...is our co-op for the year. I'm still new at this homeschooling thing but from what I know, a co-op is a group of families learning cooperatively. This particular co-op happens to model the classical model of teaching which is a lot of memorization, pouring facts into a child, learning at a fast pace and then if they continue on in 7th grade and up, they learn to sort through the facts as they get older. There is a lot of repitition through songs and hand motions and experiments and poems. Their thought is "What can one think critically about if they know no facts?" The author goes on to say, "For the Christian, absolute truth exists. His story is unfolding and I want to know who did what, where, when, and why for Him. I want his word to be a lamp unto my feet. That means that I must acquire, nurture, and expand my ability to store information, words, and abstract ideas. I want to be able to repeat truth and think about how truth affects my life. This requires brain training and habits of character. I want my children to have the ability to memorize the entire Bible should it be taken from them." Now that is a grand notion but you get the picture....the founder and author of this "method" of classical education really puts stock in early memorization, they move on to the dialectic and rhetoric stage where you are processing and understanding and using the information in 7th grade. Honestly, I have no idea yet if this is for us. It is quite impressive and the kids (the ones that I have had the chance to watch) do seem to thrive (I mean they are really happy) memorizing and feel confident in what they learn and like to spout it out. Sometimes I go back and forth about the love of learning and if this is just memorizing for memorization sake, and what about exploring information at a deep level and doing a few good things really good, etc. Who knows, but we are doing this this year...John is teaching a class, we are bartering for tuition (which MANY parents do) and it is only one day. The point of the whole curriculum is to give you a framework that then, as the parent, you build as much or as little from at home. Some of the women go way over and above and some do it for soicalization and a fun, classroom type setting. I find it very cool in that it is all about learning together....some parents want to come and sit in the class and do nothing except learn with their kids, others want to teach a class, others do admin stuff to help offset their cost, others watch the little ones, etc. It seems to me that everyone brings their strength and it all just works out. It was amazingly organized yesterday and let me tell you there are a lot of kids and parents...I would say maybe 50 + families participate. Emily and John Daniel had a drawing lesson, did math facts, learned the latin prepositions, learned a history sentence about Colombus, learned the 4 types of human tissue, did a DNA hands on science experiment, learned 5 states and capitals, started learning John 1, and practiced a grammer rule....and gave a 3 minute presentation...that was all before 12:00. Emily said, "Wow that was nothing like the first day of school anywhere else!" I think she meant that they worked and learned....it wasn't just a "fun" type of day. No, John Daniel doesn't know what he is saying when he talks about the latin prepositions....but he is so proud! And the point is to come home and then talk about why latin is helpful and what a preposition is. They got a big kick out of showing my mom what they had already learned today. It is also very cool because we go as a family and they get the same information! We will all be studying anatomy and physiology. J.D. watched a video on the 4 types of tissue today and he totally got it...
My biggest positive on it is that it pushes us into the week full force. I had a hard time last year getting started on Mondays...sometimes it was drudgery..but this pushes us to start the week with a bang, I don't have to "prepare" like I would if I was starting at home on a Monday and they get a lot accomplished, so even if I have a bad week....they have done a lot already. Today, we had a GREAT tuesday because we were so excited and pumped up from yesterday. Emily said, I LOVE our new schedule. Now we will see if that excitement lasts....we continued with what we studied there yesterday and tomorrow we are doing a science project about the layers of skin. It gives me a set time period to try to complete things in or read things by...it seems to be the nudge I need right now.....so that is good. At least that is my take after week one :)
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