Teaching history the WTM way - with Calliope Magazine as a supplement

The Well Trained Mind way of studying history calls for a chronological approach:
Year One - Ancients
Year Two - Medieval
Year Three - Rennaissance
Year Four - Modern

Repeat three times for a 12 year course of study. Each time you revisit a period, you go more deeply, with more emphasis on original documents, and making more connections with events and themes in other areas and time periods.


Calliope, published by Carus Publishing (which, if you have young kids you might recognize as publishers of Cricket & Babybug magazines; & whose big claim to fame is a) great content & b) no advertising!) is a wonderful history magazine, officially aimed for kids 9-14, but in our house it appeals to a much larger age range. Each issue is usually dedicated to a time period, though occasionally they do an issue on a theme instead. Calliope is a great resource, but it can be hard to work it into your curriculum, since it jumps all over place on the timeline.

The trick to this is to subscribe to it early on in your homeschool career, so that you get an inventory of it. When it arrives in your mailbox, greet it cheerfully, drop it on the coffee table and let it be pleasure reading for anyone who wants to pick it up. Then put it safely away in a magazine folder on your book case.

In August, when you're planning your history year, dig out your spine text (such as Story of the World & Kingfisher Encyclopedia for the younger students, and Susan Wise Bauer's new history books for the older ones). Plan out your history spine (see the planning post earlier this week) and then pull out your stocked up Calliope magazines.

They conveniently list the time period on the cover.

First, pull out all the issues which are relevant to your time period & put the rest away.

Second, put your extracted issues in chronological order.

Third, put a sticky on each issue with the Schedule Week # & Spine Chapter Number which ties into the readings you'll be doing. Make a notation on your subject planner for the appropriate weeks indicating Calliope as supplementary reading.

Fourth, file all the extracted Calliope magazines in a separate magazine box, in the order which will match your spine reading. Anyone is allowed to read any issue at any time, but an issue taken from this box must be filed back in the correct place. (insert here whatever threats required to assure compliance from your kids!)

Here's our stack from last year (Medieval ages, from the fall of Rome right up to the Age of Exploration)

Take advantage of savings: use Code N565 order two magazine subscriptions and save $14. Go here to read more about Calliope and the other magazines avail, & to subscribe.