Friday, April 11, 2014

10 Things To Do With Your Children Ages 13-15

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Welcome to another week of the Teaching the Trivium book club!  I am so excited to read and discuss this book along with you.  I loved the discussion last week and would love to hear from more of you!  Today we talk about teaching children in the Logic Stage.


Chapter 13 - Ten Things To Do With Your Children Ages Thirteen Through Fifteen


The Bluedorns place the logic stage from ages 13-15.  As I read this chapter I had to keep reminding my self that we were still in the logic stage, because typically when I think of 15 year olds, I'm thinking rhetoric stage.  Just like in the previous chapter, they go through ten things to be focusing on with your children that are in the 13-15 year age range.  Early in the chapter they state,

"Early teens are developing into thinking, reasoning, questioning creatures.  They are no longer content to know what happened; they want to know why."




What age have you noticed your children transition from the grammar stage to the logic stage?





Before getting into the meat of the chapter, the Bluedorns give an encouragement to parents to keep on keeping on with homeschooling, even as their children get older.  They note that as children grow and the material they need to learn gets harder, many parents give up or assume that the children would be better served in a classroom school.  I loved what they said on page 394:

Homeschooling is for parents...We now have another opportunity to learn these things as we teach them to our children.




What are your homeschooling plans as your children get older?  

Do you want to continue homeschooling or do you think you will send them to school?




Instead of going through each of the 10 things one-by-one this time, I am going to just pull out some key points.  As we get to these older levels, I feel less able to comment and more like I'm just soaking in information!  I hope that some of your with children in (or past) this stage will provide some further insight!


Logic Stage Students Should Be...


  • Developing theologically.  "He does not just know what the Bible says...he is developing an idea of what it means."  (pg 394)

  • Continuing in oral narration

  • Using maps and timelines to orient themselves to events in history

  • Transitioning to written narration. Just a few sentences at first, then progressing to passages.

  • Writing essays and creative stories

  • Speaking in front of other, either by doing speeches or debates

  • Continuing in their Greek and/or Latin studies

  • Continuing in their Math

  • Increasing their science discoveries by beginning a systematic study of the difference fields of science

  • Learning to play an instrument, draw, or at least appreciate the art and music of others


The Father's Role


At the end of the chapter, the Bluedorns take a page to talk about the role of the father in the homeschool family.  I really liked a few things they had to say in this section:

The classical homeschool is not just Latin and Logic.  It is a way of life. (pg 409)

So true!  I'm sure any of you could second  that statement.  I think most homeschoolers in general could affirm this, whether they are classical in method or not.

Daddy only has so much time with the children, so make the best use of it. (pg 409)

I'm trying to remember this one =)  Sometimes I get a little nervous when my husband starts teaching the kids something, simply because it is not on "The Plan."  After the initial nervousness, I realize how awesome it is that my son loves looking at maps with my husband and what a great asset it is that my husband can teach my son those things in a natural way!

Also, the Bluedorns mention a scenario when a dad might call for his son to help him with something and that would pull the son away from his books.  They say, "by all means, let the lawn mower win."  I was encouraged by that =)




How is Dad involved in your homeschool?

Are their certain subjects that your husband teaches the kids?





Thanks for reading along this week!  Leave comments here on the blog post, or share about it on social media (#ClassicalMamasRead).  I'll be sharing too, so follow me on facebook, twitter, or google+ and we can chat about it there as well!  Don't forget, if you want to share your thoughts about Teaching the Trivium on your own blog, link it up below so we can all come and visit!


Next week we will be talking about chapter thirteen of Teaching the Trivium.  If you haven't gotten your own copy yet, make sure you check your library or order one soon so you can be ready for next time!  Also, this is a 600+ page book, so I am only touching on certain points of each chapter.  There is so much great information that I am not covering, so if this discussion interests you, you are going to want to make sure to pick up your own copy so you can read more!



Classical Mamas Read Link-Up



Did you write about Teaching the Trivium on your blog?  Have you been reading and blogging about another book (for you, not a children's book)?  Do you have a book club going on at your blog (once again, not for a children's book)?  I'd love for you link up here so we can all be encouraged by each other and maybe find another great book to read!

I think I'm going to keep this link-up ongoing since there aren't going to be a huge number of posts and then anyone new will be able to be encouraged by the other book reading ideas and discussions.  If the number of posts gets too large, I will fix it.

Please note, all posts must be on topic (about a book you are reading) and appropriate (think family friendly).


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2 comments:

  1. I was just thinking that I need to brush up on this chapter now that I have a child who will start out the next school year as a 13-year-old!
    --Gena

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You know, I thought of you when I read the age 10-12 chapter, because I remember reading on your blog one time that you use that as a guideline! Thanks for stopping by!

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