Creating a Classical Home

Happy Wednesday, Down Home readers! We hope you enjoyed your long weekend and found some time to rest, recover, and get ready for the remainder of the first trimester.

Did you know that the SLOCA website offers a wealth of useful information? It does! However, we understand if you do not have the time to go and discover these amazing treasures for yourself. So, we wanted to help you out by featuring a few of them on the blog.

Creating a Classical Home was written by our Executive and Visionary Director, Susie Theule, as part of the Parent Education Literature series. Read on for ideas about how to create an environment in your home that encourages connection, engagement, and learning.

We find delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart too big for the body. – Ralph Waldo Emerson 

One of the benefits of classical education the way SLO Classical Academy does it is that our children are home for part of their schooling. We set up this program very purposefully because we believe in the model for many reasons, one of which is the fact that children can thrive when they have the opportunity to spend time with their parents. As parents, you have the opportunity to bathe them in education whenever they are around. This is not only done through the formal education process you pursue at home, but by making your home one which provides the rich, fertile soil from which your children will grow in knowledge, character, and wisdom. 

We at the Classical Academy encourage our families to create what we will call a “classical home” in order to provide this type of growing environment. Instead of adding more work to your load, there are some things we can do as classical educators and parents to create an environment in our homes that is naturally conducive to learning and growth.

Turn off the TV and turn on the music!

Studies show that the content and amount of television watched actually dulls the mind (not to mention the morals). Turning off the tube creates space for classical activity – music, art, science, creative play, handiwork. Although enjoyable, these activities also stimulate brain cells and encourage imagination, exploration, and skill development, not to mention exercise. And while your children take part in these activities, make sure to expose them to classical music, not just classic rock. Let them hear medieval music, music from the Renaissance, jazz, rock, and modern classical pieces. And if you’re one of those endless energy types, throw in a few lessons on the genre of music or composer to which you are listening. You will be surprised that with a bit of consistent exposure, your children will enjoy music you thought they might not. 

Create an environment that engages the whole development of the child.

Education, classical or not, is of limited value when other aspects of children’s development are left unattended. Children not only need to be stimulated intellectually but emotionally, physically, relationally and spiritually. Make sure to spend time just “being” with your children — playing ball, cooking, going to the beach, snuggling, reading, listening to and talking with them. While not solely “classical” per se, these activities are nonetheless educational and will create a rich soil from which classical education will be nourished. 

Provide a home with structure and predictability.

Make sure your children know what to expect in your home. Children need some consistent structure to function at their highest levels in all areas of life, and this discipline on your part will allow classical education to take place effectively and enjoyably. Structure provides that there is ample time to finish school and chores, but also guarantees there will be time to rest, read, play, and be flexible when necessary. It teaches children to focus when it is time to focus and to eventually organize their own time. It will help our kids feel rested and ready to learn and will teach them respect as you follow through on your plans. You do not need structure all the time, but enough to provide emotional security for your children and margin to ensure you can trash the structure part of the time! 

Provide Visuals.

Having visual reminders of classical education around your home is a wonderful way to keep educating “after hours.” Put up maps, artwork, anthills, and school projects. Have classic books (or Mother Goose!) in your kid’s field of vision, place picture books on art, history, and science out on the coffee table; utilize the laminated learning-centered placemats during dinner. Hang up timelines and adverbs and clocks. These reminders will encourage our children to learn and will spark their curiosity – a wonderful trait for a classical student! 

Provide opportunities for character development.

Consider opportunities in and out of school for your children to be stimulated not only intellectually, but in character growth as well. Virtue is central to classical education. Music lessons, sports, hobbies, and clubs can spark the development of sportsmanship, perseverance, discipline, commitment, teamwork, charity, leadership, servant-hood and kindness. Find places for your children to learn about and develop good character. The opportunities are endless in this rich community, and as your child gets older, he or she can help choose the activities that are most interesting. 

Read with your kids!

Choose from the many classics and make it a habit to sit down and read out loud to your children. Let them take a break from doing the reading and let them listen and enjoy the stories you have chosen. Follow the reading with a short discussion and opportunity for them to narrate a portion of what they just heard. We are strong advocates of evening family reading, when the whole family gathers together to hear a great story read out loud. Some do it around a fire, some in a dark room with a flashlight, or out on a blanket at the end of a summer day. Snuggle together and read. It will not only educate your children, it will grow your relationship with them in wonderful ways. 

Connect with your children.

Finally, make sure, as you choose the ways to make your home classical, that you are connecting with your children. Converse with them all day long – not only about “subjects”, but also about them and you — family life, plans, dreams, ideas, beliefs, and hopes. This will help our children learn to think and express themselves, but more importantly, it will help to provide them with the confidence they need to be themselves – classically educated and all – in a world which would like to tell them what to be and what to think. 

We hope you found this beneficial. Perhaps you were challenged to implement something new or maybe it was simply a helpful reminder. Either way, let us know how you integrate these ideas and/or others into your “classical home” by leaving a comment below.

Curious about other resources available to you on the SLOCA website?  Check them out!