outtamyshell
02-04-2009, 10:15 AM
I can't believe I am already planning for our third and final year of homeschooling already! We are planning to use University courses for math, science, foreign language and two electives. I just need to put together a plan for a WTM style history/english course.
This is our first course designed, planned, and executed on our own. I would love your thoughts on what should work and areas of concern. I also want to integrate additional people beyond just the two of us. Has anyone successfully created a book discussion group around your reading? We have a couple of adults in our lives whose thoughts I would love to hear.
I am thinking of having a monthly group discussion and inviting 10-15 people. We aren't starting until next school year, so that should leave me time to recruit the right people. I'm a little nervous mostly because I don't know how to plan for a book club. I think I need to get organized on how we are going to discuss the readings ourselves as well. I think we should schedule regular discussion times within the family.
I've picked up a ten volume series on the Great Ideas Program from the library book sale. Each book is considered a one-year reading program with two weeks per work. I believe we will mostly pull from the first volume... Introduction to the Great Books and to a Liberal Education. This 187 page book includes a very short bio on the author and an introduction to the reading. I was going to have dd add some additional historical study as well. She could present her historical context paper as a quick intro at the beginning of our book club. I know that the two of us could do the readings WTM style and have a formal discussion every two weeks. But how could we integrate others into our readings? Should we do a monthly book club? Should we hold discussions every other week and invite people to read & join us for the ones that interest us? Would you just invite people & leave it for open discussion? Have questions ready? I really want a discussion about the impact on our life today... where you see these thoughts reflected in currect society, etc. I was going to target my most intelligent and informed friends.
Here's the readings from Volume I...
Plato: Apology & Crito
Plato: The Republic
Sophocles: Oedipus the King and Antigone
Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics
Aristotle: Politics
Plutarch: The Lives of the Noble Grecians & Romans
Old Testament: Book of Job (we may skip or substitute)
Augustine: The Confessions
Montaigne: The Essays
Shakespeare: Hamlet
Locke: Concerning Civil Government
Swift: Gulliver's Travels (we may skip or substitute)
Gibbon: the Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire
The Declaration of independence, Consitution, & Federalist (selections)
Marx-Engels: Manifesto of the Communist Party
I've read some of the other threads about integrating Great Books study into your homeschool, and I've taken copious notes. But I haven't seen any discussion about involving additional people in the form of a book club of sorts. I would love to hear what you think.
This is our first course designed, planned, and executed on our own. I would love your thoughts on what should work and areas of concern. I also want to integrate additional people beyond just the two of us. Has anyone successfully created a book discussion group around your reading? We have a couple of adults in our lives whose thoughts I would love to hear.
I am thinking of having a monthly group discussion and inviting 10-15 people. We aren't starting until next school year, so that should leave me time to recruit the right people. I'm a little nervous mostly because I don't know how to plan for a book club. I think I need to get organized on how we are going to discuss the readings ourselves as well. I think we should schedule regular discussion times within the family.
I've picked up a ten volume series on the Great Ideas Program from the library book sale. Each book is considered a one-year reading program with two weeks per work. I believe we will mostly pull from the first volume... Introduction to the Great Books and to a Liberal Education. This 187 page book includes a very short bio on the author and an introduction to the reading. I was going to have dd add some additional historical study as well. She could present her historical context paper as a quick intro at the beginning of our book club. I know that the two of us could do the readings WTM style and have a formal discussion every two weeks. But how could we integrate others into our readings? Should we do a monthly book club? Should we hold discussions every other week and invite people to read & join us for the ones that interest us? Would you just invite people & leave it for open discussion? Have questions ready? I really want a discussion about the impact on our life today... where you see these thoughts reflected in currect society, etc. I was going to target my most intelligent and informed friends.
Here's the readings from Volume I...
Plato: Apology & Crito
Plato: The Republic
Sophocles: Oedipus the King and Antigone
Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics
Aristotle: Politics
Plutarch: The Lives of the Noble Grecians & Romans
Old Testament: Book of Job (we may skip or substitute)
Augustine: The Confessions
Montaigne: The Essays
Shakespeare: Hamlet
Locke: Concerning Civil Government
Swift: Gulliver's Travels (we may skip or substitute)
Gibbon: the Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire
The Declaration of independence, Consitution, & Federalist (selections)
Marx-Engels: Manifesto of the Communist Party
I've read some of the other threads about integrating Great Books study into your homeschool, and I've taken copious notes. But I haven't seen any discussion about involving additional people in the form of a book club of sorts. I would love to hear what you think.