Some parents and educators have the misconception that classical education is only for “smart kids.” It is not difficult to understand why someone might think this way. Latin at age 8? Herodotus by 14? With such standards, one might reason, surely classical education is only for born geniuses – the brightest and best of our … Continue reading
Families come to trust Memoria Press for a variety of reasons. We came through desperation. Our oldest child did not speak until he was five, and he and his younger sister have significant receptive and expressive language difficulties. Finding a good, solid education for them was literally bringing us to our knees. We knew we wanted to homeschool. But having … Continue reading
What a Child with a Classical Education Can Do
One of the best books I have ever read on classical education is the just-released Simply Classical: A Beautiful Education for Any Child from Memoria Press. Cheryl Swope’s book not only gives an unusually lucid explanation of what classical education is and how to teach it, whether in a school or at home—it reminds us … Continue reading
Parents of struggling students ask common questions such as these: “Should I bring home my special-needs son and teach him alongside my other children? How would I modify the materials? How would I arrange for his therapies? Can my special-needs child study Latin? I already feel like giving up!” Bringing your special-needs or struggling student … Continue reading
Spelling is the meticulous twin sister of Reading. Reading may receive all the adulation, but Spelling accomplishes the work. Spelling is where students of Reading come to master their lessons. The Role of Spelling Hard-working, durable, and orderly, Spelling holds a respected role in education. Early in the first century, Quintilian wrote: As regards syllables, … Continue reading
At a time when many of our friends are becoming somewhat reluctant “empty-nesters,” my husband and I are in the process of realizing that we need to continue homeschooling our children even beyond their graduation. At 19, neither of our special-needs twins are able to attend college, yet both want to continue learning. Over time … Continue reading
Today I heard my daughter approaching in the darkness, too early for a Saturday morning. I asked her to tell me what happened. “An episode.” With schizophrenia, this means threatening voices and shivering in bed with a paralyzing terror. In the stillness just before dawn, we talked until her fears lifted. She breathed a sigh. “I need to write something down.” … Continue reading
20 Ways to Calm a Wiggly Child
Teach him to read well. Stop his body from moving before giving a verbal direction. Give clear, short directions he can follow. Minimize auditory and visual distractions during work time. Provide headphones or earplugs and a supervised “office” area for independent work. Teach in a small, contained area with clear physical boundaries. Provide a visual … Continue reading
Teaching Writing: Readiness, Essentials, & Impact
“Ever since the dawn of time, man has needed to work.” Thus began my eleven-year-old son’s thinking paper. The topic: why he should have been cleaning out the garage. We long ago forgot the details of that day, but we never forgot the opening line of that paper! How did my son learn to write? … Continue reading
This morning my son and I discussed literature. Specifically, we noted a good author’s ability to challenge and strengthen the mind and character in ways mere escapist entertainment never can. Michael wants to protect his mind, because he fears the long-term prognosis of some of his conditions. He does not want to lose the ability … Continue reading
My daughter works each week in a nursing home. She helps me at home with dusting, folding laundry, and making beds. She feeds her cat and cares for the neighbor’s dog. She takes ballet, enjoys art, plays sports, listens to music, goes to the library, and takes walks with her brother. She cheers all of … Continue reading
Training the Memory with a Classical Education | In the Dickens novel Great Expectations, Estella admits, “There was a long hard time when I kept far from me the remembrance of what I had thrown away when I was quite ignorant of its worth.” So it is today with the lost art of training the memory … Continue reading
A Case for Occasional Silliness
Far and few, far and few Are the lands where the Jumblies live. — Edward Lear | Amidst all the academic rigor, children need a little nonsense. Not only do we love to hear our children giggle, nonsense stretches a child’s mind. A little silliness can take them to unexpected, liberating places. We could research scientific … Continue reading
Special-Needs Q&A (Spring 2015)
Q. Our school uses Memoria Press K-8 classical curriculum. Currently we have a child with Down Syndrome in first grade. We are looking for any help you could offer with new modifications to the existing curriculum. A. Children with Down Syndrome can vary widely in ability, but these initial thoughts might spark more ideas of … Continue reading
Special-Needs Q&A (Summer 2015)
Q. How will my special-needs child benefit from literature? A. Some special-needs children enjoy messages conveyed through simple picture books. In Frederick, by Leo Lionni, a little mouse cannot assist his family in the usual manner of hard, physical labor. He is not strong like the others. Instead, in days of distress, Frederick shares his small … Continue reading
Special-Needs Q&A (Late Summer 2015)
Q. I have a young son who has several special-needs issues. He is severely autistic, nonverbal, and significantly developmentally delayed. His cognitive age was just recently rated at 2 years. He is learning to use Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) cards to communicate and does approximated sign language for a few words. What concerns me, … Continue reading
Special Needs Q&A: Spring 2016
How can I help my struggling student with his online classes? 1. Begin with only one course. We strongly recommend starting the student with only one course, unless he is accustomed to completing large amounts of advanced classwork. 2. Plan to complete each assignment. A structured online class may require a great deal of time for the struggling student, so … Continue reading
Special-Needs Q&A: Summer 2016
Shining Like the Stars Forever and Ever | In the book Simply Classical, I share how my two children, despite their significant special needs, benefit from a classical Christian education which not only strengthens their minds, but also impacts their souls. One recent event underscored what this kind of education can do for our children, and what it can … Continue reading
A classical education curriculum can often be adapted for use with students who have learning challenges. Start with visually clean, uncluttered books with a clear, step-by-step progression and built-in review designed to help you teach for mastery. Then make any or all of the following modifications: 1. Reduce the amount of material presented in each … Continue reading
By Susan Pearson | “You are come to the very edge of the Wild, as some of you may know. Hidden somewhere ahead of you is the fair valley of Rivendell where Elrond lives in the Last Homely House… And so at last, they all came to the Last Homely House and found its doors swung … Continue reading
One hot Missouri June when my children were very young, we decorated our front porch with a large white container of flowering impatiens. The pink and red petals with deep foliage cheered our doorstep. At the time, I knew that impatiens needed shade, but I hoped they would thrive in the full sun like other … Continue reading
Amid the bustle of boys just released from school, I searched the crowd for my 12-year-old son, Louis. He approached me with tears in his eyes. Both he and his younger brother, Ben, had competed as finalists in their school’s poetry recitation competition that day. The previous year, the boys had won first place together. … Continue reading
In some circles the word “curriculum” is anathema. It is far better, this thinking asserts, to take a relaxed approach to education, to teach a la carte, or to let the child decide what and when to study. We must not be “dogmatic.” Different children must study different things—or so we begin to believe. We … Continue reading
Simply Classical Journal Letter from the Editor: Summer 2018
Years ago my curly-headed, blue-eyed little boy toddled downstairs one morning in footed pajamas. He watched Daddy fill his briefcase and leave for work. Climbing atop the sofa to wave through the window, he turned to me and said with authority, “Daddy go to work.” He slipped back down the sofa and went about his … Continue reading
Classical writings possess a distinctly concise wisdom. Rather than distant relics or dusty artifacts, these treasures instruct our children in our own time. When we want to introduce classical literature, Aesop is a good place to start. Aesop’s fables have long been considered “the ideal pedagogical vehicle, second only to the Bible when it comes … Continue reading
I usually enjoy planning for an upcoming school year, but last summer was different. Very different. For the first time the schedules of six school-aged children and a toddler stared back at me. All my children have various combinations of challenges: anxiety, attention, sensory, memory, emotional. With a family business and a homeschool ministry on … Continue reading
Before we drove home from the Memoria Press Sodalitas Gathering this past summer, a family friend met my daughter Michelle and me for breakfast. John has a degree in theological languages and a deep interest in philosophy, and he inquired about our work. More broadly he asked about the endeavor we call classical education that … Continue reading
Be Amazed: Interview with Aileen Delgado
If you appreciate the covers and beauty of design throughout our magazine, you must meet the designer who lends elegance and artistry to every issue. A quiet young woman, she approached me with tears in her eyes after our Sodalitas conference sessions on struggling learners one year. Assigned to photograph our sessions, she had also … Continue reading
When my grandma left me more than half a century of diaries, she gave me much more than large boxes of small books. She gave me a keyhole through which to peer into the span of her life. Often at night I draw open another volume and close my eyes to breathe in the faint … Continue reading
“I would love to get my child on Memoria Press, but I can’t figure out where.” That was my very first forum post three years ago. It was 3:00 a.m. in mid-August. By 10:00 a.m. Cheryl Swope had responded with a customized curriculum plan for my child. She recommended we switch to the Simply Classical … Continue reading
At the End of the Day, You Have a Book
Recently I attended some out-of-town meetings on parochial education. As I left my hotel room to face the long day ahead of me, prepared but a little hesitant to begin the extended and mind-intensive work, I gathered my name tag and folder. I scanned the hotel room one last time to see if I had … Continue reading