The Strictest Relaxed Classical Homeschool EVAH

Deb (who is Not Inadequate) writes,

As you know, I am very interested in some of the aspects of the classical education - Latin and Logic, specifically. However, I also feel like at the age my kids are now, they are also doing really well with a more interest-led approach for science, geography and history. Do you think there is a way to marry the STRICTEST method with a really LAX method successfully? Or is that the road to crazy town? Can I do Latin and Logic successfully without some of that other WTM stuff, like poetry memorization?

Deb, I know it’s possible because I did it.  Throughout elementary school, my focus was on the basics: math, English grammar and composition, and Latin. Those subjects were non negotiable, and were done every day using the most straightforward, no-nonsense books I could find.  The rest (history, science, literature) was much less structured.  That was not my intention; every year I purchased loads of books and equipment and supplies because that was the year I would get it together and do modern history (and physical science and classical literature) three times a week, every week, all year long.  But in January I’d realize that JellyMan hadn’t done a science experiment since September, Anemone had read nothing but dog stories since October, and I couldn’t remember the last time I heard either one of them recite that list of dusty old Pharaohs.  I’d spend a few weeks torturing everyone to make up for lost time, but by March we’d be back to watching videos about the barbarian hordes, listening to The Hobbit and Harry Potter on tape, and drawing pictures of ravens in our nature journals.  I’d lie awake at night, staring up at the ceiling and wondering if parents with grown children in the basement ever manage to get away on vacation.

Over the course of one of those long, sleepless nights, I got over myself and stopped caring whether our history studies were structured enough.  Honestly!  Structured enough for what?  Not hearing the fictionalized story of the Mayflower’s voyage every year throughout elementary school will not keep Anemone out of graduate school.  Not knowing the third Holy Roman Emperor off the top of his head will not keep JellyMan from starting a business.  No potential employer is going to say, “I’m sorry.  I can’t hire you because you didn’t cover the Pony Express in third grade, and quite frankly, your inability to recite the British Prime Ministers of the 20th century disturbs me.” My Goobs loved ancient and medieval history, so I let them wallow in it.  For years.  I saved modern history for field trips, national holidays, and the random PBS special.  If we learned something about the time period we were “supposed” to be studying that year, I had them write something about it.  Otherwise, they were free to do whatever they wanted.  JellyMan kept a notebook full of notes and drawings about Greek mythology.  Anemone built an historically accurate model of a medieval castle out of shoe boxes.  They wrote historical fiction.  They had fun!  In late elementary, I require them to outline sections of a history encyclopedia, and in 8th grade, we do a survey course in world history using A Short History of the World by J. M. Roberts.  They’re then ready to begin a great books study in high school as outlined in The Well-Trained Mind.  (We follow the process, but not necessarily the book recommendations.)  JellyMan’s great books study is going beautifully so far, so I’m going to assume we did something right.

I don’t believe it is necessary to study science in a formal way until high school, if then.  Most kids just don’t have the math background to understand why things work - my own questions invariably lead me to a page of pretty equations that make absolutely no sense to me, so I’m focusing on math while my Goobs are home with me.  Until late middle school, our science studies consist of reading popular science books, watching videos, writing up random experiments, going on field trips, and keeping nature journals.  We grow gardens.  We go stargazing.  We dissect stuff.  We have fun!  I bought all the stuff we would have used if we had been following The Well-Trained Mind down to the letter, and then just hoped The Goobers would be fascinated enough to use it voluntarily.  They usually were.)  When they’re in 8th grade, I sit them down and have them outline Science Matters, a book designed to provide adults with basic scientific literacy.  After outlining each chapter, they write a summary using their notes.  Then they move on to Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything.  (No outlining required; just sit back and enjoy the book!)  I’m not quite brave enough to skip science in high school, even though I still don’t think it is necessary.  (The fact is, all the vocabulary words they need to memorize by grade 12 will be in the first chapter of their college textbooks.  They should be able to learn it over a weekend.)  Still, the thought of them applying to colleges with no science on their transcripts makes me nervous!  So we’ll do science, but we won’t do the usual biology, chemistry, physics, AP-whatever sequence.  Why not learn about the things that interest you?  The current plan is for JellyMan to do a year each of geology, astronomy, and physics at home, plus freshman biology and chemistry at the local community college.  Anemone has expressed a vague interest in botany and meteorology, but the rest is still up in the air. 

I made book lists every year, and I still do.  We don’t use a reading program (see my post on How to Teach Literature Without a Curriculum), and my book lists are (gasp!) merely suggestions.  If a Goob hates a book, he or she is able to choose another one.  (Within certain parameters, of course.  They can’t trade Jane Eyre for Percy Jackson.)  If this happens, I simply tell them why that book was on the list (it was the first of that particular genre, it illustrates the social conventions of that time, I had already read that one so it would be easy for me to talk about it, whatever) and let it go.  I’m pretty sure I would not do this if I had kids who claimed to hate everything, all the time, but it works well for my semi-reasonable children.

Now, about geography - I never found a natural, interest-led way to do geography successfully.  (To me, being successful in geography includes being able to point out everything from Albania to Zimbabwe on a blank map.)  We used maps and globes all the time, but nothing ever made it into their long-term memories.  I’m not too proud to tell you that we’re using iPhone geography apps to learn what should have been learned years ago.  It’s working just fine, but it’s taking time away from other things, and I resent it.  I wish I had just made them memorize the stuff when they were little.

I happen to like the poetry memorization.  Kids can memorize things very easily (just think of all the 8 year olds you see around town singing along to Lady Gaga on the radio), and memorizing poetry when they’re small means they will have quick access to a store of beautiful language when they’re big.  I’m glad we did it, and we should be doing it still.  Note to self: assign some poetry.

Well, Deb, I hope this explained how we became the Strictest Relaxed Classical Homeschool EVAH.  I know I’m missing some things; it’s hard to remember what we did when The Goobs were small.  It was a difficult time for me (the amount of bodily fluid a small child can excrete boggles the mind) and I have blocked it out.  For further reading, here is a post where I share some Well-Trained Angst; here is a post about how I get kids interested in stuff; here are some sample field trips; here is proof that we let the academics slide when we’re busy with real life; here is what I consider to be the essentials of homeschooling and education in general - the rest is gravy.  As always, feel free to ask questions, and remember, The Well-Trained Mind (along with every homeschooling book ever written) is a tool, not a weapon.