Heart Education
What is heart education?
Right now we’re currently studying Ancient Greece as part of our Story of The World history unit. As we were approaching this time period, admittedly, I was not very excited about it. I found myself putting the story book off and prioritizing other learning materials. I mentioned it to a friend of mine and she quickly responded with a few podcasts that she thought I might like. They sat in my message folders for a few days and then while I was cleaning and trying to find something good to listen to, I thought I’d try them out. And, I LOVED them. One podcast in particular, opened my eyes to God’s universal story in Greek Mythology. And, just like that, I was hooked.
That night I got online and reserved all the greek mythology books I could find at the library. Threw this book and this one into my Amazon cart and by the next afternoon I was cracking open the story of the war among the Gods. Soon we were reading of Demeter and Persephone and I was just totally all into it. My kids, on the other hand, were not nearly as interested. Since this was all unfamiliar territory to them, I knew it might take a while. But, meanwhile I was secretly searching for the stories inside the story - the ones I am familiar with - the ones of good and evil and of things that once were and whisperings of distant prophecies of what was to come.
As the kids were detailing some map work, I read aloud to them from the Classic Starts Greek Myths. We came to the story of Hercules who needed to prove to King Eurystheus he was the strongest man on Earth. He was given 12 impossible tasks to complete, and his final task was to wrestle and bring a three-headed dog who guarded Hades’ underworld back to the king. Hercules completed all of the tasks, which probably should’ve been what impressed us, but we all took an interest in the picture at the bottom of the page of Cerberus - this massive black three headed dog. Without even a second thought, the words fell out of my mouth…huh…this actually reminds me a lot of another three headed dog in another story we’ve read. In true twin fashion, the girls, shouted out in unison…Harry Potter!
And then we went down the rabbit hole! In fact, it wasn’t even me really. It was the girls this time. They could see it before I even could - Medusa, with her Gargon hair full of snakes that turn people into stone seemed an awful like the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets. Hermes = Hermione. Narcissa Malfoy = Narcissus. In the Greek story of Narcissus he falls in love with himself and repeatedly stares at himself in a pond, which is likened to the Mirror of Erised Harry becomes attached to. And, come to find out, in the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, Orpheus uses a harp to get Cerberus to sleep so he can cross under a door into the underworld…which is basically the exact plot to enter into the Chamber of Secrets. My friend had also shared this amazing podcast with Jordan Peterson where he examines the meaning and connection to greek mythology and the golden snitch with life. He talks about it in his book 12 Rules for Life. After I heard the podcast, everything REALLY started to come together with me — including how all of it - Harry Potter, Greek Mythology - the gospel - all of this is truly tied to heart education.
At this point, everything we were learning not only had my heart, but also the girls’. The discovery was magical for all of us and it was so fun to see them thirst for more stories - searching and looking for familiar connections between Harry Potter and the Greek myths. And since Harry Potter was something they had already loved, when their worlds collaborated, they just became so invested. Because of the Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets, they took took a particular interest in Hades and Medusa. One morning I found them making a perler bead creation of Medusa and by that afternoon they added Zeus, Aphrodite, and Hades. I had some books setting out in our school room - specific to each God/Goddess and I saw them picking up and reading those books without me prompting. I had The Lightning Thief also sitting on our shelf and within a few days the girls had also picked it up and were hooked. Through this process, there was no pushing nor bribing to learn something - they did it simply because they wanted to. And one day I know they’ll be able to see the even bigger stories at play here.
But, right now, at this stage of learning is where true acquisition of knowledge is beginning. This is the stage where facts and stories and things we yearn for become apart of who we are. It’s an enlightenment period - one where once we cross into - we become different people. It fills us. The fire within is lit. And because of that we are no longer able to return to who we were before.
This is what heart education is.
As the famous Greek philosopher, Aristotle, proclaimed thousands of years ago…“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” This is not a new educational philosophy. This is a forgotten foundational truth to how we learn and progress through life - spiritually, mentally, physically, and emotionally. First, we must touch our hearts, then we can fill our minds. The human brain wants to forget things because we are intaking and processing things all day long - so it’s looking to throw out the junk. By touching our hearts first-we’re giving our brain a reason to say, oh this is important, I better hold onto this knowledge. If we aren’t having these experiences in our homes, it won’t be long before we’re feeling burnt out and thinking this whole homeschool thing isn’t for us — because we aren’t reaching any sort of depth - the kind of depth that gives our whole beings purpose.
One of the ways you’ll know you have reached heart inspired education is when what children are learning is expressed through their play (ie Medusa perler beads). This is because an internal motivation to learn and explore more has been created. And taking this one step further…this is why freedom and exploration in learning and stepping away from prescribed lessons and spoon-fed instruction and rigid standards followed by rigid tests is just so critical to our growth and especially the nourishment of our spirits. This transformation is how we become who we are - how we find and develop our passions. Is this not the transformative process our souls seek? And provided with the right environment, isn’t this where self-education directed by the Spirit really blossoms? We know this, but do we really reach for it and create homes that emulate that?
Because simply put, you cannot teach and reach and guide a child’s heart you do not have.
Nor, can you reach your own.
The Well-Educated Heart
So, how do we learn how to touch our hearts first? And our children’s hearts? I am a big believer, as mothers, we always need to be striving to learn more and better ourselves especially as we are guiding our children. There are many many ways to do this, but one resource I’ve found to be particularly helpful is The Well-Educated Heart (WEH). And if this posts speaks to you and you’re finding you’re craving more of this heart-based education for you and your family, WEH is going to be one of the best places you can begin. I talk about WEH on IG all the time and I just can’t recommend it enough. The WEH community and philosophy has become very dear to me. You’ll learn to appreciate the things that speak to your heart & soul — music, art, poetry, stories, nature, joy, imagination, history, language, and, yes, even math and science. Through WEH, we are “dedicated to building a community of families who are learning to restore the lost art of educating through the Arts [and we] seek to preserve a culture of faith, freedom, and family, and a love of the good, the true, and the beautiful.” This captures so much of what we strive for in our home.
Let me help walk you through what to expect with WEH. Now, admittedly, the first time I visited the website, I felt like everything felt a little…old. And, if that’s you, just look past that. It actually took me going back a number of times wondering what all the fuss was about, but I am so glad I stuck around.
First, you should know everything is available for free on WEH. So, no excuses. And, second, everything is approached from a Christian worldview — so God is included in everything, yet there are no specific denominational beliefs taught.
There are a few main resources WEH offers:
Catch The Vision (CTV)
This is where everyone should start. It is for mothers since that is the most important place to start. You have to have your heart in the right place before you can touch your children’s. Think of CTV as an on-line course you’re going to listen to and read from. There are six sections to explore. After the introduction, start with the first one, The Mother’s Heart. You’ll listen to audios here and read a little bit. Marlene, the founder, will tell you, go slow and don’t over eat from this grande buffet of information…what is available feels endless. Me, on the other hand, I cruised through it all…so I guess either way! But, still, two years later, I go back and digest and find and pull from all of these sections all of the time.
Rotation Schedule and The Libraries of Hope also referred to as the Forgotten Classics (LOH)
You’ll see this under Rotation at the top of their website. The Forgotten Classics are a preservation project of high quality literature. It is all available for free to read online under the Rotation Schedule or you can purchase the book version in the Store.
I am going to take a little leap here and say skip over this if you’re brand new to WEH. If you’re familiar with classical literature and are aware of the loss of quality materials used in education today - then you will probably gravitate to and love this section. Those who resonate with Charolette Mason will also really like this section, but I’d still start with “Catch The Vision.” As you work through CTV, you’ll come to a better understanding of the rotation and Libraries of Hope.
Mother’s of Influence/Mother’s University (MOI/MU)
If you’ve ever heard me mention my MOI group - this is where it comes from. Each month, a group of like-minded mothers and I gather and discuss what we’re learning with the content from WEH. We started with the CTV course and now we’re working through the Mother’s University for our second time. Don’t jump here until you’ve gone through CTV course-again you’ll understand more about MOI/MU once you go through that. One day I’ll do a post on our MOI group and how we structure it if you’re interested in starting your own. These groups are organized all over the world. Originally, I wasn’t aware of one by me (turns out there are a few), but I just jumped in and made my own and would totally encourage you to do the same once you get to this point.
How do we use WEH?
The best answer to this is that it is always evolving. The information doesn’t change, but I am changing and learning, right? I remember the first year, going through the materials and thinking, man, I just don’t use a lot of poetry. Not my thing. And, now, two years later, I am finding myself drawn to good poetry and wanting to expose my children to it and working on memory work because it’s starting to speak to my heart. But, it’s taken time. In some areas I’ve evolved quickly and embraced changes. Others, I’ve been slower in. This is all part of the journey. It’ll look different for you.
To back up though, at first, the CTV course, Marlene’s podcast, and the Take 5’s is pretty much where I spent all my time. Now, I spend most of my time in the MU with my MOI group, but I am constantly going back to reference things from the other areas as well. Overall, right now, I would say I primarily use WEH for the CTV and MU content.
The WEH resources have also helped me tremendously with the spiritual environment in our home and this will be the case for anyone who exercises using these materials. If we share the same faith beliefs, you may be interested in utilizing the Red Headed Hostess (RHH) to supplement your scripture study. As I was working through the CTV course a few years ago, I learned the RHH team had also worked through the course and began implementing many of the ideas into their learning materials so you’ll see things like poetry/hymns, art study, storytelling, and heart-warming activities in their subscription kits. Even if you aren’t a subscriber though, you’ll see these philosophies start to overflow into the other areas of your home, including gospel study.
As far as the rotation goes, the first year I was introduced to WEH, I thought I’d try it and use digital versions of the Forgotten Classic books. It was an ambitious goal and one I hardly touched. It was just too much with everything else we were doing and I don’t think I was as ready as I thought I was. Now, I am looking into purchasing some of the Forgotten Classics and trying to think on how I can utilize the rotation more in this upcoming year. I still feel like I may feel more comfortable utilizing the rotation us as the kids get older though. Early childhood is such a fun time to explore and do “childish” things and because that is how you reach young children’s hearts. Some of the LOH material is definitely for older children. But, I am thinking much more about it.
The other things I’ve learned in the MU have really started to influence our home environment - more poetry, more hymns, more stories, ect. Right now, I am reading a book of Marlene’s from the MU on Language Arts because I am trying to step away from some textbooks and hoping I’ll find some answers to what we need to do. And, I’m hoping to invest in the Mother’s Learning Library once our homeschool budget opens back up in April. We’ll see how the next few months unfold…there are some other areas I am watching closely…things in development…and I suspect everything will continue to evolve for us however they’re supposed to.
Finally, I am also apart of the paid Mother’s of Influence Community. Here, we have access to a like-minded forum with those using the materials and probably more specifically the rotation, virtual mini-classes and workshops. There are some wise mentors in this group that also communicate and work with junior high and high school students so it’s something I am keeping my eye on for the future.
Any questions? When you dive in, let me know how it goes!
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