Classic Children’s Literature VI
Why do we need stories? C.S. Lewis said, “The nearest I have yet got to an answer is that we seek an enlargement of our being. We want to be more than ourselves. We want to see with other eyes, to imagine with other imaginations, to feel with other hearts, as well as with our own.” Such is the yearning of children and adults alike, for it is through stories that we enter into a world that is not our own, and yet become more who we are meant to be. It is through stories that we can learn virtue. In giving children stories, they enter into the world of the characters and reflect on the virtues and vices of the protagonists and antagonists. It is a gentle, appropriate, and vivid way for children to learn what Dietrich von Hildebrand called a “response to value” and the virtue that blossoms from that response.
In this class, children will read, enjoy, and interact with classic works of literature in order to learn through knowledge, experience, and reflection the three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity. Students will respond to these texts through discussion, written analysis and reflection, commonplace entries, and artistic mediums in order to reach the whole child in our study.
Syllabi
For each skill instructors have determined whether it is a prerequisite skill or a skill to be developed throughout the course. For lower school, instructors indicate where parent support is expected.
- With Parent Support: Skills that most lower school students will need help with.
- Developing: Skills that the instructor will help develop and emphasize throughout the year.
- Mastered: Prerequisite skills that the instructor is expecting students to possess.
Canvas
- With Parent Support
- Be able to manage Canvas assignments and submissions (view assignments, check for teacher messages, submit homework as pdf file, submit revisions if necessary, set Canvas notifications for the class, view class notifications when posted, etc.).
- Be able to set notifications settings to alert the student of class announcements, homework assignments, due dates, instructor comments made on assignments, instructor comments made on individual student submissions, instructor comments made on graded items, etc.
- Be able to review notifications ongoing throughout the year; notifications which include: class announcements, homework assignments, due dates, instructor comments made on assignments, instructor comments made on individual student submissions, instructor comments made on graded items, etc.
Writing
- Developing
- Spelling at grade-level
- Mastered
- Be able to hand-write answers in complete sentences.
- Be able to write sentences with basic sentence syntax (i.e. capitalization of first word in a sentence, punctuation at the end of each sentence, space between sentences, capitalization of proper nouns, each sentence having a subject and predicate, etc.).
Reading
- With Parent Support
- Be able to mark, underline or highlight important words, definitions or concepts within a text being read.
- Mastered
- Be able to read to learn not merely learn to read.
Typing
- With Parent Support
- Be able to type short answers in complete sentences.
- Be able to type paragraph essays (up to two pages).
In-Class
- Developing
- Follow along with teacher-led note-taking and record notes during class.
- Mastered
- Follow along with teacher-led workbook completion and record answers during class.
- Be prepared to answer questions when called on in a group setting, during class.
- Be prepared to volunteer comments, answers and ideas in a group setting, during class.
Math Skills
- Developing
- After the instructor has provided instructions – the student should be able to use Wacom tablet (or other like iPad) to actively solve math problems during class, viewable to the instructor on Ziteboard.
Required Course Materials:
Mrs. Kashin’s Materials
• At the Back of the North Wind by George Macdonald
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
• Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
• Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
• Various fairy tales from Grimm’s Fairy Tales (provided by the teacher)
• 8.5” x 11” spiral-bound blank sketchbook
• Stockmar Beeswax Block Crayons
Mrs. Wise’s Materials
At the Back of the North Wind by George Macdonald
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
Various Grimm’s Fairy Tales (provided by the teacher)
8.5” x 11” spiral-bound sketchbook
Colored pencils
Notebook with lined paper (spiral bound or three-ring binder)
Emily Brigham Kashin holds a BA in Primary Education from the University of North Florida. She was homeschooled K-12 in the classical tradition and previously taught the elementary grades in a Waldorf-inspired public charter school. Her classical upbringing instilled in her what Plato called an “affinity for the good” in academics, art, and virtue, while her Waldorf training inspired an appreciation of the unique nature of the child. Since 2020, she has brought the two together, cultivating those whole-child pedagogical approaches in the classical, liturgical tradition, to awaken in her own students that “affinity for the good” through her Scholé classes.
Emily and her husband Mikhail live in North Florida where they find great delight in playing folk music, listening to Bach, taking long walks, and enjoying being aunt and uncle to their eight nephews and one niece. St. Augustine’s saying “Canta et ambula” (sing and soldier on) encourages her daily in the ordinariness of teaching, homemaking, and grading many, many papers. ebrigham.scholeacademy@gmail.com
Catherine “Cat” Wise has loved to read since before she started school. Raised in a military family, she attended public school in Italy and then was homeschooled before obtaining a BA in elementary education with a Spanish minor at the University of Mary Hardin Baylor in Texas and becoming a bilingual kindergarten teacher. When her oldest child was a toddler, Cat discovered classical education and fell in love with the idea of cultivating wisdom and virtue through great books, fascinating histories, and the beauty of language. Cat has been classically homeschooling her three children for eight years and is honored to learn alongside them of the Creator and His magnificent works. She wholeheartedly believes engaging with stories is one of the best ways to foster virtue and wisdom, so she’s excited to join the instructors at Scholé Academy and share her love of literature and language with others.
Cat’s family recently moved back from the mission field, where Cat and her husband provided pastoral care to church planters in the middle east. They now live in East Tennessee and love experiencing all four seasons after several years in the desert! Cat’s favorite pastimes usually involve books, but when she’s not reading, she loves baking yummy desserts and working jigsaw puzzles. cwise.scholeacademy@gmail.com
Computer: You will need a stable, reliable computer, running with a processor with a speed of 1 GHz or better on one of the following operating systems: Mac OS X with Mac OS 10.7 or later; Windows 8, 7, Vista (with SP1 or later), or XP (with SP3 or later). We do not recommend using an iPad or other tablet for joining classes. An inexpensive laptop or netbook would be much better solutions, as they enable you to plug an Ethernet cable directly into your computer. Please note that Chromebooks are allowed but not preferred, as they do not support certain features of the Zoom video conference software such as breakout sessions and annotation, which may be used by our teachers for class activities.
High-Speed Internet Connection: You will also need access to high-speed Internet, preferably accessible via Ethernet cable right into your computer. Using Wi-Fi may work, but will not guarantee you the optimal use of your bandwidth. The faster your Internet, the better. We recommend using a connection with a download/upload speed of 5/1 Mbps or better. You can test your Internet connection here.
Webcam: You may use an external webcam or one that is built in to the computer. Webcam Recommendations: Good (PC only) | Best (Mac and PC)
Headset: We recommend using a headset rather than a built-in microphone and speakers. Using a headset reduces the level of background noise heard by the entire class. Headset Recommendations: USB | 3.5mm
Zoom: We use a web conferencing software called Zoom for our classes, which enables students and teachers to gather from around the globe face to face in real time. Zoom is free to download and easy to use.
To download Zoom:
- Visit zoom.us/download.
- Click to download the first option listed, Zoom Client for Meetings.
- Open and run the installer on your computer.
- In August, students will be provided with instructions and a link for joining their particular class.
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