Thinking About History

I have been thinking about history and how it has evolved in our house. Also how it has come to reflect the personality of our family. I must say, one of the benefits of homeschooling this long and having 'old' kids as I can look back and see how everything played out!

When the boys were younger we were mostly in Charlotte Mason mode, but I think really it was the Living Books and Atmosphere of the Home modes that were the gold. I think, to do it over, I would skip the daily lesson mode we got into around ages 9-11. That was were our difficulty stemmed. But the read alouds, projects, exploring... that was really fun.

Thinking back, I did not really know about unschooling then. Back then I did a lot of heavy duty strewing and it was perfect for us. I would get tons of picture books and we would read and read. As they got older, we got more involved in chapter books. Lots of DK and Usborne. Though I did plan it to 'cover' periods. We enjoyed a few weeks in the Middle Ages. I read from a spine book (Christ the King, Lord of History, A Child's History of the World, and others) But we had medievel feasts, built castles and had sword fights. What fun!

Would I do it the same way again? I think yes. I think I overdid a bit in some books I thought I had to pour in their heads.. :0.. there was a saturation point, but thinking back the forrays we had into history were nice because they connected the boys with the past. As CM said, don't worry about trying to give a complete survey, but help the child make friends in a deeper way with certain events or people.

I also read and believe that a child really can't grasp a timeline of history until well past 9 years old. So, luckily I let that go after spending hours tacking up a KONOS timeline in our basement when the boys were little bitty.

Oh, hindsight really is 20/20! Looking back I can see that the Classical folks have it right in the Trivium stages of development. I saw that Grammar stage when they just absorbed and absorbed everything we read, saw and did. Then came the Logic stage, where they begin putting it together. And now my 16 yo is delving into the Rhetoric stage and my 13yo is on the cusp. And it all has happened naturally- through lots of fuel and conversation.

Generally I don't consider history a strong point in our home. Well, my dh loves it. And I am beginning to love it, too. But my boys will tell you they don't. But I think that is because they are remembering the ill-assigned reading I gave them for a period and the read alouds that got too long. They also saw a lot of war and bad things happen. History is a lot of bad things, when you think about it. So, I have tried to look at the good things, too, especially through bios of admirable people.
Then see God's plan in it all. The bad stuff is the evil in the world, but there is also a lot of beauty and God's fingerprints are throughout all of time.

But, thinking about history in our home now, what I am finding is that it is playing out through the personality of our home. My husband loves history and current events, though does not systematicly discuss it with the boys, he does occasionally bring it up at the dinner table. I follow current events and feel as a Catholic I need to know and at least try to be aware of what is happening and the Catholic response. They hear us talk, they listen a lot and join in sometimes. It is rubbing off.

What I am seeing is that the current events and our life experiences is pulling history up from the past. For example, the Holy Father's speech about a dialog with the Muslims caused my dh and I to research and share with the boys. Through conversation we are learning more about the Muslim faith and the history of their presence in the world, as well as the Jewish people.

Or we will have a new Indian priest come and begin to reserach where he came from and the pieces will fit into larger picture of history that has developed over the years.

My husband has shared a lot about defending the faith and the history of Catholics and Protestants in past centuries.

Many other events/ideas have caused us to look at where we have been in the past and how it pulls forward to relate to today. Star Wars and LOTR have given us lots of jumping off points to talk about good and evil, facists and Hitler in particular.

I am still strewing, but am finding it interesting how a lot of our history is being explored from today -- and pulling history up to meet us. Not me just getting a book that is firmly set back in time and us trying to make sense of it.

I was listening to an excerpt from Pope Benedict's book The Salt of the Earth today. He was asked how he was so successful at teaching during that part of his life. He said that instead of just cobbling together lectures and lessons from textbooks, he would look at history and discover ways to make it relevant to his students today.

Maybe that is what we are doing in our own clumsy, Kelly way? :) Again, I hear Pope John Paul II's words: "Families, be who you are!" Maybe no other family would like doing things this way and in a way we just fell into it because of our personalities and interests. I read about families who are milking cows and cutting grain, or traveling, or doing a host of other interests, things that we would not be so great at. And they are learning history and all sorts of things, their way.

Sometimes I think often homeschoolers don't trust their family to set the tone. Often they think they have to be a 'perfect Catholic family' - read that: a family like that one over there. But how can we be who we are if we are trying to be something else? I speak here from experience... I have done just that.

Maybe our goal should be to emulate the Holy Family. Yes, a perfect goal. And since God created us so individually, won't that look slightly different as each family stirs around all the family members' personalities and interests in their individual family pot? Each stew will be unique! Just thinking outloud.
Also thinking that I am rather amazed that we are learning a lot of history. Who'd of thunk? :)
God Bless,
Cindy