The Torch

As educators at Nova Classical Academy, we frequently hear a variation on the titular question: “How can I support my child at home?” This may look like, “I don’t know Latin. How can I teach my child Latin?” or “I understand we’re supposed to use a certain method to solve a problem, but I thought I’d teach my child algebra to solve. Is that bad?” Spoiler alert: I do not expect you to know Latin nor do I think you are bad!

Classical education has two integral and interrelated dimensions: the perfection of moral character and the refinement of the intellect. I will offer some suggestions that are pretty broad to support your learners at home in both dimensions, but I have also included my email at the bottom so that if you have specific questions, I’m here to support you and your learner.

For School of Grammar Students (grades K-5):

• Have routines at home for reading, homework, and bedtime. I found this article simple but powerful about establishing routines for homework.

• Check out our Lower School resources for literacy and math.

• Scroll down to Parent Resources, which include a video for both the Singapore Math Parent Night and the Literacy Parent Night with accompanying slides. I have found these parent nights incredibly helpful to contextualize what our students are learning.

• Read, read, read!

For School of Logic Students (grades 6-8):

• Have routines at home for reading, homework, and bedtime. I found this article simple but powerful about establishing routines for homework. SoL students need sleep as well!

• Reading is still at the top of the priority list. Students are writing papers in several classes and need quick access to high-quality vocabulary and syntax. (Syntax is the way words are arranged to make a sentence work in a meaningful and beautiful way.)

• Flashcards! Flashcards! Flashcards! When students say they have “nothing to do”, I must respectfully disagree since they are in history and (usually) Latin where flashcards are the method to build automaticity (easy recall of information). There are always flashcard terms in science, math, and language arts to study as well.

For School of Rhetoric Students (grades 9-12):

• Have routines at home for reading, homework, and bedtime (you might have noticed a theme here…). I found this article simple but powerful about establishing routines for homework. Our SoR students are truly preparing for college in these years, and establishing poor habits in grades 9-12 is not setting them up for success now or later.

• Wouldn’t you know it? Reading is still incredibly important for student success in high school. Students in grades 9-12 continue to work on their writing: needing an ever-expanding vocabulary as well as beautiful and appropriate syntax. Students also read quite a bit of primary sources from such authors as Herodotus in History, so they need to continually work on reading fluency and comprehension to access these texts.

• Continue to foster joy in what your children are learning at a regularly scheduled family meal. Think of it as a beginner's dinner party: what set their soul on fire today? What ideas came up with which they strongly agreed or disagreed? My dad used to do this with me and it was a powerful practice and message that school was important (even as a teenager!).

For those of you who have walked the journey of a classical education with your student and have further recommendations, I would love those! Meanwhile, I'll be immersed in Island, a book about the Faroe Islands lent to me by another Nova teacher- we truly value reading at all ages in this community.

May you also curl up with a good book this winter break,

Dr. Missy Johnson

Academic Director

mjohnson@novaclassical.org