The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home (Third Edition)

983 Pages·2009·2.94 MB·English

by  Bauer

THE WELLTRAINED MIND
ALSO BY SUSAN WISE BAUER

The Art of the Public Grovel: Sexual Sin and Public Confession in America
(Princeton University Press, 2008)
The Complete Writer: Writing with Ease (Peace Hill Press, 2008)
The History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of
Rome (W. W. Norton, 2007)
The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had
(W. W. Norton, 2003)
The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child (Peace Hill Press)
Volume I: Ancient Times, rev. ed. (2006)
Volume II: The Middle Ages, rev. ed. (2007)
Volume III: Early Modern Times (2004)
Volume IV: The Modern World (2005)
ALSO BY JESSIE WISE

First Language Lessons for the WellTrained Mind (Peace Hill Press, 2002)
The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading (Peace Hill Press, 2004)
THE WELLTRAINED MIND

A Guide to Classical Education at Home

Third Edition
SUSAN WISE BAUER
JESSIE WISE

W. W. Norton & Company

New York London
Copyright © 2009, 2004, 1999 by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer
All rights reserved
For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write
to
Permissions, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY
10110
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bauer, S. Wise.
The welltrained mind: a guide to classical education at home / Susan
Wise Bauer, Jessie Wise.—3rd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN: 978-0-393-07090-3
1. Home schooling—United States—Handbooks, manuals, etc.
2. Education, Humanistic—United States—Handbooks, manuals, etc.
3. Education—Parent participation—United States—Handbooks, manuals, etc.
I. Wise, Jessie. II. Title.
LC40.B39 2009
371.04'20973—dc22
2009000708
W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10110
www.wwnorton.com
W. W. Norton & Company Ltd., Castle House, 75/76 Wells Street, London W1T
3QT
For Christopher, Benjamin,
and Daniel.
And also for Emily.
CONTENTS

Acknowledgments for the First Edition
Acknowledgments for the Revised Edition
Acknowledgments for the Third Edition
What The WellTrained Mind Does: An Overview
Practical Considerations: Using The WellTrained Mind without Losing
Your Own
Supplementing Your Child’s Education: The WellTrained Mind and
Full-Time School
PROLOGUE: THE STORY OF A CLASSICAL HOME EDUCATION

1. Uncharted Territory: Jessie

2. A Personal Look at Classical Education: Susan

PART I. THE GRAMMAR STAGE: KINDERGARTEN THROUGH
FOURTH GRADE
3. The Parrot Years

Now or Never
How to Teach the Poll-Parrot Stage
Priorities
4. Unlocking the Doors: The Preschool Years

Preschool: Birth to Three
Kindergarten Years: Four and Five
RESOURCES
5. Words, Words, Words: Spelling, Grammar, Reading, and Writing

How to Do It
General Instructions for Grades 1 through 4
Overview of Language Work
RESOURCES
6. The Joy of Numbers: Math

The Way Children Think
Math Tables: A Defense
How to Do It
Choosing Programs
Schedules
RESOURCES
7. Seventy Centuries in Four Years: History and Geography

Seventy Centuries in Four Years
What If You’re Starting in the Middle?
How to Do It
RESOURCES