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Brand New & Overwhelmed
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Hi, I’m just looking into CM and considering it for 2016-2017 – grade 1 for my daughter. I’m overwhelmed and unsure of all I see on the website. It seems like I need to spend a fortune getting all the materials and resources. I would love to have a friend who could “hold my hand” and help me make sense of what I believe to be a wonderful way to educate my daughter at home. I’m leaning toward “Keep It Simple”, but it doesn’t seem simple to teach 10+ subjects a day! However, I’m new to this, so maybe it is “simple”. (?) Also, I’m not crafty or artistic! I don’t knit or paint or play an instrument! How can I possibly do this?
Hi there! I’ve just finished my first year with CM (1st grade for my daughter as well) and it really is wonderful! I was incredibly overwhelmed at first, and thankfully I met a lovely local friend who has used CM for quite some time. She “held my hand” and helped me so much this year! If you’d like to email me I’d be glad to share a general outline of how I planned our school days, and answer any questions you might have: amanda at e-bakers dot com. Please keep in mind though that this is only my first year with CM, and I am by no means as knowledgable as some of the other ladies on this board!
Amanda
Remember, there are ideals, and then there’s reality. You make the program/philosophy work for you. Don’t feel you have to do jump in with all 10 subjects! Feel free to start with math, phonics, copywork and nature study for grade 1. Thats it!
Nor do you have to do them all every day: you could do music on Monday, poetry Tuesday, picture study Wednesday, hymn study Thursday and nature study Friday.
What we’ll be doing with our 6 year old:
– Math, phonics and copywork daily.
– Music and art once a week
– Habits training three times a week
– Then, she joins in with her big brother for our world culture/countries study as she chooses (not required)
A resource that I LOVE for art study is “Enjoying Art Together” from My Fathers World. Honestly the best resource Ive found for picture study with young children.
Hi, Alisha –
Let me reassure you that you can do this. I’m not artsy or craftsy; I don’t knit or paint; I didn’t know any history or geography when I started homeschooling my children. The beauty of this method is that you can learn right along with them, and that shared enthusiasm for new discoveries binds your hearts together even more!
It makes total sense that you are feeling somewhat overwhelmed thinking about a brand new venture. It can seem very overwhelming when you’ve never done it before. I remember how overwhelmed I felt about cooking a meal when I first got married. I didn’t know how to cook the various dishes, let alone time them all to be ready at the dinner hour! But as with anything new, it got easier as I went alone. And homeschooling the CM way will get easier as you do it. You’ll be just fine.
Don’t let your own past schooling taint your view of the CM approach. Yes, you might do 10 subjects in a day, but they aren’t the 50-minute classes like we got used to in our school years. They are short, meaningful, and provide a wonderful variety that will make each day’s schoolwork a joy.
You don’t have to spend a lot to give your child a CM education. You can find artist pictures on the Internet. You can also find composers’ music there. You can find many of the literature selections in the library or used on Amazon for pennies on the dollar. You can learn handicrafts from Pinterest and YouTube videos. The resources we offer are just one option designed to make it convenient, but you can still provide a wonderfully rich education with other resources too.
And if it would ease your mind, feel free to ease into the full approach. You can start with just the basics, then add one or two subjects at a time as you feel ready. I think you’ll discover that the CM approach is an enjoyable method, and you’ll enjoy it once you get going.
Hi and welcome Alisha! I know it might seem overwhelming but things are really simple when homeschooling such a young age. While all the wonderful resources here are amazing, you really don’t need them all for a child that age. They are here for moms who want them but they are not necessary.
When my kids were little, our finances were pretty tight. The only curriculum I purchased was Math U See. Other than that, we used the library. I did purchase How To Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons as well. Then we just read, read, read. We did copy work from the books we were reading. We read from a science book and a history book and a literature book each day. Then we had short reading lessons and short copy work lessons, along with short math lessons.
I didn’t have the money to buy art books so we used whatever the library had for picture study. I found a box set of Classical music on sale and that along with a few library books was the basis for our music appreciation for all of elementary school and into my son’s middle and highschool years as well.
We found Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare at our library and used that to introduce Shakespeare to my children. We spent a lot of time out doors and we were constantly using library books to look up plants and bugs and things.
All of this took place over time. I didn’t do all of these things every week-just here a little, there a little.
Homeschooling young children isn’t complicated. It’s really simple and rather organic.
Enjoy those little years! I have so many wonderful memories from those days and wouldn’t trade them for the world!
To all of my new, wonderful “instant friends”:
Thank you and God bless you for your “hand holding” as I take a step on this brand new venture of SCM. I was excited to the point of tears when I got replies from you beautiful, encouraging, experienced SCM moms. I’m beginning to think maybe I “can” do SCM for my daughter’s 1st grade curriculum!
I sincerely appreciate the time you took to encourage me as I consider SCM (I really WANT to try it), and for helping to calm my anxiety. I think I can order just the basics from SCM materials and try to supplement from the local library, internet and other sources. I mostly need help with the lesson plans and scheduling our day, but I’m relieved that we don’t need 50 minutes per subject! ; )
With deep gratitude,
Alisha
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