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Needing help
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Hello, my name is Lisa and I am living in Florida with my husband Jim of 14 years and we are raising our 2 children Riley our son who is 9 and Hanna our daughter who is 6. We are Catholic and have been homeschooling Riley for 3 years due to medical issues (he was going to be retained in 1st grade even though he was an A student, due to too much missed school) and I just started teaching Hanna when she turned 6 in January.
I am very ecclectic, well was til this past Wed. when we had to have Riley’s portfolio reviewed and he was so scared of being tested, he failed the first time with a 60 and then, the second time he nailed it with a 95! I have been reading a lot about CM and am now beginning to realize God wants me to raise our kids in this manner.
I am in need of help as to where to go with Riley and how to start teaching Hanna. We love the outdoors, we feed the birds, are growing a garden and live within a 3 minute walk to the beach. Animals are our friends, as we have 1 dog and 2 cats and 2 Beta fish. We love to draw and I am teaching the kids about poetry and music is always on in the house,
I look forward to hearing from all of you!
Lisa
Hi Lisa! I noticed your plea for help, on this message and another.
It can be a bit hard to tell you how to get going without a bit more info, but I do have a few suggestions to get you started. (Also, are you completing whatever you were doing this year and starting next year? or looking for something right now?)
Overall, I would recommend getting the “Planning your child’s Charlotte Mason Education” (or something like that) that you can buy on this site. I bought the ebook version and read it right away, and it was great for helping me get a plan. I also liked the Charlotte Mason book by Karen Andereola (sp?) for getting a good idea on how to teach each subject area. However, you can find that type of information on this site, and others, including some blogs.
If you didn’t find the curriculum guide on this site, have a look at it! It gives great ideas on what to do and get started. If you want something more laid out for you, you can check out Ambleside Online too. There is another site for Catholic people doing Charlotte Mason, but I don’t remember what it is called. Another site I like with everything laid out is http://www.milestonesacademy.com I take the information from these sites and my own thoughts to make my own plan. Oh, Ambleside Online site has links to Charlotte Mason’s books (free online), so those can be good to read as you go along too.
On the other post, you said you needed something for math. Most Charlotte Mason websites advise you to pick your math program on your own (some have specific suggestions.) I personally like the Mathemeatics Enhancement Programme (MEP). (Search for MEP Math on google, and it will likely be the first site…. it is put out by CIMT). I think it goes well with Charlotte Mason ideas as you can do it in short lessons. The lessons are designed to be 45 minutes (at least for year 1, which I’m using) in a classroom – but done one on one it takes about 20-30minutes. But each lesson is broken down into about 5 to 7 activities, which offer a variety. There is one “worksheet” type page per lesson in Year 1 – but doesn’t weigh down the student with a lot of repetition. Manipulatives are encouraged in the early years, and problems are approached in a variety of ways. For instance, in Year 1 we are working with Addition and Subtraction, and problems will include stuff like ?+3=8. There are puzzles to figure out, and occasionally an advanced concept is thrown in to see what the student will do. (there was one question of 1-3=? early in year 1.) My kids love it, and clammor for math. I’ve even started my 4 year old on their Kindergarten level as my 4yo was always watching the 6yo’s math lesson and asking to do math. Oh – did I mention that it is free except for your paper and ink???
I hope this helps a bit. There is a LOT of info out there, but it can get overwhelming. I recommend getting the Planning guide from here, looking at the suggested curriculum ideas on this site, and have a quick look at the other sites I mentioned too. Oh, I think this site has somewhere info on transitioning to Charlotte Mason from working with other types of programs too. Breathe, relax, and pick a good book to start them on!
Thanks so much for the quick response and information! I am looking at this for now and for the upcoming year. I am having fun on this site and will be looking into the links and such you gave me!
Hi Lisa,
We are a Catholic family as well. I use many of the wonderful suggestions off of here, and I use many suggestions from this Catholic Charlotte Mason site http://materamabilis.org/ma/ They have lists of curriculum suggestions per level. I feel like Simply Charlotte Mason is easier for me to use over various age levels. Mater Amabillis is a bit too much for me, BUT I love the literature and religion books listed; and so I use a lot of those suggestions to add to what I use from here.
Hope that helps. There is a yahoo group for the Mater Amabillis group as well. Mater Amabillis means Mother most Amiable in Latin.
Bridget
Welcome Lisa! Nice to have you here. We love SCM and the curriculmn guide is a must. Also for the Catholic site thanks I have been doing this for 3 years and didn’t even know it was there.
Take it slowly.. add one thing at a time. Do simple things and then a more challenging thing. Alternating.. that’s what worked for us. Just wanted to welcome you. Misty
Welcome Lisa!
Take a deep breath and grab a cup of tea or coffee or whatever and read through this site. It really is the simplest and best intro. to CM that I’ve found anywhere.
I, too, am in FL, Jacksonville to be exact. Sonya is coming this weekend Fri and Sat for a 2 day seminar. If you are able, it would be a WONDERFUL way to learn about CM and how to implement it. Click this link for more information – http://simplycharlottemason.com/events/scmworkshops/scm-conference-jacksonville/ If you are interested, but need a place to stay in town, PM me as local families are willing to house out of towners.
Again, welcome to this wonderful forum!
Blessings,
Christie
Thanks for all of the warm welcome and suggestions! I am just overwhelmed after my sons review last week, he is still nervous that he will have to go back to school. I reassured him that was not going to happen anytime soon and that we are getting guidance and will be just fine.
Christie, we live in St. Augustine! Thanks for letting me know about the convention, but we will not be able to make it. I thought it was later in the year, and already have plans this weekend.
Looking forward to getting to know all of you!
Have a blessed day!
Lisa
Lisa,
This weekend is simply a Charlotte Mason seminar, not the homeschool convention. River City Homeschool Adventures, the CM style support group & co-op that I lead in Jax, invited Sonya from SCM to come for this seminar to teach the how-to’s of a CM education. This 2 day seminar focuses on CM methods only.
The Orlando convention is in May and the Jacksonville one is in July, so you’re not missing those.
I’m sorry that you’re unable to make it, but perhaps I’ll meet you some other time since you are so close.
Blessings,
Christie Groff
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