"We decided to offer this course totally free of charge with no commercial advertising anywhere in this course," Karlie Margaret Houser, President of The Narnia Academy, explained. "The Chronicles were something generations of people have grown up reading, and this academy is my way of giving back the joyous experience I have witnessed from thousands of children."
Houser continued, "My objective is simple: Deliver a professional resource for educators, group leaders and individual learners to compliment these fabulous books. It is being provided free of tuition and any other fees because we want to pass on the power of imagination that inspired homeschooling author C. S. Lewis, while properly illustrating the spiritual and allegorical parables of the books and the Bible. Everyone involved in the creation of www.TheNarniaAcademy.org and our courses share the same goal; to deepen the story's magic that has inspired generations of readers."
Enrollments in the free 40-lesson online courses have already topped 25,000 students, weeks before the World Premiere of Prince Caspian on May 16th, 2008.
"We've been extremely pleased by the amount of individuals touched by The Narnia Academy and the astounding writing of C.S. Lewis," Houser added. "Our initial expectations were rather grounded, expecting perhaps 1,000, maybe 2,000 students. And that would have been great! To see the class top 25,000 students and still have continued demand is almost overwhelming."
Learning By Grace, Inc. (www.LearningByGrace.org) originally planned on using the "Beyond The Wardrobe" course exclusively for students currently enrolled in its managed academies, but received such a favorable response that they decided to release it to the general public because of the growing interest in the "Chronicles."
The second course, "Prince Caspian," is also being offered free of enrollment fees, and will be available at least through February 2009. The course is being attended by students in public schools, private schools and parochial schools. Many homeschoolers throughout the U.S. are registered as well as college students. The Narnia Academy has also made registration available to other interested groups such as Christian Church groups, Youth Groups, Homeschooling Associations, Alternative Education classes and others so they can study and discuss the lessons together.
Karlie Margaret Houser, President of The Narnia Academy is available for additional information and engaging interviews by calling Mike Broome at 215.487.3700 (Ext. 67266).
Prince Caspian TheNarniaAcademy.org Tops 25000 Enrollments