Please talk me into the complete curriculum packages!

[mchismar]

Hello, I have been researching curricula like crazy lately for my 2nd grade dd and two K'ers (one will be 6 in October, the other is a VERY bright 4yo - she could probably do 1st grade work with no problem, but I'm going to just let her be 4 this year!).
Anyway, I thought I had everything figured out for them...and then I got the Late Summer 2011 issue in my mailbox!
Honestly, I wasn't even considering any of MP products because I thought they were all for older grades. I was thrilled when I saw all the curriculum packages I would need for this year!
I have been putting together my own thing for my dds up until now, and it has worked fine, but with 5 girls ages 1-7, I'm thinking I would love to have something all laid out for me, and something I can stick with in the long run. I love the look of the complete curriculum packages.

These are my questions:
What is the reason for studying Greece and Rome so extensively, over and over again? I'm concerned it might overshadow the importance of studying and knowing God and His Word?
Is all of world history covered over the years? (I see that FM of Mod. Times is not used in 6th grade...could I add this in, or is there a reason it is left out?)
What is the approximate division of time, would you say, is spent on these three areas: the Bible, Greece and Rome, the rest of world history?
What is the curricula centered around? (Latin? Bible? Greece and Rome? ___?)

I know these are lots of tough questions, and if there is an article or something you could direct me to, that would be great too!

Thanks so much,
Michaela

[Enigma]

I have no answers to your questions. I will leave that to tanya.

I just wanted to say we LOVE our packages (K and 5th). After putting together and trying just about everything else out there including some other full curriculum providers, this is exactly what I was looking for. Solid classical with the correct emphasis on the 3R's, not history.

I see no problem with studying Greece and Rome so in depth. Mine see it as similar to fairy tales and we talk about how their lack of Truth contributed to their fall.

[mchismar]

Thank you for your reply! I'm glad to hear you love the curriculum, even after trying so many other things out there. I think I am realizing that history really doesn't need to be the main focus, and the 3Rs should be. I'm pretty sure I will go ahead and order the guides and most of the curriculum for our school year. It seems like a really solid program.
I'm so indecisive, I usually need someone to just give me a nudge in the right direction, lol! Thanks!

[tanya]

Michaela,

I'll try to answer your questions in order:

1) We study Greece and Rome to prepare our students for the study of the Great Books. There is a good article that explains this well on our website. Here's the link: http://www.memoriapress.com/articles/whypagans.html
(There are lots of other articles there that might interest you also.)

2) The reason we don't have FMMT in our curriculum is that we just don't have room for it. You could do it in the 6th grade and then do Greece in the 7th and read Homer in the 8th. That would be a fine plan. Our students have 2 years of AP American history in 9th-10th grades and 2 years of European history in 11th-12th, so we feel like they get enough American/modern history.

3) Our history is broken down into 1 1/2 hr. blocks in grammar school. Our students get American history or geography one day a week in that block, Christian studies another day, Classical studies on the 3rd day, and science on the 4th day. That way, we are studying all areas of history every year. In middle/high school, they continue the study of all of these areas of history as well. The classes just go from 1 1/2 hrs./wk. to 3 hrs./wk.

4) A classical education is centered around the study of Latin and classical history, culminating in the study of the Great Books. Since ours is a classical Christian education, all of our teachers teach from a Christian perspective. Since they are all Christians, everything they present is from a Christian viewpoint.

I hope this helps! If you have more questions, I'll be glad to answer them.

Tanya Charlton

[mchismar]

Thanks, Tanya! This helps to clarify things for me. I'll go check out those articles. I appreciate your time!
~Michaela