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5yo and 7yo — same grade?
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I am brand new to CM. Right now we are doing classic textbook schooling, but I am so excited to start CM! I need to finish up my son’s math, spelling, and reading program for the year as he is in a charter homeschool and is given tests monthly. Do you think it’s realistic to start including CM history, literature, science, etc. right now? Or would it make more sense to start off next school year?
My son is currently in 1st grade, and is 7 years old; my daughter is 5. In August when we start the 2017/18 school year, my son will be a brand-new 8 and my daughter will be 2 months away from turning 6. My daughter asks to “do school,” so currently we are doing 15-minute math and reading lessons daily. She is on a beginner 1st grade level in both. Since she might be caught up to her brother by the new school year, to me it would make sense to start them both in year two. I am planning on doing a hodgepodge of SCM, AO, and my own book choices. Couldn’t I read them the exact same books? Is there any reason not to put them in the same “grade”?
And what exactly should I expect from a 6yo? Is having her sit through all the different subjects too much at that age? She has kind of a hard time right now at 5… about 3 books in and she’s groaning that she just wants me to stop, LOL. (I don’t have her narrate or anything, she just listens while she does puzzles, draws, etc.)
Hi and welcome! I would absolutely start incorporating CM methods as soon as possible. You will be so glad you did!
I think keeping the kids in the same books sounds good. I always kept my kids in the same books and they were several years apart. As my son grew older, I added additional readings for him to do independently.
I always allowed my children to do something with their hands while I read aloud-draw, play with clay, play with small toys, etc. They would have listened to me read all day. See how your daughter does and adjust accordingly. You can always do additional readings with your son if they become too much for your 6 year old.
Also, Charlotte Mason’s method of scheduling works to keep the child from tiring of too many read alouds at once. For instance, you might read aloud from a history book and then do picture study or some other different kind of activity besides reading. Make sure you stagger subjects and activities so as to keep particular areas of the brain from being worn out from too much of a single activity. Short lessons help with this issue as well.
AO moms insist that school is better when you keep the children separated into their own years. SCM moms think it’s better to combine family learning as much as possible. You get to do whatever rings true to you and works best for your family! I used AO one year. Other than that, I’ve always planned my family’s studies myself. I didn’t even know SCM existed until after my son graduated from high school. I always preferred to keep my family learning together as much as possible. I assigned my son additional readings as he grew older and by high school he was pretty much doing his own thing. We continued to have a family read aloud time up until he graduated.
I keep my children together, except for math and language arts, those I keep age/grade/ability/maturity appropriate. My two oldest are 18 months apart but two grades apart in LA but only one grade apart in math. They do all the other subjects together as a family.
For us those two subject areas require differences and the older the kids got the more obvious so I am glad that I did not have my second automatically bumped up to my first childs level and just took his pace.
And as for your youngest and too much… our rule for 6 and under is they don’t have to sit with us and can quietly play in the area while I read. I am amazed that he often listens and input he gives and the entire time he was playing cars.
Sometimes my youngest, just turned 6, will do school other days he does not. He is in Kinder and we are not required by our state to school until the fall after turning 6, so I am pretty relaxed.
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