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new to CM..kids in grade 6 and grade 3..where to start?
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I have read the boards multiple times and I am still a bit confused (and concerned) about where I should start our CM education.
We have only been homeschooling my son for 2 years and my daughter for one year. My son is going to be in the 6th grade this fall and my daugther in 3rd grade. We have been eclectic in our schooling and have mainly used workbooks and textbooks for our main courses. However, due to learning disabilities and focusing in on troubled areas in math/reading, we have been a bit lacking with science and history.
My concern is where to start with my 6th grader mainly, but also my 3rd grader. I feel horrible that we have not done much in history or science thus I am deeply concerned I have “hurt them” in the long run.
Please…any suggestions would be most appreciated. Are we behind with my 6th grader or can we bridge that gap effectively?
Thank you for your responses…
Julie
Well, if using the Simply Charlotte Mason History modules, I don’t think there is a big problem here. History is done on a 6 year rotation, so your son still has time to do each history period once with no problems.
For science, If following the Apologia courses, there is a “switch” in about Grade 7, from the Young Explorers series to the older series. (My kids are younger…) – so I’d pick one or two of the Young Explorers series (let your 6th grader choose if you like… and do that for the whole family.) or if doing the living books, just pick up where you are now.
I don’t remember doing anything science like in school until about grade 5 (although maybe I just didn’t recognize it)…
Please don’t feel horrible. You haven’t “hurt them”. They obviously have a loving mom, and really, they will be fine.
Hi,
I just wanted to encourage you that even though you may have not specifically taught these subjects to your children they pick up a lot from reading good books or having them read to them. Due to sickness and other circumstances these subjects have sort of fallen to the wayside in our family too and this year we’ve been able to spend a lot more time on these subjects and I’m amazed at the connections they’ve made from former readings and experiences not specifically taught during lesson time. I’ve been where you are right now and I know the feeling but I think injury is only done when children hate to learn because they’ve been burned out. As long as a child is still excited about learning there is a world of discoveries to be made.
Reading is a very important skill to develop so that one can enjoy the learning process in both science, history, and literature so taking the extra time needed for it is not bad at all.
If you want to use the SCM modules for history you could wait until next year to start with Module 1 and this year just choose some areas of history of interest to study or you could start with Module 6 this year and still do Module 1 next year. There really are a lot of possibilities.
In regards to science, I would do what was already recommended and let your son choose an area of science that interests him and go with that for the new school year. You might like to look at God’s Design Science by Answers in Genesis. While this is not necessarily CM, the lessons are short and instructive. I would add in some living science books and definitely Nature Study. Only recently have a realized the benefits of Nature Study and I wish I had started years ago with my older children but we do it now and are making the most of it.
Hi, we are finishing up our 2nd year of HSing.
I can relate to your post b/c we pulled our boys out of PS when they were finishing 4th and 1st grades.
The last 2 years we have used an ecclectic approach as well. We used Mystery of History Volumes 1 and 2 for the past two years. While I love the curriculum, I wanted to go even more CM b/c our boys love to read and well, it just felt like we needed to dive deeper into subjects that interest them. So, I feel the SCM modules are just perfect. I ordered Module 4 b/c it overlaps what we did in the last half of MOH Vol. 2 and will take us farther along in history.
We are reading the Stories of the Nations right now as we finished MOH 2 a few weeks ago. I highly recommend Stories of the Nations. You might check that out! It is fabulous and would give you a great read-a-loud in history. You would enjoy it and your children too!
We use Apologia as well. We did Flying Creatures last year. This year, I wanted my oldest son, 6th grade, to be able to read both of the other animal books so we doubled up and did Swimming Creatures and are now in Land Animals. I have to say it has been tough reading 2 of these in one year. We have had to forgo some of the experiments, but I am glad he was able to read those before he begins the more advanced Apologia next year. He will be using the General Science course. I will be using the Botany course with our other 4 (two littles will listen in as they wish; they are just 5 but do enjoy listening for a bit and the pictures and experiments).
Do not feel discouraged most importantly! I am learning more every day that learning encompasses many different facets! Yesterday, the boys watched ants on a tree stump for an hour and played with the cicadas as well. What better way to learn about science than this?! It might not be considered *educational* in a traditional classroom, but then again we are not all here b/c we want our children learning that way.
Welcome and best to you as you make decisions about where to start!
Thank you all for your guidance, it means a lot..
We started using the Eagle’s Wings: Considering God’s Creation science curriculum as it is very hands-on, which is what my children like to do in learning. One of them has ADHD so anything hands on is going to really keep his attention. We are just barely into Story of the World Volume 1 as I had to take a step back and focus on math skills as well as reading skills. My daughter, age 7, is the avid reader but my son is a bit reluctant to read due to, I believe, some dyslexia there. We had him tested while in public school and the dsyslexia was there for sure.He is doing so much better in our home-school environment.
I think over the summer I will focus on reading more than anything and possily start Module 6 with SCM.
This is very new to me but just reading over what Ms. Mason believed and saw in the children she taught, I really want to focus on the CM method. My kids are doers…not sitters, if that makes any sense.
Again, thank you and keep those suggestions coming
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