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New here, need advice to start (if I even should)
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Hello all! I have a 10-yr-old that we have homeschooled for 6 years now. I also have a 4-yr-old and a baby due in June. On top of that we also are self-employed (meaning, I do errands 2-3 days a week, as well as do paperwork multiple times a week). So, with all that being said, we have been more of a school-at-home family, using a text/work book for most subjects. I know there is a better way, and I am searching hard for it.
I have decided that we will at least be using a lit-based history this coming year (for 6th grade), but I love the idea of backing off of grammar (he has had it every year), making nature a bigger focus, and many of the other great things about CM method.
I fear that I may become overwhelmed by it all (esp with the new addition), and end up not doing a big portion of it. Then I spend money we don’t have (remember, we are self-employed – barely, lately) on workbooks again to make up for the deficiency. Sigh….Any helpful advice would very much appreciated. I want my children to love learning, to learn what is most important, and to be good, God-loving people. Whatever I need to use to get there, we will do. I just don’t know if the CM method is a realistic style for us.
Thank you in advance!
Well, we get a major amount of the books we use from the library, and whatever we purchase is usually from used book sales, friends, people on this forum. So, the cost for this method drops drastically over the cost of pre-packaged curriculum or workbooks. Even if you do use a few workbooks, you can sometimes find them at a good used price. Many homeschooling families sell used materials to help fund future purchases, so they don’t have their children write in the actual workbooks but on paper instead.
As far as time constraints are concerned, if your 10-year old reads well enough to do a lot of the reading independently, that work can be done while you are tending to your paperwork. Oral narrations can be given while you are in the car running your errands. That’s a plus since it’s kind of hard to write neatly in a workbook while in motion.
Also, the older child certainly can read to the younger child and help with some of the younger’s schoolwork. That’s actually how I learned to read waaaaay back when I was 4…..my 11-year old sister “played school” with me and taught me phonics! My mom didn’t do any of that teaching, even though she was an elementary reading tutor. There are a lot of possibilities and a lot of ways to approach your schedule when using CM methods.
One inexpensive possibility for a CM education is Ambleside Online (AO) – It uses a lot of public domain classic books, so you can get them free to read off of the computer (or better for everyone – if you can get an inexpensive ereader like a Kindle). Many have audiobook versions for free on librivox. So when I have to take my kids out on an errand (say a doctor’s appointment) – we can usually get our “readings” done by listening to them in the car.
The disadvantage (which can be an advantage, due to family dynamics) of AO is that everyone is in their own Year – so are in different points in history etc. That actually works better in my family, but most people on this forum prefer the family work used by SCM here.
I do think that you could do a CM education without it being a big deal.
When I started to weave CM philosophy into our family I started one concept at a time. I started with living books and one read aloud for the family per day and continued the other workbook/textbook things we were already doing. Then I added nature study- I got notebooks and we took them with us hiking and to the zoo. We built upon it from there. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Just keep reading and increasing your understanding of CM educational philosophy and if it is really something that resonates with you it will help you integrate CM ideas into your family.
You can gradually switch over a few subjects at a time…that way it isn’t a huge jump. Maybe just add history for now and/or a weekly poetry study. In another week (or even month), add another subject. I don’t look at CM as an all-or-nothing teaching method…if your current methods are working for some subjects, I’d continue with them.
Also, the SCM free curriculum guide is very easy to substitute with materials you already have. You may not have the exact books suggested, but you probably have similar ones (or your library does). There are also tons of free CM-friendly books on the internet…I bet you could cover all your subjects for free if you absolutely had to! I’ve found that I often prefer the free resources over purcahsed ones.
Thanks, everyone! I know for math we will have to stay with what we are doing now, and he has asked to do some science on the computer (I am looking at Exploration Education for that, since there are still hands-on activities with it).
I tried AO a few years ago, and it really was just so much that it overwhelmed me. I am looking at using the Ren/Reform study (I believe a lady named Sonya something-or-other wrote it) for history, but am also wanting to make sure it covers geography well, too.
I will look at the curriculum guide, too.
I do wonder about nature study…. other than walking around and ‘seeing what we can see,’ what is that exactly?
Also, is there a link or post about how to actually do a poetry study? I want to add in artist and composer studies, eventually, too.
Thank you for all the help – I feel a bit lost. LOL
If you are refering to this book about the Ren/Reformation?
http://simplycharlottemason.com/store/middle-ages-renaissance-reformation-epistles/
Sonya Shafer wrote it and she is one of the ladies who makes this site available to us. Download the free sample of this book from the link – she always includes geography in all of her guides. We really like them. =)
For poetry study, we choose one of the poets (there is a great list with links to wonderful books on the curriculum guide). We read the poems for six weeks or so – that way we can cover a variety of the poets works and get a feel for his/her style of writing. At some point in that six weeks we read story or biography of the poet.
Nature Study – we do go and see, but then we also draw, or take a photo, or record in some way what we see. We have been going to some places for over a year, and we see the differences and my children understand the relationships between the seasons and the animals, birds, and vegetation. They are always pointing out differences in things like the trees, or the creek or something. They have made their own personal relationships and connections with the nature things and are anxious to study in more depth as they get older – which didn’t happen with a textbook in public school. Some people use a guide to pick a topic and they study that subject that week for nature study. Nature Study is the foundation for scientific studies – Charlotte Mason said that when a child has made his own observations during nature study, then having science classes basically just gives them a name for something they already know.
Since you are new to this, I want to give you some friendly advice: Don’t make this more complicated than it is. =) Often people tend to overthink or overplan and that makes this transition harder than it needs to be at first. At least, I did. 😉 I hope that you are able to settle on something soon and it will work out for you!
That is the book! 🙂 I have looked at the sample pages… it looks quite good and doable. Whew!
From what I see, I will need the Josh’s Map book to go along with it for the geography, correct?
And thank you for the advice — I do have a tendency to make things for difficult, or at least make them *seem* more difficult at first. LOL Nature Study sounds fun, but I wonder how to make it age appropriate as they get older…
Poetry study also sounds fun and more than doable now. I would assume I could do composers about the same way.
One concern I do have is in doing all of this, I assume that the best way to have ‘record’ of what they are learning is to notebook. So how do you deal with notebooking history, nature, art, music, etc. I am afraid we’d feel as though we were drowning in notebooks and that my kids would get burned out on them. Are there other ways to keep track of things that would provide a little variety? Or ways to combine things into one book?
I am going to do a Book of Centuries for history so that we can do the notebooking pages and timeline information in one. And I think we could do poetry one 6 weeks, then composer the next, and so on through our 36 weeks. And those we could make one book with. Maybe even artists in there, also.
Thank you all, again, for helping a newbie!Another question – how often do you do a Nature Study? And how would you plan out what to do, other than wander around outside? LOL
Can you tell this part is seemingly the hardest for me to grasp???
If nature study is your biggest concern, I do have a couple of books to suggest – to show how easy it can be….
“Pocketful of Pinecones” by Karen Andreola – this is a fictional book of a parent homeschooling her children in a CM manner – focussing on nature study. Set in the 30’s. (Although she sure knows her nature….)
“Wild Days” by Karen Radcliffe – this is a book about how to do nature journals (nature notebooks).
I aim to do Nature Study weekly – but it doesn’t happen that often here! It can really be as easy as going out and in your time out, looking at something you want to know more about – then later on researching it.
There is also a “Handbook of Nature Stud” Challenge blog – it is easy to get overwhelmed looking at it – you would want to start with the beginner challenges….
Welcome and I hope you find everything you need on here. It seems like everyone above has good advice so I will just say that we tried one subject and idea at a time. I found it easier and better for all of us. So, with that said I will just welcome you and tell you that this forum is a great place for questions, answers, and comments. I hope you always find what you need.
Blessings to you!
I ordered the Wild Days book, as well as a guide book on North American flora and fauna. I know there isn’t much out to look at right now, but comes spring I will be ready. I hope. 🙂
Thanks so much!!!
We do 2 nature walks per week, during the second one we find something interesting and then come home and look it up on the computer or in a science resource. I find a good picture of it and we all (including me) draw it in our Nature Journal. We also date that entry. Here is a link to my blog and the posts I did about our Nature Study and how we do it.
http://mysouldothdelight.wordpress.com/category/nature-study/
I have 4 yo and 5 yo dd and 11 and 12 yo dd. They make the “Age Appropriate” changes themselves. Often the older kids take the initative to point out new and interesting things or make the comments that show me that they are indeed making connections with our inside studies and nature.
These books are a great way to get started: http://www.amazon.com/Take-Backyard-Bird-Walk/dp/0970975406 We were gifted these last spring, and although we had already been doing nature study we started carrying these with us the entire summer. They are pretty engaging.
Another gem for Nature Study we discovered at one of our local parks is this one: http://www.amazon.com/Natures-Notes-Judy-Burris/dp/1607554771
Artists (Picture Study), Composers (Music Study), and Poets (Poetry) are all done similarly in our home.
For Hymn Study, we read a story about the origins of the hymn and then practice it until we either know it or we are familiar with it. (I am going for familiarity here).
For Scripture Memorization, we use the SCM Scripture Box explained here: http://simplycharlottemason.com/timesavers/memorysys/
For keeping track of what material we have covered I use either the Online Organizer from here and at the end of our school year, I just print out the records from the Organizer and file it in my book. Or I use the Table of Contents method I blogged about here: http://mysouldothdelight.wordpress.com/2012/06/20/planning-and-keeping-records-for-a-school-year/
For a paper trail or portfolio, I do use notebooking pages. You can just do a master binder with tab dividers in it to keep your subjects seperate if you don’t want multiple binders. Again, it doesn’t have to be complicated – doing it this way gets you started while you are figuring out what will work for you. =)
Those are great links – thank you! Love the idea of tanning the subjects, too.
Can’t wait to get started! My son seemed intrigued about the nature study. 🙂
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