My name is Monti, I’ve been married for 12 years. We live in Washington state and have always homeschooled. My style tends to teeter between Charlotte Mason and WTM. I think we’ve found a good balance between them.
I like reading, sewing, tea time & all things Victorian.
Welcome! I’ve also been married 12 years and always homeschooled. I would love to know how you balance two opposing education methods like CM and WTM. You’re not the first I’ve heard who does it, but I can’t wrap my brain around it at all. 😉
I’m sure there’s a better way to do that, but I’m off to oversee art class 🙂
BTW…welcome Monti. I’m pretty new here too, everyone here is so nice and helpful. And they don’t judge…which is what I’ve run into at some other homeschool forums!
Long lessons vs. short lessons. Fill a bucket vs. light a fire. Beat you down with memorization vs. love of learning. Lecture vs. literature. Done by afternoon vs. however long it takes. Those are the differences I see in die hard fans of both. 🙂
I guess a better way to put that would be that there is good in both of them. Or, I guess, maybe, I must not be a die hard fan of either one…just a fan.
My favorite resources for getting started homeschooling (only in my 10th month here) have been TWTM and Karen Andreola’s Purple Book. I get into both of them almost weekly.
I do consider our family “classical CMers” and it seems to work for us. Our lessons are medium, and our school day goes on and off all day long (lots of babies/toddlers to work around here). My kids do love learning…but I guess we do some bucket filling too. We do some memorization, but not as much as TWTM suggests (especially in history and science). We use lots of literature (TWTM has very extensive lists) but no lecture.
Welcome, Monti! We are Classical CMers, as well. We don’t really combine the two methods; we take the good out of both and fit them to meet our needs. That’s what I love about homeschooling; we don’t need to fit into one box.
Monti, I love all things Victorian as well. Unfortunately, I have a husband who is anything but. How do you incorporate your love? Do you have teatime? Read Victorian novels? I’d love to hear. How old are your girls? I have 2DD-8 1/2 and almost 5.
Welcome! It sounds like you have reached what we all strive for, teaching your children according to what works for them (and you, the teacher!). That will make real champions of your children! Hope to ‘see’ lots of you!
What part of WA do you live in? I was born near Bellingham and have many relatives that live there…we now live in TN. I’m so ‘jealous’ of all of you who have home schooled from the beginning!! (Just kidding) Welcome! I think you’ll love it here at SCM…a wonderful community to be connected with.
I’ve tried to use the best of both ideas, I haven’t found a style that works 100%. When I was all WTM I became psycho-homeschool mom, LOL! When I tried 100% CM it was a little to relaxed for us.
With CM I like the emphasis on literature, art & music, nature, and habits. For me, Charlotte’s ideas flow into our daily life, more of a lifestyle than just a bunch of booklists. I like how wtm does history and we do some subjects a little sooner and we have longer days than some CMer’s.
I’ve learned to never say never, it’s amazing how different children in the same family can be. Our oldest, Shelby is 8 yrs old, she’s a little Alex P. Keeton (Remember Micheal J. Fox on Family Ties.)!! Our other daughter is Zoey, she’s 6. Short lessons are a must with her, she’s our fairy loving, hippie child. I blame my mom for this, just kidding! Connor is 4 and really likes dirt, nature study is right up his alley. Our youngest son, Gabriel, passed away from cancer last September. Homeschooling allowed everyone to spend so much more time with him, which I’m so thankful for. We decided to continue homeschooling, we didn’t think it would benefit the kids or me to send them to school. Having the kids home to teach has kept me sane. Some days have been harder than others, but I couldn’t imagine not having them home.
We live in Roy, Wa. We’re really close to Mt. Rainier, about 2 hours south of Seattle.
OHH WTM Well Trained Mind..duh…ok yes, we also do a blend of CM and classical styles. I’m just not good at figuring out the computer shorthand. Sorry 😕
Monti, I am so glad you have logged on and have joined our CM community. I will be praying for your family. You had me laughing out loud with the reference to Alex P. Keeton. I used to love that show.
Its so good to have you here with us! I’m so sorry to hear about your loss and will join with the others in prayer for you and your family. It sounds like you have a beautiful family, however, full of blessings!
Its wonderful to meet you & I look forward to getting to know you more.
Heather
(Wife to Tim for 15 years and Mamma to three ds’s 13, 8 & 18 months- been hs-ing for 7 years)