Moving across the country and need curriculum help…

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  • May 10, 2016 at 6:59 pm
    Lindsay
    Participant

    My mind is all over the place, so hopefully this makes sense. 🙂 There is a very good chance that we will be moving across the country (from SoCal to Nashville) by the end of this year. We are hoping to land there sometime this summer. Additionally, I would like to be pregnant by the end of this year or early next year and I get horrible morning sickness. Given those circumstances, I need a curriculum for next year that is easy to implement, completely laid out for me, requires no lesson planning, etc. I have been devouring books about CM’s methods and I *think* they will work very well for us. My oldest is in kinder this year and it’s been a rough year school-wise (to say the least). She hates school. She hates reading. It’s been very frustrating for both of us. Thus, Charlotte Mason.

    Anyway, I have a few questions that I’m hoping someone here can answer. I’ll just number them to make it easier.

    1. For those who have tried them (and given our circumstances), would you recommend SCM, Heart of Dakota, or Sonlight? Or something else?

    2. I like the SCM “keep it simple” plan. Is it easy to execute? Are the lessons pretty well laid-out? Do you find you need to supplement with activities, extras, etc? If we move I’m not going to have the time to spend hours on Pinterest trying to “fluff” up our lesson plans.

    3. What reading program do you recommend? We are currently doing AAR level 1 and like I said, she hates it. Actually, she hates the readers. She thinks they’re boring. I don’t know if I should just shelf AAR until next school year (she will be 6 in June) or switch to another program entirely.

    Thanks for any feedback you can offer!

    May 10, 2016 at 11:52 pm
    anniepeter
    Participant

    If I were you, I would put it all away until at least next fall.  In the mean time I would read books about wonderful and interesting things that you both enjoy whenever you are able. When you start in again, I would play letters and words. And I would probably wait until she decides she wants to learn to read and keep lessons short enough that she is still wanting more when you put it away till tomorrow. Go outside, hug, hold her, get the relationship right and the habits of attention, quick and cheerful obedience, a ready “yes, Ma’am” (or whatever you decide is appropriate) answer when you speak to her.  If your like me you may never feel that is done, but it is the best place to start even so.

    I had a son that didn’t read till he was 10.  At 20, that’s not something that is hindering him.  My current 7 yo DD is up to Ll now in learning the letter sounds.  My 9 yo is devouring books this year – reads just about anything he gets his hands on!  It’s like potty training… You can start early and some will get it quickly, but of they aren’t ready and willing you can fight it for a LONG time!

    As far as curriculum goes… For myself, the more SCM materials I get and just use as planned, the happier I am and the smoother my days go. After years of doing Sonlight and then trying to plan my own perfect thing, I’m finally getting to the point where I just go to the curriculum guide here now and do what it says.  And life is getting better and, well… Simpler!

     

     

    May 10, 2016 at 11:56 pm
    anniepeter
    Participant

    As far as a reading program, my last two kids have thrived with the CM method.  We now use Delightful Reading and love it.  Didn’t finish it all, but enjoyed the lessons and just dropped it when he could start reading other things with a little help.  Real books are way better than “lessons” any way you cut it!  Dr. Seuss, here we come!

    May 11, 2016 at 7:37 am
    Raines
    Participant

    Lindsay,

    I totally agree with anniepeter.  SCM resources are lovely, completely laid out and the more you use them as is, the easier your days will be.  I have used and can highly recommend:

    • Planning Your Charlotte Mason Education in 5 Easy Steps
    • Bible, History and Geography Modules 1-3
    • Laying Down the Rails and Laying Down the Rails for Children
    • Artist Portfolios
    • Most of the Science Studies…Learning About Birds is fantastic!
    • Literature Modules 1-4
    • Singing the Great Hymns

    We plan to use the following this coming year:

    • Individual Studies for grade 4 (and adjusted to fit grade 3)
    • Enrichment Studies volume 1
    • Bible, History and Geography module

    Actually, almost everything we use is SCM.  I can also highly recommend Math-U-See.

    I didn’t know much about Charlotte Mason 4 years ago, so I taught my 2 older children to read using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.

    Pros:  The book only cost $12 and after 70-75 lessons, both my children were reading very well.

    Cons:  The book is somewhat strange…we had to stop lessons after the first 14 and I don’t really remember why.  We took a break for a week and then started again and finished.  The book is not a Charlotte Mason resource and might be considered twaddle.

    I am seriously considering using Delightful Reading from SCM for my ds5 this fall.

    We live fairly close to Nashville, so I want to recommend a few things:

    The Nashville Zoo…brand new zipline and homeschool days

    The Adventure Science Center

    Cheekwood Botanical Gardens…occasionally has a free day

    The Hermitage (home of Andrew Jackson)…free day in January or February I think

    Unless things have changed very recently, in Tennessee, you have to log 180 days and register with the local school system (do 4 hours of work/day) or umbrella school (we use HomeLifeAcademy.com for grades and attendance) but there are no required subjects for K-8, so breathe, take it one day at a time and enjoy!

    May 11, 2016 at 7:44 am
    Raines
    Participant

    Oh, I also meant to let you know that the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, home of the Nashville Symphony is superb!

    They have a free music day for children in the fall…children can play instruments and listen to the magnificent pipe organ, the symphony and other groups who perform free.

    For Mother Culture, I highly recommend Handel’s Messiah…it gets better every year!

    May 11, 2016 at 5:28 pm
    Lindsay
    Participant

    Thanks for all the info! I’ve heard good things about HomeLife. Can you recommend any co-ops or something similar? I’m not concerned about my kids being “socialized,” but I do want them to have a venue where they can make friends, get plugged in, etc.

    May 12, 2016 at 8:22 am
    Raines
    Participant

    I believe that Charlotte Mason Home Educators of Middle Tennessee has a facebook page.

    May 18, 2016 at 8:35 pm
    cdm2kk
    Participant

    From your post and the options you listed, I would say SCM should be a hit. Sonlight is great, but I always joke that it is home school on steroids and that we survived our Sonlight year! I love their book selections, but their schedule is packed and I couldn’t ever not do something.

    My son had issues with his AAR readers too and I found Burgess animal book like this online for free…. http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=burgess&book=mouse&story=_contents

    and I would pull this up and I would start to read then stop and when I stopped then he had to start and when he stopped then I started etc. This allowed him to read little bits until he felt comfortable and it made him follow along while I read and he felt it was fun and we were doing it together. this is what helped my son to read the most. He loved these stories though and I never read longer than 5-10 minutes.

    Best of Luck.

     

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