A Publication of Memoria Press
Winter 2020
journal
THE BEAUTY OF V ULNERABILITY by Amy Gilbert Richards
What I Learned from a Cohort by Cheryl Swope Book Review: Mr. Popper's Penguins by Michelle Swope
Classical Education for Children with Special Needs
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR M Y C H I LD I S H U M A N
A
by Cheryl Swope
friend and I brought our children to a playground one summer many years ago. As heat, humidity, and noise intensified, one of my twins became unruly and unkempt and had a wild look in the eyes. My friend's child quickly backed away with fearful disgust and exclaimed, "A monster!" My friend quickly chided, "That's not nice." I wish I would have added, "And it's not true." I could have explained, "My child is having a hard time. My child is human." If we were to line ourselves up by varying degrees of "normalcy," no clear delineation would be evident. If we aligned all the stars by luminosity, we might not find a precise moment to distinguish between "bright" and "dim," yet we would know that all are stars. So it is with humanity. "You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind" (Leviticus 19:14). Written c. 1440 B.C., this is one of the first known provisions for the disabled. A thousand years later, Hippocrates (c. 460-377 B.C.) rejected popular superstitious notions as to the etiology of mental illness and concluded that infirmity of the mind was a disease caused in the same way as diseases of the body. For mental illness Hippocrates prescribed the humane treatment of rest, useful work, and understanding companionship. According to The History of Special Education: From Isolation to Integration, a thousand years after Hippocrates, Philippe Pinel (1745-1826) encountered widespread contempt for individuals with mental infirmities. Denouncing the deplorable subterranean cells and chains into which people with mental illness were thrown to "protect" society, Pinel devised instead "a traitement moral, a humane approach based on purposeful activity, kindness, minimum restraint, structure, routine, and consistency." His treatments began with frequent visits and conversation. Pinel's lesser-known successor, Jean Étienne Esquirol, would add to these requirements music, calm, order, and a bright and airy setting. During the Renaissance, schools for the blind, deaf, and intellectually disabled began emerging throughout Europe. Britain's first organized establishment for the deaf was founded in Edinburgh by Thomas Braidwood (1715-1806). When Samuel Johnson visited Braidwood and examined the pupils, he remarked, "It was pleasing to see one of the most desperate of human calamities capable of so much help." Whether you teach a child to write a zero, to say "thank you," to parse a Latin sentence, or simply to know that God loves him, you are doing more than educating that child. You are continuing the longstanding, important work of affirming his humanity.
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Heading Goes Letter from the Here Editor
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Winter 2020 FEATURED ARTICLES
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Letter from the Editor by Cheryl Swope The Beauty of Vulnerability and the Heart of Classical Education by Amy Gilbert Richards
14 What I Learned from a Cohort by Cheryl Swope 17 Book Notes by Michelle Swope
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T HE B EAUTY OF V ULNERABILITY AND THE
H EART OF C LASSICAL E DUCATION BY
A MY G ILBERT R ICHARDS
W
hat is it to be human? And how does our response to this question shed light on how we orient our hearts toward persons with disabilities? These two questions have guided much of my reading and thinking over the past few years as I have designed a course called "Difference and Human Dignity in the Great Tradition" for the Templeton Honors College's Master of Arts in Classical Teaching program. In sitting with these two questions in light of the project of classical education, I have found that they open out onto two further questions: First, is classical education for everyone? And second, what does the classical education renewal need to learn from persons with special needs? As you are reading the Simply Classical Journal, you have likely already answered the first of these questions with a resounding "Yes!" The classical Christian tradition is part of our common human inheritance. In the words of our program's philosophy, true education "frees us to seek the true, do the good, and make the beautiful." In light of this vision, we must believe that opening the treasures of such an education to all children is a great good. But the second question, I would argue, bears careful consideration. For if we fail to orient our hearts toward students with special needs, we risk presenting all students with a curriculum that offers a misleading understanding of truth, an incomplete narrative of the possibilities of goodness, and a picture of beauty that fails to witness to the ultimate beauty of the cross. A primary component of seeking truth is seeking the truth about what it is to be human—encompassing both the definition and the purpose of humanity. If Iris Murdoch is right that "Man is a creature who makes pictures of himself and then comes to resemble the picture," then we must be very careful about what picture of humanity we are using to determine who and what education is for. Even within the classical tradition, we can be seduced into thinking that the telos of human life is self-sufficiency and independence. We can adopt an understanding of humanity that sees the success of education as the development of certain peculiarly human capacities. In such a picture, persons with special needs, and especially those struggling with profound disabilities, are seen as deficient or even as less than fully human. But such a vision, a vision containing, in the words of Timothy Basselin, an insistence that "the fates of [those] who are disabled or diseased are sad comes from prioritizing the extermination of suffering over the appreciation of mystery." Thomas Reynolds, in his book Vulnerable Communion, is helpful here: When we push away those who do not meet a particular ideal of human functioning, we shun what is perhaps most human about us—the need to belong and to be recognized as of value. We all at the core are vulnerable and receive our existence from one another…. Learning to embrace ourselves and others as we are, in our specific weaknesses, releases us from narcissistic self-enclosure and empowers us to risk the openness of genuine relationship.
Such genuine relationships are possible not despite vulnerability and disability, but because of them. And thus, persons with special needs have something particular to teach us as we seek the truth about our common humanity. They teach us about our personal and relational nature, and about the preciousness of each particular person. Dr. Amy Gilbert Richards is affiliate professor and chair of philosophy at Eastern University. She also teaches in Eastern's Templeton Honors College, where she has, over the last two years, helped to develop its new Master of Arts in Classical Teaching. She lives in Havertown, Pennsylvania, with her husband and their three small girls.
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This personal and relational understanding of the standard pace and progression of how we "do school" in truth of what it is to be human leads us to see the contemporary America. And if we attune ourselves to the relational nature of goodness as well. Much profound beauty of all dappled things—including especially the goodness comes from "giving out of weakness in a great dappled variety of human gifts—we will see the context of mutual vulnerability," to quote Dwight beauty of the world and of God more clearly. Peterson, a professor of mine who, in being confined But there are struggles that we cannot easily to a wheelchair and suffering many health struggles understand through the lens of the beauty of dappled throughout his adult life, was well-versed in living difference. And it is here that we are led toward the more gracefully through weakness. Doing the good does painful beauty of the cross. As St. John Paul II says, not, therefore, always look like giving from a position The disabled person, with all the limitations and of strength, but often comes when we accept weakness suffering that scar him or her, forces us to question ourselves, with respect and wisdom, on the and both give and receive help gracefully. Being mystery of man. In fact, the more we move about in willing to receive help, offering our sufferings and the dark and unknown areas of human reality, the seeking healing from others, creates community. better we understand that John Swinton talks it is in the more difficult about two worlds, "the and disturbing situations that the dignity and world of disability, and the grandeur of the human world of people who do being emerges. not consider themselves PRIMARY COMPONENT disabled." And persons Beauty that tells the with special needs, who truth about a fallen world are less able than others to has to grapple with OF SEEKING TRUTH IS sustain the delusion that we tragedy—we not only are self-sufficient creatures, need Handel's Gloria but SEEKING THE TRUTH can bring these two worlds Mozart's Requiem, not together. They often bring only the Venus de Milo but ABOUT WHAT IT IS out our own weaknesses Michelangelo's Pietà. in ways that can make us I think here of a scene TO BE HUMAN uncomfortable. But genuine in the documentary goodness comes when we Summer in the Forest, are willing both to give to which tells the story of such persons and to receive L'Arche, an international things from them. Genuine coalition of communities good comes when everyone that provides homes is given the opportunity to give as well as to receive and workplaces where people with and without service, to bless others and to be blessed by them. intellectual disabilities live and work together as And finally, and perhaps most importantly, peers. In the scene, we see L'Arche's founder, Jean persons with special needs have something particular Vanier, sitting next to a young man named Sebastian. to teach us about beauty. They can teach us about the Sebastian lies in his motorized wheelchair, apparently beauties of difference. I think here of Gerard Manley incapable of speech. Vanier looks at Sebastian with Hopkins' poem "Pied Beauty," where he celebrates the tenderness—though not with pity or condescension. lovely, fragile, and multiform particulars of this world, He listens to the sounds Sebastian makes and which are all creatures of God: responds to them. And then, after Sebastian turns his head to meet Vanier's gaze, Vanier says, in full Glory be to God for dappled things— sincerity, "Dearest Sebastian, you are beautiful. Very, ... very beautiful." It is a moment of goodness and All things counter, original, spare, strange; transcendent beauty made possible because Vanier Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?) With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim; is willing to see the truth of common humanity in He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change: the eyes of Sebastian and enter into relationship with Praise him. him. And it is this truth that we need to keep at the Sometimes students with special needs have these heart of classical education. It is a truth that those who needs because they see the world differently—they have manifest difference and struggle with disability share strengths that don't fit well with what has become the with us in a particularly profound way.
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The Beauty of Vulnerability and the Heart of Classical Education
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Full-Year Classical Core Curriculum Packages for Students with Special Needs Visit SimplyClassical.com to obtain detailed information about each level and to take readiness assessments.
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Readiness, Rhythm, & Rhyme Ages 2-3 (Chronological Age or Skill Level)
Curriculum Manual Only $30
• • • • • • • • • • • •
Level A Curriculum Manual 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? My First Real Mother Goose 1 Is One
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Curriculum Manual Only $30 Consumables Only $25 Supplemental Read-Aloud Set $130 CURRICULUM MANUAL Lesson Plans for One Year
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PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS, PHONICS, & READING Alphabet Books 1-2, Classical Phonics, First Start Reading A Student Book, First Start Reading Teacher, Simply Classical Letters & Numbers Desk Charts (p. 19)
My ABC of Bible Verses
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ARITHMETIC & FINE-MOTOR Numbers Books 1-2, Going on Eagerly, My Very Own Scissors Book (p. 18)
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Animals Animals, Simply Classical Crafts Book Two (p. 18), Aesop's Fables, Richard Scarry's Best Mother Goose Ever, Finding the Answers, Hearing and Helping, Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book K, Animal Alphabet Coloring Book
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Sentences, Sums, & Stories Ages 5-6 (Chronological Age or Skill Level)
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Curriculum Manual Only $30 Consumables Only $125 Optional Extended Literature Set $19.50 Supp. Literature, Science, History, & Geography Read-Aloud Set $240 Comprehension, Calculations, & Character Supp. Arithmetic Read-Aloud Set $50 Ages 6-8 (Chronological Age or Skill Level)
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CURSIVE Cursive Practice Sheets, New American Cursive 1 (p. 19)
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LITERATURE, COMPOSITION, & GRAMMAR Simply Classical Writing: Book One (Read-Aloud Ed.) (p. 18), Simply Classical StoryTime Treasures Student and Teacher (p. 18), Little Bear, Little Bear's Visit, Blueberries for Sal, Caps for Sale, At the Farm
ARITHMETIC & FINE-MOTOR Rod & Staff Arithmetic 1 Student (Part 2), Speed Drills
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Classical Phonics $16.95 Arithmetic 1 Teacher $20.95 Arithmetic 1 Practice Sheets $16.50 Arithmetic 1 Flashcards $17.80 A Child's Garden of Bible Stories $11.99
"I just wanted to say what a blessing this curriculum has been. I have seen such tremendous progress with my eight-year-old son. I suspect he has ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia. Reading for him had been such a struggle. Now I am so much more hopeful and have such a sense of relief. His reading, printing, and spelling have improved. So for those of you debating about trying this curriculum I highly recommend it." — Elise
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LATIN Prima Latina Student, Teacher, and Pronunciation CD
CHRISTIAN STUDIES, MEMORY, & MANNERS Simply Classical Copybook: Cursive (p. 19)
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Curriculum Manual Only $30 Consumables Only $130 Optional Level 2 Extended Literature Set $19.50 Optional Level 4 Extended Literature Set $26.00 CURRICULUM MANUAL Lesson Plans for One Year
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Mammals, Multiplication, & Myths Ages 8-10 (Chronological Age or Skill Level)
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New American Cursive 2: Famous Quotations and Scripture, My Thankfulness Journal: Beginner (p. 19), Prima Latina Copybook
Traditional Spelling I set
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LITERATURE, COMPOSITION, & GRAMMAR
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Prima Latina DVDs, Prima Latina Flashcards
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Rod & Staff Arithmetic 2 Teacher Manual Units 3-5, 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
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Simply Classical Curriculum
Curriculum Manual Only: Two-Year Standard Pace $45 Curriculum Manual Only: One-Year Accelerated Pace $30 Consumables Only $140 Grammar, Greece, & Gratitude Optional Simply Classical American History Set (for independent reading) $225 Ages 9-14 (Chronological Age or Skill Level) Levels 5 & 6 Read-Aloud Set $90
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Lesson Plans: Two-Year Pace or One-Year Pace (Two-Year Pace contains extra review!)
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ARITHMETIC
New American Cursive 3: Scripture and Manners, My Thankfulness Journal: Intermediate (p. 19)
Rod & Staff Arithmetic 3 Student, Teacher, Blacklines, Speed Drills, Supplemental Worksheets, and Supplemental Worksheets Key
CLASSICAL STUDIES
LATIN
D'Aulaires' Greek Myths Text, Teacher, and Flashcards, Timeline Program, Courage and a Clear Mind CD
Latina Christiana Student, Teacher, and Pronunciation CD, Latina Christiana Review Worksheets, Latina Christiana Review Worksheets Key
OPTIONAL: ADDITIONAL WRITING PRACTICE SET $100 StartWrite CD, Farmer Boy Student, Charlotte's Web Student, A Bear Called Paddington Student, Mr. Popper's Penguins Student, English Grammar Recitation I Student, Christian Studies I Student, D'Aulaires' Greek Myths Student
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Simply Classical Curriculum
Many of our studies in Levels 5 & 6 are conducted orally, as students with special needs often encounter difficulties 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.
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Grammar, Greece, & Gratitude Simply Classical Curriculum Levels 5 & 6: Grammar, Greece, & Gratitude are designed for students with ability levels ranging from ages 9-14, and can be taught at a Two-Year Standard or One-Year Accelerated Pace. Students learn vocabulary, grammar, outlining, and composition through familiar classical children's literature. They embark on new enrichment studies in Creating Art and Music Appreciation. Students practice cursive writing through lessons in manners and reflective gratitude. In Levels 5 & 6 you will teach Greek Myths, Latina Christiana, Christian Studies, and more. Science includes hygiene, nutrition, and natural science with lessons and experiments. In true classical form, Simply Classical Levels 5 & 6: Grammar, Greece, & Gratitude will help students learn Latin and begin to make connections across all studies.
LITERATURE, COMPOSITION, & GRAMMAR Core Skills Language Arts 3, English Grammar Practice Student and Teacher, Introduction to Composition Student and Teacher, English Grammar Recitation, English Grammar Recitation I Teacher, English Grammar Recitation Flashcards, Composition & Sketchbook III, 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, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Poetry for the Grammar Stage Student and Teacher
CHRISTIAN STUDIES
PHONICS & SPELLING
Christian Studies I Teacher, Memory Verse Flashcards, Old Testament Flashcards, The Golden Children's Bible
Traditional Spelling II Student, Teacher, and Practice Sheets
NEW USER ADD-ON SET $70
New to Simply Classical? You need these items from prior levels. Demo Clock, States & Capitals Flashcards, Prima Latina/Latina Christiana Flashcards, Classical Phonics, Phonics Flashcards, Addition Flashcards, Subtraction Flashcards, Multiplication Flashcards, Division Flashcards
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O
ne morning a welcoming cohort gathered with me around a seminar table for the course "Difference and Human Dignity in the Great Tradition" at Templeton Honors College at Eastern University in Philadelphia. A cohort, I had learned prior to my arrival, is "a group of people who are banded together." The intelligent faces around me belonged to educators banded together to ponder important questions while earning master's degrees in classical teaching. Honored to serve as guest lecturer that morning, I shared my children's story and spoke on themes of humility, hope, and humanity. After sharing my thoughts, I then asked each person to consider the most challenging student he or she had seen successfully integrated within classical education. Backgrounds around the table ranged from large schools to small, charter to Christian, Florida to Phoenix—yet everyone had a story. As they spoke, I jotted notes. With apologies to the cohort for any errors in the transcription, I share my summaries here:
Merciful Compassion "One year a male student in our upper school struggled far more than most with following directions, planning his assignments, and fitting in. His parents hired an aide who helped with assignments. The aide stayed by the student's side, but at times the student seemed unnecessarily isolated and lonely. Three girls in the class noticed. They began inviting the student into their conversations. The girls gave the struggling student 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.
14
What I Learned from a Cohort
organizational tips. As any good aide will do, the hired aide retreated to the background more and more. Acceptance spread. The young man brightened. When speaking of himself he began using the word 'belonging.'"
Creative Benefits "I remember a thirteen-year-old girl with severe reading disabilities who found reading our literature selections and completing the written work beyond her capabilities. I noticed that when allowed to listen to passages and discuss them, she had thoughtful insights. She shared these insights in class. We began generating the student's answers orally—the manner in which the student excelled. Sometimes I wrote the answers she generated on the board for students to copy directly into the literature guide. Through this method usually reserved for younger children, I taught and reviewed punctuation, grammar, style, and spelling rules to benefit not only the young girl but also everyone in the class."
Joyful Occupation "An energetic five-year-old burst upon the scene of my halfday kindergarten with unrivaled, impulsive physical commotion. I relied on a shared aide to corral the boy, calm him, and keep him SimplyClassical.com
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focused. When the aide was not available, I learned to harness the boy's physicality. He loved to build impressive structures independently, so whenever he finished his work well I allowed him to occupy himself with a physical activity.
Raised Expectations "New to our small classical school, a fifteenyear-old student with dyslexia and dysgraphia had been 'accommodated' in other settings, but largely the accommodations resulted in his being expected neither to read nor write! Living under a cloud of low expectations, his slumped shoulders indicated that he had given up. I determined to help him improve his reading and writing. I insisted that he participate in our Latin class. Several weeks into the year, the student seemed to notice words as if for the first time. With only three students in the Latin class, this student began to score highest in Latin contests. He spelled his Latin words correctly! Standing taller than when he had arrived, the student stated unexpectedly, 'I love languages. I hope to learn more languages one day.'"
Necessary Support "In class discussions, one strident female student frequently shared both her strong opinions and her disdain for writing. Her teacher uncovered severe weaknesses in the student's writing abilities and began providing one-on-one support for outlining, stylistic touches, and the mechanics of composition. She provided word banks for tests. After several months and armed with new tools, the student became a more capable, appreciative writer. This allowed her to express her strong opinions with greater clarity and grace."
Firm Boundaries "A sullen, miserable boy came to our classical school as a last resort. Accustomed to relentless teasing for symptoms of his severe dyslexia and autism, he berated others with the same intensity with which he had been berated. One day he loudly called himself names. I finally said, 'Enough.' I created a code of conduct and established higher standards. Initial enforcement required vigilant fortitude, but the boy gradually relaxed his critical demeanor, began focusing on the tasks at hand, and settled into the nurturing limits established for him within the context of his classical Christian education."
Thoughtful Planning "In our classical school a girl came to the first day with no formal diagnosis but with clear struggles in academics and behavior. Her parents did not intend 16
What I Learned from a Cohort
to pursue a formal evaluation, so through dogged trial and error I identified some approaches that worked better for the girl than others. Throughout the year I compiled tidy notes for next year to avoid successive years of wasted time and allow the next teacher to begin with greater success."
After-School Tutoring "With multiple learning disabilities and a tendency toward simple, factual thinking, a junior in conceptual physics found himself overwhelmed by abstractions but eager to learn. Rather than deem the student unfit to partake in such studies, I tutored him after school and adjusted expectations from 'complete mastery' to 'purposeful exposure with mastery to the greatest extent possible.' With my expressed confidence in his ability to comprehend at least a portion of what was taught in each lesson, he continued participating in the class all year."
Top-Down Hospitality "My headmaster and I learned of a boy with autism who would be in my class. We knew he was coming to our school weighed down by failure. I was not sure what to do for the boy. My headmaster told me: 'Do what he needs.' With permission to adapt, I thought to myself, what does he need? I knew the boy seemed unaware of how to follow rules or do much besides get himself into trouble. I knew his academics had floundered in the past and that his intense anxiety diverted his attention span. What did he need? I began envisioning lifting the heavy backpack of failure from his shoulders. With the blessing of two years to work with him in our seventh and eighth grade combined class, I determined that the first year we would work primarily on three things: that he learn and follow the rules, relax in everyone's presence, and show his strengths. Before long I discovered that he loved to write plays. With flexibility granted by the headmaster and with a little extra help, by the second year this student had written a competent play. Not only this, but with the student's ability to visualize this play, he designed the costumes and worked diligently behind the scenes. The crowning achievement of his young life occurred when the seventh and eighth grade classes acted onstage before the budding playwright's beaming face."
Each of these vignettes may help us begin to ponder an essential question posed by the course's creator, Dr. Amy Richards: How can we extend hospitality to all students in classical education, and what might we gain by doing so? SimplyClassical.com
Character Building Ages 4-13 Guide Books $19.95 ea. Book One Core Set $52 Book One Read-Aloud Set $100 Book Two Core Set $22 Book Two Read-Aloud Set $95 Book Three Core Set $55
Myself & Others: Lessons for Social Understanding, Habits, and Manners
Book Four Core Set $48
by Cheryl Swope These 14-week sets provide simple, standalone lessons in common courtesy, character, and compassion that often seem neglected today. 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. Myself & Others provides lessons with five components: 1) Rules – basic social rules for daily life 2) Health – essentials for hygiene, physical and mental health, and forming good habits 3) Safety – guidelines and cautions for staying safe in various circumstances 4) Manners – instruction and practice with good manners to serve others well 5) Listening – daily readings with inspiring stories for delight, moral imagination, character, and virtue To view guide samples and full book set lists, visit SimplyClassical.com.
BOOK NOTES
A Book Review by Michelle Swope Not to be confused with the ludicrous and sometimes crude movie, this imaginative book is about an absentminded house painter who receives a "gift" that ultimately changes his life. The painter has a penchant for all things polar, and the gift turns out to be a penguin who makes his life interesting. For one who had only dreamed about polar activity in his imagination, his real life after the arrival of this penguin—and after more and more penguins—is never dull!
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Florence and Richard Atwater
Fame, fortune, and family life follow these arrivals and create an unusual lifestyle far from the man's humble abode at 432 Proudfoot Avenue. Traveling to cities far and near, this is certainly a far cry from the life the penguins or Mr. Popper have ever known. Never fear! What happens next will make you wish for a sequel, although to my knowledge one has never been written.
Happy tales! *This book is included in Simply Classical Levels 5 & 6.
Michelle Swope was born in 1995 with her twin brother, Michael. She enjoys reading, listening to music, and playing with her cat Silky. Despite having schizophrenia, autism, and learning disabilities, Michelle graduated from her classical homeschool in 2013 and has since written two books of fireside poetry, Through Time's Looking Glass and her most recent release, God's Harvest.
1-877-862-1097
Character Building
17
Enrichment Ages 3-5,
Ages 7-9,
chronological age or skill level
Ages 3-5,
chronological age or skill level
chronological age or skill level
$19.95
$9.95 ea. (Book One or Book Two)
$6.00 ea.
Scissors Books Help your child develop hand strength, fine-motor skills, and independence with one or both books in this set. In My Very First Scissors Book, the child learns to open and close his scissors to cut along thick lines which fade, grow wavy, and create shapes as the pages progress. In My Very Own Scissors Book, the activities coordinate with alphabet lessons in Simply Classical Curriculum Level C (p. 8) or may serve as a useful precursor to Simply Classical Crafts. Both books feature perforated pages and large "cutting boxes" to promote the child's success.
Simply Classical Enrichment: Level 3 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 The creative arts are an essential part of primary school education. These activities reinforce number and letter recognition, strengthen fine-motor 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. While the crafts in these books have been carefully chosen to promote skill growth and coordination, the most important component is fun. Enjoy each of your creations and the time spent together making them!
Language Arts Ages 6-9, chronological age or skill level
Ages 6-9, chronological age or skill level
Student $19.95 ea. Teacher $10.00
$14.95 ea.
(Book 2 only)
Simply Classical Spelling: Books 1 & 2
Simply Classical Writing: Books 1 & 2 (choose from Read-Aloud or Bible Story editions)
"What should I write? I don't know what to say." The so-called progressive approach leaves beginning writers ill-prepared for the art of writing. This series combines classical copybook, grammar rules, and composition into one carefully sequenced series of explicit instruction, so students can practice early writing skills with confidence.
This 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 flexibility, and improved spelling skills. ✓✓ Improve auditory discrimination ✓✓ Increase cognitive flexibility ✓✓ Strengthen listening skills ✓✓ Build spelling confidence
Simply Classical StoryTime Treasures (Student, Teacher, Little Bear, Little Bear's Visit, Caps for Sale, & Blueberrries for Sal)
Ages 6-9, chronological age or skill level $40 each set
Simply Classical More StoryTime Treasures (Student, Teacher, Billy and Blaze, The Story About Ping, Keep the Lights Burning Abbie, & Stone Soup)
Blossoming readers need more than practice; they need to discover the riches of a good story. With simplified 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. Created especially for struggling learners or students with special needs, these adaptations of the Memoria Press originals are each subtitled "A Guide to Reading Deeply and Writing Skillfully through a Collection of Four Stories." The Teacher Guides provide sample answers modeled in complete, well-formed sentences.
18
Enrichment & Language Arts
SimplyClassical.com
Copybooks & Cursive New American Cursive
Simple, clear, & effective!
Book 1 $22.95 Book 2 (Scripture or Famous Americans) $22.95 Book 3 (Scripture or Famous Quotes) $22.95 StartWrite CD $29.95
• • • • • • •
by Iris Hatfield Ages 6-12, chronological age or skill level
Natural right slant (easier for beginners & lefties) Illustrations/Exercises for letter connections Bound at the top for right- or left-handers Focus on accuracy and legibility Simplified classic letter forms Multi-sensory teaching methods Takes only 15 min./day
Ages 6-12, chronological age or skill level
Ages 4-11, chronological age or skill level
Beginner Journal $8.50 Intermediate Journal $8.50
$8.95
My Nature Journal
My Thankfulness Journals
by Cheryl Swope
These journals let students practice cursive writing while thinking about God's daily blessings in their lives. Each page begins "Dear Heavenly Father," and closes, "Your child," with space for the child's signature. In between is room for students to list their blessings each day. The Intermediate Journal is a smaller font size and has less tracing as students progress.
Savor small moments of wonder with your child as he learns the simple beauty of nature. Create a keepsake for your child as you witness improvement in his knowledge, attention to detail, and writing skills through the exercises. Help your child make essential connections between oral language and written language, even as you assist his ability to observe and enjoy the wonders of nature. This book can stand alone as a delightful supplement to any program.
(New American Cursive font) by Cheryl Swope
Ages 5-8, chronological age or skill level
Ages 9+ chronological age or skill level
$8.95 ea.
Aesop Copybook $8.95
Book 1, Manuscript Book 2, Manuscript or Cursive Book 3, Cursive
Aesop's Fables $14.99
Simply Classical Copybook Series:
Aesop Copybook Set $20.00
Book One, Two, and Three by Cheryl Swope Strengthen penmanship, spelling, punctuation, vocabulary, fine-motor skills, and memory through the time-honored tradition of copybooks. Students learn habits of accuracy, neatness, and patience while receiving truth and comfort from Holy Scripture. Shorter selections help accommodate for writing difficulties while providing the full benefits of copybook exercises for all beginning writers.
Aesop Copybook by Cheryl Swope
Letters & Numbers Desk Charts Reinforce your teaching with desk charts formatted to accompany lessons. Bold, targeted letters assist visual discrimination.
1-877-862-1097
Ages 4-7, chronological age or skill level $12.95
The Aesop Copybook is a lovely companion to Aesop’s Fables. It will strengthen your student's writing and composition skills while giving the opportunity to contemplate the timeless wisdom of Aesop's fables and learn from the gentle moral instruction they provide. The simplicity of the New American Cursive style and the brevity of lessons will assist students to become stronger, more capable thinkers and writers. Teaching instructions are included.
Penmanship
19
PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Memoria Press
10901 Shelbyville Road Louisville, KY 40243
Simply Classical:
REVISED EDITION
A Beautiful Education for Any Child by Cheryl Swope
Text $24.95 Ready to be encouraged? We are now offering this second edition of Simply Classical: A Beautiful Education for Any Child with revised content, updated resources, and new information for classical schools and cottage schools. You will find more tips for teaching all children classically, more stories of real children, and more inspiration for your own journey.
ISBN 9781547700325
90000 >
9 781547 700325