confused

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  • April 11, 2009 at 5:16 pm
    amills
    Member

    I wonder if I am the only one with the problem of changing my mind about different curriculm or philosophies. I LOVE the Charlotte Mason way, and then I read something about Five in a Row and lapbooks, and I start to second guess myself. I will see something that I think looks fun to do, but I don’t really know in the end if it is just busy work. I am teaching many special needs kiddos, and I just want to make sure that this method is really working with them.

    Let me give an example, Charlotte does emphasize reading a passage once which helps the child develop the habit of attention. Some of my children have auditory processing issues, and they really don’t get it after one time. Then Five in a Row reads the story 5 days in a row, which seems a bit much to me, and yet, I can see where that could be of benefit to special needs children.

    Any thoughts from other moms? Do you struggle with sticking with one method of teaching? Any moms really using this with special needs children?

    Thanks and blessings,

    Amanda

    April 11, 2009 at 7:53 pm
    caroline4kids
    Member

    I used FIAR and CM when my kids were younger. They would narrate one time reading of the non picture books we read. It wasn’t CM pure, but it worked for us.

    Now I have all the FIAR books so my youngest just picks a book and we read it for fun.

    Another thing is that children do not really narrate a one time reading until they are six years old.

    April 13, 2009 at 3:49 am
    Mamasong
    Member

    Hi Amanda, I completely understand your question! Like you, I sometimes waffle between a few methods, there are just so many great ways to learn! For this reason I would call myself an eclectic CMer. I have been using (and loving!) FIAR for several years now with our three children, it’s pretty much just a part of our life together. Now that my oldest is school age he is doing more CM style lessons but he still loves FIAR, so we just work it into the day in a CM-ish way. My middle child has Asperger’s Syndrome and we will be using FIAR for quite a while for her. She is definitely a pattern learner, so the same story 5 days in a row is wonderfully consistent for her. Her auditory skills need to be encouraged gently because she gets so easily discouraged which leads to a “shut-down” stage where she simply refuses. FIAR is familiar and comfortable for her so I just add in CM-style moments when I can to slowly stretch her learning flexibility. For example, on Mondays when we begin a new FIAR book, I ask her to draw pictures about the story from her memory (art is a big means of communication for her) and in this way she is narrating through her art. I think CM and FIAR are compatible, especially for special-needs learners, it just takes a little tweaking here and there. I hope that helps!

    Rachel

    April 14, 2009 at 1:16 am
    CindyS
    Participant

    You know Amanda, we live in a wonderful, but challenging time. Gone are the days of not enough materials. Now we have such an abundance that one only need drive into the parking lot of a curriculum fair to feel the breathing start to tighten and the wallet start to shriek.

    Confusion is an old buddy of mine. I used to wrestle with it annually. Through prayer and study, God showed me that I was not trusting Him to get these children taught. Looking the word up in scripture I noticed that, in the OT, the word translated as ‘confusion’ is the Hebrew word for ‘disgrace.’ So, where it says ‘their faces were covered with confusion,’ what it really means is disgrace. He encouraged me that I was searching madly for a man-made solution to an area that belongs to God alone.

    I also found that there are basically three types of curriculum sellers: 1)Those that found a great market to make a profit from, 2)Those that truly want to help but just do not have a clue as to how, and 3)Those that do want to help and do know how. It takes a lot of discernment to tell the difference.

    As you pray and seek your husband’s counsel, and pray, and study your children, and pray, and take naps so that you can make wise decisions, you will find that God will give you the ideas you need to teach your children. A victorious home school mom will not necessarily use all one method forever and always because she will be open to the Holy Spirit. I confess that I am a cm mom until God tells me otherwise. There are different seasons. We had a season when it was necessary and best that we use some (gasp!) workbooks. That went against every fiber in me, but I now see the value. I currently have one child in a high school history text and I abhor it! But it was about a bigger issue.

    It’s all about seeing where is your child now, and where God is taking him. It’s about being more concerned with character than curriculum. I do not know you, but I do know you are doing a great job. You and your husband have sacrificed to home school your children. You are not getting any tax breaks or kudos from the world. You are concerned that they be nurtured and taught. That says a lot!

    So, I would encourage you (after you take a nap from reading this horribly long post), to just pick one thing and do it really well. If it’s something you are dying to try and it works, great. If not, say, “Well, we won’t do that again” and relax about it. The point is, you are doing stuff with your kids.

    Blessings,

    Cindy

    April 14, 2009 at 3:54 am
    amills
    Member

    Thank you, Ladies, for sharing your ideas and advice. They were all very helpful.

    Blessings,

    Amanda

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