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Once a week subjects – need new plan
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I need a new way to do those fine art – once a week subjects. They just don’t get done. Composer Study, Artist Study etc… I need some ideas for getting them into the schedule maybe not exactly as CM would have done, but so they actually GET done. I’m not sure how CM switched around the order of subjects every day of the week, that just is too much for me to remember – I do MUCH better with EVERY day we start with Math, then we do Copywork, then we do…. type of thing – so I’m wondering if we could do a two week emphasis on Music and everyday during fine art time we would listen to the specific composer and read a book from the library or some such thing. Then the next two weeks we’d do picture study every day during fine arts time. OR What about a fine arts day – I’d drop some of the more time consuming subjects every Friday (or whatever) and then we’d do an hour of picture study, composer study, hymn study, poetry study.
What works for your family? (besides doing things once a week ie… music Monday, Art Tuesday, Hymn Thursday etc….)
Rebekah
I keep the same order daily. Lit book or history book might change, but same basic order. I fit in those CM feast topics by covering them in our weekly CM co-op. you could try a Friday group schedule like lindafay from cmh.
Two years ago, I did our Composer and ARtist study things (reading the books/ examining the pictuers) on Saturdays. We’re farmers, so every day is nearly exactly the same (well, not really – but my husband doesn’t get days off, so my duties of kitchen work, etc. stay the same.) Anyway, since we’re usually home, Saturdays were great for doing the “special” stuff. I’d do our “Together Time” (Bible memory/Bible story/hymn-singing) and then do either composer study or artist study — and sometimes both composer and artist study. It took about 15-20 minutes, depending on how much I read or how much we chatted (or told people to sit still and stop fighting….*L*).
Maybe something like that is an option for you — just tuck it in somewhere. Maybe in the car? Is there a day that you’re always driving somewhere? How about linking it with another weekly activity – Saturday night baths? Maybe throw it in before or after that. Or how about doing it Sunday nights? It would make Sundays special.
I’ve found that when I want to fit something in, I need to link it to something already in the schedule. How about lunch time? Perhaps you could read from your composer study book or your artist study book (alternate days). Or just put the picture on the table and have them look at it while they’re eating (pass it around, keep napkins handy!).
Well, maybe that’ll get your mind going….or someone else’s who might have better ideas!
We do Teatime Tuesdays where we still have our core lessons (Math, Copywork, Literature reading, Foreign Language, Bible, Hymn/Folksongs) but we alternate one week poetry and composer, the next week poetry and picture study, and each week either a fairy tale or we work on our Shakespeare play. We do these first thing in the morning (after Bible and singing) or right after lunch, either time with tea (sometimes a little treat, too) and in a very relaxed manner. My kids look forward to the change of pace that one day a week. I hope that makes some sense here in writing.
We do morning readings every morning. I do my once-a-week subjects then. I am considering moving our morning readings to lunchtime, though, because I seem to get a lot more focused attention from the kids when they are eating.
I like the idea of afternoon teatime. It just hasn’t worked here, though.
I plan to do Fine Arts Friday and may do a rotation of artists (like erin.kate mentioned) each Friday…haven’t quite ironed that out yet. We will most definitely have Tea Time when the weather changes and do some Fine Arts during that time.
I don’t know why but the once-a-day just wasn’t working lately and had a hard time getting out the art material, etc., during the week and feel I can manage that better just one day a week. I do plan to do the 3Rs that day but not everything else. We’ll see. I may even throw in character that day like the new Millers book, Opal Wheeler bio, etc., but like I said, we’ll see.
I do have Meet the Masters and would like to use that. And usually Fridays end up being field trip days so they are kind of a more relaxed day anyway. This is my plan anyway, but you never know…we may have to go back to a once a day schedule.
We have done it many ways. Afternoon teatimes were nice, but now I like to use that for a read aloud literature selection and poetry readings. We have done fine arts all on Fridays and we have done one per day. Still praying about how to do it this year.
For one a day, we do our bible at breakfast, SCM family work right after breakfast and then do our fine art component for that day. Then we go on to individual and mother guided work. So for example, on Monday morning after our SCM family study we would do whatever we are doing for Artist study for 10-15 minutes. Tuesday would be Composer, Wednesday is CBS day so we do nature study in the afternoon along with Hymn Study, Thursday is Shakespeare, Friday Plutarch and Folk Songs and recitations. We have less regular work on Friday so we fit in a little more extra stuff.
You could also do each day’s fine art component right after lunch if that works. We usually spend an hour outside right after lunch then the olders want to get their reading done during the youngers quiet time. Then free time, tea time and on with the evening with Daddy.
For composer study, I play the composer’s CD while we are cleaning the kitchen. It takes no time out of our day since we are already cleaning and I like to have some sort of music playing anyway. At some point during that composer’s study, I read a short 2 page biography from our Childcraft encyclopedia on him. We tried reading a longer biography, but it was difficult to fit in. I like this method since it is very simple, yet effective.
The rest of our fine arts studies are used to break up our morning readings and 3Rs subjects.
We do our Bible study/devo first thing after chores, then some memory work, and then we do our ‘fine arts’…but I just choose what feels right for that day.
So, I may choose a poem, to listen to a particular composer, a map drill, or a picture study.
I have tried scheduling them, but I found that I like the freedom to choose what feels right and we have time for each day, before we break up for their individual studies like math and language arts – desk work.
We do the more time-intensive optionals (for us, art lessons and nature study) on our ‘flex day’ when we also have music lessons, co-op classes, and our library visit. Hope that helps some!
Christie – I want your co-op! That’d be the perfect option for me, but in lieu of that – can you tell me where to learn more about lindafay from cmh
Thanks for all the other ideas!
I such an “on the roll” kinda person. I have a hard time doing anything in small chunks of time. Once I get started on something, I just want to keep going and get it done, so the five minutes here and five minutes there just kills me. For example – I know some people do a load of laundry everyday. I can’t stand that. I like to do a HUGE pile of laundry all morning one day a week – then it’s just once to put it all away. Same thing with cleaning the house – some people can grab an extra 15 minutes and dust the blinds – I really need three hours in one block to just clean everything. Maybe it’s a character issue and I should just learn to adjust, but I can’t put all my money on that right now with a new baby coming in September.
I love, love, LOVE that group time day! I’m thinking about inviting a friend over to join us for something similar to her schedule for the accountability. Love it!
PS – Christie I sent you a reply on a PM a while ago – it doesn’t need a reply, but wanted to let you know it was there!
We usually do our ‘elective’ right after lunch, before we get caught up in anything else. We also have a ‘short day’, usually Friday, where I put several odds and ends.
Our 1x/wk fine arts are done right before lunch, except Monday, which will be done as an evening reading.
I have it much more coordinated this year than last. I decided to tie picture study, nature study, and drawing together. The composers that I chose also have pieces that reflect nature.
M- chapter from Parables from Nature, by Mrs. Alfred Gatty
T-drawing lessons using Drawing Textbook, by Bruce McIntyre
W-artists Audubon, Linnaeus, and Potter (1/term) using Discovering Great Artists for the first two, various living books, pictures/illustrations, and Beatrix Potter: Her Life and Her Little Books Reading Guide from Calvert School.
Th-Nature walk with magnifying glass drawing. 1 collection focus per term. Term 1 insects, Term 2 leaves, Term 3 flowers.
F-composers/music study during lunch. 1/term. Handel, Haydn, Mendelssohn
I’m not sure this will trigger ideas, but I’m excited about it as it is greatly reduced from last year. I think it will likely be more valuable than trying to learn about an artist and composer each week.
HTH,
Becca<><
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