Were are an LDS classical homeschooling family. Our children are ages 8, 6, 5, 3, and under 1. Mom writes the blog.
If you’re interested, you can read about Why I Homeschool.
We named our school after the war-call of the Fianna, a group of ancient Irish warriors, to both remember our family’s Irish heritage and inspire us to be great. The Dord Fian was Finn’s horn that called all the Fianna to battle. The Fianna were required to pass rigorous physical tests for membership, but they were also required to be poets. There are many stories about the Fianna collected in Gods and Fighting Men by Lady Augusta Gregory. We adopted their motto for our own: truth in our hearts, strength in our arms, fulfilment in our tongues.
According to legend, after the time of the Fianna, a smith found the Dord Fian among many of the warriors who were lying lifeless in a cave. He blew the Dord Fian once, and they shook. He blew the second time, and they rose up slightly. Then the frightened smith ran from the cave, locking its door behind him. The Fianna called to him from the cave, “You have left us worse than you found us.” The cave was never found again. One day, the Dord Fian will sound the third time and the Great Men will be restored and rise again.
I like this story. I want our school to do the work of the third call of the Dord Fian, causing our children to rise up out of lifelessness, or mere physical life, and become great.
