I am at a loss as to how to use the CMM. I am stuck in the text/workbook mode and feel like if I don’t do them I am not giving my child what she needs. With many processessing issues I am afraid that I am pushing to hard.
But at the same time how hard should I push. I have just started and she hates to read due to the struggle. Any suggestions? and how can I ease into this method and still understand that I am giving the amount of education needed?
I feel, For the Children’s Sake, is the better of the two for starting out, if you had to choose one or reading time is limited.
To really trust and move forward with CMM, I really think it takes a leap of faith and educating yourself with her methods. Many of us, me included, ran into a wall with institutionalized ways of teaching in our homes. This lead us to the CMM way. I felt I was pushing too hard and learning just became unenjoyable for my eldest and I. (My two younger haven’t started school officially yet.)
Letting go of the ‘we are missing something’ is one of the hardest parts of homeschooling in general, I think. I am confident if you implement CMM ways in your home, you will see a change in your struggles.
I would start with some reading, and maybe implement things slowly, starting with reading. Comb this site for helps on how to get started and you will find most things you need; not only for confidence but also helps to get started.
I think you will be overjoyed with the changes you see in your homeschool, if you give CMM a shot. Read enough to feel confident and slowly implement.
This is going to sound strange, but if she sees you struggling to learn something new, it will help. I am learning sign language, so one day I signed the book as dd read it aloud. I told her that we both needed practice to become fluent.
Also, I have learned to stay calm and encouraging if she fusses about reading aloud.
Teach a Child to Read with Children’s Books has lists of real books for each level. We are reading those books instead of readers.
It takes a lot of patience and time for both of you. Keeping reading lessons short helps.
We do reading lessons daily, and dd is making progress. She doesn’t like reading lessons, but she likes to read on her own. During lessons I model how to sound out words she doesn’t know, or tell her the sight words.
I’m learning that daily practice using short lessons produces results. Which curriculum I chose isn’t as ultra important as I thought. If we do something for reading, writing, math, etc. we will see results, and with CM methods it is easier to maintain a love of learning.
How old is she? What types of struggles with learning? Are they diagnosed or suspected? There are so many different options and suggestions depending on the situation and each child is different.