So, I think the previous posts cover the first year of school thoroughly, now on to the second year...
I will start with art again. We will continue with our study of great artists and their works. Here is my tentative outline:
Albrecht Durer (Self Portrait at 28, Stag Beetle)
Michelangelo (The Creation of Adam, The Last Judgment, The Pieta, The Sistine Chapel, David, Moses). I will be covering up the genitals on the statue of David when I show it to my kids. I don't want to condone nudity in art, since the Bible repeatedly equates nakedness with shame (outside of the marriage bed, of course), but David is such a beautiful and iconic work that we cannot pass over it. I should also mention that later in his life Michelangelo regretted his early use of nudity in his art (God and the History of Art by Barry Stebbing).
Titian (David and Goliath, Allegory of Time Governed by Prudence, Flora, St. John the Baptist)
Raphael (Sistine Madonna, The Visitation, the Marriage of the Virgin, Madonna and Child with Book, The School of Athens, Pope Julius II)
Tintoretto (Christ at the Sea of Galilee, The Paradise, The Maundy, St. George and the Dragon, Wedding Feast at Cana)
Peter Brueghel (The Painter and the Buyer, The Blind Leading the Blind, Hunters in the Snow, Children's Games)
El Greco (St. John the Baptist, Madonna and Child with St. Martina and St. Agnes, View of Toledo, St. Paul, The Burial of Count Orgasz)
Peter Paul Rubens (Head of a Girl, Entombment, Daniel in the Lion's Den).
Since I am not sure if I will have too many or too few pieces when I am done deciding which pieces to study, this outline and the one for the first year art history may change later.
As always, I would love to hear from you if you think I missed a piece or an artist that is important (or if you think I included ones I shouldn't).
God bless.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Elementary Science
Even before Rushdoony turned me away from Classical Education I was not satisfied with the approach to science taken by the author of the Classical curriculum I planned on using. She thought that the study of science in any rigorous sense should be left entirely to college students, and that younger students could be sufficiently educated by only observing nature, learning the history of science and learning to counter evolutionary arguments.
Such an approach is normal for classical education. Science was not one of the subjects taught in the traditional classical curriculum, because science was only pursued by aristocrats with a lot of time on their hands. In today's world most jobs involve some kind of technology, so in order to properly equip our children for a calling, they must have a knowledge of basic science. Further, science education should be systemmatic and orderly because that reflects God's created order. Studying bees, then clouds, then volcanoes, then whatever else suits your fancy reflects the evolutionary humanist worldview that all we have are random, isolated facts, plus it runs the risk of missing important areas.
Rigorous study of the traditional areas of science (biology, chemisty and physics) involves higher math, so it will necessarily be left for high school or middle school. In grades 1 - 6, I can teach my students about different areas of science, to give them a framework on which to place future learning, and also to whet their appetites for study of science. I believe that such an objective can be accomplished in 2 days a week, instead of the 5 days per weeks assigned to most subjects.
Science is, at its most basic, a systemmatic study of God's creation. Studying God's creation should lead us to praise Him for His wisdom and power. It should also enable us to more effectively take dominion over the earth for the glory of God.
To build observation skills and cultivate a love of and interest in the creation we live in I will take the elementary school students out to a park or to our backyard on the first pleasant day of each term to make observations in their nature journals. Each student will choose three living things to record. The older students will draw the organisms on the spot. I will take pictures of the organisms chosen by the younger students (for the students to draw from later). All students will record the time of day, the place, the weather, and any observations they can make about the organisms that they chose. The next day the students will look up each of their organisms in a guidebook and write down facts about the organism in their notebooks. The next day we will go to the library to pick out books on the organisms. The next three days each student will read (or be read) the books about his organism. The following lesson we will continue with our regular science curriculm. In this manner the students will learn the skills of observation which are necessary for science. It will, I hope, encourage them to enjoy being outside, which is healthy. They will also learn about the area we live in, so that they can begin, even now, to take dominion over their area of the earth, to the glory of God. Finally, I hope that, knowing details about the life around them, when my children see that life again they will be more easily moved to praise God for His wise and marvelous Creation.
For the elementary science curriculm, I have chosen the Answers in Genesis-distributed curriculm called God's Design for Science. It is written for elementary school, but it is done in an organized way, always stressing the role of God the Creator. It includes lessons to be read, hands-on projects, quizzes and tests. It has 11 units, which I calculate, can be completed in grades 1 - 7. Look for this curriculum at www.answersingenesis.com
Such an approach is normal for classical education. Science was not one of the subjects taught in the traditional classical curriculum, because science was only pursued by aristocrats with a lot of time on their hands. In today's world most jobs involve some kind of technology, so in order to properly equip our children for a calling, they must have a knowledge of basic science. Further, science education should be systemmatic and orderly because that reflects God's created order. Studying bees, then clouds, then volcanoes, then whatever else suits your fancy reflects the evolutionary humanist worldview that all we have are random, isolated facts, plus it runs the risk of missing important areas.
Rigorous study of the traditional areas of science (biology, chemisty and physics) involves higher math, so it will necessarily be left for high school or middle school. In grades 1 - 6, I can teach my students about different areas of science, to give them a framework on which to place future learning, and also to whet their appetites for study of science. I believe that such an objective can be accomplished in 2 days a week, instead of the 5 days per weeks assigned to most subjects.
Science is, at its most basic, a systemmatic study of God's creation. Studying God's creation should lead us to praise Him for His wisdom and power. It should also enable us to more effectively take dominion over the earth for the glory of God.
To build observation skills and cultivate a love of and interest in the creation we live in I will take the elementary school students out to a park or to our backyard on the first pleasant day of each term to make observations in their nature journals. Each student will choose three living things to record. The older students will draw the organisms on the spot. I will take pictures of the organisms chosen by the younger students (for the students to draw from later). All students will record the time of day, the place, the weather, and any observations they can make about the organisms that they chose. The next day the students will look up each of their organisms in a guidebook and write down facts about the organism in their notebooks. The next day we will go to the library to pick out books on the organisms. The next three days each student will read (or be read) the books about his organism. The following lesson we will continue with our regular science curriculm. In this manner the students will learn the skills of observation which are necessary for science. It will, I hope, encourage them to enjoy being outside, which is healthy. They will also learn about the area we live in, so that they can begin, even now, to take dominion over their area of the earth, to the glory of God. Finally, I hope that, knowing details about the life around them, when my children see that life again they will be more easily moved to praise God for His wise and marvelous Creation.
For the elementary science curriculm, I have chosen the Answers in Genesis-distributed curriculm called God's Design for Science. It is written for elementary school, but it is done in an organized way, always stressing the role of God the Creator. It includes lessons to be read, hands-on projects, quizzes and tests. It has 11 units, which I calculate, can be completed in grades 1 - 7. Look for this curriculum at www.answersingenesis.com
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
More About Music
While I have been absent from this blog I was packing, moving and unpacking. Thankfully, that is all over now and life can get back to (ab)normal. :-)
Now...on to some specifics about music history. I intend to teach this class to all my 1st - 6th graders at once. We will cycle through 6 years of lessons (1 per week), so every student will eventually learn all of the composers in the series. We will learn biographical information for each composer, as well as learning to identify, by sound, several of the composer's works. We will start the lesson by reading or listening to biographies of the composer or drilling biographical information. The readings will be taken from Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers by Patrick Kavanaugh, The Gift of Music by Jane Stuart Smith and Betty Carlson, the Vox CDs of great composers, and other sources that I will mention later. Then we will listen to the piece for the week (or a portion of it, if it is really long). Throughout the weeks that we are studying a composer we will listen to his music during homework time and other times.
Here is my list of composers to study (and pieces) for the first year (36 weeks):
1. - 3. Heinrich Schutz: I had never heard of this composer before reading The Gift of Music. He was one who took church music from monastic chanting into the kinds of harmonies we are familiar with today. His music is all choral settings of Biblical texts. I have chose Psalm
100, Seven Last Words From the Cross, and Deutches Magnificat (Mary's song of praise).
4. - 6. Archangelo Corelli: This baroque composer wrote many Concerti Grossi, early versions of the symphony that had less instruments than our modern symphony. I have chosen to highlight Concerto Grosso in F Major, Op. 6, No. 9; Concerto Grosso Op. 6, No. 8 the
"Christmas Concerto", and Sonata de Chiesa, Op. 3, No. 5.
7. - 10. Antonio Vivaldi: We all know Vivaldi's Four Seasons, but he also wrote concertos for many different instruments and even some choral music. The first piece the student will learn, will of course be the Four Seasons. Since it is such a long work, we will listen to it in the evening, or on a Saturday, in order to be able to hear it all at once. Other pieces to study are: Gloria in D, Bassoon Concerto in E Minor, and Concerto for Piccolo in C Major.
11. - 20. Johann Sebastian Bach: Bach was a devout Christian man and made some of the best music ever, to the glory of God. The most difficult thing about studying Bach is choosing which of his many masterpieces to focus on. These are my choices: Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor (S 1043), St. Matthew's Passion, Mass in B Minor, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, Cantata No. 80, Well-Tempered Clavier No. 1, Magnificat, BrandenburgConcerto No. 2., and Musical Offering. For studying Bach, in addition to the sources cited above, I plan on reading them Sebastian Bach: The Boy from Thuringia by Opal Wheeler and Sybill Duecher.
21. - 26. George Frederic Handel:
It is reported that Handel openly wept while working on his famous Hallelujah Chorus, a song in praise of Christ. Here again is another composer who dedicated his work to the glory of God. Water Music, Messiah, Largo from Xerxes, Organ Concerto in B-flat Major, Op. 7, No. 6; Concerto for Harp in B-flat Major, and Music for Royal Fireworks. In addition to the sources cited above, I plan on reading Handel at the Court of Kings by Opal Wheeler.
26. - 32. Joseph Haydn: Cello Concerto in D Major, No. 2; The Creation; Symphony No. 45; Mass No. 9 in D Minor, "The Lord Nelson Mass"; Symphony No. 104, "London"; Trumpet Concerto in E-flat Major; String Quartet in C "Emporer". In addition to the sources cited above, I plan on reading Joseph Haydn: the Merry Little Peasant by Opal Wheeler and Sybil Duecher.
33. - 36. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: I really don't need to say anything about Mozart's worth as a composer. I was heartened to learn through Christian authors that Mozart was not the hedonist that he was portrayed as in the movie "Amadeus". He was a bit of a reckless teenager (which is what they base their slander on) and not the wisest of money managers, but he showed in many letters to family and friends his faith in God and desire to please Him. We will continue with many more pieces by Mozart in the second year of Music History. The three for this year will be: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Requiem, and Clarinet Concerto in A Major.
I will continue with the schedule for the second year later.
Now...on to some specifics about music history. I intend to teach this class to all my 1st - 6th graders at once. We will cycle through 6 years of lessons (1 per week), so every student will eventually learn all of the composers in the series. We will learn biographical information for each composer, as well as learning to identify, by sound, several of the composer's works. We will start the lesson by reading or listening to biographies of the composer or drilling biographical information. The readings will be taken from Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers by Patrick Kavanaugh, The Gift of Music by Jane Stuart Smith and Betty Carlson, the Vox CDs of great composers, and other sources that I will mention later. Then we will listen to the piece for the week (or a portion of it, if it is really long). Throughout the weeks that we are studying a composer we will listen to his music during homework time and other times.
Here is my list of composers to study (and pieces) for the first year (36 weeks):
1. - 3. Heinrich Schutz: I had never heard of this composer before reading The Gift of Music. He was one who took church music from monastic chanting into the kinds of harmonies we are familiar with today. His music is all choral settings of Biblical texts. I have chose Psalm
100, Seven Last Words From the Cross, and Deutches Magnificat (Mary's song of praise).
4. - 6. Archangelo Corelli: This baroque composer wrote many Concerti Grossi, early versions of the symphony that had less instruments than our modern symphony. I have chosen to highlight Concerto Grosso in F Major, Op. 6, No. 9; Concerto Grosso Op. 6, No. 8 the
"Christmas Concerto", and Sonata de Chiesa, Op. 3, No. 5.
7. - 10. Antonio Vivaldi: We all know Vivaldi's Four Seasons, but he also wrote concertos for many different instruments and even some choral music. The first piece the student will learn, will of course be the Four Seasons. Since it is such a long work, we will listen to it in the evening, or on a Saturday, in order to be able to hear it all at once. Other pieces to study are: Gloria in D, Bassoon Concerto in E Minor, and Concerto for Piccolo in C Major.
11. - 20. Johann Sebastian Bach: Bach was a devout Christian man and made some of the best music ever, to the glory of God. The most difficult thing about studying Bach is choosing which of his many masterpieces to focus on. These are my choices: Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor (S 1043), St. Matthew's Passion, Mass in B Minor, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, Cantata No. 80, Well-Tempered Clavier No. 1, Magnificat, BrandenburgConcerto No. 2., and Musical Offering. For studying Bach, in addition to the sources cited above, I plan on reading them Sebastian Bach: The Boy from Thuringia by Opal Wheeler and Sybill Duecher.
21. - 26. George Frederic Handel:
It is reported that Handel openly wept while working on his famous Hallelujah Chorus, a song in praise of Christ. Here again is another composer who dedicated his work to the glory of God. Water Music, Messiah, Largo from Xerxes, Organ Concerto in B-flat Major, Op. 7, No. 6; Concerto for Harp in B-flat Major, and Music for Royal Fireworks. In addition to the sources cited above, I plan on reading Handel at the Court of Kings by Opal Wheeler.
26. - 32. Joseph Haydn: Cello Concerto in D Major, No. 2; The Creation; Symphony No. 45; Mass No. 9 in D Minor, "The Lord Nelson Mass"; Symphony No. 104, "London"; Trumpet Concerto in E-flat Major; String Quartet in C "Emporer". In addition to the sources cited above, I plan on reading Joseph Haydn: the Merry Little Peasant by Opal Wheeler and Sybil Duecher.
33. - 36. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: I really don't need to say anything about Mozart's worth as a composer. I was heartened to learn through Christian authors that Mozart was not the hedonist that he was portrayed as in the movie "Amadeus". He was a bit of a reckless teenager (which is what they base their slander on) and not the wisest of money managers, but he showed in many letters to family and friends his faith in God and desire to please Him. We will continue with many more pieces by Mozart in the second year of Music History. The three for this year will be: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Requiem, and Clarinet Concerto in A Major.
I will continue with the schedule for the second year later.
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