CMO … I never thought I'd …

Hi Claire,

I think I work better with a paper planner for some things, but CMO is truly worth it for me because of the record keeping aspect and the fact that there are times when I’d rather walk away from the formal look on paper because we changed the routine, or whatever.  CMO still keeps track of all the books, resources, etc.  This leaves me the freedom to change things up when needed without losing all the important information.  If I throw away a schedule, it means I have to start over.  CMO lets me change days of the week, etc. to lighten the load, or increase it as necessary. 

The weekly overview caused me to ask questions about how I could use it better.  The answers were simple, yet “saved my life.”  We need to focus on a few things heavily for about two months, but I didn’t want to lose the other resources by deleting them.  Suzukimom suggested I list all the things we weren’t going to do for a time on Saturday/Sunday to unclutter our daily to-do lists (and the weekly overview now, too.)  Worked like a charm!  Click, click, click is all it took and I can add them back in when we are ready to do more again each day.

My 14yos enjoys the reports, and keeping him motivated is a huge goal at this point.  He likes the formal proof of his accomplishments, not just the papers and books read.  Seeing it on paper makes him feel better.  Worth it!

In the beginning, there was a learning curve for me, but I do include things like websites for piano lessons, and more.  We don’t click on the link through the CMO, it just reminds us that it’s on the schedule for the day. 

I’ve considered not renewing it in September, but I just don’t think I’d be happy without it.  My kids will even have their own independent study binders to help them focus on daily/weekly work, but the CMO is still worth the expense for me at this point. 

You’d likely need to decide what to label your lesson resources, but you’d still be able to utilize the CMO.

Things I miss about paper/pencil?  Paper and pencil.  I tend to think better through writing things down.  At least, I think I remember them better.  I like to “hold” my plans in my hands and be able to flip back and forth to “see” where we are in relation to where I planned for us to go.  But, as I hand over the paper plan to my children, I’m realizing that I just need a help for storing the record with tweaks here and there.  While I was the only one with the plan in my hands, the kids weren’t as capable of independent study.  I was the one controlling it.  Now, I’m just the one keeping record of their accomplishments.  I’m not sure if that makes sense, but that’s how it’s working.

CMO is not as portable.  It’s not an easy hand’s on demo at park day, unless you have a cool gadget…I do not.

I highly suggest the 30 day trial.  That would give you an idea of whether it will work well for you, or not.

Claire, I think you should try it with a few resources. That really is the best way to see if it will fit your needs. Sometimes no amount of research and questioning will give the needed info like kicking the wheels and going for a test drive.