Fall

Well, a new school year is upon us. This fall I am teaching three classes to homeschooled children.

Composition II:
Composition I was imitation and analysis of sentences and paragraphs ala Francis Donnelly, and the first three progymnasmata exercises (narrative, description, and fable) ala D'Angelo and other sources. We also did a grammar review via sentence diagramming. Now, Composition II is going to introduce the rest of the progymn exercises, and the beginnings of the canons of invention. We are also taking a tour through figures of speech. I am thinking that next year, if atrophy doesn't keep me from teaching Composition III, I will use Andrew Kerns' material, The Lost Tools of Writing. To that end, I am looking f0rward to a conference in Colorado Spring next month on that subject. I'll try to post here some of the things I learn there.

Worldviews:
This is the second of a two year class for highschoolers. Using the material provided by Summit Ministries and David Noebel's book "Understanding the Times" as our jumping-off spot, we study 10 different discipline areas from 4 different western worldviews, and prepare for college work along the way. They have lots of reading, writing, and analyzing. It is the class our homeschooled kids like to complain about :-)

Chorus:
This is described below. This year we have 104 songbirds in the flock, and are adding a second auditioned ensemble for high school women's voices.

All these are keeping me happy and challeneged!