New to forum and to CM

[Leah IL]

Hi there!  My name is Leah, and I have just started exploring CM this year.  I completely agree with the philosophy behind her methods, and I am so excited to get going.

 

I have six children ages 16, 14, 14, 8, 4 and 4.  I am starting the Year 0 reading with my 4 year olds and the Year 1 reading with my 8 year old, although he sits in on the Year 0 reading, too 🙂  I don’t completely understand everything yet, but I have ordered the seminar on DVD and am anxiously awaiting it’s arrival.

 

My older children were educated Mom Style which is to say no formal curriculum but stuff-I-made-up and lots and lots of reading and walking and talking.  There are some holes, especially in history.  This is how I discovered CM in the first place- I had heard of the Book of Centuries and was looking into how to do it as an addition to our high school history, and I found this site and Ambleside all the booklists and read through the ideas and thought “Oh my, now this is what I MEANT to do all these years!!”  I am struggling with guilt over my high schoolers, wondering if I have short changed them.  And this brings me to my questions.

 

My 14 year old daughter has always been a little, for lack of a better word, slow in her studies.  She is a fantastic reader and speller and has great writing skills, but her level is not that of a typical high schooler.  If she wrote a paper, her *ideas* would be high school level, but her actual writing would be that of a sixth grader.  She is working in a math 6 program.  She is just starting Apologia General Science.  Her handwriting is childish.  I am not hung up on levels, so none of this really bothers me but moving forward, I would like to challenge her a bit.  Do you think she is able to transition to CM at this point?  And at what year?  Has anyone here transitioned to CM in high school and been successful?  She is a very compliant person, and she is eager to do just about anything I suggest, so I think she will do well.  I am considering starting her at Level 7…I want to challenge her, but I am also worried about completely overwhelming her, too.

 

[suzukimom]

Welcome!

My children are younger, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

 

I don’t think that 14 is too late to switch.  It sounds like your mom-based homeschooling had similarities to CM – don’t be hard on yourself for not following a method you knew nothing about.  

It is (probably unfortunately) the nature of homeschooling that the oldest children in a family tend to be a bit of a guinea pig…  we are switching math programs and handwriting programs (and style!) this year, and so my son is pretty much starting over in those subjects.

I think that Year 7 is probably a reasonable starting place – but again, my kids are younger, so I can’t say for sure.

[kerby]

Welcome! 

 

I’m new, too.  I have 4 but am teaching 6 – mine 15, 13, 10, + 8; extras 13 + 9.  I’m transitioning in so many ways, and it’s tough.  I do agree w/ suzukimom in that you have already laid a great foundation that is almost exactly what you would have been doing.  You have a “leg up” there. 

Ask away, and I look forward to getting to know you and your family as well as everyone else.  It’s nice to know that I’m not the only newbie here. 

 

K

[maynegirl]

Welcome! We’re starting K5 this year, and I have so much to learn. I look forward to learning with you & from you. God bless.

 

[Wings2fly]

Welcome. This is a great place to ask questions, but my kids are too young for me to answer your questions. I’m glad your found CM when you did. You will really enjoy it, but transition little by little.