new to cm

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  • June 22, 2010 at 2:47 pm
    shelia
    Member

    I’ve been homeschooling for 8 yrs. I have a 13 yr old and a 7 yr old. We will me using the CM method this coming year due to the fact that my kids and myself need something more than textbooks. My kids are bored with the same old thing. I’m very excited to get started. I have to admit I’m stressing out over what books to buy. I’ve been through the curriculum guide and made a list of suggested items and it seems like alot. Math and science seem fairly simple but in regards to the history I can’t decide which books to buy or maybe I should get them all. We will be doing  Ancient History this year. Do I need all those suggested books? Any suggestions for a beginner? Shelia

    June 22, 2010 at 3:03 pm
    briedell
    Member

    Shelia,

    I would map out a plan for the coming year.  Decide which books you’d like to use.  Then do a library search to see which ones you could get from your library.  Last year, any of the books that we would read in one or two sittings; I tried to get from the library.  If they didn’t have it in their system, I was able to use inter-library loan.  That was $1.00 each time for that.  Then, any of the books you can’t get that way; you can decide if you want to purchase them.

    I save money by buying though Abebooks.com and also Amazon’s used booksellers.  You can also look at paperbackswap.com and get a few books that way.

    As a last resort, you can substitue an appropriate book for those you can not find through the library and do not want to buy.  Sonya’s suggestions are wonderful though, and not twaddle.

    Hope this helps.  Bridget

    June 22, 2010 at 6:20 pm
    Melody F.
    Member

    Hi Shelia!  I’m new to CM as well, but I thought I would tell you what I’m in the process of doing.  My kids are about the same ages as yours, I have a 12 yr. old ds and a 7 yr. old dd.  I’ve decided to start out with trimesters, and if I need to change that later, then I can.  For the first term of 3 months I’m taking things slow.  It’s going to be an adjustment for them to do things differently, so I don’t want to overwhelm them or myself!  When it comes to books, I have such a hard time deciding, because they are all so good that I want us to read them all.  I had to make myself (this was really an effort for me!) narrow my choices down so that we could take things slow and easy for the first term.  I can always incorporate more books into our schedule once we get into a routine.  I’m doing an artist study, but only one artist for the first term, and we’re doing a composer study, but only one composer.  Nature study is something we already do, so I’m not worried about that.  I guess the point is that I plan to start slow and add more as I go and we feel confident with our schedule.  I can always add more, but if we all get overwhelmed, it will be like having to stop and start all over again.  It’s so hard for me to narrow things down, not because I think I “have to” do everything, but because I want to and I get a little over ambitious!  Be sure to share your ideas, because I need all the help and input I can get!  Oh, and I also want to recommend the resources available at SCM, (just in case you don’t already have them) like the all day CM seminar  and the Books and Things seminar, and the planning guide because they have all been a huge help to me.    Melody

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