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A few months back I remember looking at the session schedule for the Great Homeschool Convention, trying to figure out which session my husband and I should go to. I remember seeing one called "Putting Schole Back into Your Homeschool" and the speaker was Dr. Christopher Perrin (from Classical Academic Press).
I had no idea what Schole was, and frankly the topic seemed a little irrelevant to me, but because the speaker was Dr. Perrin I thought I should prioritize going.
I am so glad that I went!
The concept of schole has now opened my eyes who a whole new level of understanding the classical model of education. Let me share with you some of what I learned from Dr. Perrin's session.
Schole: Restful Learning, Discussion, & Contemplation
Schole means restful learning, discussion, contemplation. From looking at the word you will see that we get our word 'school' from it. Ironically, our modern day schools have no resemblance to anything that would look like restful learning.
Dr. Perrin challenged us to make time for restful learning in our schedules. Not to say that every subject should be done lying on the couch, but that we should have time where we purposely have good discussions and contemplate great ideas.
He said that the first step is surrounding ourselves with "the good, the true, and the beautiful." If we are not accustomed to these types of things, it might take time for us to appreciate their beauty.
If our children are bored, it just means that they are not contemplating the good, true and beautiful. We need to be purposeful about putting these types of things in front of our children. I love how that ties in so well to what we have been reading in our Charlotte Mason book club! We need to be cultivating wonder in our children. Help them to see beauty and to look long and hard at it.
I have a hard time with these things because I am a very practical, goal oriented type of person. I don't like spending money on decorations for my home, or even for flowers on the table, because they are 'useless.' Dr. Perrin challenged us to look at these things differently!
Do things that will provide blessing, not just things that have economic value. - Dr. Perrin
Hyper-practical = Less Human
Honestly that describes me quite well =) I have never been a very emotional or compassionate person. I don't say that with pride, lol. Those things just don't come naturally to me. My husband is also like me in those matters, so that doesn't help!
The idea of doing things that have no value except to bless my soul is close to life-changing to me. Believe me, I am not there yet, but I am learning! I am planning on doing a series in September called Schole Everyday that will help me and hopefully encourage you in ways to bring restful learning our homes and schools.
Learn More About Schole
Have I piqued your interest? Have you heard of Schole before? Do you embody this type of restful learning? Take a look at this video of Dr. Perrin talking about Schole. He will do a much better job of inspiring you than I have =)
Teaching from Rest
Now that you are fully inspired, are you wondering how in the world to implement this concept into your homeschool? I wanted to talk about this now because I know that most of us are planning our school year for next year, and it is the perfect time to think about adding schole into your homeschool!
You might be wondering how to practically do this, though. It sounds nice in theory, but how do we, as homeschool moms, incorporate restful learning into our days? Here are 13 simple ideas for you to start implementing today!
I've been listening to Perrin's series this week! I love the focus and the goals of his deep look into Classical education. It really is a rich and rewarding way to raise our children and so much more than what people generally think when they hear 'Classical Homeschooling'.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree! I'm glad you've been enjoying his lectures!
DeleteI AM PUMPED -- I'm reading through Sarah's book now, and I told Brett that this year will be a relaxed approach. He's on alert to keep me on that path, since I'm pretty high strung. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty high strung (when it comes to schedules) too, so this is also a challenge for me! I'm glad you are enjoying Sarah's book!
ReplyDeleteHow did I miss this post when you posted it???? I am so looking forward to your series and am going to read the posts you've already posted so far. :) I have read Sarah's book Teaching from Rest and really appreciate what she has to share in it. I even started reading over portions of it again last week! :)
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm glad you found it now ;) I love when a book (especially an ebook) has enough good info that it warrants reading again! I'll be reading through it again after this series is done too. I want to see what parts still strike me after begin purposeful about scholé this month.
DeleteThanks for following along this month!