I began homeschooling my oldest daughter with knowledge from the first edition of ths book, and now I use curriculum and resources from both books, as well as teaching methods. The authors have such a following that they now produce books to help teach this way and i have found all fo them I have looked at thus far to be of high quality. But we use good old fashioned methods more often thannot, with my daughter outlining parts of history encyclopedias and puttin post it notes on a timeline. It makes a teaching method known as "the Trivium" accessible and easy to understand, and my children are just really floursihing using this method of homeschooling. They get a full days worth of school in with plenty of 1/2 hour breaks to play. If you are considering homeschooling and would like to know where you are lacking in your own education, read this book. And don't be intimidated by it's size. just read the section of the age groups that apply to your family. And Classical Education homeschooling is not for devout Christian families alone. We have modified it to make sense through a Unitarian Universalist perspective and it's amazing.

But don't homeschool until you've read this book. That would be my recommendation. ( )

One of the cornerstone books for parents considering a 'Classical Education' for homeschooling or supplementary schooling, this book has a lot to offer to homeschoolers of almost all persuasions. As the author herself says (and expands on her fantastic website) this book is not intended as a strict 'how-to' but more an explanation of an approach and a guide that you can take from as much as you want.

The authors (mother and daughter) clearly explain the reasoning behind their approach, and what they believe the benefits are, leaving the reader with an understanding of a potentially beneficial approach to educating your child. You can simply read the chapters explaining the classical education ideas; read the sections on what age-groups relate to your children and take what you like; or use the outlined curriculums in your own home. There are a lot of references to publications and websites - you are sure to learn that the world of homeschooling is a big and varied one, and you can spend a lot of time using the references in this book to explore it! ( )

This book is a ‘guide to classical education at home’. This book is nicely broken up into categories for age/grade level and explains what to teach, how to teach it, and provides extensive lists of resources and books.

I have found that with every education book I read I want to do it all! I love the some of the Charlotte Mason stuff, and now I also want to draw from this approach as well. I know I can’t do it ALL though so I’m sure I’ll find as I go along I’ll draw bits and pieces from various approaches to find what works for our family.

This book has helped me stay focussed for now though and suggests that the Kindergarten year (ages 4-5) should be spent learning to read, to write (but learnt independently from reading so as to not hold up reading while waiting for fine motor skills to develop) and numeracy…understanding numbers 1-100. This seems a simple start, although the classical approach provides a rigorous education….starting with ancient history for 6 years olds for example. We shall see. ( )

I picked up this classic when my first child was in 3rd Grade, just to see what I could do to supplement some of the holes in her education.

Beware, this is a dangerous book. It has propelled me on an odyssey that culminated in switching schools for one child, and homeschooling for another.

This book provides comprehensive coverage of a classical education, with book lists within each subject that are sorted by age-level.

It’s well worth the purchase just to get the chronological resource list for ancient to modern history, but you’ll also find that this connects to the resource material in literature, science, art, and more.

It’s only drawback is that it is exceedingly comprehensive. It would be unbearably exhausting to try to to cover all the material. Even the authors discourage you from trying this insane notion.

As a reference resource; however, The Well-Trained Mind is unparalleled. ( )

Excellent resource whether you are a classical homeschooler or not. ( )