The Omnibus: The Journey Commences...

Over the next year I will be undertaking a study of some of the Great Books of western civilization from the Reformation to modern times, which I will attempt to record on this blog. I am doing this for self-enrichment, and also as a preparation for my daughter's Jr. High and High School years, when she will be doing a Great Books study herself. I will be using Veritas Press's Omnibus III as a guide and studying the book selections it covers as well as some of its recommended resources for further information. I will also be using a couple of Teaching Company history courses related to this time period to widen my background knowledge of the world in the time these books were written.
In addition to building my knowledge and understanding of history, literature and God's Word (all of which are covered in the Omnibus curriculum) I also plan to work on sharpening my writing and literary analysis skills. I am hoping that keeping this blog will help me accomplish much of my goal in improving my writing ability. I may also make use of a writing curriculum to guide me in this task, but I haven't yet made a final decision on which curriculum I will use, or whether I will use one at all. To develop my skill in analysis of literature, I plan to reread a book I have studied in the past called How to Read a Book, by Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren. To supplement the study of this book, I will be using Maryalice Newborn's How to Read How to Read a Book and a series of videos on How to Read a Book , sold by the Center for the Study of the Great Ideas. Once I receive the book and guidebook in the mail, I will begin my study of this book as a preparation for the Omnibus study, and then move on to the Omnibus itself. I will be recording that study, as well as the Omnibus study, on this blog throughout the year.
My long-term goal is to get through all six years of Omnibus before my daughter starts the study in seventh grade, so that I will be better prepared to help guide her through the study then. Lord willing, I will also be giving an account of these studies here in the years to come. I take the task of my daughter's education, as well as my own, very seriously, and I want to do everything I can to make the most of it. I am also fully aware of my own human frailty, and will be humbly depending on the Lord's guidance throughout this study. After all, the story of history, and the truly great ideas that have sprung from it, are His story, and who could give an understanding of it better than he?