The Simply Classical Journal Summer 2024

A Publication of Memoria Press

journal

Think About Such Things by Karen

Puzzles, Patterns, & Repetition by

Never Alone

SEEKING JOY AND PEACE

Classical Education for Children with Special Needs

Wright

Joanna Hensley

by Cheryl Swope by Anastasia Henn

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

My family delights in finding older, out-of-print books on Christian education because I delight in reading them. Written by Christian pedagogues in the 1800s or earlier, such books become a time capsule for all of us interested in passing on the best of classical Christian education. In a recent find called The Discourse of Errors in Education, the author, a man named Mr. Francis, tells the reader that when Antipater demanded of the Spartans fifty of their children as hostages, they replied that they would rather surrender fifty of the most eminent men in the state, whose principles were already formed, than children to whom the want of early instruction would be a loss altogether irreparable. He then asks, "The Spartans were wise; and shall Christians be less so?"

Mr. Francis writes in another work, The Mother's Book,

We believe that our labor cannot perish even with life; we believe that, even if the inscrutable providence of God removes these objects of affection from us, neither the pleasure they have poured into our hearts nor the good we have imparted to them will, or can, be lost.

Similarly, Cheryl Lowe, founder of Memoria Press, believed in the lasting impact of Christian education upon children of all abilities. This is why Memoria Press became the welcome home of Simply Classical. In this issue we are thrilled to introduce our newest set, which we are calling My First Words (page 14). Designed for our youngest children or for our most disabled, My First Words includes books, songs, and suggestions for earliest faith instruction and language acquisition. This new, small set may be taught before Memoria Press Preschool, before Simply Classical Level A, or alongside any of the Simply Classical Readiness Levels.

Edward Koehler writes in A Christian Pedagogy,

As we gaze upon the new-born infant, the question comes to us, "What manner of child shall this be?" … What we are today we owe, in a measure, to the training we received in our youth, and the future of our children will be determined largely by the type of training they are receiving at our hands. The education of our children therefore is worthy of our best thoughts and efforts.

Our new set, My First Words, is intended to assist these thoughts and efforts from the earliest days. When we teach our children, from the youngest or weakest to the most advanced, we can do so with confidence and hope. Let us remember with peace and with gratitude that "neither the pleasure they have poured into our hearts nor the good we have imparted to them will, or can, be lost."

SIMPLY CLASSICAL JOURNAL

Language Arts

Simply Classical Spelling: Books 1 & 2

Ages 6-9, chronological age or skill level

$17.30 ea.

is series gives your struggling writer an incremental, multi-sensory approach with an oral/aural emphasis. Each week includes targeted Word Study exercises to promote linguistic awareness, cognitive exibility, and improved spelling skills.

√Improve auditory discrimination

√Increase cognitive exibility

√Strengthen listening skills

√Build spelling con dence

Simply Classical Writing: Books 1 & 2

Ages 6-9, chronological age or skill level

Student $22.70 ea. | Teacher $11.85 (Book 2 only)

is series combines classical copybook, grammar rules, and composition into one carefully sequenced series of explicit instruction so students can practice early writing skills with con dence. Choose from Bible Story or Read-Aloud editions.

Simply Classical StoryTime Treasures

$47.76 set (Student, Teacher, Little Bear, Little Bear's Visit, Caps for Sale, & Blueberries for Sal)

Simply Classical More StoryTime Treasures

$47.03 set (Student, Teacher, Billy and Blaze, The Story About Ping, Keep the Lights Burning Abbie, & Stone Soup)

Ages 6-9, chronological age or skill level

Blossoming readers need more than practice; they need to discover the riches of a good story. With simpli ed exercises in word study, composition, and oration, these delightful guides provide a joyful introduction to children's literature. Teach essential language arts skills as your students encounter stories of tenderness, bravery, and kindness. ese adaptations of the Memoria Press originals have been created especially for struggling learners or students with special needs.

PUZZLES, PATTERNS, & REPETITION

BY JOANNA HENSLEY

A

Grammar-Based

Approach to Speaking

Myfirst-born son was a late talker. Children much younger than he were speaking in sentences much longer than his while my husband and I were getting excited when he said "Pop!" as the speech therapist brought out the bubble machine. The parenting journey for late-talking children can be tricky, since sometimes it's autism and sometimes it isn't. Sometimes it's a language disability for life and sometimes the concern goes away overnight when children suddenly start generating language as if it's the most natural thing in the world. For our boy, it turned out that he is autistic and does have a language disability, but learning grammar helped him find his voice.

My son is seventeen years old now and has given me permission to tell our story, which started over a decade ago. He was barely talking then, so we enrolled him in a special-needs kindergarten classroom in our school district. His teacher was kind but my son was terrified, and we left the school to educate him at home. It wasn't just that he didn't tolerate our separation, although being apart was heart-wrenching for both of us. I noticed that the school didn't try to teach him very much. There were goals about making beds and zipping jackets, but the typical kindergarten academics—ABCs, handwriting, numbers—were missing from

his program. The classroom just wasn't up to the challenge of challenging him.

I'm not sure we were up to the challenge either, but we were sure that low expectations would produce low results. We were already facing significant delays—and yet he was quite advanced when it came to puzzles. He loved following patterns, and he delighted in repetition. One of his specialists suggested to us that he could start learning to read. Is that even possible, I wondered, to read before talking? We used a phonics curriculum that had letters of the alphabet printed on puzzle pieces that interlocked to form words. This was a visual that made sense to him. As he read more, he spoke more. Although he was growing in his vocabulary he was not yet able to communicate his thoughts or ideas very well. To convey meaning effectively he had to connect his words into sentences using grammar.

Professionally I am a Latin teacher, so grammar is my thing. When I became a mother I left the physical classroom and started teaching Latin online so that I could stay home with my children. I still teach Latin online today. Studying Latin is a great way to learn grammar, as we classical educators know well. We learn grammar when we speak English, too, but it's not as easy to isolate grammatical ideas when you are analyzing your own mother tongue. A native English speaker will say "The dog runs after the cat" just because it sounds right, instead of "The dog run after the cat." In other words, we understand the grammar rules intuitively. Studying a foreign language like Latin takes away the benefit of intuitive understanding. At first nothing "sounds right." Latin gives students an opportunity to learn and apply the grammar of a foreign language, which can shed new light on all languages, including one's mother tongue.

It's that intuitive understanding that seemed to be missing for my son. I was his mother, yet he did not absorb his mother tongue from me. Whatever the complexities of his disabilities, he did not learn language in a typical way, and nothing seemed to "sound right" to him naturally. And then I had an epiphany. My Latin students were solving the linguistic puzzles of Latin sentences, learning grammatical patterns, and using repetition to master rules and paradigms. Puzzles, patterns, repetition—these are my son's superpowers. He needed a grammar-based approach to speaking.

We started with this simple sentence: Airplanes flew. The curriculum we used suggested a question-answer flow, which I simplified for my son who wasn't ready to answer questions yet. Instead, we read the sentence together. I labeled each word on the page, modeling for him what I hoped he would do independently down the track. We must have read that sentence together a hundred times. "Airplanes flew. Subject noun, verb."

Then we created new sentences with the same pattern: "Rabbits slept. Subject noun, verb." We kept that same initial pattern for weeks, but he didn't mind the repetition. We wrote sentences about airplanes, rabbits, and Thomas the Tank Engine characters. My goal was to input the "subject noun, verb" pattern until he could compose such a sentence himself. It took a long time, but he achieved that goal.

Since he was not yet responding to questions, I used a modified fill-in-the-blank approach: "Airplanes … [I would pause, raise my eyebrows, and cheerfully act like I was about to say something but wouldn't until he just had to jump in and finish it for me] flew!" "Thomas … puffed!" "Rabbits … hopped!" Once he was supplying the verb to fit my subject noun, I would prompt him to dictate his own complete simple sentences to me by putting my pencil to paper and looking at him expectantly, with cheerful eyebrow raised. It became a game we both enjoyed.

We introduced adverbs next, so our sentence became "Airplanes flew swiftly. Subject noun, verb, adverb." My son latched onto that pattern quickly because he had the hang of things by then. We started with our airplane sentence, our rabbit sentence, our Thomas sentence, and repeated the familiar process by adding one new word at a time. We reused enough of the old favorites to keep the sentences familiar. We slowly added new elements while always emphasizing the patterns. Imagine the excitement when we started direct objects. I remember him having a giggle fit once, laughing and laughing because a sentence didn't have a direct object in it. I'm not exactly sure why it was so funny at the time, but I sure loved his laugh and still do!

As my son mastered the advancing sentence patterns he would try them out in a conversation. Remarkably, he would say things like: "Article adjective, adjective, subject noun, verb, preposition, article adjective, object of the preposition!" My response: "Good, now use your words." He'd repeat the same thought he had expressed before, using words this time for my sake: "The green train fell behind the couch!" My dear boy was talking, fitting each word together in his mind like pieces in a puzzle.

A decade later, he now enjoys Legos, bowling, FaceTiming his grandparents, and singing in the choir. His disabilities are still a very real part of his life, but now he can talk about them openly. He advocates for himself by explaining, "I will take my time and tell you slowly." Grammar helped him find his voice, and although I don't know what adventures are in store for him next, I am eager to hear all his stories.

Joanna Hensley, wife and mother of six, serves as Latin teacher and Lower School Headmaster at Wilson Hill Academy.

Character Building

Myself & Others: Lessons for Social Understanding, Habits, and Manners

by Cheryl Swope | Guide Books $21.60 ea.

Ages 4-13, chronological age or skill level ese 14-week sets provide simple, stand-alone lessons in common courtesy, character, and compassion that often seem neglected today, as well as lessons in developing good safety and health habits. With easy-to-teach instructions, each book provides 4-day lessons that can be taught in as little as 30-60 minutes per day over a single semester or summer. e lessons cover ve areas: Rules, Health, Safety, Manners, and Listening.

Book One Core Set $60.38

(Myself & Others, F Is for Feelings, Polite Elephant, Listen and Learn, Know and Follow Rules)

Book One Read-Aloud Set $110.90

Book Two Core Set $23.93

(Myself & Others, Mind Your Manners! A Kid's Guide to Proper Etiquette)

Book Two Read-Aloud Set $109.83

Book ree Core Set $61.17

(Myself & Others, Healthy Happy Habits, Aesop's Fables for Children, Aesop Copybook, A Penny's Worth of Character, Sarah, Plain and Tall)

Book Four Core Set $54.69

(Myself & Others, Emily Post's The Guide to Good Manners for Kids, The Cabin Faced West, The Sign of the Beaver)

Ona blessed August morning in 2012, I gave birth to our third child, Austin. Our prayers for a healthy and happy little boy, adorned with two unexpected dimples, were answered. He was an immediate treasure. We savored our first few months with him as in no other season in our life. Austin seemed to progress more slowly than did our older two children, but our pediatrician assured us that his development was within typical range so we did not worry.

However, at eight months of age he experienced small tremors in his arms and legs. We were quickly referred to our local children's hospital, where they identified infantile spasms and a brain-damaging, severe type of pediatric seizures. Over the next months, yet seemingly at once, his cognitive growth appeared to stop while his neurological difficulties persisted. Doctors were perplexed until, after a year of tests, they discovered a rare genetic condition. We were told our son would never walk, talk, or live independently. It was crushing. We were scared.

For the next couple of years we enlisted the help of all types of specialists, therapists, and doctors as we hoped to find an intervention that would "fix" Austin. He was eventually given two diagnoses in addition to his seizure disorder: autism spectrum disorder and intellectual developmental disorder. This gave us access to all types of private therapies and public programs. Austin's days were filled with appointments, in-home training, and other interventions to target his deficit areas. His progress was painfully slow. Before long, this was draining for him and depressing for us. We seemed buried in reports of his struggles with few options for closing the gap. Specialists often referred to Austin as a "puzzle," which became more discouraging and disheartening than intriguing. Those early years unfolded like an exhausting, ongoing obstacle course filled with moving targets.

In many ways, my professional background as a teacher and school administrator was a blessing. In other ways, I knew too much. Because of Austin's now severe cognitive delays and persistent epilepsy, I could not envision him being served well in any educational setting near us. Secular options could not offer him the worldview we wanted, and the classical Christian school our older children attended was not equipped to meet his medical or academic needs.

It was during this season that I read Simply Classical: A Beautiful Education for Any Child. With this new-at-the-time book, Cheryl Swope captivated me with her eloquent explanation of classical education and, most notably, her pursuit of a virtuous education for every child. I admired her knowledge. The anecdotal stories of her family's triumphs and struggles gave me inspiration, encouragement, and well-timed hope. As she made a case for classical education for children with unique educational needs, I was reminded of Philippians 4:8:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

I was convinced: It is right for us to help all children pursue wisdom, virtue, and eloquence, even if the pace is slow and progress is difficult to measure—or is even at times regressive. With the wisdom from Simply Classical and Philippians 4:8 as an outline, we began designing a new, beautiful education for our son.

Because learning had become so frustrating for Austin, we started by focusing on his existing skills, interests, and joys. We requested that his therapists build upon or enhance those things rather than targeting only deficits. What does Austin do that is excellent or praiseworthy? He loves rhyming. He loves colorful images of humans and animals, especially their eyes. He loves music. We believed that these could become ways to spark new learning most effectively.

We targeted Austin's love of rhyming first. He finds great comfort in predictability. Predictable rhymes seem to afford escape from his anxiety, which fosters "stimming" or perseverating behaviors. Mesmerized by Eric Carle's Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, Austin relaxes as he listens. We added to the book to assist fine-motor skills, support sensory processing, and boost visual attention. We put feathers on the red bird, googly

THINK THINGS About Such

by Karen Wright

eyes wherever possible, and fur on the bear—these added renewed interest to a favorite book. Additionally, the added textures allowed the pages to separate more readily, enabling him to turn pages independently for the first time. We later created felt cutouts of each animal to create matching games and improve smallmuscle skills. Since then we have similarly adapted many other books with tactile supports. We also purchased a set of the books for his therapists to use. They have adapted the books to increase his goals.

His love of pictures, faces, and animals encouraged the use of Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) when he turned four. He struggled greatly with receptive (understood) and expressive (spoken) language, but his therapists were impressed with his swift ability to make the association of a picture with familiar objects. We began to use the PECS picture cards to give him a tool for expressing his desire for a particular snack, book, or toy. To extend this in a more lovely way, we purchased the art posters from Memoria Press. We began with art featuring familiar items. Renoir's A Girl with a Watering Can features a beautiful young girl with vibrant eyes and a colorful background. We printed two cards for shoes—one of the girl's, and one of Austin's. We introduced a card for "apple" to add to his food card collection while studying van Gogh's Still Life with Apples. Learning new cards is slowly giving Austin the gift of communication. Art has proven a beautiful modality for this process.

Music is another love of Austin's. During a lengthy hospital stay he became entranced by a video for babies featuring the music of Mozart. Puppets, toys, and other visuals accompanied the music, and I wondered if it was merely the puppets

and graphics that captivated him. We purchased our own copy but, after downloading the soundtrack, I found Austin was comforted by the music alone. I then substituted similar canons performed by different musicians and orchestras. Now we have a variety of Mozart audio performances to play and numerous symphonies to watch. Austin is now better able to focus on the primary source and meditate on the loveliness the music offers.

Today, the framework of Philippians 4:8 continues to serve as a litmus test when designing Austin's academics. Since the time when I first read Simply Classical , Cheryl Swope and the team at Memoria Press have designed a thoroughly incremental classical curriculum for students with special needs. Austin is in his second year of Simply Classical Level A: Readiness, Rhythm, & Rhyme . The poetic components, tactile activities, and pace are just right for him. It brings us great joy knowing Austin is exposed to beautiful literature, music, poetry, and art, components often omitted for children with educational needs as severe as his.

We continue partnering with many specialists toward his therapeutic goals, but as we address his struggles we also design educational approaches to foster his strengths, interests, and joys. For our family, a classical Christian curriculum brings goodness to Austin's world, even through a modified—but no less beautiful—lens.

Karen Wright, Ph.D., is an adjunct professor in the College of Education at Dallas Baptist University with a doctoral degree in educational administration. Karen previously served as a classroom teacher, campus administrator in public schools, and Division Head at a Christian liberal arts school in Washington state.

Simply Classical Curriculum READ-ALOUD PROGRAMS

Simply Classical Read-Aloud Sets o er optional expanded material for each level in the areas of Literature, Science, History, Geography, Arithmetic, and American History. ese classic books may be gathered from the library or purchased as complete sets from us. ey are scheduled in the Curriculum Manuals.

Level 2 Literature, Science, History, & Geography Set pictured. For a complete list of books in each set, visit SimplyClassical.com.

Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie

by Peter and Connie Roop

* is book is included in Simply Classical Curriculum Level 3.

Choose from:

•Level B Read-Aloud $147.83

•Level C Read-Aloud $379.58

•Level 1 Read-Aloud $199.83

•Level 1 Science & Enrichment $155.83

•Level 2 Literature, Science, History, & Geography $287.58

•Level 2 Arithmetic $49.87

•Level 3 Science & Enrichment $286.62

•Level 3 Arithmetic $60.91

•Levels 5 & 6 Read-Aloud $99.91

•Levels 7 & 8 Read-Aloud $93.76

•Levels 9 & 10 Read-Aloud $108.14

•Levels 11 & 12 Read-Aloud $113.63

•American History $299.74 (read-aloud for Level 3, independent reading for higher levels)

BOOK NOTES

A Book Review by Michelle Swope

Abbie lives in a lighthouse on Matinicus Island with her family. e family is running low on supplies so the father sets sail in search of them. He leaves Abbie in charge of the lights. With her mother sick, Abbie hopes her father returns soon or else she must light the lights alone.

When her father does not return in time, Abbie braves the steep stairs and her fears. She lights the lights alone! For some odd days in which food and medicine run ever lower, Abbie cares for the lights, her mom, her younger sisters, the house, and the chickens.

A gale and squall arise while Abbie is in charge, only adding to her worries. With ice on the windows and the sea washing away the hens' domicile, every day and every night Abbie faithfully keeps the lights burning brightly. When at last her father returns he brings the mail, food, medicine, and, best of all, pride in Abbie as love and loyalty ultimately nd bravery in the face of Abbie's defeated fears.

Happy tales!

Michelle Swope was born in 1995 with her twin brother, Michael. She enjoys reading and listening to music. Despite having schizophrenia, autism, and learning disabilities, Michelle graduated from her classical Christian homeschool in 2013 and has since written three books of fireside poetry, Through Time's Looking Glass , God's Harvest , and her most recent release, Aurora Cantica

Full-Year Curriculum Packages for Students with Special Needs

e Simply Classical Curriculum has been adapted especially for students ages 0-21 who have signi cant learning challenges. All curriculum packages are fully customizable to t your needs and goals and your student's strengths and weaknesses. With a slower pace and ample review, the rich, beautiful content of classical Christian education is made accessible to all.

Need help? Not sure where to start? Visit SimplyClassical.com to take a free readiness assessment or join the discussion on our forum. Or email us at sales@memoriapress.com.

Guidebook Only $8.95

Readiness, Rhythm, & Rhyme

Ages 2-3 (Chronological Age or Skill Level)

Faces, Faith, & Family

Ages 0-2 (Chronological Age or Skill Level)

Use before SC Level A or alongside A-C!

• My First Words Guidebook

• First Words

• 123 in a Tree

• Where's Spot?

• My First Real Mother Goose

• Ten Tiny Toes

• I Went Walking

• Summertime

• Baby Animals: Touch and Feel

• Over in the Meadow

• First Words: Touch and Feel

• Happy Birthday: Touch and Feel

• Farm: Touch and Feel

• Psalm 23 PACKAGE PRICE $125.82

Curriculum Manual Only $30

• Level A Curriculum Manual

• e Very Busy Spider

• Prayers for Children

• Good Night, Gorilla

• Jesus Is With Me

• Jesus Hears Me

• Jesus Knows Me

• Big Red Barn

• e Tale of Peter Rabbit

• Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings

• My Very First Book of Shapes

• ABC: Amazing Alphabet Book

• e Best Mouse Cookie

• Little Fur Family

• Put Me in the Zoo

• Hand, Hand, Fingers, umb

• Bunny's Noisy Book

• From Head to Toe

• Goodnight Moon

• Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?

• Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

• Numbers, Colors, Shapes

• Cars and Trucks From A to Z

• My First Counting Book

• e Animals' Christmas Eve

• Big Dog ... Little Dog

• Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?

• A Children's Treasury of Nursery Rhymes

• 1 Is One

Curriculum Manual Only $30

Consumables Only $46.42

Supplemental Read-Aloud Sets also available!

CURRICULUM MANUAL

Lesson Plans for One Year

Simply Classical Curriculum LEVEL B

Essentials, Etiquette, & Ear Training Ages 3-4 (Chronological Age or Skill Level)

CHRISTIAN STUDIES, MEMORY, & MANNERS

A Child's Garden of Bible Stories, Bible Pictures to Color, Prayer for a Child, Please and ank You Book, Big oughts for Little People, How Can I Help?

ARITHMETIC & FINE-MOTOR

Numbers Coloring Book, Numbers & Colors, My Very First Scissors Book (p. 32) , Adventures With Books, Counting With Numbers

OPTIONAL ENRICHMENT

My First Body, My Big Animal Book, A Child's Garden of Verses, A Child's Garden of Songs CD, Back to the Garden CD, Best First Book Ever

Simply Classical Curriculum LEVEL C

Animals, Alphabet, & Aesop Ages 4-5 (Chronological Age or Skill Level)

PRICE

CHRISTIAN STUDIES, MEMORY, & MANNERS

My ABC of Bible Verses ARITHMETIC & FINE-MOTOR

Numbers Books 1-2, Going on Eagerly, My Very Own Scissors Book (p. 32)

PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS, PHONICS, & READING

Alphabet Coloring Book, My First ABC Book, Simply Classical Crafts: Book One (p. 32) , Alphabet Flashcards

Curriculum Manual Only $30 Consumables Only $85.29 Supplemental Read-Aloud Sets also available!

PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS, PHONICS, & READING

Alphabet Books 1-2, Classical Phonics, First Start Reading A Student, First Start Reading Teacher, Simply Classical Letters & Numbers Desk Charts (p. 30)

OPTIONAL ENRICHMENT

Animals Animals, Simply Classical Crafts: Book Two (p. 32), Aesop's Fables (p. 31), Richard Scarry's Best Mother Goose Ever, Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book K, Animal Alphabet Coloring Book

CURRICULUM MANUAL

Lesson Plans for One Year

New to Simply Classical? You need this item from Level A. Prayers for Children

$390.49

Simply Classical Curriculum LEVEL 1

Sentences, Sums, & Stories

Ages 5-6 (Chronological Age or Skill Level)

MANUAL

Lesson Plans for One Year

Curriculum Manual Only $30 Consumables Only $78.17 Supplemental Read-Aloud Sets also available!

ARITHMETIC & FINE-MOTOR

Rod & Sta Arithmetic 1 Student (Part 1), Teacher, Flashcards, Practice Sheets, 100 Bugs!: A Counting Book, is First anksgiving Day

PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS, PHONICS, & READING

Fun in the Sun, Soft and White, Scamp and Tramp, Primary Phonics Readers Set 1, First Start Reading A-D Student Books, Phonics Flashcards, Cut & Paste Book, Kindergarten Phonics Supplemental Workbook, Phonics from A to Z

CHRISTIAN STUDIES, MEMORY, & MANNERS

e Story Bible, e Creation Story for Children, Simply Classical Copybook 1 (p. 30)

OPTIONAL ENRICHMENT

Kindergarten & First Grade Art Cards, Hailstones and Halibut Bones, A Child's Book of Poems, e Days Gone By CD, My Nature Journal (p. 30), Map of the World Jumbo Puzzle

My daughter started eating before praying, and my husband reminded her to wait for prayer. She folded her hands and said, "Lord, dear Father, we thank ee. And praise His holy name. Amen."

I had tears in my eyes. is was speech from my child with autism. She is verbal, but not conversational, so this truly took us by surprise. e prayer was clearly in uenced by the ones she has learned in the Simply Classical Curriculum. is is a wonderful curriculum that touches every aspect of the student and recognizes the dignity of all children. —AMANDA

New to Simply Classical? You need these items from Level C. Classical Phonics, Letters & Numbers Desk Charts, First Start Reading Teacher

Curriculum Manual Only $30

Consumables Only $119.65

Supplemental Read-Aloud Sets also available!

Simply Classical Curriculum LEVEL 2

Comprehension, Calculations, & Character Ages 6-8 (Chronological Age or Skill Level)

LITERATURE, COMPOSITION, & GRAMMAR

Simply Classical Writing: Book One (Bible Story Ed.), Simply Classical StoryTime Treasures Student and Teacher (p. 4), Little Bear, Little Bear's Visit, Blueberries for Sal, Caps for Sale, At the Farm

ARITHMETIC & FINE-MOTOR

Rod & Sta Arithmetic 1 Student (Part 2)

New to Simply Classical?

PHONICS & SPELLING

I Can Read It! Book 2, Core Skills Phonics 2, Simply Classical Spelling: Book One (p. 4)

CURSIVE

You need these items from prior levels.

Classical Phonics, Arithmetic 1 Teacher, Arithmetic 1 Practice Sheets, Arithmetic 1 Flashcards, A Child's Garden of Bible Stories, Phonics Flashcards

Cursive Practice Sheets I, New American Cursive 1 (p. 30)

CURRICULUM MANUAL

Lesson Plans for One Year

RETAIL $262.30 PACKAGE PRICE $206.11

Second Grade Art Cards, Animal Tales CD

CHRISTIAN STUDIES, MEMORY, & MANNERS

SC Copybook 2: Manuscript (p. 30)

I absolutely love Myself & Others , as well as the read-aloud book set that goes with it, for both my autistic son (5) and my neurotypical children (6, 3, and 2). The visual cue cards that are used with each lesson have been SO helpful in teaching my ASD 5-year-old what it means to be quiet, sit still, and listen—and they have been very helpful outside of the actual lessons in helping him learn to sit still and quiet in church, which is a blessing beyond measure. He has grown in understanding and my other children have also learned a lot! I love the amazing books and well-structured lessons! — JEN M.

& Fine-Motor Skills

Reading, & Spelling

A Child's Garden of Bible Stories; Bible Pictures to Color; Prayer for a Child; Please and Thank You Book; Big Thoughts for Little People; How Can I Help?

Numbers Coloring Book; Numbers & Colors; Adventures With Books; My Very First Scissors Book (p. 32); Counting With Numbers

Alphabet Coloring Book; My First ABC Book; Simply Classical Crafts: Book One (p. 32); Alphabet Flashcards

My ABC of Bible Verses

Numbers Books; Going on Eagerly; My Very Own Scissors Book (p. 32)

Alphabet Books; Classical Phonics; First Start Reading Book A; Simply Classical Letters & Numbers Desk Charts (p. 30)

The Story Bible; The Creation Story for Children; Simply Classical Copybook One (p. 30)

Rod & Staff Arithmetic 1 (Part 1); 100 Bugs!: A Counting Book; This First Thanksgiving Day

Simply Classical Copybook: Book Two, Manuscript (p. 30); A Child's Garden of Bible Stories

& Staff Arithmetic 1 (Part 2)

My First Body; My Big Animal Book; A Child's Garden of Verses; A Child's Garden of Songs CD; Back to the Garden CD; Best First Book Ever

Animals Animals; Simply Classical Crafts: Book Two (p. 32); Aesop's Fables (p. 31); Richard Scarry's Best Mother Goose Ever; Christian Liberty Nature Reader, Book K; Animal Alphabet Coloring Book

Level A

Fun in the Sun; Soft and White; Scamp and Tramp; Primary Phonics ReadersSet 1; Cut & Paste Book; Kindergarten Phonics Supplemental Workbook; Phonics Flashcards;First Start Reading A-D; Phonics from A to Z

Kindergarten and First Grade Art Cards; Hailstones and Halibut Bones; A Child's Book of Poems; The Days Gone By CD; My Nature Journal (p. 30); Map of the World Jumbo Puzzle

Prayers for Children; Jesus Is With Me; Jesus Hears Me; Jesus Knows Me; Big Red Barn; The Best Mouse Cookie; Little Fur Family; Bunny's Noisy Book; From Head to Toe; Goodnight Moon; Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?; Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?; Numbers, Colors, Shapes; The Very Busy Spider; Good Night, Gorilla; The Tale of Peter Rabbit; Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings; My Very First Book of Shapes; ABC: Amazing Alphabet Book; Put Me in the Zoo; Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb; Cars and Trucks From A to Z; My First Counting Book; The Animals' Christmas Eve; Big Dog ... Little Dog; Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?; A Children's Treasury of Nursery Rhymes; 1 Is One

e language lessons are absolutely wonderful! His comprehension has soared! is is the perfect pace for my son. —NUBIA

Rod

New American Cursive 1 (p. 30); Cursive Practice Sheets I

Christian Studies I; Old Testament Flashcards; The Golden Children's Bible

Rod & Staff Arithmetic 2 (Units 1-2); Write-On/Wipe-Off Demo Clock; Arithmetic Flashcards: Addition & Subtraction

Rod & Staff Arithmetic 2 (Units 3-4)

Rod & Staff Arithmetic 3; Multiplication and Division Flashcards

First Start Reading E; Simply Classical Spelling: Book Two (p. 4)

Traditional Spelling I

Traditional Spelling II

Simply Classical Enrichment: Level Three (p. 32); Map of the U.S. Sticker Picture Book ; States & Capitals Flashcards

Mythology Read-Alouds; Don't Know Much About the 50 States; Patterns of Nature; Heroes, Horses, and Harvest Moons CD; Hurrah and Hallelujah

Creating Art; Music Appreciation I; States & Capitals; Mammals

Simply Classical Writing: Book Two (Bible Edition); Simply Classical More StoryTime Treasures Set (p. 4); Prairie School

Amelia Bedelia; The Courage of Sarah Noble; Little House in the Big Woods; Brambly Hedge; Second Grade Literature Dictionary; Composition & Sketchbook II; Rod & Staff English 2

Rod & Staff English 3; Composition & Sketchbook III; Farmer Boy; Charlotte's Web; A Bear Called Paddington; Mr. Popper's Penguins; Little Fir Tree; Poetry for the Grammar Stage

New American Cursive 2: Famous Americans (p. 30); My Thankfulness Journal: Beginner (p. 31); New American Cursive Desk Strip

New American Cursive 2: Scripture & Famous Quotations (p. 30); My Thankfulness Journal: Beginner (p. 31)

New American Cursive 3: Scripture and Manners (p. 30); My Thankfulness Journal: Intermediate (p. 31)

Prima Latina

Latina Christiana

D'Aulaires' Greek Myths; Timeline Program (optional); Courage and a Clear Mind CD

Christian Studies II; The Golden Children's Bible

Christian Studies III; The Golden Children's Bible

Christian Studies IV

Rod & Staff Arithmetic 4

Rod & Staff Arithmetic 5

Rod & Staff Mathematics 6

Traditional Spelling III

Traditional Spelling IV

Traditional Spelling V

The Book of Astronomy; Glow in the Dark Constellations; Draw 50 Animals; Geography I; United States Review; Music Appreciation CD; Story of the World Vol. 1

Geography I Review; Geography II; The Book of Insects; Story of the World Vol. 2

The Book of Birds; Exploring the History of Medicine; Story of the World Vol. 3; The Declaration of Independence and Other Great Documents of American History; Geography & Timeline Review

The Moffats; My Side of the Mountain; Homer Price; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; A Promise Kept; Good King Wenceslas; Papa Panov's Special Christmas; Carry On, Mr. Bowditch; Detectives in Togas; Mystery of the Roman Ransom; The Trumpet of the Swan; Rod & Staff English 4

The Blue Fairy Book; The Cricket in Times Square; The Door in the Wall; Heidi; Twenty-One Balloons; The Ink Garden of Brother Theophane; The Apple and the Arrow; Marguerite Makes a Book; Classical Composition I & II; Rod & Staff English 5

The Magician's Nephew; The Bronze Bow; Anne of Green Gables; The Trojan War; Classical Composition III: Chreia & Maxim; Rod & Staff English 6

Copybook Cursive II

Copybook Cursive III

Copybook Cursive IV

First Form Latin; Lingua Angelica

Famous Men of Rome

Famous Men of the Middle Ages

Famous Men of Greece

Kathy Becker

Jim Duncan

Thomas Jay Andy Sojourner

Cheryl Swope

RETAIL $389.92

PACKAGE PRICE

$309.75

Simply Classical Curriculum LEVEL 3

Literature, Latin, & Liberty Ages 7-9 (Chronological Age or Skill Level)

CURRICULUM MANUAL

Lesson Plans for One Year

CURSIVE

Curriculum Manual Only $30 Consumables Only $153.03 Supplemental Read-Aloud Sets also available!

LITERATURE, COMPOSITION, & GRAMMAR

Simply Classical More StoryTime Treasures Student and Teacher (p. 4), Billy and Blaze, e Story About Ping, Keep the Lights Burning Abbie, Stone Soup, Wagon Wheels, Prairie School, Prairie School Student and Teacher, Simply Classical Writing: Book Two (Bible Story Ed.) Student and Teacher (p. 4)

PHONICS & SPELLING

New American Cursive 2: Famous Americans (p. 30), My ankfulness Journal: Beginner (p. 31), New American Cursive Desk Strip

LATIN

Prima Latina Student, Teacher, and Pronunciation CD

First Start Reading E Student and Teacher, Simply Classical Spelling: Book Two (p. 4)

CHRISTIAN STUDIES, MEMORY, & MANNERS

Simply Classical Copybook 3: Cursive (p. 30)

ARITHMETIC & FINE-MOTOR

Rod & Sta Arithmetic 2 Student Units 1-2, Teacher Units 1-2, Practice Sheets 1, and Supplemental Pack, Arithmetic Flashcards: Addition and Subtraction, Write-On / Wipe-O Demo Clock

OPTIONAL ENRICHMENT

SC Enrichment: Level ree (p. 32), Map of the U.S. Sticker Picture Book, States & Capitals Flashcards

New to Simply Classical? You need these items from prior levels.

Classical Phonics, e Story Bible, K, 1st, and 2nd Grade Art Cards, Phonics Flashcards

Curriculum Manual Only $30

Consumables Only $133.59

Extended Literature Set $33.94

Supplemental Read-Aloud Sets also available!

CURSIVE

New American Cursive 2: Scripture & Famous Quotations (p. 30), My ankfulness Journal: Beginner (p. 31)

Simply Classical Curriculum LEVEL 4

Mozart, Maps, & Myths Ages 8-10 (Chronological Age or Skill Level)

PHONICS & SPELLING

Traditional Spelling I set

LITERATURE

Amelia Bedelia set, e Courage of Sarah Noble set, Little House in the Big Woods set, Brambly Hedge set, Second Grade Literature Dictionary

COMPOSITION & GRAMMAR

Rod & Sta English 2 Student, Teacher, and Tests, Composition & Sketchbook II

OPTIONAL ENRICHMENT

Heroes, Horses, and Harvest Moons: A Cornucopia of Best-Loved Poems, Vol. 1 CD, Don't Know Much About the 50 States, Rapunzel, Beauty & the Beast, King Midas and the Golden Touch, Cupid & Psyche, Persephone, Pegasus, e Trojan Horse: How the Greeks Won the War, Patterns of Nature Student and Teacher, Hurrah & Hallelujah

ARITHMETIC

Rod & Sta Arithmetic 2 Student Units 3-4, Teacher Units 3-4, and Practice Sheets 2

CURRICULUM MANUAL Lesson Plans for One Year

PACKAGE PRICE $470.59

Prima Latina Instructional Videos and Prima Latina Flashcards

OPTIONAL PENMANSHIP

Simply Classical Prima Latina Copybook and Simply Classical Copybook 4: Cursive (p. 30)

New to Simply Classical? You need these items from prior levels.

Prima Latina Student, Prima Latina Teacher, Prima Latina Pronunciation CD, States & Capitals Flashcards, Map of the U.S. Sticker Picture Book, Classical Phonics, Phonics Flashcards, Rod & Sta Arithmetic 2 Supplemental Pack, Arithmetic Flashcards, Demonstration Clock

$823.28

$650.29

$635.29 for One-Year Pace

Simply Classical Curriculum

LEVELS 5 & 6

Grammar, Greece, & Gratitude

Ages 9-12 (Chronological Age or Skill Level)

CURRICULUM MANUAL

Lesson Plans: Two-Year Pace or One-Year Pace (Two-Year Pace contains extra review!)

Curriculum Manual Only: Two-Year Standard Pace $45

Curriculum Manual Only: One-Year Accelerated Pace $30

ARITHMETIC

Rod & Sta Arithmetic 3 Student, Teacher (Parts 1-2), Tests, and Practice Sheets, Multiplication Flashcards: 0 to 12, Division Flashcards: 0 to 12, Memoria Math Notebook

LITERATURE

Farmer Boy novel and Teacher, Charlotte's Web novel and Teacher, A Bear Called Paddington novel and Teacher, Mr. Popper's Penguins novel and Teacher, Poetry for the Grammar Stage Student and Teacher, Composition & Sketchbook III, e Little Fir Tree

CHRISTIAN STUDIES

Latina Christiana Student, Teacher, and Pronunciation CD, Latina Christiana Review Worksheets, Latina Christiana Review Worksheets Key

PHONICS & SPELLING

Traditional Spelling II set

Christian Studies I Teacher, Old Testament Flashcards, e Golden Children's Bible

New American Cursive 3: Scripture and Manners (p. 30), My ankfulness Journal: Intermediate (p. 31)

OPTIONAL: ADDITIONAL WRITING PRACTICE SET $101.40

Consumables Only $169.48

Supplemental Read-Aloud Sets also available!

CLASSICAL STUDIES

D'Aulaires' Greek Myths Text, Teacher, and Flashcards, Timeline Program (optional), Courage and a Clear Mind CD

COMPOSITION & GRAMMAR

Rod & Sta English 3 Student, Teacher, Worksheets, and Tests

OPTIONAL ENRICHMENT

Creating Art, Music Appreciation I, States & Capitals Student, States & Capitals Teacher, Mammals set

New to Simply Classical? You need these items from prior levels.

Many of our studies in Levels 5 & 6 are conducted orally, as students with special needs often encounter di culties with writing despite an ability to learn challenging content. We have assembled this set of workbooks for any student who needs or wants additional writing practice. RETAIL

Demo Clock, States & Capitals Flashcards, Prima Latina/Latina Christiana Flashcards, Don't Know Much About the 50 States, Hurrah & Hallelujah, Classical Phonics, Phonics Flashcards, Arithmetic Flashcards: Addition & Subtraction

Curriculum Manual Only: Two-Year Standard Pace $45

Curriculum Manual Only: One-Year Accelerated Pace $30

Consumables Only $100.63

Supplemental Read-Aloud Sets also available!

LATIN

Simply Classical Latin Games & Puzzles Workbook and Key

SPELLING

Traditional Spelling III set

LITERATURE

ARITHMETIC

Rod & Sta Arithmetic 4 Student, Teacher (Parts 1-2), Tests, Speed Drills, Speed Drill Packet

CLASSICAL STUDIES

Famous Men of Rome Text, Teacher, and Flashcards

Simply Classical Curriculum LEVELS 7 &

8

Poetry, Pleiades, & Promises

Ages 11-14 (Chronological Age or Skill Level)

CURSIVE

Copybook Cursive II

e Mo ats novel and Teacher; My Side of the Mountain novel and Teacher; Homer Price novel and Teacher, e Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe novel and Teacher; A Promise Kept; Good King Wenceslas; Papa Panov's Special Christmas; Poetry for the Grammar Stage Anthology; Carry On, Mr. Bowditch; Detectives in Togas; Mystery of the Roman Ransom; e Trumpet of the Swan

CURRICULUM MANUAL

Lesson Plans: Two-Year Pace or One-Year Pace (Two-Year Pace contains extra review!)

RETAIL

$686.15

PACKAGE PRICE

$552.66

$537.66 for

COMPOSITION & GRAMMAR

Rod & Sta English 4 Student, Teacher, Worksheets, and Tests

OPTIONAL ENRICHMENT

Book of Astronomy Student and Teacher, Glow in the Dark Constellations, Draw 50 Animals, Geography I Text, Student, and Teacher, e United States Review Student and Teacher, Geography Flashcards, Music Appreciation CD, Story of the World Vol. 1

Christian Studies II Teacher

New to Simply Classical? You need these items from prior levels.

Old Testament Flashcards, Golden Children's Bible, TimelineProgram, Poetry for the Grammar Stage Student and Teacher, Music Appreciation I, Demonstration Clock, Arithmetic Flashcards, Multiplication Flashcards, Division Flashcards, Hurrah & Hallelujah

OPTIONAL: ADDITIONAL WRITING PRACTICE SET $82.30

Many of our studies in Levels 7 & 8 are conducted orally, as students with special needs often encounter di culties with writing despite an ability to learn challenging content. We have assembled this set of workbooks for any student who needs or wants additional writing practice.

CHRISTIAN

Simply Classical Curriculum LEVELS

9 & 10

Knights, Knaves, & Knowledge

Ages 13-16 (Chronological Age or Skill Level)

Traditional Spelling IV CURRICULUM

Lesson Plans:

Two-Year Pace or One-Year Pace (Two-Year Pace contains extra review!)

LITERATURE

Selections from e Blue Fairy Book novel and Teacher; e Cricket in Times Square novel and Teacher; e Door in the Wall novel and Teacher; Heidi novel and Teacher; e Twenty-One Balloons novel and Teacher; e Apple and the Arrow; Marguerite Makes a Book; e Ink Garden of Brother eophane

Curriculum Manual Only: Two-Year Standard Pace $45

Curriculum Manual Only: One-Year Accelerated Pace $30

Consumables Only $149.16

Extended Literature Set $45.92

Supplemental Read-Aloud Sets also available!

ARITHMETIC

Rod & Sta Arithmetic 5 Student, Teacher (Parts 1-2), Tests, Speed Drills

COMPOSITION

Classical Composition I: Fable Student, Teacher, and Instructional Videos; Classical Composition II: Narrative Student, Teacher, and Instructional Videos

GRAMMAR

Rod & Sta English 5 Student, Teacher, Worksheets, and Tests

LATIN

OPTIONAL ENRICHMENT

First Form Latin Text, Workbook, Teacher Manual, Teacher Key, Flashcards, Quizzes & Tests, Pronunciation CD, and Instructional Videos, Lingua Angelica Song Book, Teacher, and CD

Geography II Text, Student, and Teacher; Geography I Review Student and Teacher; Story of the World Vol. 2; e Book of Insects Text, Student, Teacher, and Flashcards; Peterson First Guide to Insects; How to Draw Insects

Famous Men of the Middle Ages Text, Teacher, and Flashcards

Christian Studies III Teacher

Copybook Cursive III

New to Simply Classical? You need these items from prior levels. Golden Children's Bible; Timeline Program; Poetry for the Grammar Stage Student and Teacher; Demonstration Clock; Geography Flashcards; Arithmetic Flashcards; Multiplication Flashcards; Division Flashcards; Hurrah & Hallelujah

Many of our studies in Levels 9 & 10 are conducted orally, as students with special needs often encounter di culties with writing despite an ability to learn challenging content. We have assembled this set of workbooks for any student who needs or wants additional writing practice.

Curriculum Manual Only: Two-Year Standard Pace $45

Curriculum Manual Only: One-Year Accelerated Pace $30

Consumables Only $117.93

Supplemental Read-Aloud Sets also available!

CHRISTIAN STUDIES

Christian Studies IV Text, Student, and Teacher

LITERATURE

MATH

Rod & Sta Math 6 Student, Teacher (Parts 1-2), Chapter Tests, and Quizzes & Speed Tests

SPELLING

Traditional Spelling V

Simply Classical Curriculum LEVELS 11 &

12

History, Homer, & Heroes

Ages 15-18 (Chronological Age or Skill Level)

CLASSICAL STUDIES

Famous Men of Greece Text, Teacher, and Flashcards

CURRICULUM MANUAL

Lesson Plans: Two-Year Pace or One-Year Pace (Two-Year Pace contains extra review!)

RETAIL $671.15

PACKAGE PRICE $545.17

e Magician's Nephew novel and Teacher; e Bronze Bow novel and Teacher; Anne of Green Gables novel and Teacher; e Trojan War novel and Teacher

$530.17 for One-Year Pace

COMPOSITION

Classical Composition III: Chreia & Maxim Student, Teacher, and Instructional Videos

LATIN

Note: First Form Latin is continued from Levels 9 & 10

GRAMMAR

Rod & Sta English 6 Student, Teacher, Worksheets, and Tests

OPTIONAL ENRICHMENT

e Book of Birds Text, Flashcards, Student, and Teacher; Peterson Coloring Book; Exploring the History of Medicine Text, Student, and Teacher; Story of the World Vol. 3; e Declaration of Independence and Other Great Documents of American History; Geography & Timeline Review Worksheets and Key

CURSIVE

Copybook Cursive IV

OPTIONAL: ADDITIONAL WRITING PRACTICE SET $61.04

New to Simply Classical? You need these items from prior levels.

First Form Latin Text, Workbook, Teacher Manual, Teacher Key, Quizzes & Tests, Flashcards, CD, and Instructional Videos; Lingua Angelica Teacher, Song Book, and CD; Poetry for the Grammar Stage Student and Teacher; Geography Flashcards; Hurrah & Hallelujah

Many of our studies in Levels 11 & 12 are conducted orally, as students with special needs often encounter di culties with writing despite an ability to learn challenging content. We have assembled this set of workbooks for any student who needs or wants additional writing practice.

David was small in stature. He had only five small stones. By any measure, David stood no chance against the Philistine Goliath. But the Lord was with David.

This became an illustrative hope for me. As an adoptive mother I fretted when my twins were young. My son's legs were twisted, his muscle tone floppy. He spoke with garbled sounds that were difficult to understand. He seemed perplexed by reasonable rules. Often passive, he let his twin sister button his clothing and speak for him in public. She, by contrast, was eager to do for herself, but she lacked the skills to do so capably. Her drawing and coloring remained at a toddler ability for many years and her odd language baffled everyone. On hearty days I vowed to "catch them up." I believed that heroic amounts of attention, therapies, and hard work would reap rewards. Often they did! In many ways this mindset served my children well, as therapeutic work structured our days, nurtured our bonds, and resulted in measurable, small gains that led to the many invaluable years of a classical Christian education. But on weaker days, I felt discouraged. Just when I thought we had made great strides, a child of a similar age would come over to play. I marveled at the organized mind of the capable child as she spoke with coherence, peeled a banana, or folded a swim towel. In such moments, I felt myself tumbling into the chasm of differences. I believe now that I was mistaken on both the hearty days and on the weaker days in thinking that differences are all quantitative, problematic, and resolvable. In truth, my little ones would never possess the competence or strength of the easilyachieving children we knew. My little ones would not one day run with agility or win awards as if without effort. My enemy was never the other parents or children. My enemy was not even milestone charts. My enemy was the temptation of seeing other children as a

measuring stick for my own. I had nothing sufficient in my satchel to slay this temptation. But the Lord was with me as He was with David.

In one of my weaker moments, the Lord provided something I needed to hear. Anna, an occupational therapist and one of my children's early advocates, gently sat me down. She said that a top factor for a child's true success was a deep sense of love, acceptance, and closeness from his mother. This made me pause. Closeness from me? I had seen myself as clinician, educator, and coach. If I was to shift to this understandably more important role, I would need to shift my thinking: My primary role is to be a loving, nurturing mother.

How would I do this? First I needed to see my children as the complex, fully human, endearing children they were and would always be. I needed to enjoy them more. As I jotted down delightful things they said—not to pursue language therapy goals but to see their unique view of life—I delighted in them . I snapped photos and created albums with captions to remind myself—and later them—of the many ways they enriched our lives and the lives of others. My husband and I continued bringing the children to church, praying with them, singing hymns with them, and reading God's Word with them. Amid the "differences," I witnessed moments of thoughtfulness, gentleness, kindness, helpfulness, faithfulness, patience, and self-control. The Lord was with me.

After our small steps of therapies, education, and love bore academic fruit, my children's minds had been strengthened sufficiently to begin Latina Christiana. We enjoyed exploring etymology together as a love of language blossomed. My daughter learned a new phrase. She surprised me with a note she had written carefully: You are my nurturing mother, my alma mater.

No matter where our children fall on standard scores, percentile ranks, stanines, and other manmade measures, the Lord is with us. No matter what happens to our children's minds or bodies, the Lord is with us. He gives us comfort, peace, and

wisdom. He loves our children through us on our heartier days and on our weaker days. If we make no progress despite great effort, and if, God forbid, we witness regression due to degenerative or other conditions, the Lord is still with us.

Resting in this truth, we can rejoice in our children's small steps. When they learn to say a new word, remember to pet the dog gently, or ask for forgiveness, we can pause in the wonder of such a moment. And when they take steps backward, fall flat, or fail, we can be there for them in love. Christ is with our children, just as He is with us.

The Philistine was far too formidable for one young man to battle. Similarly, the Enemy is greater than we are, on our own. But with hope in our hearts and the freedom of joy in our small steps, like David we know that the Lord is with us. Consider these words from David in Psalm 108:

I will praise thee, O Lord among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations. For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds.

Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth; That thy beloved may be delivered: save with thy right hand, and answer me… Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.

We press on day by day, year by year, throughout our children's lives. We pray for our children as we encourage them, guide them, and love them. We are never alone. The Lord is with us in our small, fervent prayers. This is our confidence and our hope for our children, even after we are gone: His goodness and mercy will follow our children all the days of their lives. From another of David's psalms, Psalm 138:7-8, we can pray with firm assurance and strength: Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me. … The L ord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O L ord , endureth for ever.

Cheryl Swope is the author of Simply Classical: A Beautiful Education for Any Child and Memoria Press' Simply Classical Curriculum, as well as editor of the Simply Classical Journal

Copybooks & Cursive

Simply Classical Copybook Series

by Cheryl Swope

Ages 5-8, chronological age or skill level

$10.30 ea.

Book 1, Manuscript

Book 2, Manuscript or Cursive

Book 3, Manuscript or Cursive

Book 4, Cursive

Strengthen penmanship, spelling, punctuation, vocabulary, ne-motor skills, and memory through the time-honored tradition of copybooks. Habits of accuracy, neatness, and patience are taught through the truth and comfort of Holy Scripture. Shorter selections help accommodate for writing di culties while providing the full bene ts of copybook and memory work, and the simple, clean pages help students focus on the task at hand.

New American Cursive

by Iris Hat eld | Ages 6-12, chronological age or skill level

Book 1

Book 2

Book 3

$25.75

$25.75 (Scripture or Famous Americans)

$25.75 (Scripture or Famous Quotes)

StartWrite CD $29.95 (Windows only)

Teach your student to write in a fast, legible script with the simpli ed letter forms of New American Cursive. Letter formation is taught, step by step, in NAC 1 , and NAC 2 and NAC 3 continue to build skill and con dence with practice exercises that develop neat handwriting while also teaching manners and correspondence protocol. Correct pencil grip, paper position, and posture are illustrated throughout.

My Nature Journal

by Cheryl Swope

Ages 4-11, chronological age or skill level

$10.30 is standalone supplement will help you savor small moments of wonder with your child as the penmanship exercises improve his knowledge, attention to detail, and writing skills.

Letters & Numbers Desk Charts

Ages 4-7, chronological age or skill level

$15.10

Reinforce your teaching with desk charts formatted to accompany lessons. Bold, targeted letters assist visual discrimination.

Simply Classical Prima Latina Copybook

by Cheryl Swope

Ages 9+, chronological age or skill level

$16.80 is copybook in the New American Cursive font features Latin vocabulary and prayer copy practice that correlates to the lessons in Prima Latina . ese simpli ed copy exercises are a great way to help your students practice Latin while developing penmanship skills.

Aesop Copybooks

by Cheryl Swope

Ages 9+, chronological age or skill level

Aesop Copybook, Manuscript $10.30

Aesop Copybook, Cursive $10.30

Aesop's Fables $14.99

The Aesop Copybook is a lovely companion to Aesop's Fables . Strengthen your students' writing and composition skills while they contemplate the timeless wisdom of Aesop's fables and learn from the gentle moral instruction they provide. These fourteen weeks of exercises are available in manuscript or the New American Cursive font.

My ankfulness Journals by Cheryl Swope Ages 6-12, chronological age or skill level

Beginner $9.75

Intermediate $9.75

Practice cursive writing while thinking about God's daily blessings. e Beginner Journal uses a large font for beginning writers while giving guided practice in gratitude. e Intermediate Journal uses a smaller font size and has less tracing. Scripture at the bottom of every page encourages students to begin with a grateful heart.

Enrichment

Scissors Books

Ages 3-5, chronological age or skill level

My Very First Scissors Book

My Very Own Scissors Book

$7.10 ea.

Help your child develop hand strength, nemotor skills, and independence. My Very First Scissors Book teaches opening and closing scissors to cut along lines that start thick and progressively fade, get wavy, and nally form shapes. My Very Own Scissors Book features more complex shapes and coordinates with alphabet lessons in Level C (p. 15).

Simply Classical Enrichment: Level 3

Ages 7-9, chronological age or skill level

$22.70

This guide helps you teach American history, poetry, music, art, and science through the Simply Classical Level 3 American History

Read-Aloud set, maps, classical music selections, and art cards. Everything is scheduled for you weekly with thoughtful discussion questions, science activities, and topics for art and music appreciation that will enrich your year and expand your child's cultural, scientific, and general knowledge.

Simply Classical Crafts 1 & 2

Ages 3-5, chronological age or skill level

$11.85 ea.

These activities reinforce number and letter recognition, strengthen finemotor skills, and foster creativity and confidence.

Book One contains letter crafts from Memoria Press' Jr.

K Book of Crafts Book Two contains story crafts from Memoria Press' Jr. K Book of Crafts . Enjoy each of your creations and the time spent together making them!

Four years ago our family of three—my husband, myself, and our daughter—was joined by twin boys. This was perhaps the most special moment in all of our lives. Twins: two souls sharing from the first of their existence. A miracle.

But our joy soon turned into worry, followed by grief. At just four weeks of age, one of the twins, Jordan, was hospitalized for seizures. I remember the doctor summoning me out of the hospital room where tiny Jordan still lay connected by many wires to an EEG monitor. Holding Theo, I heard Jordan's diagnosis: a rare genetic condition that caused benign tumors on his brain. The doctor instructed us to bring Theo for neurological tests too. His identical diagnosis followed quickly. Because I nursed my twin infants, I brought Theo to that (and every other) hospitalization baby Jordan needed. The boys, once again, shared.

Jordan's seizures progressed quickly despite intensive treatments. He started to miss developmental milestones. He was sleeping far too much, seizing many times a day or not moving at all, and getting sick. Immobile well into toddlerhood, by the time Jordan was a year and a half he was losing weight. Many medications and many dosage changes led only to endless side effects, crying, sleepless nights, and fear beyond anything I had ever known.

Meanwhile, Theo experienced his first seizure at nine months and did not walk until he was almost two. By age two, neither of the boys had any speech. One day a friend's toddler looked up and said, "Look, it's an airplane!" I remember thinking, It's a sentence! I looked at my two sons. Theo could point to objects at best, but Jordan couldn't even move. The boys were tiny but diagnoses kept piling up. Hypotonia. Global developmental delay. Language and speech disorders. Mental health diagnoses. I felt as if an abyss lay between my children and the rest of the world. How could I ever carry them over to the other side?

The Covid-19 pandemic brought yet another challenge: accessing medical care, intervention, church, and companionship. Everyone felt the isolation during that time, but as the world moved on our family continued largely in seclusion to manage both boys' care day by day. At times it has felt like a losing battle. I began to understand that unless I learned ways to find my own joy and peace I would never be able to teach joy and peace to my children.

W d

Many years ago in my catechesis study, I heard a speaker say: Seek the Word every day. It wasn't until I was deep in the trenches of special-needs parenting that I began to understand my need for God's Word. I like to get up before my children are awake in the morning to

read the Gospel passage of the day and listen to a sermon. I keep my study time concise, and when the morning doesn't go as planned, I listen to the reading on the way to my daughter's school or my sons' therapy. I fall short all the time, but the Word is always there for me; and it's alive—living and active. The Word brings joy and peace and answers my questions. I pray the Lord to help me. He sustains this daily practice and nourishes me.

Pursuing What I Love: Art and B ks

When my oldest was a baby I started a collection of beautifully illustrated children's books. I became interested in art and tried to learn about what makes great art great. I had always wanted to learn to paint, but it was not until adulthood, spurred by my desire to capture moments of my children's childhood, that I finally placed brush to paper. On our walks now I take pictures of ideas for paintings. I practice sketching while my sons are in therapy. Some days I sit down and work on a painting just to make it through a hard hour, letting my children play nearby. Unexpectedly, over time I have found that Theo has grown very fond of drawing and painting. Now Theo and I connect through art in ways both of us enjoy.

While I cannot escape into a longer novel as often as I would like, the rich world of children's literature has brought me joy, peace, and relief. This is a world my children and I can love and share together. I think of the saintly Eliza from Andersen's Wild Swans , the mischievous yet brave Emil of Lonneberga from Astrid Lindgren, and the softening of the father's heart in Paul Gallico's Thomasina . These characters, stories, and illustrations enrich my life just as they enrich my children's lives.

Gratitude

When my twins neared their second birthday, my husband gifted me a gratitude journal, the kind that prompts writing three things to be grateful for on a given day. It's hard to practice gratitude on days when my children struggle, yet I have learned to take things one day at a time. I find that moments of joy and peace reveal themselves through this practice.

Prayer

I often feel lost as to how to give enough love and attention to all three of my children. It has been tempting to "ration" myself, but I keep discovering that the Lord works through every need that comes from within and from outside of our family. One prayer in particular, a mother's prayer authored by the Venerable Ambrose of Optina monastery in Russia, has been a guide for me. Among the supplications are these words:

Give me your graceful help in their upbringing to glorify Thy name and in service to their fellow man. Give me ways, patience, and strength to fulfill this purpose.

There is comfort in remembering that though I as a mother naturally want the blessings of this life for my children, it is our heavenly Father and His will that governs our life. The Lord's ways are incomprehensible. The above prayer proceeds:

As a parent I wish earthly blessings on my children, the gifts of heaven's dew and of earth's richness, but let Thy will be done.

Rtine: A Day at a Time

Many people prayed for our sons. We took them to their medical appointments. We tried different therapies in several clinics until we found the place and schedule that worked for both of them. I read nursery rhymes while nursing them. I sang them lullabies before bed. With all of this, we have kept a consistent routine with plenty of sleep, time outside, and the right diet.

Now four, Jordan waves to Grandpa and says, "Bah-bah." He can walk from the kitchen to the playroom, crawls quickly, and has a wheelchair for outings. Jordan communicates with a speech device or a sign, as when reminding me it is dinner time. At his best, he loves to laugh and play games. Jordan is a beautiful boy with large, dark gray eyes made even more impressive by thick-lensed glasses.

Theo works on his speech one sound at a time with his speech therapists. A sweet boy, he calls for our attention if Jordan tries to leave the driveway or needs assistance. Theo now speaks in sentences, is imaginative, and is reciting by heart a poem from A Child's Garden of Verses as part of Simply Classical Level B. "What's a uniform?" he asks inquisitively. He is learning.

Joy and Peace

The other day as I was sitting in the family room with my twin sons, the clock was approaching half past four. The long day was almost behind us, but the evening routine loomed ahead of me: cooking

a dinner that would include two medical diet meals carefully weighted on a scale to the gram, feeding and bathing my son with limited mobility, changing him, giving him medications through the feeding tube, tucking both boys in bed, and helping my daughter with homework.

"Mom," I heard Theo beckon, "can you play store?" Tired as I was, I looked at the pretend store he had created and smiled. Objects for purchase stretched before me. "Sure. May I buy a car, please?" At that moment Jordan began crawling into the laundry room. I redirected and turned him around: "Jordan, we can't play in here. Let's go back to the family room." Wanting the vacuum, his current favorite device, Jordan started banging his head on the door. I protected his forehead and tried to distract him. I heard Theo repeat his request to play. Comforting Jordan while trying to buy something in the pretend store, I glanced outside half-distractedly. The weather was changing to a heavier, much cooler late fall. Unable to play outside, perhaps my sons felt the menacing weight of a cloudy and cold autumn day. I felt it too.

"Mom … Mom!" "Yes, Theo?" Jordan seemed to have settled momentarily into a satisfying occupation. Then Theo asked me, "Can you say a payer?" I remembered we were playing store and repeated, "A pay-er?" He said the word again. I asked again, still weary and confused. Then it dawned on me. "Oh, a prayer?" "Yes!" His eyes met mine. This was an unexpected turn for the daunting afternoon; yet it made perfect sense. Theo began reciting words, as if from memory, but I had a hard time understanding them. After several back-and-forths, I realized that my son was saying the ancient prayer, Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. I prayed the words. His gentle smile shone up to my face. "Keep paying, Mom," he encouraged me. I prayed the prayer three times. His little soul seemed to know exactly how this prayer is used. It is a plea and a submission said over and over by Christians throughout the world.

As I pronounced the words, I felt the warm sun that had battled through the heavy October clouds reach through the window and touch me gently on my cheek. I felt calm, rested, restored.

I care for my children. My heavenly Father cares for me. In all of this, in His divine mercy we find joy and peace.

Anastasia Henn and her family enjoy life in the country just outside of Twin Cities, Minnesota. When she isn’t spending time with her three children, she reads, reflects, and paints in watercolor.

Classical Education Resources

Resource Books

CLASSICAL EDUCATION

• Simply Classical: A Beautiful Education for Any Child by Cheryl Swope $26.00

• A Defense of Latin and Classical Education edited by Cheryl Lowe $10.80

• Climbing Parnassus: A New Apologia for Greek and Latin by Tracy Lee Simmons $19.99

• From Achilles to Christ: Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics by Louis Markos $28.00

• From Plato to Christ: How Platonic ought Shaped the Christian Faith by Louis Markos $32.00

• e Recovery of Real Education: A selection of articles from e Classical Teacher $10.80

• e Great Books: A Journey rough 2,500 Years of the West's Classic Literature by Anthony O'Hear $22.00

• e Great Tradition: Classic Readings on What It Means to Be an Educated Human Being edited by Richard M. Gamble $29.99

• e Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise $35.00

• e Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise $39.95

• How to Read a Book: e Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren $19.99

• Figures of Speech: 60 Ways to Turn a Phrase by Arthur Quinn $49.99

• Rhetoric by Aristotle $8.00

• Medieval Literacy: A Compendium of Medieval Knowledge with the Guidance of C. S. Lewis by James Grote $29.95

FOR SCHOOLS

• Seven Myths About Education by Daisy Christodoulou $42.95

• Why Knowledge Matters: Rescuing Our Children from Failed Educational eories by E. D. Hirsch, Jr. $33.00

• e Schools We Need: And Why We Don't Have em by E. D. Hirsch, Jr. $17.95

• Why Freshmen Fail and How to Avoid It! by Carol Reynolds, Ph.D. $21.95

CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS & CHURCH HISTORY

• Fundamentals of the Faith: Essays in Christian Apologetics by Peter Kreeft $17.95

• Handbook of Christian Apologetics: Hundreds of Answers to Crucial Questions by Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli $35.00

• Socrates Meets Jesus by Peter Kreeft $22.00

• Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis $17.99

• e Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis $17.99

• e Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis $17.99

• e Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis $17.99

• A Preface to Paradise Lost by C. S. Lewis $39.99

• Early Christian Writings trans. by Andrew Louth and Maxwell Staniforth $15.00

• e Early Church by Henry Chadwick $18.00

• e History of the Church by Eusebius $19.00

PHONICS

• Teaching Phonics & Word Study in the Intermediate Grades by Wiley Blevins $33.99

• Phonics from A to Z by Wiley Blevins $37.99

Memoria Press Pamphlet Series

$4.95 ea.

Whether you're looking for an elevator pitch for classical education to give a friend, a defense of the place of Latin in classical education, or encouragement in teaching your child to read and write, this series of concise, clear articles in convenient pamphlet format is for you!

What Is Classical Education? What Is Civilization? e Liberating Arts How Latin Develops the Mind Why Literature Matters How to Teach Your Child How to Read Latin: e Next Step After Phonics Christian Studies: How to Have Biblically Literate Children What Is Classical Rhetoric? A Defense of Penmanship How to Teach Logic e Grammar of Our Lives Citizens of a Larger World

Podcasts • Teaching Guidelines • Famous Men of Virtue Series

Memoria Press Speakers' Guild • and more!

Cheryl Swope

The humanity of the child with special needs—the humanity of any child—must determine the education he receives. In this revolutionary book, Cheryl Swope guides parents, teachers, and schools in implementing the beauty, depth, and richness of a classical education for students with significant learning challenges.