What do I do if I find classical education mid-cycle? {Episode 26}

So, you have just stumbled upon this wonderful method for homeschooling called classical education. And you want to get going, but your student falls in the middle of a stage, where do you begin?

In this episode of the Tips for Homeschool Science Show, I'll be answering that question and more!

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The Highlights

Your Dilemma

Do you dive in mid-cycle for your student’s stage?

Do you start at the beginning of a cycle even though you are mid-stage?

Before I share the options, we should cover the basic lingo so you know what I mean when I say “cycle” and “stage”.

1. Classical education divides the traditional school years into three stages – grammar, logic (or dialectic), and rhetoric stages.
2. Within each stage, you use a cycle of learning. For science this means that in year 1 you cover biology, year 2 you cover earth science and astronomy, year 3 you cover chemistry, and year 4 you cover physics.

Option #1 - Start at the beginning

To begin at the beginning always seems like the most logical choice.

Here are the pros and cons of this option:

Pros

1. You will begin at the beginning.
2. Your students will have covered an entire cycle before starting another one.

Cons

1. You begin a cycle mid-stage, which can complicate finding materials.

Option #2 - Dive in mid-cycle

The most common way to get going with classical education is to just begin mid-cycle where your student would typically place.

Here are the pros and cons of this option:

Pros

1. You will be where the experts suggest that you should be.
2. It will be easier to find age appropriate curriculum options.

Cons

1. Your students won’t have the benefit of the knowledge from the previous years in the cycle.

The Bottom line

Either option you choose will work just fine.

Additional Resources

To learn more about classical education, check out the following:

• Ep 25: What does science look like for the classical educator?
• The Ultimate Guide to Science in Classical Education
• The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education

Want to make teaching classical science easy? We offer a full line of science programs for the classical educator!

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