A proper English home library            As preparation for a group study, reading will have had to take place ahead of time to provide a context for this exploratory and discovery approach. That reading can be to or with or alternating or silent or familial or parental or with books on tape or however you want to do it. If you don’t actually read the material (or hear it read) you won’t appreciate most of my suggestions.  (Videos are no substitute, though they can help flesh out certain rich imaginative qualities during the investigation.)       Curriculum is a tool, a resource only, a place to begin. In my own homeschooling efforts, I integrated all areas of study and life into whatever passion we were pursuing as a family. If that passion was paleontology, I found a quite natural way to incorporate many different subject concepts into the ordinary discovery process related to that subject. This approach is eclectic, to say the least, and generally more work than those that only use a workbook/one-right-answer-&-one-right-way approach. This is not a study of the Narnian Chronicles as literature, per se, though I will include resources for those of you (perhaps with older students who’ve expressed an interest) who want to pursue that avenue of investigation more closely.       Take the time to read this brief overview of the life of C.S. ("Jack") Lewis here  >  >  >  >  >.   Here's another short overview article that's well worth reading, too.  The title of this piece is "Masterpiece of Christian Allegory"  >  >  >  > Read my original article (inspired in part by Lewis' The Last Battle) here:  "WELCOME TO THE STABLE"

"Always winter and never Christmas"?  I don't think so!  Visit my "Christmas Made Simpler" pages starting here > > >       I cannot attempt to address here every possible variable for your homeschooling/familial/church group/youth group situation. If you want to email me, I’ll brainstorm with you (free of charge) about how some of these things might work best in your particular situation.  I have taught a similar curriculum to middle school students (in a regular classroom format), to high school students in a very informal and voluntary educational setting, and to adults in a Home Group setting.  Each time I've made adaptations.  You will, too.        Practically speaking, I had to choose a hypothetical format in which to make the application of these suggestions, so I chose that of a group of homeschooling families studying across a couple of age groups, disparate ability levels, and varying interests. Here’s how I would suggest you do it:

COURSE OVERVIEW:  Home/individual study (mainly reading or reviewing the books and using a chart to build a character list and keep track of the plot – this is explained later) with collaborative twice-a-month group meetings – 7 teams – 7 rotating themes – 8 or 9 sessions in total WHEN/HOW OFTEN?  Your meetings could be scheduled weekly, but more likely a twice-a-month/every-other-week schedule will work better. That will give students and parents alike more preparation time.

WHY WORK IN TEAMS & HOW?   I would suggest that if you’re studying this in a homeschool group of (say) 6-10 families that either each family work together as a team or that some other appropriate division into 7 teams be made. One (very brave!) homeschool parent could head up several 7-10 year olds, for instance, and another one or two parents lead a team of the youngest children, and so forth. Working together as a group toward a worthwhile end amid great obstacles is one of the great themes of the Narnian Chronicles. This is your chance to get to live that theme out loud and in person.

WHERE?   Identify a place where you’ll have the collaborative meetings of your "FRIENDS OF NARNIA" group. Perhaps, one or more of the participating families will have homes large enough to host the events. A church or community hall or covered park pavilion with outside play area/picnic tables would be ideal, depending upon seasonal weather conditions. Having a kitchen available would be splendid.  But remember: not even Narnia is perfect.  Brainstorm with your group to identify a setting that will work well enough for you.

GENERAL FORMAT?  Each week’s study will have seven parts centering around the great repeating themes in each of the seven books. These are "epic themes" that recur in the sort of literature that C.S. Lewis taught as a professor of Medieval and Renaissance Literature and Poetry. Each study I offer for each of the seven books will feature divisions into work centered on these seven themes.

FRIENDSHIP  in Narnia:  Learning how to measure friendship and how to become a True Friend are lessons retaught in each of the seven books.  FAITH  in Narnia:   Who a Narnian believes in and what a Narnian believes to be true have a real impact on actions and decisions.  (It does in this world, too.)  FORTITUDE  in Narnia:  Being willing to name a fear and face that fear in the presence of formidable opposition is the context for disclosing character in Narnia (and in our world, too).  FREEDOM  in Narnia:  In all worlds, real Freedom is not the right to do whatever you want whenever you want to do it, but something greater:  the ability to choose the right and good and true and act upon it.  In Narnia, as elsewhere, getting and staying Free usually requires a fight. FOES  of Narnia:  Being able to recognize a real Enemy is as important as being able to recognize a True Friend, a lesson that is relearned in each of the Chronicles. FEATURES  of Narnia:  Lewis takes such trouble with the flora and fauna and geography of Narnia that we ought to take special notice of his imaginative efforts in those directions in each book.  FEASTS  of Narnia:  Food shared among Narnian friends in common, quiet ways and food used to fortify before battles and celebrate victories afterwards are worth a separate study.  Some of the richest of Lewis' allegory is hidden in both the simple meals of friendship and his recurring epic theme of feasting.  The teams will rotate themes, so that (for instance) when The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe is studied, Team 1 will answer the questions and do the discovery activities related to "FRIENDSHIP in Narnia." At the group meeting, they will present their discoveries to the larger group, taking 15-20 minutes to do so. Team 2 will have studied "FAITH in Narnia" (related to LWW) and make a presentation to the group.  For the next group meeting, however, Team 1 may be the "FEASTS" team, and Team 2 may have studied "FOES of Narnia."  Here’s how a 2 ½ hour cooperative study meeting might be scheduled: 1st hour: Presentations of "FRIENDSHIP," "FEATURES" and "FOES" study teams.  (Short break, as needed, between the hours.) 2nd hour: Presentations of "FORTITUDE," "FAITH" and "FREEDOM" study teams. Last ½ hour (or longer): A Narnian Feast hosted by that session’s "FEASTS" team. This format would probably work well for a morning session that ends in the feast as lunch.  If you wanted to so the coop at night (to involve all the parents and, perhaps, extended family), the feast could come first as an early supper, followed by the sharing sessions related to the other themes.

The very first meeting of FRIENDS OF NARNIA is the organizing meeting during which the Teams will be formed, chose a name and motto, make a group banner or flag, and put together each student’s Narnian Notebook which will be filled as the study progresses. An introduction to C.S. Lewis can be given by either a parent or student who is familiar with the tales. (Reference materials for developing this introduction are supplied in the notes for the first meeting.) The "FEAST" will be a Proper English High Tea, created according to Brisith standards and using proper British recipes. The daily ritual of afternoon tea was an important one to Lewis and the recurrence of the fortifying, physically sustaining, mentally stabilizing, and oh-so-British ritual is a significant one in the Chronicles of Narnia. Learning how to make a proper "cuppa" is no small feat. Learning how to appreciate moments taken away from mental and physical labors to do something as civilized as relish tea, treats and conversation is a discipline that Lewis practised from his childhood.

The last session (number 9) is optional. It is dramatic in nature with monologues from the different books to be mastered by students (and parents, too, if a real spirit of Narnia equality is to exist!). I would suggest that if the 9th session is undertaken, that it be done in an evening setting so that grandparents, friends and so forth can be invited to have a glimpse into the work that has gone into the study. The "program" can last an hour or so with an adjoining room displaying the works accumulated in the study and the projects done. Each participating family can bring a "Narnian Treat" they learned how to prepare during the course of study. For those groups more adventuresome, a true "FEAST" could be undertaken and the monologues done as entertainment in a dinner-theater sort of format. Final, formal presentation settings are often a lot of work – I readily admit that! – but they are memorable and climactic and bring a certain sort of satisfaction to families and students, particularly homeschoolers who often miss the more public "tah dah" of recognition for their substantial (and fun!) work. Now, onto a page with some of the best-on-the-net and other resources for you to use as you begin your "FRIENDS OF NARNIA" study  >  >  >  >  >  Copyright © 2005 Georgia Ana Larson, All rights reserved

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