightly, and secondly because I wanted to truly learn the material. I realize, however, that I will need to do much more than read this book to learn the principles. I will need to deeply study this book before I can say I have mastered the principles taught here.

Like so many others, I found the 7 Habits earth shattering. I can see so many, so so many things that I need to change in myself in order to be more effective in my life. Sometimes it seems so overwhelming to think of all the areas I need to work on in order to make the changes I need to make. I can at least find comfort that I have found areas that need change and I have some inkling of what the changes are that I should focus on first.

On a personal note, I found the last chapter inspiring. Especially when he talks about being the Transition Person in the scripting of your life. I am that person in my family. I often stand alone because others cannot understand why I do what I do. They see my actions in a Win/Lose way and so can't fathom that I intend for all of us to Win! I hope and pray that as I continue on my path as a Transition Person, that somehow I can learn to communicate to understand with those who seem unable/unwilling to communicate at this point in time.

I highly recommend this book to everyone who wants to make vital changes in their life to be happier, more fulfilled, and to meet the needs of others in their life.

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It Is About Connections

I'm often asked if I've read this book or that book. Some wonder how I can read such "boring" stuff while others think I'm somehow a whiz now that I've read these books. I'm happy to say...I'm still the same lady! I do feel like my understanding is expanded, but the size of my brain and it's ability to multiply and divide fractions is the same. I have not somehow learned the secret to splitting the atom nor can I quote Shakespeare in large quantities (I wish I could because that would be cool). Oh, how I wish I had a photographic memory!

In September I took a class at Monticello College called "Introduction to the Great Books" Course I. The materials to study were selections of Plato, Aristotle, and Aristophanes. I loved it! I wish I had the funds to continue taking all of the courses.

The reason for my studies and the books I choose are for connections. How does learning to read and write effectively help one to express ideas? How does looking at the universe help me understand mankind? If I know about Socrates and how he taught, will I be a better teacher? I think so.

So, here is what I'm currently studying:

• Law - Plato
• Ethics - Aristotle
• 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (again) - by Stephen Covey
• The World Before Christ (volumes 1-3) - by Dan Hunter (studying this one with my teens)
• Our Oriental Heritage - by Will Durant

What I hope to get to soon:

• Education of a Wandering Man - by Louis L'Amour
• The Northwest Ordinance
• The Real Thomas Jefferson - by Andrew Allison
• The next Will Durant book in the "Story of Civilization" series.

Educate to Innovate Initiative

Recently President Obama said in the State of the Union Address that he wants to focus on "educating for innovation" because we need to compete in a global world. (See the White House webpage here.) The website says this will be done through:

"five major public-private partnerships are harnessing the power of media, interactive games, hands-on learning, and community volunteers to reach millions of students over the next four years, inspiring them to be the next generation of inventors and innovators."

The part that bothers me the most about this statement is "media and interactive games".  From the list of contributors on the website, it seems like video games to me.

Several years ago before I started educating my children at home, I worked in a computer lab at the local elementary school where my children attended. I oversaw a set of educational games that were engineered to teach the children for the state's mandatory testing. The school district was shown all kinds of charts and predictions on how much the children's test scores would improve with this system. The school district spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase this system for all of the schools and built additional computer labs in each school, then employed teachers like myself to implement and oversee the system.

I had access to two years worth of records on the student's test scores and I can firmly say that across the board absolutely NO improvement was made. A handful of individuals had improved scores, but as a whole it was a huge failure. In fact, the school lost some of the funding used for state testing after the second year. In other words, their test scores went down, not up. The school's test score rating in the state was lowered and they lost funding based on these results.

So what does that tell us? Could it be that entertaining educational products do not work?

In a 2003 study done about improving test scores using an ILS (Integrated learning System a.k.a technology driven, game like teaching) the following was reported:

"Controlled studies of ILS effects on reading achievement carried out over a period of three decades suggest, therefore, that ILSs do not usually make meaningful contributions to reading improvement in elementary schools."

However, if you do a search over the web you'll find countless websites telling us that educational video games do improve test scores. So what should we believe?

First of all, if you spend all your time teaching to the test then test scores will most likely improve. But what effect does that have on education for the individual? It might mean they know everything that their classmates know, but for how long? What cements that knowledge in place long-term?

Second, what do test scores matter in the world anyway? Does a student who does well in science and math always become an innovator? Does a student who aces the math section on the SATs always become an inventor?

I am a firm believer that we are what we eat. I also believe that we are what we read. If I spend all my time reading Comic Books, then I will only understand short sentences with very little plot. My focus will be minimal in understanding how the world works. I'll remain at a childish state of knowledge.

If I study Jane Eyre, Shakespeare, Socrates, Euclid, Einstein...all the great classics, I will be able to understand good vs. evil, philosophy, science, history, etc. My ability to discuss things of value will greatly improve and I'll know what the great minds of our world knew. I will grow to a mature state of knowledge.

I will become what I read.

The question is...what do people who focus on media and video games become?

Review: The Jackrabbit Factor

The Jackrabbit Factor: Why You Can by Leslie Householder

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This books is available as a free eBook on jackrabbitfactor.com. It is listed on the Thomas Jefferson Education for Teens reading list and it has been on my list for a few months now. A friend recommended that I read it after I expressed my frustration with trying to get an online business going.

This book is an allegory about how to change negative thinking to positive thinking in order to attract what you want in life. I have read As a Man Thinketh and so many of the things taught in this little book sounded familiar in many ways, yet I had not mastered changing my thoughts.

I am now moving on to the next book Portal to Genius which actually has The Jackrabbit Factor: Why You Can in it, plus a prequel and sequel to that book.

I feel happier already having read this book. If nothing else comes from it, at least I will have worked on having a happier attitude and having more gratitude in life. My goals are clearer and written with more positive wording. I feel it can't hurt!

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Reading Leads to Less Depression?

The Nov. 22, 2011 issue of the Daily Inspire had an article on reading for happiness. This intrigued me quite a bit and so I looked up the article it quotes and found the abstract of the study mentioned. I guess you can tell that I like to look at the source.

I am very interested in this study for several reasons. There are people in my family who suffer from depression, including myself. I remember as a youth turning first to reading and later to music as a source of comfort. When I was younger, I turned towards reading. I found solace in the character's challenges and felt the time away from reality was a blessing. My father did not like all my reading. He felt I was trying to escape from my responsibilities (he was probably right) and when he found me reading would instantly give me more chores or household assignments to watch younger siblings. So, my voracious reading began to incur penalties.

Maybe that is why I was so drawn to "A Thomas Jefferson Education" and "Leadership Education" because I could see within it's pages the education I wanted as a youth. I could see the disparity between how teens are viewed in today's society vs. how they could be viewed. In turn, I've tried to give my children the freedom to learn, study, and read as much as possible. That is not to say I never interrupt, but I do try to make sure that they are given plenty of warning beforehand and a scheduled outline of what they need to accomplish each day for household responsibilities.

My turn towards music in my later teen years was encouraged by my parents. They bought me records (gasp!) and cassette tapes of various music. They never purchased books for me, in fact, I begged to go to the library and they rarely allowed it. The school library only allowed 2 books at a time and I could only go once a week. In jr. high, I discovered a librarian that would allow me to come into the library during lunch and read as well as check out more books. That year was one of the best for me!

I wonder if I had been allowed to read as I wished if my depression as a youth would have been less. There is no way to know, but it is an interesting thought.

My only question then becomes...what to do about the teen who doesn't want to read? How can we help them choose reading over music, video games and television? We can structure time, but sometimes that too is not enough.

World Religion Classics

I really only have one suggestion for studying the religions of the world....

....read their original works.

Scary? Yes, it can be. What if we are swayed to their beliefs? What if our children read their scriptural works and become hazy in truth and falsehood? For me the key has been to study the works with my own scriptures by my side. Sometimes I would check the references of my own scriptures after reading certain beliefs. Also, if a person's Core is not solid, then postpone reading other religious works until it is solid with right and wrong, true and false, good and bad.

What we found is that many religions have similar beliefs. Who knew, right? With that in mind, it is helping me to see two things:

1. We have much in common with other religions in which we can be happy about, sharing our mutual beliefs can help us find common ground to build relationships with our neighbors, friends, co-workers, etc.
2. Satan is very good at tweaking truth. He intermixes truth with his falsehoods. This knowledge helps me to see how easily people can be led away and reinforces the need to study my own faith DAILY!

World Religion Classics:

• Understanding the Times: The Collision of Today's Competing Worldviews - make sure you get the latest edition that includes Islam.
• Torah - Genesis
• The Bible
• Qur'an - Cows

Cross referencing between the Torah and the Bible is very interesting. My children and I found a few references in the Qur'an that are similar to Christian beliefs, yet many that are very different. We have not read all of the Qur'an, but have found certain parts of it to be useful to study so that we know where the Islamic culture is coming from.

This is not a very extensive list, for there are MANY religions on the earth today. Understanding the Times: The Collision of Today's Competing Worldviews is important to read to understand the different forces at work when it comes to religion and how they base their decisions.

NOTE: As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have another work to add to the study of Genesis in The Pearl of Great Price.

World History Classics

This is a continuation of my posts on Classes by Classics. World History is an all encompassing task to study. One could spend their entire life studying all the cultures and their various histories throughout all time. Think of it...the entire world's history! Most of us are lucky if we study a few stories about a few important periods of time. I would like to emphasize that pretty much all non-fiction is part of world history, so we could really pull any non-fiction book and read it as part of our world history studies.

From the TJED for Teens list:

• Antigone
• The Illiad
• The Odyssey
• The Trial and Death of Socrates by Plato
• Nichomachaen Ethics by Aritstotle

We have added:

• The World Before Christ: An LDS Perspective by Dan Hunter
• The World After Christ: An LDS Perspective by Dan Hunter
• Great Books of the Western World

See my post about our History Notebooks for more about what we are doing for history.

Review: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was very saddened by the events of Frederick Douglass' life. Of course, I've known for some time how slaves were treated, but it was just intensely tough to read it from a first-person point of view. I believe it is important to study people like Frederick Douglass who rose from such a life to become a leader in the movement to emancipate slaves. This is truly a must read for all Americans. We must be careful to never fall back into such a dark and degrading practice.

It is important to note that some countries still practice types of slavery and servitude. We must do what we can to stand up against this type of brutality and inhumane practice.

View all my reviews

This book is on the following classic lists:

• Thomas Jefferson Education for Teens
• American Youth Leadership Institute
• Classics for Youth

American History Classics

'I cannot tell a lie.'

American History is a pretty easy one to find classics on...or so I thought. Once I began studying American History, I realized that so many sources vary in their coverage of events. For example, I was raised on the story of George Washington and the Cherry Tree...remember that one..."I cannot tell a lie." How disappointing to find out the story is a lie!

It then becomes difficult to find true historical writings. I find that older versions seem to be the most correct and that we need to make sure we are reading unabridged versions of stories and histories. It is my belief that each time we read someone's abridged version, we are getting more opinion than fact unless it is well documented where the information comes from.

NOTE: This list overlaps with American Government. We choose to work on 100 hours for each subject and only allow a work to count towards one subject.

From Thomas Jefferson Education for Teens:

• Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas
• "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death"
• "The Present Crisis"
• Also see the list for American Government

We have also added:

We found a fabulous history series by Dan Hunter at Living History Books. These are LDS based and we love them! There is an American History set that we have not started yet, but it is on the list (Vol. 1 and Vol. 2). We have some of the other sets and love the writing style as well as the detailed outlines, time-lines, maps, and references to where he got the information from; making this series of history books one of the few "curriculum" items we feel are classics. It is written from a very TJED point of view (no tests or worksheets) and Oliver DeMille even wrote the forward for them. Dan Hunter suggests that rather than test students, require projects or papers written on people or events (see below for more info).

HISTORY NOTEBOOK
We are embarking on a new idea to make our own history notebooks. I am getting mine started in order to "model" this for my teens. When I mentioned it nobody shouted, "Hooray! I always wanted to make a history notebook." Rather, I got one blank stare that said in silent mocking tones, "Seriously?" and another moderate eye roll that sarcastically mimicked, "Another great idea mom has to add to my full study load." I know, it might only seem appealing to the history fanatic, but I hope to get one started myself first and maybe inspire some others in my home later. ;-)

Check out this free download over at Living History Books on making your own history notebook.

Here are also some free notebook pages I made up to use based on the download listed above.  It didn't like his, not clean enough for me I guess. There are three different line height pages, including emergent writer (primary lined) pages, which Dan Hunter's does not include.

American Government Classics

I love learning about the birth of America, the various changes over time, and the current state of our great nation. This is one of the most important subjects to study from the classics. Textbooks have left out so much of what is true and necessary in the study of our government. One must study the original documents and the original words of the founding fathers in order to gain their own understanding of what government is and should be.

There are a lot of books listed here. For high school "credit", we choose from these lists and study for 100 hours to constitute a high school credit per Missouri law. That is pretty easy to do from this list, however, we continue with this list for Depth Phase.

From TJED for Teens:

• The Declaration of Independence
• The Constitution of the United States
• "The Gettysburg Address" speech by Abraham Lincoln
• "I Have a Dream" speech by Martin Luther King Jr.
• The Real Thomas Jefferson by Allison, Maxfield, Cook and Skousen
• The Real Benjamin Franklin by Allison
• The Real George Washington by Allison, Parry, and Skousen
• The Making of America by W. Cleon skousen
• Democracy in America Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 by Alexis De Tocqueville
• The 5,000 Year Leap by W. Cleon Skousen
• The Law by Bastiat

Others we have added:

• The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin

Again, I would like to add sections of The Great Books of the Western World. 

• Volume 43 - Articles of Confederation, The Federalist, On Liberty by J. S. Mill
• Volume 2 Syntopicon - Chapter 3 -Aristocracy, Chapter12 - Constitution, Chapter 16 - Democracy, Chapter 31 - Government, Chapter 42 - Justice, Chapter 46 - Law, Chapter 47 - Liberty
• Volume 2 Syntopicon - Chapter 59 - Monarchy, Chapter 62 - Oligarchy, Chapter 63 - One and Many, Chapter 64 - Opinion, Chapter 90 - State, Chapter 95 - Tyranny, Chapter 98 - War and Peace, Chapter 99 - Wealth, Chapter 101 - Wisdom

Poetry Classics

Poetry is not a topic that interested me very much. However, I am beginning to find it necessary and even enjoyable. (We can't always love everything, can we?) I know that most songs are poems and so that has intrigued me enough to spark my interest. My oldest child loves poetry and even wrote notebooks of poems herself. My son writes some songs once in awhile and so I can see that my children need these classics even if they are not personal favorites.

Poetry from Thomas Jefferson Education for Teens:

• Best Loved Poems of the American People by Hazel Felleman
• Sonnets by Shakespeare
• Poetry and Mathematics by Scott Buchanan

I had never thought of poetry and mathematics being similar topics, but I can now see that the rhythmic quality of poetry does have ma mathematical applications. A very interesting topic of study.

We also added:

• The Great Ideas Syntopicon, volume 2, Chapter 69: Poetry - from the Great Books of the Western World set.

As in Mathematics where we recommend the Syntopicon for a place of study, we highly recommend the chapter on Poetry for deeper consideration. There are several pages of explanation of what poetry is, how it is an "art" and how it is language, philosophy, and history. Next are oodles of references for further study on the subject of poetry from the great authors and thinkers of the western hemisphere.

Medieval and Ancient History Classics

Aristotle

Medieval and Ancient History is a difficult one I think. First of all, there is not as much original texts from this time period. Secondly, what is available is harder to read and understand. I personally wait a bit on studying some of these original texts until they are firmly into Scholar Phase.

From the Thomas Jefferson Education for Teens list:

• Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, Vol. 1 (Saint Joan) by Mark Twain
• Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, Vol. 2 (Saint Joan) by Mark Twain
• Antigone by Sophocles
• The Illiad by Homer
• The Odyssey by Homer
• The Trial and Death of Socrates by Plato - Includes Euthyphron, Apology, Crito, and Phaedo of Plato
• Nichomachaen Ethics by Aristotle

Others we have added:

• Plutarch's Lives - also see Our Young Folks Plutarch, Plutarch's Lives for Boys and Girls, and the Children's Plutarch: Tales of the Romans.

Shakespeare Classics

 

Shakespeare...need I say more? An entire year can be spent on Shakespeare alone. My children have grown to love Shakespeare so much that they have requested their own copies. We have a copy from The Great Books of the Western World and one from the National Classics Series, both are accurate editions.

In addition to reading the classics, Shakespeare needs to be seen and experienced in play form to be complete. We try to attend as many Shakespeare plays as we can. They can be disappointing, however, in how they are interpreted. We've seen some modernized versions that are so cheap and misrepresented that it gives a poor shadow of the original. There are some good ones too, even some movies are perfectly depicted and are preferred over poorly constructed plays.

In my humble opinion, no education is complete without Shakespeare. I once read an article about all the every-day sayings that come from Shakespeare, and is second only to the Bible in the number of sayings derived from it's works.

Here are our recommendations. The links provided have several versions for eReaders like Nook and Kindle as well as audio downloads.

Shakespeare Dramas/Tragedies:

• Hamlet, Prince of Denmark - Movie: Great Performances versions (free online streaming), Mel Gibson version
• Romeo and Juliet
• Julius Caesar 
• Antony and Cleopatra
• Coriolanus
• King Lear - Movie: Great Performances
• Macbeth - Movie: Great Performances
• Othello
• Timon of Athens
• Titus Andronicus
• Troilus and Cressida

Shakespeare Comedies:

• All's Well That Ends Well
• As You Like It
• Comedy of Errors
• Love's Labour's Lost
• Measure for Measure
• Merchant of Venice
• Merry Wives of Windsor
• Midsummer Night's Dream
• Much Ado About Nothing
• Taming of the Shrew
• Tempest
• Twelfth Night
• Two Gentlemen of Verona
• Winter's Tale

Shakespeare Histories:

• Cymbeline
• Henry IV, Part I
• Henry IV, Part II
• Henry V
• Henry VI, Part I
• Henry VI, Part II
• Henry VI, Part III
• Henry VIII
• King John
• Pericles
• Richard II
• Richard III

Mathematics Classics

When I first considered learning math simply through reading classics, my mind immediately was full of "cricket sounds at midnight". Completely empty of thought basically. I couldn't wrap my mind around it at all! Nor could I think of ONE math classics. I had no idea where to start or what to do.

Thankfully, Dr. DeMille gives us some idea of where to start. I have read many of these, some were easier than others, but all were insightful after carefully making my way through them.

Math Classics from TJED for Teens

• Flatland by Edmund Abbot
• On Numbers by Isaac Asimov
• Introduction to Mathematics by Whitehead
• Arithmetic by Nichomachus
• Poetry and Mathematics by Buchanan
• Elementus by Euclid

Additional Math Classics

We own "The Great Books of the Western World" set. The Syntopicon in volumes 1 and 2 contain subjects covered in these books. Within volume 3 under "Mathematics" there is a fantastic explanation about the differences between truths proved or discovered about mathematics and quantity; or the study of arithmetic, geometry and other branches of mathematics.  After the explanation of what mathematics IS, there is an outline of topics and pages of references based on the outline. One could get a complete education about mathematics, both from the standpoint of the science of mathematics as well as quantity (how much), from studying the references listed in this book.

I am just beginning this study myself, but for someone who wants to truly understand everything about mathematics, this is the way to go!

Math Curriculum
We have used purchased math curriculum. I had purchased Math-U-See through Geometry before knowing about Math classics and how we could utilize them. My children do use Math-U-See and sometimes Khan Academy for math help. Another curriculum that I have heard good things about is Aleks, but we have not used it because I already have Math-U-See.

Mythology, Fairy Tales, and Fables

This subject is one my personal favorites. This is another class that we combine literature and composition. It is easy to have my children re-write fables and fairy tales or to even practice creative writing and come up with one of their own. Another fun thing to do is to compare versions of fairy tales or myths and discuss similarities and differences. I took Mythology in high school and it was just reading Mythology by Edith Hamilton and writing some papers on the subject for a half credit class.

As a side note on teaching composition, we use the Excellence in Writing program called "Teaching Writing: Structure and Style". I did not purchase anything other than that, the rest of their curriculum is too "textbooky" for me. We use the classics they are reading to practice the subjects of note taking, outlining, summarizing from notes, etc.

There is so much available for free online, so check out the links below.

Mythology, Fables, and Fairy Tales

There are only two listed in TJED For Teens:

• Mythology by Edith Hamilton
• Aesop's Fables - Stickney, Winter

We add the following as well:

• Grimm's Fairy Tales - Versions: Olcott, Steel
• Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tales
• Andrew Lang

Study by Civilization

One way we are studying myths, fables, and fairy tales is by civilization. The Baldwin Project has several links to various civilizations with free online collections of their literature. We have found it very interesting to compare various versions from the different civilizations.

• Introduction to History - World History
• Ancient Greece
• Ancient Rome
• Norse
• Britain
• European Continent
• American
• Spain and Latin America
• Africa
• Asia
• Islam

Science and Fantasy Fiction Classics

One of my favorite literature genres is Science Fiction and Fantasy fiction. Many may not agree, but there are MANY classics in this genre that are worth reading. Like traditional high schools, a "class" in these genres may not be required, but some may find it a fun elective "class" or find it part of their passion in reading. We used this as a semester class rather than a full year of study, giving it half a credit.

As a side note on teaching composition, we use the Excellence in Writing program called "Teaching Writing: Structure and Style". I did not purchase anything other than that, the rest of their curriculum is too "textbooky" for me. We use the classics they are reading to practice the subjects of note taking, outlining, summarizing from notes, etc.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Fiction

• Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (NOTE: This one has some adult language.)
• Elantris by Sanderson
• The Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R Tolkien
• The Foundation series by Isaac Asimov
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• Dracula by Bram Stoker
• Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne