Be a Time Traveler. Fall and rise with Alyosha, don your armor with Britomart, & escape the salt waves with Sebastian.

Q. Approximately how much time would a student be spending outside of the classroom on reading/assignments?  

A. For the 7th-9th course, I typically assign about 60-65 pages of reading per week. For the 9th-12th course, I typically assign about 80-95 pages per week. I would estimate about 30 minutes of reading per day, if the student is reading 4-5 days a week.   

If you look up the audiobook times for the books you'll know about how long it would take a reader to complete them. Audiobooks tend to go at a slower pace than how quickly most read, but it gives an idea.

Q. What assignments do you give?

A. There isn't a lot of homework besides reading. Each student is assigned an author biography to share with the class (usually one per year). The student does some basic research to help give the class an idea of the author's life. 

I also encourage my students to keep a commonplace book. We open each class by each of us sharing a commonplace quote (just a quote they like from the book we're reading or from another book they've read). 

During the semester I assign a few lines of Shakespeare to memorize, but students are given plenty of time in which to do it. 

Students are also encouraged to take note of/ mark at least three things to bring up in class. This could be a line they liked, something they didn’t understand, something that stood out to them, a vocabulary word- anything. This habit has led to some great discussions!

I want the course to be challenging, but fun, and I don't ever want my students to feel like they're drowning in homework. Other than these things reading is the only assignment.

Q. Are there written assignments, or is the class focused more on engaging with the texts and discussing them in a group? 

A. I do not give writing assignments for this class. The focus is on being able to recall what you read and to talk about it in class. Sometimes that could be a student coming to class and saying, "I don't understand what's going on in this story."  I always say, "Great, you're in the right place." :) Usually, students have no trouble keeping up with the story, but if it happens, that's just fine, it's one of the reasons we're there. 

If a parent would like me to give ideas for writing assignments for their student which would dovetail with what we're reading, I am happy to do that.

Q. What is the format? Is it seminar style, or are there lectures? 

A. I try to hit the happy middle of discussion and lecture. I want our class time together to be well spent, so the class is structured, but not rigidly so. At the beginning of the year, students tend to be quieter, but as the year goes on they open up more as they become comfortable and as they learn to pay attention to what they're reading. It's fun to see them make connections to other books we've read, even from previous years.

Q. Would my student be able to expect historical background and context before jumping into the book? How are classes structured? What happens during class time?

A. Yes, during class we discuss the book we're currently reading. I teach on the book, giving students the context, making sure they understand what they're reading, and explaining things that students may have missed, and we talk about it. During our discussion, we'll bring up some of the vocabulary and language used as well as narrating what we read.

Each student is assigned an author biography to share with the class (usually one per year). The student does some basic research to help give the class an idea of the author's life. I help fill in, as needed. 

The last third (about) of class, we read our Shakespeare play together. This is informal. Whoever feels like reading a lot can choose a character with a lot of lines. If a student doesn't want to read much, they can always choose the second watchman's part. :) We typically change up characters week-to-week. 

Q. Are classes live or pre-recorded?  What if my student misses class? 

A. Classes are live. In-person classes are taught locally, face-to-face, and online classes meet over Zoom.

Let me know if your online student is going to miss a class, and I will record the class and share it with you. If your student is an in-person student who misses class, let me know you'd like a recording of what we covered.

Q. Is there something I can do at my own pace?

A. The Library is for you! All instruction is pre-recorded. You get to choose your pace and your books.

Q. Is there any component that involves religion or is it secular? 

A. I encourage students to ask, "What does this author want me to know?" 

The quote by George MacDonald (from his Unspoken Sermons) on my site's homepage expresses how I want to teach. He says, No teacher should strive to make men think as he thinks, but to lead them to the living Truth, to the Master Himself, of whom alone they can learn anything, who will make them in themselves know what is true by the very seeing of it.

I believe that every good story points to the greatest story: The life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, our savior and the savior of the whole world. I am not teaching a theology course, and I do not try to persuade a student to believe or disbelieve something, but it would be hard to talk about any topic without faith being a part of it. When this comes up because of something in the story, I may explain a reference to the Bible (there are many references in classic literature), or explain what is meant by something in the text we're reading. 

Q. How do you approach literature?

A. I approach literature through other stories. The best way to understand a book is to read a bunch of books. There's a whole world and language of literature.  C. S. Lewis' book, An Experiment in Criticism, is a fantastic guide. My goal for my students is to be challenged, and to have the time/ leisure to expand: expand their minds, their vocabulary, their loves, their imagination, their understanding.  

When we studied foreign languages in our homeschool, I found, through trial and error (sorry first born!), that starting with the actual language was the best way. This was not the way I learned Latin: decline, decline, decline, and then conjugate, conjugate, conjugate, and then translating or reading Latin came much later. Emphasis was laid on memorizing terms and vocabulary and having the macron in the correct place. I see teachers and curriculum sellers approaching story this way. They have graphs and definitions and systems they want students to memorize, meanwhile killing the love of story. 

Opening the book and diving right in, entering the world of literature, is so rewarding, and all the structural things will come in time.

Q. Do these courses count for high school credit? What is the grading process? 

A. Yes, one course is one credit.

I leave the grade up to the parents, but I am happy to help parents decide on a grade, if that is something you want. Please check in with me if you ever have any questions about how your student is doing in class, and/or if you are trying to decide what grade to give and want my input. Feedback from parents and students helps me to be a better teacher, so please feel free to keep the conversation going throughout the year. 

Q.  How many students are in a class? How long is the class? 

A. Classes usually have 4-11 students. The 6th/7th-9th class is 1 hour and 15 minutes long (with a 10 minute break for online students). The 9th-12th class is 1.5 hours long (with a 10 minute break for online students).

Q.  What if classes don’t work out for us?

A. Happiness is guaranteed. If classes aren’t quite what you expected or you’ve got too much on your plate to continue, you can be reimbursed for the classes not taken. This doesn’t include skipping class. :) Contact me for more info. 

Q. How do I register When & how do I pay? What is the cost?

A. To register, go to the enrollment page. Payments are due two weeks before classes begin, but I encourage you to register & pay as soon as you know you’d like to enroll in the event that a class becomes full and no more students are able to enroll.

The costs are $250 (6th-9th grade) & $300 (9th-12th) for a year-long, two-semester, course (27 weeks). If you enroll for just one semester the cost is $125 (6th-9th) or $150 (9th-12th). Contact me for payment information. 

Q. Are all of these courses on your site offered this year?

A. No, only one 6th-9th course (online & in-person) and one 9th-12th course (online & in-person) are offered each year. The current courses being offered are listed at the top of the Course Offerings page. Some years an adult course is offered. (Express interest in an adult course. )

Q. Do you want the students to have a particular copy of the texts, or does any unabridged publication work?  

A. In most cases any unabridged edition is acceptable, but in a few cases a certain editor (as in Andrew Lang for The Arabian Nights) is required, or a specific translation (especially in the Ancients & Epics course) is required.  

Be aware that Amazon now lists multiple book editions on the same listing, which can sometimes mean you don't know which edition you're actually buying. Feel free to buy used. Addall.com/used/ compares prices for you. eBay is often a good resource too. 

Q. At what point do you watch the Library videos-- before, or after the readings?   

A. Watch the video after reading that portion of the book. For example, The video might be titled, Homer's Odyssey, books 1-4, so you would read books 1-4 and then watch the video. The next video in the playlist may be books 5-8, and so on. 

Q. Am I correct that the books with more than one video cover a certain number of chapters per video?  

A.  Yes, that's exactly right. I aim to break it up so the videos aren't too long, and the readings aren't too long either. Often students read the assignment during the week and watch a video (one per week on that schedule, although you can go at any pace you like). 

Q.  Are these downloads or does it grant access to a website (curious if internet access is needed and if there are storage requirements)? 

A. The videos are on YouTube in a private playlist. 

Q. Does the purchase grant access forever or just for the school year? 

A.  Once videos are purchased you have access for 2 full years from the date of purchase.