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What do I do now?
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Hi! My name is Alana, and I am a mother to 6 children (DS 14,11,9,7 and DD 4,2). If making mistakes with my children’s education equals experience, then I am VERY experienced! By nature, I have a very hard time with consistency. Our schooling has been very sporatic, and has consisted of jumping from one curriculum to another. I am so ashamed when I look over the past 9 years. It amazes me that our children have turned out so well. Thank God for mercy and grace. Our three oldest boys are excellent readers, well above their “grade” level. Our youngest son is learning now. The oldest two are excellent musicians, and our involved with our church’s music ministry. They are (for the most part) well behaved, well adjusted kids. I am so thankful for this. However, they are not on grade level in Math. They have had very little science or history instruction. Foreign language is not even on the map. Geography is, well… I did hang a US and a world map in the dining room, and they have actually learned a good bit at meal time. With God’a help, I am overcoming my nature…and we need some help in our school. My eldest began using Life of Fred for math a while back, and has made great strides. The 11yo is still trying to learn his multiplication facts. The 9yo is learning addition and subtraction facts. We really want to study American history, but I see that SCM doesn’t have that guide ready yet. Will it work to just read the books listed and do a book of centuries or timeline? We are actually using the Genesis thru Deuteronomy during our Bible studies. For Science, we love the idea of living books, and I’ve purchased a few from the list here, and we have enjoyed them. Will this work for high school? We actually have Apologia General & Physical Science, but my son did not enjoy them at all. We do not have a television, and we monitor their computer time, so reading is a BIG hit around here. I am comfortable using the living books, as I know my kids will retain much more this way, but I just worry that we won’t be doing enough for high school. Although, anything will beat what we have done so far. ;0). As far as grammar, my kids enjoy writing stories, but their spelling is atrocious. Did I spell that right? LOL! They all need more grammar instuction. I have loads of books and curriculum. I just feel so overwhelmed. I apologize for rambling on like I have. It’s just easier because I can’t see your faces. My friends think I really have it all together. When I try to talk to them about this, they just really don’t understand. :0). I come to you with my hat in my hand, asking you for some guidance. Thanks so much. Alana
Oh my! I read over my post and noticed the horrid grammar and spelling. I’m so sorry. I am using my phone to send these posts, and I got a little finger happy. ;0). Alana
Wow, are we related???? You summed up our homeschool experience. Sorry your feeling overwhelmed, I understand completely. We just found SCM and are in the almost exact same boat. We have hs’ed for 5 years, switched curriculums a dozen times. My children are behind in math and have little to no science and history experience or geography for that matter. One of them is a horrible speller and grammar… well we’ve been as sporatic for that as with the other subjects. I feel completely overwhelmed and seem to be falling apart. I don’t have a 14 yo though. Mine are DS 11, DS 9, DD7, DD 2 and DD 10 months. My children are, for the most part, well behaved. Although we need to work on some good habits. 🙂
I know the wonderful people on here will give you great advice. And they will tell you, YES, CM way is enough for highschool. But they will give you helpful advice to help. Sorry I can’t, yet. Maybe we both can give others some in years to come. 🙂 But for now all I can say is to keep pressing. God is merciful and full of grace. (And I’m talking to myself as well. 😉 )
Hi, I have a suggestion that might help with addition and multiplcation facts. I am using the Addition the Fun Way set from http://www.citycreek.com/. They have Times Tables the Fun Way also. We also use Math-U-See and my girls love math. The City Creek Press series really is a fun way to learn the facts. It works great for kids that do better with stories and pictures than with numbers.
ETA: I only use the student book and cd not all the other “stuff”. I also know that it might not be considered very CM :).
I was the same way until God showed me the CM methods. And at first I too wrestled with the thoughts that this seems too simple and it’s not enough. But with prayer and MUCH help I’ve found here at SCM, we are in the process of making some headway. (Our children are 19, 12 and 9)
Once I was convinced that this was the way God was leading me, I elminated everything that didn’t line up with the CM methods (curriculum, books, catalogues, etc.), so I could focus without distraction (I tend to be ADD
). Take note: this was NOT EASY! But, looking back it was necessary and most helpful. I’ve followed the curriculum guide on this website pretty closely for a couple of years and now I’m beginning to feel more confident in choosing living books on my own that may not be listed here. The only exception is that we too are a bit off grade level in math. But, I found that it’s best to just stick with the same program and go more slowly than to keep switching, trying to find the “perfect fit” for each child. This was confusing them more. (Unfortunately, we found out the hard -and expensive- way.
) But, as you said, God is gracious and merciful!!! We have tried different grammar programs, and I now feel so free from that!! We used Jr. Analytical Grammar with our 11 year old last year and the wonderful thing about it was that once we were done with it (about 11 or 12 weeks), we only used Mad Libs for reinforcement for the rest of the school year. We didn’t have to draw it out forever!!!! We also tried different spelling programs. Thankfully, I’m free from that now too! (and so are the kids.) I’ve seen more progress with their spelling since we waited until they were reading fluently to begin dictation. They study the passage before, noticing which words are unfamiliar and paying attention to the spelling of those; which happens to only be 1 or 2 each time. So they gain confidence with this method too, because they aren’t staring at an overwhelmingly long list of unknown words.
As far as history and science go, we hadn’t been consistent either until I started following this curriculum guide. In fact I’m learning right along with them, because I don’t remember much from my ps education. Another bonus with this method: the child is held responsible for their own learning instead of me knowing ‘everything’ and then pouring it into them.
Our oldest just graduated this year and to encourage you, (NOT to boast, because the Lord carried us through all this) she graduated 3rd in a class of 62, got a 28 on her ACT (30 on the English part, which allowed her to enter college with 6 credits in English without having to take the classes) and received a full paid tutiton to the local college. So, yes this method is ‘enough’ for High Schoolers.
Be encouraged, don’t give up, and may God give you an undivided heart for what He knows will work best for your family.
Blessings,
mj
Thanks so much for the encouraging responses. In my distress, I cried unto the Lord. I believe He led me to Simply Charlotte Mason. I really do. I am so thankful for those that carried the burden to bring Charlotte Mason to us. I am also so thankful to those that took the time to respond to my post. You were a blessing that I reaaaally needed. 🙂
As I have walked thru “Planning a CM Education”, I am seeing the bigger picture. I feel more confident and at peace with where we are and where we are going. I do have a few more questions concerning my 14 yo son. Since he only has a few more years of school left, I am planning the next few years of “family” studies around his needs.
Grammar: He needs more instruction, but I can’t decide if we should use Our Mother Tongue (we already have) or the KISS self instructional course online. Do any of you have experience with either of these? I have even considered purchasing Analytical Grammar, but I was just trying to use what I had.
Spelling: His spelling needs work too. Do you think using dictation consistently over the next 3 years will be all that he needs, or should I supplement with a spelling program? I have not used dictation before, so I don’t know if 3 years is long enough to turn things around.
Science: We will be reading the living book suggestions. I don’t know if he will go to college, but it is a possibility. Should we also use Apologia? If so, should we complete General or Physical before diving into Biology?
Do any of you have an plan/list that you used or will be using for the high school years? I would like to compare it to my plan to make sure that I haven’t left something out that we really need. :-). THANK YOU!!!
Dear Adamsfamily,
I am really too new to the CM method to have given much help so I waited and watched others that I knew would have more wisdom than I.
This site and those who post here are so encouraging, but not without *real* step by step help. That’s what I love. I need the encouragement just like everyone else at times, but I also need real *tell me exactly what to do help* and this site is my *academic life-line* for that. mj’s response was full of encouragement AND real, honest to goodness help. I thank God daily for allowing me to school my kids at home AND have the assistants I need through this site:)
Just had to get that off my chest and out of my heart.
Alana,
These are my opinions, based off of our personal experience. I understand that others can take what they may have on their shelves and make it more CM friendly, but I don’t have that skill to the level that I’d feel comfortable doing it yet. Therefore, here’s my suggestion. (Maybe others will chime in as well.)
Grammar: Analytical Grammar
Spelling: Dictation (We did no other spelling program with the child that just graduated that I spoke of above AND I didn’t really learn about dictation until her last 2 1/2 years of high school. So I think the 3 years would be enough for him. Along with this though, I think he should be reading plenty of living books as well. Our daughter loves to read and I believe that has helped her to be a great speller.)
Science: Apologia Physical Science followed by Apologia Biology (our state requires 3 credits of science for graduation, 2 of which must contain labwork; we used Apologia Chemistry for our 3rd credit. Your state may be different.) (NOTE: I know there are others on this forum who didn’t care for Apologia’s high school books; maybe they can offer alternatives.)
The curriculum guide from this site is what we have followed. It’s very helpful for comparing your plan.
Let me reemphasize that I got rid of the curriculum I had that did not follow CM methods. Just having them on my shelves cluttered my mind (and the shelves!
). Keeping all those curriculums would be like taking along winter clothing AND summer clothing on your vacation to Acapulco. Leave behind what you know you won’t need. This was the most difficult yet most helpful thing in our transition to CM methods. It’s hard to get rid of something you spent money on and got little use from; and you think by keeping it you can alleviate some of the guilt you feel. Be free! Let it go! Blessings,
mj
I have basically followed mj’s method for converting over to a tee (is that how you express that?). We have slowly been converting for a good 6 months (although I have been utilizing many resources from this site for about 2 years) and I’m planning for the fall as I type this.
We/I have been decluttering all of the curric that is not CM friendly or that I can not tweak without too much tweaking and that has been liberating, to say the least!!! My kids are really enjoying this method and have found that I am not near as stressed as I was before.
I have followed the guide for all of my kids (3 boys) and that has been very helpful to make some decision, plus the discussion forum has been invaluable to me:)
Blessings to you and your family.
Hi Alana! Welcome to SCM! This is a great place to get help (emotionally, spiritually and oh yah….school-related!) I second the Analytical Grammar and Apologia. The good thing about AG is that it doesn’t take all year, just 13 weeks each year for 3 years! We’ve started it and it’s going fine. I don’t require diagramming, the program is BIG into diagramming.
Thanks y’all! I’ve spent a lot of time over the weekend with my head stuck to my computer screen. Using the curriculum guide, I mapped out a basic K-12 curriculum for our family. I followed the curriculum guide closely. I may have to tweak it eventually, but right now I’m going to rely on those with experience! :-). I have decluttered a lot of non-CM books & materials from my shelves… but not all. I’m still at that, “I paid $60 bucks for this and didn’t hardly use it!” stage. :0). I am going to work on it one shelf at a time, starting today. Prayers for fortitude are greatly appreciated. Tee hee. I must say that the, “OH NO! WHAT AM I GOING TO DO!!!” feeling is gone. That, in itself, is a miracle for me. Now, I have a plan, so I must DO IT! For Ms. Inconsistent here, that will be another miracle… but maybe this Mama can learn a few things from CM too!
I do need a word of advice on foreign language curriculum. I may be able to borrow an older version of Rosetta Stone Spanish from our church’s Christian school, but it’s still a maybe. I also have a Prima Latina teacher’s manual & student book that I bought at the local thrift store, but it says it’s for grades 1 – 4… I’m thinking this may not be CM friendly since it involves more than hearing & speaking???? (Is this another to declutter, mj?). ;0) Any recommendations for a course for my older students, in case the borrowing thing doesn’t work out? Something a little less expensive than Rosetta Stone would be nice.
Thanks again for your advice and encouragement! Y’all are a blessing…
Alana
Isn’t God great?! I have those “OH NO!” moments way more than I’d like, but thankfully we have One who rescues and delivers.
I’m not familiar with Prima Latina, but our oldest did the Rosetta Stone Spanish (before we found CM)-I will not be using it for our youngers. She made it through, but said it was a drudgery to her. She’s not a complainer, so I didn’t find out how much she disliked it until we were done with it. Fortunately for our younger children, we’ve moved closer to my parents; my mom is fluent in Spanish and has taught it in high school and college and also teaches English to many Spanish speaking residents in our community. So she has been working with ours for a year and a half–a wonderful blessing. Maybe someone else has experience with high school level spanish that is CM friendly.
Good luck going through your shelves!
). Take note: this was NOT EASY! But, looking back it was necessary and most helpful. 
) But, as you said, God is gracious and merciful!!! 
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