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The Catholic Homeschool -- September 2001
Add Excitement to Your History Class
by Stephanie Ansberry
Since we began homeschooling nine years ago, I have discovered that our family has an insatiable appetite for anything historical. Locating interesting resources for United States history has never been a problem. We have readily found original source documents, living biographies, and much good literature for the elementary grades. However, resources for ancient and middle age history have proven more difficult to acquire. While on a search at the library, I came across two of Helene A. Guerber’s books, The Story of the Greeks and The Story of the Romans. Guerber wrote a series of historical narratives in the late 19th century with the purpose of acquainting children with the fascinating true stories of the people who shaped our civilization. I began reading The Story of the Greeks and was captivated by Guerber’s writing style. She writes as if she is speaking directly to the reader while using a rich, descriptive vocabulary.
Nothing New Press has now republished the following books by Guerber as full-sized paperbacks complete with black & white illustrations, a timeline, and an index: The Story of the Greeks, The Story of the Romans, The Story of the Middle Ages, The Story of the Renaissance and Reformation, The Story of the Thirteen Colonies, and The Story of the Great Republic (American history since the Revolution).
The Greek and Roman books are each about 200 pages long and are divided into 140 short chapters. Difficult words are syllabicated, and children are encouraged to learn to pronounce the Greek and Roman names and to locate on a map the cities, rivers, and countries mentioned in the book. A few maps are included in the book, but they are very small. We located the geographical sites on our wall map. The books are written on a 5th-grade reading level: however, the short chapters lend themselves easily to being read aloud to young-er children. In comparison to the well-known Poland books, Famous Men of Greece and Famous Men of Rome, Guerber’s are lengthy, detailed, and intri-guing. I would use Poland’s books as a supplement for grades 3-4 and Guerber’s for a great read-aloud for these grades or as a self-read for grades 5-8.
Since Guerber is not Catholic, The Story of the Renaissance and Reformation is a problematic text. Furthermore, I hesitate to recommend The Story of the Middle Ages without some reservations and without the immediate availability of a thorough church history text, such as Church History by Father Laux or Daniel-Rop’s series on Church History. The Story of the Middle Ages is a revised and expanded edition of The Story of Old France and The Story of the English by Guerber. Christine Miller of Nothing New Press edited the texts so that the 350-page book includes a very detailed six page timeline, illustrations, maps, and an index.
Overall, I found The Story of the Middle Ages to be a good read-aloud with an occasional revision and a further explanation here and there. Yet, I would not hand the book to a child to read on his own. There are several historical problems from the Church’s standpoint.
Although the book contains certain problems, it does have its redeeming points. Throughout the narrative, the Church is shown to have played a very important role in people’s lives. Holidays, traditions, feast days, and customs were all influenced by the Church. Also, the Church was called upon for its wisdom and guidance in writing laws and arbitrating grievances between countries.
After reading the first three books in the series, our family looks forward to reading The Story of the Thirteen Colonies and
The Story of the Great Republic to see if Guerber again puts excitement into our history class.
Guerber books are available from Nothing New Press, 1015-M South Taft Hill Road #263, Fort Collins, CO 80521. Visit them on the web at www.classicalhomeschooling.org/nnp/nnp.html or e-mail nothingnewpress@netscape.net.
Stephanie Ansberry , homeschooling mother of six, uses a classical approach with ideas from Charlotte Mason in the education of her children.
Steps in the Right Direction
by Evann Duplantier
As I once again fall into the routine of driving to and from my four oldest girls’ weekly dance classes, each on a different day and time, and some twice weekly, I wonder if it’s really worth it. The two oldest are now in their ninth year of classical ballet and Broadway tap. The oldest is beginning her third year “en pointe” and the next in line is beginning her first. They are now the “older girls” at their dance studio.
Well, is it worth it? I think so. There are numerous benefits to long-term dance education. The most obvious benefit is physical. Dance increases muscle tone and flexibility, and improves coordination and posture. But there is much more to dance than just the physical benefits.
Dance teaches discipline. Regular attendance and honest effort are required in order to progress. Ballet and tap require enormous concentration, and students learn to listen attentively and apply themselves mentally as well as physically. Dance education cultivates self-discipline, motivation, and the ability to work in a group. In time, children learn to apply these traits to their own preparation for careers and vocations.
Then, there’s the socializtion aspect. Through their dance classes, my children have been exposed to children from different cultures, races, and religions. They are branching out from our small homeschool world and mixing in positive, realworld situations. This exposure to a vari-ety of personal and social perspectives is a very valuable learning experience.
There’s also the too-often misused word, self-esteem. The dance-class environment increases self-confidence and self-esteem. Dance education introduces children to the basics of theatre and performance. In an enjoyable process, shy children become relaxed and confident in front of a group.
Exposure to any art form is beneficial and the expression of art and creativity comes naturally to children. In dance children find beauty in form, repetition, movement, and coordination.
On a cultural level, dance education offers a variety of benefits. Ballet especially will expose them to classical music. This gained awareness of and appreciation for classical music, as well as many other styles, can inculcate a lifelong love of music. There is also a literary aspect to dance. Classic ballets tell classic stories. We can’t overlook the foreign language benefits either, for most of the terms used in classical ballet are French, but there are linguistic contributions from Italian and Russian as well.
Of course, worthwhile dance education is not limited to ballet and tap. Your family may prefer jazz, lyric, modern, folk, Irish step, or even flamenco. All require hard work and dedication and will result in rewards that will last a lifetime.
Evann Duplantier, homeschooling mother of six & editor of The Catholic Homeschool, has been taking her girls to dance class for nine years.
Seven Sorrows of Mary
On September 8 the Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady’s birth. This joyous occassion is contrasted on the 15th when we honor her seven sorrows. The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows immediately follows the feast of the Holy Cross, allowing us to see the close connection between Jesus’ Passion and Mary’s Sorrows. The seven sorrows (or dolors) are: Simeon’s prophecy, the flight into Egypt, the loss of Jesus in the Temple, Mary’s meeting with Jesus on his way to Calvary, the crucifixion and death of Jesus, Mary receiving the dead body of her son, and Jesus laid in the tomb. The Blessed Virgin grants seven graces to those who honor her daily by saying the seven Hail Mary’s and meditating on her tears and dolors. This devotion was given to us by St. Bridget.
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