Besides purchasing The Well Trained Mind book, there are several other books that she recommends for a Classical home school curriculum. The book follows the Grammar Stage (grades K-4), Logic Stage (grades 5-8) and the Rhetoric Stage (grades 9-12)
Here is a great quote from the book, "A classical education follows a specific three-part pattern: the mind must be first supplied with facts and images, then given the logical tools for organization of those facts and images, and finally equipped to express conclusions."
This book is such a wealth of resources. She gives you complete instructions on what to teach each year, what to purchase, sample schedules, encouragement for parents, understanding of why you are homeschooling, and much more. When I first read this book I was very overwhelmed, but now looking at it again I see what a complete resource it will be for me for years to come.
I love the approach she uses especially in language and writing. Textbooks are used a bit but much more in the older grades than younger grades. This is a very simple guide to follow and can be your main homeschool guide for many years. There is so much in this book! I can't possibly list all the resources, but there are some great resources worth mentioning here besides getting the actual book itself.
Here are some books that were recommended in The Well Trained Mind. This is my simplified version along with some of my own recommendations:
Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons
I Can Read it All By Myself Beginner Books series
Books on tape
Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease
Zaner-Bloser Handwriting series
Bubbles, Rainbows, and Worms: Science Experiments for Preschool Children
First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind
The 3Rs by Ruth Beechick
Holey Cards
Kingfisher Illustrated History of the World
1st grade - Ancient History (5000BC-400AD) 2nd grade - Medieval-Early Renaissance (400-1600) 3rd grade - Late Renaissance-Early Modern (1600-1850) 4th grade - Modern (1850-present)
Joy Hakim, History of US series
Don't worry the book gives you tons of books and resources you can use to teach these periods of History and Science! First grade - Animals, humans and plants Second grade - Earth Science and Astronomy Third Grade - Chemistry Fourth grade - Physics
Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia
Latin Primer book 1 and 2 by Martha Wilson
Art and Music - art technique and learning about great artists Drawing with Children
What Makes a ....
A Coloring Book of Great Composers
Masters of Classical Music Series
If you don't like the resources listed here, don't worry, the book has so many more resources listed that you can use. This is just a small sampling of what can be used in a classical home school environment. The book takes you all the way from Kindergarten through graduation. I encourage you to get the book The Well Trained Mind and read through it.
More information on:
Classical Homeschool Curriculum
Another moms review of The Well Trained Mind for Classical Home School help.