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Only Child?
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Hello All! I have been reading these forums for a while, and trying my best to implement a CM style education with my daughter who is 8. We started with AO, but I am appreciating more of the book selections, and the scheduling of things here at SCM more and more.
I am wondering if there are others of you who are using this method with only one child? Amanda is our fourth child (and our last). Her siblings are 25, 20 and 17(nearly). As I read about how others are implementing these methods, so much seems to revolve around olders helping youngers, or about re-using/re-inforcing the books/information as other siblings go through the same modules. Is it truly possible to use this program well with only one? We are currently using books from AO Year 1, and trying to develop her narration skills. She is resisting, but progressing slowly(mostly she tries to repeat verbatim what I have read, so generally I get the last sentence read back perfectly!)
So, maybe I am just over analyzing this? Perhaps this is the end of the year panic of ‘Is this really working? Maybe I shoud try something else?’. My dh is supportive of my homeschooling, but I think he looks for progress markers like you would find in PS. I also am required to test our daughter each year, I’m afraid she may not perform as well as her ‘grade’ suggests.
Ok, rambling on now, sorry. Any thoughts, comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated. I love this method of instructing/learning and would like to continue, but I can’t always tell if we are making progress or not.
Paula
Have you checked out this blog? http://jimmiescollage.com/ She’s a CMer with one child.
I think that in a lot of ways it would easier =) We are implementing the youngers in simply because that is where we are in our seasons. The methods stay the same – one or many. The immediate advantage to just one is that you will be able to spend more time with her and do some of the additional activities that we can’t simply because we do have the littles.
I think that you have the normal attack of nerves. I also think that it works with one, don’t worry so much about the tests, and enjoy your daughter while you can. =)
I agree that it could be done with one.
About the tests – where you live, what happens to the results? I know a lot of states require a test, but the results aren’t even submitted unless a problem is suspected/reported by someone. And in many states where results are looked at, nothing will happen unless the child is under a certain percentile….
so what I’m trying to say, is probably the tests don’t really “mean” anything, so don’t worry about them.
My oldest is 10 years older than her next sibling. So, essentially we homeschooled her as an only. By the time I had a second one old enough to “school” she was independent (16 years old). We have always used CM techniques. We truly schooled together (her and I). I am very thankful for that time alone with her. We have such a close relationship because of that time. Talk!!! Share!!! Listen!!! She will be fine. She will grow with nurturing and time – the wonderful way of Charlotte Mason!
We did not have to test back then but we do now. I decided to hold one of my children back a grade on paper so that he doesn’t have to test at his current grade because he has learning issues. Is that an options?
Paula, We’re getting ready to go out of town, so this will have to be brief. I just wanted to let you know there are others of us. My olders are 30, 29, and 25, and we’re CM’ing a 9yo girl. It seems to me that there are positives and negatives of almost any situation, but I’ve found many positives in this method with an only. This school year followed a devastating tragedy in our family, and has been/is the hardest time of all of our lives. The flexibility, the nurturing of nature, the focus on relationships, have all been helpful. It hasn’t all been pretty and I have so much to learn about truly implementing CM, so I’m not one to advise. But I would encourage you to keep on, give yourself and daughter a lot of grace, and remember that often growth is so slow.
I can be more specific if you ever want, about how we’ve done some things – not that it’s all been great or perfect. I just wanted to shoot out a word of encouragement.
HI
I am homeschooling my son, who is also 8 and an only. It definately can work; we love it. Like everything in life, it has its challenges. But we’ve found it well worth the effort so far. We are wrapping up our second year using CM, and he is getting better at listening and narrating. That is definately a skill that takes practice. Sometimes I take a turn at narrating, since there isn’t another kid to take turns with. It also provides an opportunity for him to see what we’re aiming at, to see it modeled. He also went through a thankfully brief period of wanting to sing his narrations. Although it was hard to listen to, I let it go since he was becoming more cooperative and really starting to get the idea. 🙂 I’ve seen lots of threads on narration that offer ideas for different ways of doing narration, like acting it out, etc. Those might be worth looking for. One of the main things I remember for when its a new thing being practiced is to start out narrating shorter passages, or shorter portions of a reading, and build up.
I would also recommend, if you’re not already, linking up with a homeschool group for social activities like park days. Our weekly park days mean alot to ds, in addition to other things we’re involved in like church and sports (he’s extremely athletic). That’s not really related to anything CM, just being an only kid. 🙂 That may be more important to some kids than others, though, depending on personality.
HTH,
Melissa in TX
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