Classical Pattern

Following the Classical Pattern
With More than One Child

In our workshops and newsletters, we’ve suggested that you study history in a four-year pattern:
Ancients Prehistory-400 AD
Medieval 400-1600
Renaissance/Early Modern 1600-1850
Modern 1850-Present
We’ve also recommended that you study science in the following four-year sequence:
Biology
Astronomy/Earth Science
Physics
Chemistry
Ideally, you would begin these patterns in first, fifth, or ninth grade.
But what if you want to begin the classical pattern with a third-grader?
Whenever you begin the classical pattern, you should start studying history with the ancients. The science pattern is less important. It fits nicely with the history curriculum to study Ancients and Biology together, but if you’ve already planned to do Earth Science with your seventh-grader, go ahead. She can study Earth Science and Ancient History together.
What if you’re home schooling two children? Or more?
We suggest that you keep each child doing individual, grade-level work in grammar, writing, mathematics, spelling and vocabulary. The content areas — history, science, reading — can be done simultaneously with children of different ages. If you have a fifth and eighth grader, for example, you’ll drive yourself to insanity if you try to do ancient history, ancient readings, modern history, modern readings, biology, and physics. Synchronize their schedules so that both students are doing ancient history, ancient readings, and biology. You’ll still have to get two sets of books, differing in complexity and reading level, but at least you’ll be covering the same basic material with each child. The same is true of a first and third grader, or a seventh and ninth grader. Require more writing, a higher level of difficulty in reading and experimentation, and more complex outlines from the older student. If one student goes through the four-year history cycle two and a quarter times, while the other goes through it three times, it won’t affect their academic achievement. Or the quality of their lives.

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See also Suggestions for Multiple Children