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 4^thgrade 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 4^th 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 3^rd 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.