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Seeking advice from experienced SCMers
- This topic has 6 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 5 months ago by
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Hi my name is Katie. I’m some what new to this method of HSing. I did meet Mrs. Shafer quite a few years ago, at a talk she gave in Grayson, GA during a HS meeting with the L.I.F.E. group and have been using the Scripture Memorization System ever since! So if you happen to read this Mrs. Shafer I’m so glad to have met you 🙂 I have thought about and looked at SCM method many times since then implementing ideas along the way but now I would like to “dive in” as its time to purchase new material. We have a large family so the idea of doing most of our lessons together is very appealing. We have 9 DC. Only 7 are at home, their ages range from newly 13 years – newly 1 year (identical twin girls). I’ve been reading through as much of the website & Discussion Forum as extra time allows LOL but I’d greatly appreciate a friend/mentor/sounding board with experience using SCM method that I can talk to! I have so many questions/concerns so please let me know if any of you would be able to help. Thank You
Welcome to the group, you’ll find lots of chatty, helpful moms here! I’m momma of soon to be 9 children (oldest is 14, youngest is newly 2 years old, no multiples). We’ve been around SCM for several years and it’s been a blessing, even when we use other materials we use them with CM principles guiding us, but SCM makes wonderfully simple what can be complicated. I love that they do family subjects! When you have questions just ask away!
Hi and welcome! There are many wonderful ladies here who are always glad to help. 🙂
Feel free to ask any questions and don’t forget to search the forum! There’s a wealth of information here.
Thank you ladies 🙂
Oh my goodness I typed a big message & it’s gone! I guess it was too long winded lol. As I remember the questions I’ll post them. Here’s what I can remember. I’ve been reading tons & filling out a curriculum planner with all the material we would need to “dive in”. To be honest I won’t be able to purchase it all at once soooo When just starting out, learning how to use the CM method, should I only teach what we can purchase? Would it be confusing to use other resources that I already have here? Example: Music Study, Poetry Also opinions/pros/cons between Instructions in Righteousness & Laying Down the Rails. I ask because we were given a copy of IIR, we’ve not used it yet though.
Very few of us actually use everything that SCM sells. They are wonderful products but most of us enjoy the freedom to pick and choose from a variety of resources.
I use SCM for Bible, picture study and composer study. I use a mix of SCM and Ambleside online selections for our history and literature. I use Apologia for science because my daughter is in 8th grade.
For poetry, we simply read poetry. 🙂 We cover character and habit formation in a more organic way. We just work it into every day life by discussing everything!
My point in writing all this is not to say that my way is the best way, but that there are many different ways to approach the various CM subjects. If you already have something and it works for you, use it by all means! Many things can be tweaked for a more CM flavor.
When I first began learning about Charlotte Mason’s methods, I started with living books and narration for history, literature and science. We started paying more attention to nature and getting out in it more. We listened to classical music and read books about artists while studying their works. I used what was available at my library for everything except math. Was it perfect? No, but it was a beginning and a great blessing to my family. Start where you are and with what you have. God will meet you there. 🙂
That said, I love the SCM products and would probably have bought the whole kit and caboodle had they been available and had I been able to afford them. They seem wonderful!
I agree with Melanie…there are so many possibilities for a CM education! I like to start with SCM’s free curriculum guide and often substitute in materials we already own. From there, I start looking at curriculum to fill in the remaining subjects. Some things are SCM, but many aren’t.
For music, I just use a free set of classical CDs that my mom gave me plus some mini-biographies from an old Childcraft Encyclopedia volume. I have years of music studies for what cost us less than $1 and it’s been a very effective program. I’m convinced you could have a wonderful education with a minimum about of money spent!
We have several poetry books that we use, most of which were purchased used…there’s also tons of free poems online (Ambleside Year 1 poems are great).
As far as what to start with, I’d focus on learning about CM methods and figuring out which materials you already own fit into a CM education. I’ve changed very little about our phonics from when we first started HSing (my DC have all used McGuffey readers and homemade flashcards). I also like to focus our budget on good resources instead of curriculum. I prefer things like Handbook of Nature Study or The ABCs and All Their Tricks or Laying Down the Rails because they can be used by multiple children for multiple years. Anything non-consumable is preferred since I have 5 DC.
Our personal favorite SCM items are the Visits To… series, the history guides, LDTR/LDTR for Children, Print to Cursive Proverbs, Spelling Wisdom, and the science guides. I’m currently going through the math DVD and book and am learning a lot with it! Anything consumable, I purchase the PDFs to print our own books, but I usually buy non-consumables in print copy.
Another great thing is that SCM sample pages contain the beginning lessons of the books, so it’s possible to start on the curriculum before you purchase it. After using it for a few weeks, it’s easy to see how it will work out before you make an actual purchase.
Another help is to buy books by the term instead of for the entire year. I have all the books we need to start out our year, but still need to buy books for terms 2 & 3. I like to place small orders throughout the year instead of one big order, unless I’m ordering from somewhere with higher shipping costs. Generally I place one order at SCM and Mathusee each year since they have higher shipping costs. The rest of our materials I order from Amazon or Rainbow Resource and take advantage of free shipping options. If you have a good library system that could lower your costs even more.
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