Good afternoon! I am new here. Over the years I’ve enjoyed using scm for help and direction in our homeschool. I own and love all the free ebooks and some I’ve purchased. I still reread Masterly Inactivity regularly.
We have 4 kids–dd14, ds12, ds8, and ds5. We’ve homeschooled for 5 years.
I’m looking at using scm across the board with all my kids–the modules, organizer, bookfinder, enrichment packages, etc. I need something kind of all-in-one, easy planning, using digital as much as possible for planning/downloads. I just can’t do all the “legwork” I used to do. With 4 kids, I think I can find an easier way than DIY so that this mother can go out to play a little.
In my search for finding a resource that gives us almost everything kind of all in one (sort of, if you KWIM), we have considered a few different methods just to make homeschooling workable for ME. For my high school daughter we’ve looked at everything from full program abeka to video streaming to web based curriculum. The goal in this has just been to make sure I can keep homeschooling!
In looking around here, I really think I could use scm without getting burned out. We have a new computer, and are getting a kindle soon. I’m finding with our laptop that planning will be sooo much easier with being mostly digital.
I also think that this could save my kids from getting burned out. With my olders I can already see some burnout in them after using open and go, textbookish, everthing is the same everyday independent approach. They’ve been homeschooling in this way since last September. It’s been okay. I think they like the simplicity. But I don’t think theyre learning a whole lot, and they’re in the “let’s just get these books done today” mode.
If anyone has any advice for me that would be great! Or anything that you wish you would’ve known before you started on the full CM method/using scm path.
I’m returning to SCM in the fall after using something different this year. I think I may be using the CMO for the first time so I’m excited about that resource helping me to focus on not only the yearly plans and goals but give me and my kids printouts for the daily “to do”. I think that in the past, that was probably an area that I needed to clarify…how the CM philosophy translated into the daily specific assignments. Good luck in your planning!
We have been using SCM curriculum/CM methods a little more each year for the past 3 to 4 years. I cannot tell you what a blessing SCM has been for us.
This year I am using SCM curriculum just about 100%. I love so many things about it that I don’t know where to begin. It is so user friendly. And the forum has been incredibly helpful. Lots and lots of helpful resources on this site. I guess my fanvorite thing about SCM is that it keeps our hs plans SIMPLE.
One thing that I wish I would have done sooner was to use Delightful Reading/Pathway Readers (reccommended by SCM) with 7 yo ds earlier. For others, others focusing on more phonics than what is in DR works better, but I wish we had just stuck with SCM instead of jumping around so much with different reading programs.
Anyway, that is just one small thing that I can share about my short time with SCM. There are others here that have probably been using CM methods a lot longer than I.
I hope this has offered you encouragement in some way. Happy Planning!