Dear Friends,
It is both fitting and right to give thanks to God and to you for the way Study The Great Books continues to grow. As I write this letter we are only 47 readers away from 1,000 free subscribers! The online reach of our resources continues to grow as I am getting more and more reports of the beta version of our Great Books study guides being used in classical schools in various parts of the U.S. and in homeschools all around the world including places like Germany and Australia! It’s an incredible blessing to know that this work is already helping others give their children and students the best education possible, namely, a Classical Christian Education.
As STGB continues to plod after our goal of creating a complete 7-12 grade Humanities curriculum we are now reaching the point where it’s time to take some “next steps” toward creating print editions for marketing. Because of the incredible support I have received from brothers and sisters just like you I was recently able to acquire a new computer with the power I need to run a quality publishing software. I am currently researching various software options and hope to be making a purchase soon. Any of you who may have experience in this area I would welcome your suggestions and advice.
Other exciting news for STGB includes that we will be at The Arizona Families Home Educator Conference this July 12-13 in Phoenix, AZ. This is a very large homeschooling convention and it will be a phenomenal opportunity for getting the word out about our curriculum project, to garner additional financial support, and to help equip more families with super-affordable CCE resources. STGB is also attempting to get a booth at the annual Repairing the Ruins conference this June in Atlanta. Unfortunately we didn’t move quick enough and are on a wait list for that conference. Pray for a cancellation so that we can get in there!
As far as a general progress report goes, we are at about 60% completion for the production of our 7th grade History and Literature study guides and at about 75% completion for the 8th grade History and Literature material. All of this is in reference to the baseline educational content. The work of creating full color layouts, adding artwork, maps, and getting them ready for hard copy is a whole other step (but we are working that way)! Thankfully this wonderful platform called Substack makes our material accessible and completely usable in the meanwhile while we continue to labor towards what will undoubtedly be a beautiful finished product in the end.
If you want to keep an eye on our progress the best place to do this is at our pinned post on the STGB site entitled “Directory of Resources.” Here you can access for free all of the online versions of our study guides. We will never charge a dime for these because we want everyone to have the ability to engage the Great Books even when money is tight. Even so, paid subscribers get access to even more as we make PDF versions available with additional helps and resources and, of course, easily printable for more convenient use in classrooms and at home. Paid subscribers now also have access to my doctoral dissertation concerning the role stories play in virtue education. I hope that is a blessing to all who have a chance to read it.
Most recently we have just wrapped up study Guides for Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Eusebius’ Church History, so make sure you take a moment to check those out. You should also catch some of our top articles like “What is a Liberal Arts Education?” or “On the Marking of Books” or “Why Christians Should Study Classical Languages.” Or if you are looking for something more eccentric you should check out “On Water Being Wet.”
Thanks for your prayers and support, whether it be financial, verbal encouragement, or sharing with others. If you would like to support us financially with a monthly or annual commitment, becoming a partner in bringing Classical Christian Education to thousands of families around the world, there is no better time than now. For one month STGB is offering our Spring sale making our monthly subscription just $4 a month and our annual subscription just $40 a year. You will get first access to all Beta curriculum in accessible PDFs and you will help to power this project forward to completion.
Thanks for all you do!
In Christ Alone,
Jacob Allee