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| The Grammar Stage | The first years of schooling (grades 1 – 4) are called the "grammar stage”. During this period, education involves learning facts. Young children enjoy and are very good at memorization, even when they may not understand the importance of what they are learning.
During these years they are presented with the rules of phonics, spelling, and grammar, poetry, stories of history and literature, the multiplication table, geography, dates, events, plant and animal classifications; anything that lends itself to repetition and preservation. In this way, classically educated children are learning the factual foundation of each subject which they will study in depth later.
The grammar period also includes a language, usually Latin or Greek and the children spend time learning and memorizing its vocabulary and grammar.
During the early years of a child, while all three abilities are growing, the ability for knowledge experiences develops with the fastest temp. That is an important and concentrated period when ability for formal academic study of knowledge-related materials is the most gainful. It is possible to teach a child the skill of understanding for example to get information and gather the facts, at this level.
Parents do not need to divide subjects as they can combine them for example teaching language with literature and fine arts, mathematics with natural sciences, history with geography and social studies, with the intension to develop competence in reading, listening, writing, observing, measuring in their child. |
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