The Well-Trained Mind

A Guide to Classical Education at Home (Third Edition)

By: Susan Wise Bauer, Jessie Wise

Narrated by: Suzanne Toren

The Well-Trained Mind will instruct you, step by step, on how to give your child an academically rigorous, comprehensive education from preschool through high school - one that will train him or her to read, to think, to understand, to be well-rounded and curious about learning. Veteran home educators Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer outline the classical pattern of education called the trivium, which organizes learning around the maturing capacity of the child's mind and comprises three stages: the elementary school "grammar stage", the middle school "logic stage", and the high school "rhetoric stage." Using this theory as your model, you'll be able to instruct your child in all levels of reading, writing, history, geography, mathematics, science, foreign languages, rhetoric, logic, art, and music, regardless of your own aptitude in those subjects.

This newly revised edition contains completely updated ordering information for all curricula and books, new and expanded curricula recommendations, new material on using computers and distance-learning resources, answers to common questions about home education, information about educational support groups, and advice on practical matters such as working with your local school board, preparing a high school transcript, and applying to colleges.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2009, 2004, 1999 Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Great book, but would work better in print.

Wonderful and informative book on giving your child a classical education. Only downside to the audio version is there are many lists, schedules, resource names, etc. that are tedious to listen to and would be much more helpful to see in written format. Will probably buy the print version at some point, but this version is helpful for getting the overall information.

Great for Advanced Learning!

Any additional comments?

This method is perfect for those who want their child to have a well rounded, advanced education! We have been using this method for years, and both of my kids test above average and gifted when we tested for public school.

Truly a great book

it's not like other books that have related story line. This is very clear on prividing methids for educators-parents. It is very well done on every subject , and it gives direction on the time line for management.

somewhat helpful

I found this book to be somewhat helpful but felt most of the suggestions for homeschooling your child were unrealistic for my family. However, if you have the time and money homeschooling with the classical child model could be very successful.

good book but needs additional support

I bought the book hoping to provide some structure and direction in educating my kid in this pandemic when schools are either closed or it is risky to send the child. The content is good and I agree with the author that the foundation needs to be strong before the kid can move to higher learning. This requires some rote learning and adding stuff in the memory bank. Consider these as tools for learning. For example, if you are a carpenter, you wouldn't forge a hammer or saw before starting a new assignment. Similarly, some things need to be in memory before the child can proceed. Coming to the review, I listen to the book during my evening walks but as others have mentioned, this is not a book you would like to listen but rather read. There are so many resources and books mentioned that you can't write them down, there is no associated resource which provides that list. After a while, it just becomes cumbersome and you wonder if buying the book in this format was a good choice. Any future buyers, please buy the hard copy.

Thank for writing this amazing book 🙏

As a parent I’m so lost in the abundance of games, books, classes and what not. This book gives you a solid roadmap to live by raising well rounded people

Good ideas

They do recommend a lot of their own products, but their method seems good. I will probably take a more relaxed approach following their guidelines 2-3 days a week and just do family reading/projects for the other 2. My children are in 2nd & k. I didn't read the middle school or high school chapters.

Detailed recommendation for subjects and curriculums

This is very thorough recommendation of each grade level and subjects they think should be completed along with recommendations for curriculum and activities.

supremely informative!

a must read if you're thinking of homeschooling! I highly recommend listening to this on audible!

The home school bible!

A must-read for anyone questioning the "normal" education path for your kids. This is another option.