Ancients Week 1

Chronos cohort meetings are a diving board into the depths of investigation. Here are some ideas for Ancients, week 1.

Week 1 science includes dissecting wheat berries, grass seeds, millet, barley & oats; make a seed collection or try milling your own flour at home!  Sprout some whole grain wheat or oats and see which part of the seed becomes the plant.  Here's a time lapse video of corn sprouting.  We studied cave paintings; try creating your own paintings in a hallway covered with butcher paper. Practice singing & writing the Greek alphabet. Practice blobbing the continents of the globe as well as a zoomed in map of the Fertile Crescent. We studied the Neolithic revolution; make a shaduf like the first farmers out of household materials.

A Repertoire of Knowledge

I've been playing bassoon since age 11, piano since age 5 and singing since before I could speak. Over the course of nearly 4 decades, I've studied the history of musical periods, the literature of many genres, memorized countless songs. I've practiced musical skills: reading music, playing scales, ear-training exercises & vocal techniques, a full repertoire of music. I've reached the point where I can sit with a musical score and keep up with a group of musicians. It's a very specific, but thorough, knowledge set.

Likewise K-12 education should give students a complete repertoire of knowledge across all disciplines, a well-rounded understanding of all times, places & peoples as well as a good balance of skills to process that information. From this general knowledge they can find areas that inspire them, and dive deeper into those, deepening their understanding of topics that most capture their fascination and refining their abilities in those areas.

Chronos is designed with this in mind. Students memorize a 10,000 year timeline across all disciplines. They unpack each time period week by week learning the geo-political history, philosophy, science, math, literature, & arts of each. They wrestle with that knowledge honing math, writing & logic skills. After this 4 year process (Ancients, Medieval, Renaissance & Modern), students start from the beginning again, with a big picture perspective to increase understanding and with increased abilities to integrate & apply it.