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advice please
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I plan on purchasing the Planning Your CM Education book, do I need to purchase the DVD as well? Also, is it necessary to buy the CM Organizer? I would like to hear what everyone thinks . I have been like a sponge absorbing all I can about the CM way, I was also very torn about deciding Ambleside Online or SCM . I am def leaning more SCM but would also like to hear what others think and why you chose a certain one. I am so thankful for this forum.
Thanks in advance,
Kassey
I just have the Planning Your CM Education ebook. You only need the video if visual and hearing Sonya talk you through it would help. But, I found the book itself pretty clear and easy to understand in its instructions and steps. That’s just me. Can’t comment on the Organizer, but I prefer paper and I only have one in school at the moment so probably not necessary for me. I like both AO and SCM, so I’m using the SCM history modules but using AO’s suggestions for literature and poetry. I guess I wanted to eventually combine my kids for history/bible/geography so that’s why I chose to go with SCM’s history rotation. I’m just taking what I prefer from each and making it our own which I think the Planning Your CM Education helps with.
Try the CMO free before buying. I only have Internet by phone which makes using things like CMO too difficult. I read the posts about creating a paper version using the Table of Contents of books we will use. Give it a try if you have Internet. That way, you’ll know if you will use it.
The suggestions and YouTube videos and discussion of the Planning book and DVD have helped me so much that I’m certain the full versions are extremely helpful. They’ve made my life simple and I need it to be that way!
Hth,
Becca<><
Planning Your CM Education: I only have the book and it works for me.
Organizer: I also like paper. I make my own organizer using the tables at Open Office so that I can include an entire week for six of us on a two page spread. I also have columns on there for outside activities, dinner menus, extra chores and library books that need to be put on hold. I like being able to see everything at the same time.
AO doesn’t seem to combine children the same way that SCM does, so that is the deal breaker for me. I want as many of my children as possible to be combined.
I agree that the DVD isn’t necessary – the book was enough for me, but then planning is a strength for me, and a lot of what the book describes was intutitive for me. Still useful, I think, especially if you aren’t sure where to begin or want to design your own curriculum.
I don’t use the organizer either – I think that’s going to be a preference thing though. I just happen to prefer paper planning, and I also sometimes have limited internet access and don’t want to be hampered by that by using an online planner.
We use AO. Some of the reasons we chose it over SCM (I was torn at one point too):
– I prefer the way the history modules are spread out over the years in AO (also a 6 year rotation but with the time periods divided up more evenly),
– the book selections are more challenging (could be a pro or con, depending on how you look at it),
– I like the way the booklists are already broken down into a weekly reading list (makes planning easier for me),
– greater number of books available electronically (we’re overseas, so this was important to me),
– also fewer books to purchase each year since I only have to buy for my oldest (and the younger two will use the same books when they come through that year). (rather than having to collect new books every year for all the grade levels of students I happen to have that year.)
It is not designed to be as “combined” as SCM is, although we still do some subjects as a group. I was OK with that – it just works well for our situation and family dynamics. So, those are the reasons why AO was more appealing to me, but again I think it’s going to come down to your personal preference
We’ve only been doing SCM for a year but I love it. I never got the DVD but I know people who have and really liked it. I peeked over at Ambleside and while there is a lot of good info over there my head would just swim reading all the schedules and such. SCM just makes sense to me, I can get my mind wrapped around it. It was a great resource my first year doing Charlotte Mason.
I used the organizer all year and although I would probably have made it work without it I’m glad I have it. It’s so easy to just log on every day and click away at the assignments we’ve done. We’re in Nevada so I don’t need to show reports but if I ever had to I’d have them ready. I love all of Sonya’s videos and I love the curriculum guides.
Next school year will be so easy because basically we’re just continuing on from this year. I love it!!
I use AO for all the same reasons as MamaSnow….
Plus – I have health issues… doing things as a family where I have to take the lead means that on days that I’m sick, nothing gets done.
Also, my oldest 2 are just a couple of years apart, and my oldest has dyslexia. When we did family studies, they were setup to do the same things – and my oldest felt stupid because it was harder for him. Having them in seperate years, doing different things, resolved that issue.
That said, I miss the vision of doing so much together…..
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