The Well Trained Mind - A guide to classical education at home
Posted in Books, Got teys.T!, Homeschool, book review, opinion on Jun 15th, 2008
We just got back from a homeschooling meeting today and it’s amazing to see how our motley group has increased. I was particularly encouraged by one of the dads who gave a little talk on his experiences as a homeschooling dad. One thing that he said that really made an impact on me was the fact that the Industrial Revolution changed how families interacted. Fathers were no longer as visible in their homes because they were called to work in offices and factories.
Why the impact on me? because in a previous post I made about homeschooling, I included a list of luminaries who were homeschooled and a good number of them belonged to the era prior to the Industrial Revolution. It makes me feel so blessed to have a husband who is passionate about teaching our kids in this day and age. So here’s a little bit more about our early homeschool beginnings.
Years ago before our first child was born, while my husband and I were in the US we explored the possibilities of homeschooling. Taking advantage of a local homeschool fair in Chandler, Arizona, we bought several books and resource materials for us to help us make that crucial decision… to homeschool or not to homeschool. One of those books that we bought was this book, The Well Trained Mind. It remained in our bookcase and gathered dust for a while until the time came for it to resurrect and ever since, it has been the book I always go back to, to check if we are still on track when it comes to homeschooling our kids.
“This book provides you with the techniques, curriculum, and resources necessary to ensure that your child’s education is the best it can be.” - The Well Trained Mind website.
My husband and I have homeschooled our son for three years and he is now entering grade three. Soon our youngest will be ‘officially’ homeschooled as well. As far as homeschooling is concerned we are always trying to assess and regroup, junk what doesn’t work and keep what does and bring in something new to take it to the next level. I already know which book to grab to help me go back to my basics. There are guide books and there are GUIDE books. In my opinion this belongs to the last group. It is not THE ultimate resource book but it blends quite well with the rest of the resources that we use for our kids and what suits OUR lifestyle. A Classical Method of Education with a Principle Approach using Literature based materials and Real Books that present a Biblical World view - this is our goal.
So if you do get a chance to find it while you are browsing in a bookstore, check it out. I saw a copy of this book just recently at Fully Booked at Bonifacio High Street in case you hang out there or you can also get it online at buy.com
Authors : Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer
I give this book 4 Got teys.T smacks!
