Teaching the Classics by IEW Homeschool: My Teaching Plan
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IEW Homeschool: Literature
I’ve recently been obsessed with our upcoming literature curriculum, Teaching the Classics. In a nutshell, Teaching the Classics is a homeschool literature curriculum from IEW (Institute for Excellence in Writing). I’ve done many IEW reviews over the years, especially for Structure and Style, but this will be the first time I’ve ever used their literature curriculum.
You could say I’m a bit excited. In a nutshell, Teaching the Classics shows you how to take any book (with an emphasis on classics) and turn that book into a curriculum. You teach the classic book! How neat is that? As a book nerd, this was a dream. Teaching the Classics is a set of videos to train YOU as the homeschool teacher to teach.
Check out Teaching the Classics on IEW’s website.
IEW Homeschool for Literature
So far, we’ve used several IEW homeschool products. This isn’t our first rodeo with IEW homeschool. They are definitely one of the top brands for anything language arts related. If you want a strong foundation for your children in reading, poetry, spelling, and especially writing, IEW is one of the best out there. I say that as a teacher and a parent.
This is why I have so much confidence going into Teaching the Classics, even though this will be a brand new way of teaching my children.
Let’s talk Strategy
While I’ve been relaxing and enjoying our short summer break, I’ve also been preparing for the upcoming school year. I watched and studied all the videos for Teaching the Classics. Teaching the Classics is a teaching video series for parents that shows you how to teach classic books as literature. The first step, of course, is to watch the videos. I learned so much! I also started reading some of the classic books that I plan on teaching. Knowing the material is important to me, so I want to get ahead and start reading the books on our list.
Next, Teaching the Basics
The next thing I had to answer was “how do I want to teach the basics to my children?”. Before you can get to the classic books and dive in, you will need to teach your children the basic concepts (characters, plot, etc.) that Mr. Andrews teaches in the video series. I thought about taking a week and picking stories out for my kids that they may enjoy, but I realized that there is a REALLY simple way to do this. I’m going to have them watch the videos. Yes, the same ones I watched by Mr. Andrews. They’ll learn it directly from him, with me there to assist. There’s no need to stress out about finding the perfect stories to teach the pillar concepts. I’ll just have them learn it the way I did. Easy!
The First Books
This was the hard part. After we get through the foundational concepts, we need to start our first book. But…which book? Picking a book is not easy. There are so many wonderful books in the world! I selected a few that were suggested by both of my children (we will be learning and reading the same book together as a table subject). I talked one on one with Mr. Pudewa, the developer, creator, and head instructor at IEW homeschool, and he suggested A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Naturally, I bought that book the same afternoon. We will start reading that book in November.
Extras
IEW homeschool has several helps on their website for Teaching the Classics. I have Timeline of the Classics and Windows to the World to assist me on this journey. Timeline of the Classics is a really neat book to have in your homeschooling arsenal. This book (flip through in the video below) is a timeline from Creation to modern times of all the classic books out there. It’s in a beautiful, organized book, and even gives you a marker for reading levels. See this book in the video below.
Windows to the World is a book that pairs really well with Teaching the Classics. Full of short stories and other works to sharpen the skills they learn in Teaching the Classics. It’s made for grades 9-12.
I also made a list of classic books in my Amazon store front for my readers and subscribers. I have many of the books on this list, and the ones we don’t have, I plan on getting. It’s my own list that I made public for you.
See my Amazon Classic Book List Here for IEW Homeschool
Teaching the Classics by IEW Homeschool: My Strategy for Year 1
Teaching the Classics: An Overview and How to Use
I hope these resources are helpful for you!
Until next time,
Soli Deo Gloria,
Mandy
