Month: July 2025

Best Books for Boys: A Guide to Classic Literature

/ RebeccaWade / Leave a comment
Pictured: The Trumpet of the Swan, a great book for boys

In an earlier post, I mentioned that I would let you know what some of the books were that I found for my son to read as he was growing up. This list is not meant to be in any way comprehensive; these are just some random thoughts and suggestions based on what we found and liked.

I used to pore over catalogs from various publishers looking for book suggestions; then I would find as many books from the library as I could and buy our favorites. I encourage you to do the same, as a number of Christian and/or classical companies have wonderful books listed in their catalogs.

If you like, you can follow the links to Amazon for some of these books, or you may want to order from companies that sell classical or homeschool curriculum.

Please note that as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases made through any of my amazon links. 

Younger Ages

Nursery Rhymes (Mother Goose/traditional nursery rhymes) Children love the rhythm of nursery rhymes and love to hear them over and over.

Bible stories (We used different ones over the years for different ages.)

A Child’s Garden of Verses, by Robert Louis Stevenson

Make Way for Ducklings, by Robert McCloskey

Blueberries for Sal, by Robert McCloskey

These two books by Robert McCloskey are charming, nostalgic, and engaging.

Henry and Mudge books, by Cynthia Rylant (Delightful and wholesome easy readers)

Frog and Toad books, by Arnold Lobel (More delightful and wholesome easy readers)

There are many other delightful classic stories for younger children; these are just a few that stand out in my mind for their charm.

Older Ages (3rd, 4th, 5th Grades and up)

Tales from Far and Near and Tales of Long Ago, ed. by Arthur Guy Terry (Classic stories from history and legends)

Famous Legends, by Emeline Crommelin (Includes legends such as King Arthur, William Tell, Robin Hood, Roland, etc.)

Mighty Men, by Eleanor Farjeon (Stories of ancient heroes. Out of print, but you may find it used.)

Please note that as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases made through any of my amazon links. 

Saint George and the Dragon, by Margaret Hodges (My son loved this!)

The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow, by Allen French (Set in the early days of Christianity in Iceland.) My son renamed this book “Rolf and the Lawsuits.” Apparently, the Vikings had quite a detailed and comprehensive system of legal regulations, which resulted in multiple lawsuits being filed during the course of the story!

King Arthur and His Knights, compiled and arranged by Elizabeth Lodor Merchant, based on Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte d’Arthur

         We loved this version of King Arthur; it has been beautifully rewritten for children. My son first encountered the code of chivalry as he was reading this book. This particular version of King Arthur is out of print, so be sure the version you find is appropriate for children. 

Tales from Shakespeare, by Charles and Mary Lamb

I was first introduced to Shakespeare while reading the copy of this book that my parents had on their bookshelf. Someone had given them a set of books compiled especially for children, and this was one of them. They were beautiful gold books with gold leaf pages, and after I read the Shakespeare plays that were retold in this book, I couldn’t wait to read the real Shakespeare plays for myself. I remember reading Othello and King Lear over and over. And when I encountered Shakespeare later, I loved it as much as I thought I would. 

Favorite Greek Myths, by Mary Pope Osborne

I love this particular children’s version of the Greek myths. They are written like fairy tales, and the illustrations are enchanting. We used this book in 3rd grade.

Theras and his Town, by Carolyn Snedeker

Your child will meet a boy from ancient Greece and begin to understand what life was like in Athens and Sparta.

Detectives in Togas  (A fast-moving detective story set in ancient Rome)

The Chronicles of Narnia, by C. S. Lewis (These 7 books are classics, ever-engaging and timeless.)

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain (My son loved Tom Sawyer; what boy wouldn’t?)

The Childhood of Famous Americans series 

First printed in the 1930s, now back in print. A great way to introduce children, especially boys, to famous Americans! I loved these myself when I was a child. They can be found online on various websites. I have included one Amazon link:   Benjamin Franklin, Young Printer

Johnny Tremain, by Esther Forbes (A story set in the Boston colonies.)

The Magna Charta, by James Daugherty (Fascinating story of the forerunner of America’s Bill of Rights)

And last, but not least, The Trumpet of the Swan, by E. B. White, pictured above. I thought this book was delightful.

Fill your bookshelf with children’s classics and encourage your children to read. Thanks to the books my parents had on their bookshelf when I was a child, I read some wonderful children’s classics which gave me a taste for beautiful literature and a longing for more. 

Note on book lists: If you find a book in a 1st grade book list, don’t worry that your child is behind if he isn’t ready to read the book until 2nd or even 3rd grade. Children mature at different rates; the important thing is that your child learn to read and learn to enjoy books. And some book lists are pretty advanced. Take your time and let your child enjoy easy books while developing a love for reading.

How Do We Teach Virtue in Classical Education?

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Before wading into a discussion about curriculum, I would like to talk about why anyone would be interested in pursuing classical education in the first place. And what in the world do we mean by “classical” when it comes to education? What is classical Christian education? Does virtue have anything to do with it?

One of the main reasons I was drawn to classical education was its emphasis on virtue. We can talk later about exactly what classical education is, but if we talk about virtue, we will understand classical education better.

The Transcendental Virtues

In my first post on classical education, I mentioned that I was looking for a certain “flavor” in the type of education that I wanted to give my children. Since opinions differ about the exact definition of classical education, I will just begin by telling you what I think of when I think about classical education. I wanted my children to have an education that instilled in them a love for the good, the true, and the beautiful – what I have now learned are considered the transcendental virtues. Traditionally, this type of education was called a classical education and focused on the history and culture of Western Civilization, which was the civilization which developed around the Mediterranean Sea – the civilization of the Greeks and the Romans. Why was this civilization so important? Because this was the culture in which God prepared the world for the coming of Christ and the culture in which Christianity spread after Christ came. Children heard and read the stories of the ancient Greeks and Romans, whose cultures emphasized virtue, even though they were pagan. They learned about the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ, the spread of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire, and the fulfillment of goodness, truth, and beauty in Christ, who is the Truth. They were exposed to stories of heroism and courage as they grew up, and these stories helped children to internalize the virtues. These “classic” stories were just part of a typical education.

All of this is not exactly a definition of classical education, but it leads back to my first question: Why would anyone be interested in pursuing a classical education? Why would parents want this type of education for their children? One of the main reasons is that this type of education has historically focused on the transmission of virtue. And that is my question for today: How can we teach virtue? And how does a classical education help us in this pursuit? 

We Must Teach Children to Love Virtue

Teaching virtue is not the same as teaching children the difference between right and wrong. We need to teach children that some things are right and others are wrong, but we can’t stop there. We must teach them to love virtue. We need to figure out how to help them to want to do what is right, even to their own hurt (even if doing what is right results in their own suffering). They need to internalize virtues such as courage and heroism. And one of the best ways of communicating virtue is by giving our children heroes – whether from history or from legends or fairy tales. Classical educators have known for years that if children are given the right stories to read, that they will identify with the hero and internalize the values of that hero. And in the literature of Western Civilization, which is based on Christianity, the hero is typically a Christ-figure. 

This idea of finding heroes in literature has been around for a long time. When I had a son, I started looking for ideas for educating him (since I had never been a boy and didn’t think I knew much about them). In my reading, I came across the idea that reading the right stories to a boy when he is young and giving him the right stories to read as he gets older was one of the best ways of teaching virtue. So I set out to find some of those stories for my son. In a future post, I will list some of the books that I gave him to read over the years. 

I had to work hard to find good books for my son to read since I had spent my childhood reading books that were geared more towards girls. However, once I started finding books for him, I found that there was a good bit of overlap, and I thoroughly enjoyed the books that I found for my son. 

Fairy Tales and Mighty Men

Please note that as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases made through any of my amazon links.

Both Tolkien and Chesterton have written essays on the importance of fairy tales. When I was a child, I found the Name That Color fairy books in my elementary school library and read them all (until they ran out of colors). I read The Blue Fairy Book, The Red Fairy Book, The Pink Fairy Book, The Green Fairy Book, and on down the line. I loved those stories. Fairy tales are actually a wonderful way for children to find heroes. As a result of identifying with the heroes (or heroines) in the stories, they want to emulate their virtues; I know I did. I went through my childhood imagining that I was a princess in a fairy tale, but I had learned from fairy tales that princesses had to behave in a certain way, so I (at times) tried to behave as a princess should.

Calvert School, which I discussed in my last post, used several books which taught children about heroes from classic literature. They even had a book called Mighty Men, which was used in the 4th grade course. I remember that some of the “mighty men” were not even men! One was actually Queen Esther, whose story is told in the Bible, and who was quite the heroine. Her famous line, “for such a time as this,” has inspired courage in many, both men and women.

Knowledge without Virtue Can Be Dangerous

These are just a few examples of how children find heroes by reading the right stories. An education purely for the sake of knowledge is incomplete. In fact, knowledge without virtue can be dangerous. Think about the world wars we have experienced and the ways that men – men with great knowledge but without virtue – used that knowledge to perpetuate great evils. Education is about more than conveying knowledge. It must also be about instilling virtue, and a classical Christian education is uniquely suited to that end. We don’t want to bring up children who are given knowledge without virtue, but at the same time, we shouldn’t try to teach virtue without knowledge. I’m not sure that is even possible. A truly educated person is one who has both. 

What I Learned When I Started Homeschooling

/ RebeccaWade / 2 Comments

I mentioned in my first post about classical education that I originally chose the curriculum from Calvert School to use with my children. I’m sure many of you have never heard of Calvert School, as their homeschooling program does not exist any longer. When I began homeschooling, there were not many resources for teaching children at home. Curriculum packages were available from a couple of evangelical Christian publishing houses, but after I looked at the available materials, I was disappointed. Then I looked at Calvert School. I had heard of it because before homeschooling was a “thing,” Calvert School had developed a home education program which was primarily used by missionaries and diplomats who lived overseas, as well as by children who were too ill to attend school. This program had a “flavor” which I loved.

Calvert’s focus at this time was on the history and culture of Western civilization, and they included classic stories in both history and literature which ensured that children were introduced to many of these famous characters and legends (William Tell, King Canute, Xerxes, Alexander the Great, for example). I was impressed that Calvert introduced these stories to children when they were young and thus, when they would read about them later in their schooling, they would not be meeting them for the first time. Calvert also included stories of historical people who turned to Christianity from paganism, stories which I learned about for the first time when using Calvert. Even though the curriculum was not specifically Christian, per se, the stories of Christian heroes were allowed to speak for themselves. In Calvert’s original Kindergarten program, Christian hymns were even included on the music tape that we listened to when we sang along.

A Child’s History of the World

My favorite thing about the Calvert curriculum was the history book that was used in their 4thgrade course: A Child’s History of the World, written by the first headmaster of Calvert School, Virgil Hillyer. This book was a masterpiece, in my opinion. Students in the 4th grade home education program would be guided through the entire history of the world in one year, and other than the first two chapters of the book, which were a bit evolutionary, it was a delightful introduction to world history. Each chapter was written like a charming story – sometimes more like a fairy tale – and there were no questions or assignments in the actual book. A child who used the book as Calvert intended would be amazingly well-versed in world history at a surprisingly young age and would be well-prepared for high school studies. (I learned an astonishing amount of world history myself while studying it with my children and decided as a result that one of the best ways for adults to learn history is by reading children’s books on the topic – but that is a topic for another day.)

Classical Yet Gentle; Academically Excellent

The emphasis on the history and culture of Western civilization, even to the point of including art appreciation and music appreciation materials; the emphasis on writing compositions (which began in 3rd grade); and the strong academic focus of the curriculum were aspects that contributed to the classical flavor of Calvert School, even though at the time I did not know what classical education was. I could see, however, that this type of education differed from the traditional flavor of education provided by the evangelical Christian publishers whose materials I had looked at and even tried. I loved the fact that when my daughter read a story in A Child’s History of the World, that she would be asked simply to narrate the story back to me orally. Then we were instructed to make vocabulary cards for each story with a few specific words and dates included. At the end of each week, we would review these words and dates, including the preceding words that we had done. Because of this constant review, by the end of the year, my daughter remembered most of the vocabulary and dates from the entire year!

Calvert included basically no busywork. After reading a selection in literature or history, children could answer questions orally or narrate back what they had read. They typically did not have to answer numerous questions in writing. Writing was handled by planning and writing compositions on a regular basis. The compositions were on different topics, but my children often chose to write theirs on the history stories they were reading, which helped to cement the stories in their memory.

I recently looked up Calvert School and found that they no longer have a home education program. The private school still exists in Baltimore, but I believe their home education program has been sold. Modern homeschooling has resulted in a plethora of materials and has blessed many of us, but I am grateful that I was able to use Calvert materials while they were still around. I learned many things about teaching my children from their teacher’s manuals, which were invaluable. Those manuals were very detailed and guided the instructor (usually mom) so that no time was wasted, no busywork was included, and everything was well reviewed. From those manuals, I learned that homeschooling should not take more than 3 to 4 hours a day; I learned how to review using vocabulary; I learned the importance of narration, whether oral or written; and I learned how to provide my children with a strong academic foundation in a reasonable amount of time. I learned a lot about classical education without realizing it.

What Now?

The question now is: How can we provide this type of education to our children using the materials that are out there? Is there a similar program available today? Stay tuned for more.

What does classical homeschooling look like?

/ RebeccaWade / Leave a comment

I am writing from the standpoint of someone who began a journey years ago with a longing to give my children a classical Christian education. When I began this journey, I did not really know what that looked like. Before I even began “homeschooling,” when my oldest daughter was 4, I wanted to work with her and expose her to stories of Christianity that were beautiful and inspiring, but I did not know where to find materials. I stumbled across a publication that I was able to subscribe to on a monthly basis that included stories, recipes, and crafts for children of different ages. I was struck by the fact that the history stories were not about Christians that lived during the last 200 years or more recently, but rather about Christians who lived long ago, such as St. Patrick, who lived just a few hundred years after Christ. I think I was longing for a specific “flavor” of beauty, a flavor I found as we read the stories and worked on the crafts. This publication does not seem to be in existence any longer, but as I began educating my oldest daughter at home, I began looking for materials that seemed to fit this pattern of truth and beauty and that included Christianity as part of history. I didn’t really know what it was called, because at this time, even most private and Catholic schools had ceased to be classical and had become fairly progressive.

I eventually chose Calvert School as my homeschool curriculum; I had known about Calvert School for a long time, as it had a well-established home education program that had been used by diplomats and missionaries back when homeschooling wasn’t a thing. We first used the 4th grade program and loved it. Calvert School was criticized by some as not being Christian, but the curriculum included many stories of Christians throughout history and presented the conversion of kings and emperors in a positive light. I had never been exposed to many of these stories and learned more than my daughter. The Calvert education satisfied my longing for an education that emphasized goodness, truth, and beauty. We learned about Greek columns (beautiful!), read beautiful poetry, and enjoyed many lovely stories from literature and history. I am grateful for the Calvert curriculum and continued to use different grades with different children. The Calvert manual itself provided an education in teaching and benefited me greatly.

As time went by, I began enjoying organizing and putting together my own curriculum, using products from different publishers or writing my own. The Calvert curriculum had given me the confidence to do that and had helped immensely with knowing how much time should be spent each day and on each subject. I scheduled our days so that we started every day at 9:00 AM and were done by noon or 1:00. There was no busywork and very little wasted time, so it was entirely possible to have a 3 – 4 hour day.

In future posts, I will tell more of my story and discuss things like scheduling and planning for different ages.