Something is different this year. When we went through Cycle 2 three years ago, we were completing our first round through the cycle of Foundations memory work, and my eight-year-old daughter felt that she now understood all mysteries and all knowledge. Her hard-won memory master certificates stood alongside the...
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Sitting at a Parent Practicum last week, I couldn’t help but remember the early days of homeschooling. More than seven years ago, I attended my first Practicum and had no idea what I was doing. My head swirled with questions as I wondered why I was here, who were these people,...
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Summer—a time for refreshment, for renewal. And for many of us, for review. I don’t know about your children, but I have found that my daughter quickly loses math skills, speed, and insights if they are left to lie dormant for an entire summer. And sometimes we just don’t...
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“Hard work and perseverance remain the answers. In college prep, as in everything else, those who prepare far in advance and work like they are running a marathon are the ones who succeed. The college admissions process is just another thing to learn and do as a family” (Leigh...
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When I was a new Latin student many years ago, my teachers showed me the power of the daily quiz. I took those quizzes very seriously and always aimed for getting 100%. My teachers emphasized mastery, therefore they would let us take the quizzes over and over (some students...
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Do you remember Playskool Weebles, those round-bottomed, wobbly toddler toys? You could tip one all the way to the ground, and after some over-correction, it would always right itself. These precarious little people provide a wee picture of my students in our Challenge II debate strand. It usually happens...
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During my time as an undergraduate student, I had the pleasure of working at my university’s writing center. My main responsibility was to coach students who needed help on their papers. Most of them were wonderful to work with and it was a great job. However, one day I...
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“A broad education in the arts helps give children a better understanding of their world…We need students who are culturally literate as well as math and science literate.” –Paul Ostergard, Vice President, Citicorp I can’t listen to the great composer Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture without being transported to the middle school...
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Harvard College adopted the following words, based on their mission statement, as part of their “Rules and Precepts” in 1646: Let every Student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the maine end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal...
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Just as in life, there are no shortcuts in Latin. When I first began diving deep into Latin with my son, I thought it was going to be easy. After all, I had studied Spanish in high school and college; I could carry on a conversation pretty well and...
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Nassau, Bahamas—To the uninitiated ear, the answers sound like gibberish—faster than an auctioneer. But Sophia D., 13, of Allendale, Michigan, not only knows exactly what she’s saying, she’s also performing dozens of math equations in her head to get those answers. All in 60 seconds. Sophia can perform these...
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Scattered pieces of tracing paper graced our home much like the misplaced or missing socks were also doing. My girl had traced the lines of many a princess. This wiggly little one could magically sit, all dolled up, under the spell of paper and pen. Looking back at tracings from...
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