Category Archives: Special Needs

Aesop, Truth, & Children

AESOP, TRUTH, & CHILDREN

When we raise or teach young children, we must do so with the understanding that our Christian children are simultaneously citizens of a temporal realm and citizens of a heavenly realm. In both realms they are in need of Truth. In the temporal realm, Aesop’s fables have been prized as an ideal pedagogical vehicle. They […]

Letter from the Editor: Summer 2023

mothers holding their children

In 1946, for the preface to How Heathen Is Britain?, C. S. Lewis shared this observation: Education is only the most fully conscious of the channels whereby each generation influences the next. It is not a closed system. Nothing which was not in the teachers can flow from them into the pupils…. A man whose […]

Reclaiming the Discarded

My son loves a good find. Antique malls and secondhand stores delight his mind. Yesterday he showed me his latest purchase, a set of old radio comedies on cassette to enjoy from his retro-tech cassette player. My daughter is the same way. She once rescued a bedraggled doll with legs dangling. Michelle gave the doll […]

Give Them a Door

Door sits under an arched stone doorway

The Door in the Wall is a slim work of children’s literature that welcomes a student into the world of the Middle Ages, enchants his imagination, and shares a poetic knowledge of life itself. More than this, the little book also embraces all that we hold true in Simply Classical by helping us as parents […]

From the Dark Side to the Light Side: Moral Imagination

From the Dark Side to the Light Side: Moral Imagination

I once rescued my autistic grandson from a pack of bullies at church, so I have his undying devotion. He calls me via FaceTime just about every day and tells me everything going on in his life. (I recount what follows with his and his parents’ permission.) My grandson is a sweet young man, but […]

In Weakness, Strength

In Weakness, Strength

Perhaps our children with special needs are not always at a disadvantage. Perhaps their mental, neurological, and even physical limitations place them at some advantage over their peers, at least when it comes to matters of the Christian faith. Jesus turns weakness into strength. I intend here to speak hope and consolation into the battle-scarred […]

Two Mothers with a Shared Hope

Two Mothers with a Shared Hope

From Cheryl As families and teachers can attest, the impact of autism and related conditions can be profound, complex, and lifelong. Effects often appear early, as I describe in Simply Classical: “Michelle wriggled and squirmed constantly. She craved deep contact, but could not sit still long enough to enjoy being held. Her sensory system seemed […]

Letter from the Editor: Summer 2022

Increasingly in classical schools and homeschools, we hear from those who are teaching students with autism and related conditions. In this issue of the Simply Classical Journal we will contemplate the needs of these children. Let’s begin with some information: The word “autism” derives from the Greek word autos (“self”) and was established by Leo […]

Books Worthy to Own

Books Worthy to Own Thumbnail

“I need help,” she said. “I can no longer change clothes in my bedroom.” Pausing my work, I promised our daughter, Michelle, that I’d help clean her overcrowded room. I knew the usual suspects were partly to blame: Shoes needed to be returned to her closet, papers needed to be sorted, and a good sweeping […]

Truth for All Nations

Truth for All Nations

The Christian Church and classical education are a match made in heaven. In the Gospels, Jesus makes it clear that the kingdom of heaven also belongs to children and even infants (Matthew 19:13-15; Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15-17). St. Paul tells Christian fathers not to provoke their children to anger but instead to raise their children […]