I just wanted to add that my dd11 and ds 8, this winter have begun journaling their days events at bedtime. I hear them discussing the things they don’t want to forget to journal and she helps him spell words and encourages him to put periods at the end of his sentences. They oftentimes, after an hour of writing, need reminding 30 minutes ago was lights out. This is all done voluntarily, it’s not assigned work, just enjoyably there own.
I encourage you all to use your older students as teachers. Their bonds with one another blossoms and the olders oftentimes love leading. There are definitely limits.
I use my older children to correct youngers copywork and pleasantly encourage corrections, lead music lessons, drill with math facts, read a read aloud while I am doing a chore, cook a meal while I’m teaching, lead latin practice, teach their meaning of a new poem we’re learning, start a drawing or diagram for practical drawing class with drawing tools, carry-out and explain science experiments, tell of safety matters and how they would handle an emergency, and write my and the (Dd11 and ds8) littles narrations as we dictated them and correct it together after looking for spelling and grammar errors. Once, the 3 of us had my ds15 write 5 pages of our oral marrations and he pretending his arm would never be the same after our workout on him!
This is one more example of, if you follow CM methods, you’ll get these kind of results. CMers be brave and believe in the method. Please don’t think it’s all rosy, there are many bumps along the way. I never want to portay that my way is the only way, use CM in your family confidently, so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor!
Also, something I want to stress which I really think matters too is, they do not have the distraction of any personal electronic devices (tablet, phone) and all their books are hard copies. We own a PC and we only watch a DVD/VHS on Friday night: movie night. Our family rule we’ve had for years and it now seems (normal) for us!
Disney’s VHS Rascal last Friday was fabulous. The book is great! My DS15 said no to the film in lew of reading in the bathtub in his bathing suit. One of his favorite activites!
Building healthy habits and being willing to live it ourselves as parents really makes a difference. Only ever trying to encourage us all to be the teachers God means for us to be!
To the CMers with LOL! Martha