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Willa
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| Posted: March 24 2007 at 11:00pm | IP Logged
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Cay Gibson wrote:
It might sound a little weird but whenever I feel our days are running off-balanced and need some formation, I always ask how do religious orders run their day? and start digging around for various religious schedules. Then I adapt them to our day and our needs. I've looked at the Carmelite schedule, the Benedictine schedule, and others.
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Andrea Chen who now runs Mercy Academy wrote a web page about Avilian (based on St Teresa) scheduling.
She lists several types of monastery or convent schedules (horariums -- I love that term for them!) and then makes this point, which was so KEY to me a few years back and bears recollection regularly:
It’s important to mention that this table is presented not to suggest that families should live like religious orders, but that they should be careful not to live lives that are more rigorous and penitential then religious orders. Also that much can be learned about incorporating rest and recreation into the daily routine as well as scheduling in specific times for ones “work.”
I think that this is important to remember in regard to seasons too -- just as the Church has seasons of penance and seasons of celebration, it is permissible to have seasons of more formal work in the homeschool and seasons of "life learning".
It might be helpful to remember that the pioneer schooling system had long breaks where the children worked at home instead of doing formal academics. The relative academic success of earlier schools compared to nowadays might be BECAUSE of this rather than in spite of it -- it's at least something to ponder, especially with our active boys who need large muscle movement to develop their brains. SImilarly, the Colfax boys in northern California spent a good part of the year homesteading and fit their academics into the winter months when there was less to do, and ended up qualifying for Ivy League Colleges. This is about: Less is Sometimes More.
Sorry this last part is hurried but I have a tired little one who needs help!
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Willa
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lapazfarm
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Cay, that schedule intrigues me.
If we looked at the "conferences" as times set aside for a brief lesson AND THEN THE CHILD IS LEFT TO "walk, think, write, meditate, pray, read Scripture, etc." then I think it could work in a relaxed homeschool (especially for littles) very well. Looks like 2 morning lessons, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. Not too shabby of a school schedule. (Think of possibly math and reading in the am, a history/nature read aloud before nap, and an evening Latin lesson? Or any other order, really)
Actually this is about the schedule of lessons I do with my dd, though not as rigidly adhered to. Short lessons scattered throughout the day, with lots of time to ponder in between.
Add to that schedule a seasonal variety in the subject matter, and you may have an ideal situation for schooling little ones.
With older dc, I think it could still be very fruitful, just allowing that some of the "pondering" time will involve completing assignments, projects, etc.
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: March 25 2007 at 9:37am | IP Logged
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Willa,
The link you sent reads:
The GeoCities web site you were trying to view has temporarily exceeded its data transfer limit. Please try again later. 
But I do remember it. I printed it out a long time ago and have it somewheres.
Theresa,
I was thinking the two morning session and one afternoon would work for us. My schedule drops off at 3:00 because my oldest dd gets home at that time and dh gets off at 3:30 and we have dance, CCD, sports, etc. There's no way I can follow any other schedule after 3 PM. But I do like what you said about having an evening Latin lesson. What a great idea! 
What I like about the Ignatian spiritual exercises is that they are short and power packed (ie: Charlotte Mason's short lessons). The director does not lecture. He is trained to give you spiritual nourishment and to meet you where you are at in your spiritual walk. Then you are left to master what you have learned (ie: masterly inactivity).
The spiritual exercises are all about "being" the child of God. It's a lesson in being "educated by our intimacies".
So like CM, I'm amazed at the likeness.
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"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
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lapazfarm
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Cay Gibson wrote:
But I do like what you said about having an evening Latin lesson. What a great idea!
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An occasional evening lesson has always worked well for us. They do say that it helps alot for memorization to go over something right before bed. Gives the mind a jump start in turning short-term into long-term memory (which happens during sleep). I've always thought I should try this with multiplication tables or the like and see if it works better.
Cay Gibson wrote:
What I like about the Ignatian spiritual exercises is that they are short and power packed (ie: Charlotte Mason's short lessons). The director does not lecture. He is trained to give you spiritual nourishment and to meet you where you are at in your spiritual walk. Then you are left to master what you have learned (ie: masterly inactivity).
The spiritual exercises are all about "being" the child of God. It's a lesson in being "educated by our intimacies".
So like CM, I'm amazed at the likeness. |
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This is what stood out for me as well. Very CM.
Is this yet another thread? LOL!
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Cay Gibson
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lapazfarm wrote:
This is what stood out for me as well. Very CM.
Is this yet another thread? LOL! |
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 Not sure.
Seems we're trying to find a good evenness in planning and executing. Religious orders are very good about following a seasonal *liturgical* map. I think it all fits together.
What say all of you?
Keeping with the seasonal/orderliness, I was reading "Thomas Merton: An Introduction" by William H. Shannon (love his writing) on the way to see PawPaw today.
Of course, what leaped out at me? On pg. 40:
"Once he had settled in at the hermitage, he sent a copy of his daily schedule to the Abbot..."
So here we have the schedule of a monk:
2:15 AM Rise
Laud; meditation until 5:00 AM
Breakfast, Lectio (reading of Scripture) until 7:30 AM
Then Prime and Rosary
8:00 AM Manual Work, chores, etc.
9:30 AM Terce, sext, none
Then to the monastery for private Mass, followed by thanksgiving and part of the psalter; dinner in infirmary refectory.
Then return to hermitage
Siesta or light reading;
Vespers at 1 PM, followed by meditation
2:15 PM writing, work or walk;
4:15 PM vigils anticipated.
5:00 PM supper, followed by compline
6:00 PM New Testament, meditation, examen
7:00 PM Retire.
[Edited: I corrected a few obvious typos.  ]
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BrendaPeter
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Helen wrote:
[QUOTE=WJFR] Thanks for that nice outline, Helen.
The way you lay things out always sounds so Ignatian to me. |
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Thanks Willa, I was a little embarrassed by airing so much of my thought process. But, if it sounds Ignatian, I'm really THRILLED!
Dear Helen,
You might also like Kolbe's booklet "Implementing the Ignatian Education in the Home" as you definitely touched on some of the ideas mentioned there.
We've talked about "The Latin-Centered Curriculum" before & you do seem to be right in line with "Multus non Multa".
Happy to loan you my copies of both!
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Willa
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| Posted: March 25 2007 at 6:46pm | IP Logged
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Tina P. wrote:
| I guess that because pretty much everything we were doing was stalemating (maybe our whole FAMILY was experiencing burnout of a sort for the past several YEARS and we didn't even know it!)and because the changes we made followed on the heels of Christmas break, I felt that our mid-year shift was justified. |
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Oh, of course. I did the same thing, actually. I revised the whole way of doing things in January. It made a big difference. If I remember right, when Leonie talked about "terms" she meant either 12 week or 9 week or whatever would be the conventional time period. I think the institutional school mindset is to think in terms of "the school year" but homeschools can do it a bit differently and make changes within the school year. Maybe expecting that and even planning for it would make us feel less guilty about "not sticking with it" or whatever else we might tell ourselves.
I think one of the reasons I did that unschooling sabbatical last year was because we were burned out as a family and I really wanted to make a new start rather than just use the old outworn ways. Now that I've done that I have so much more enthusiasm and confidence in what we're doing now and the kids are making up for lost time -- if it was really "lost" at all. And I didn't burn out this February or March.
What you were saying on your other thread about finding what works sounds a bit the same.
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Helen
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BrendaPeter wrote:
| Dear Helen, You might also like Kolbe's booklet "Implementing the Ignatian Education in the Home" as you definitely touched on some of the ideas mentioned there. |
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Yes, I think I would like to read the Ignatian pamphlet. Brenda, would you mind bringing it with you the next time I see you?
I really haven't read much that would be considered Ignatian. Fr. Nirala, whom I've mentioned as the author of Achieving Peace of Heart, is a Jesuit. Perhaps that's what sounds Ignatian.
Otherwise I've been reading CM, Marian books and Franciscan books. (Although my 4Real patron saint is St. Francis Xavier - is he telling me something? )
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onemoretracy
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I am sure several here have read ....A Mother's Rule of Life and that is what keeps coming back to me after reading this thread. I have the book and i have tried to slowly implement some of what is suggested but it was a bit too rigid for us. I need to go back and tinker some more....
On the whole, living a liturgical/seasonal/organic life is so appealing to me. I read In This House of Brede awhile ago, before HS even and reading about the seasons being lived out in a cloister was so soothing, yet totally engaging to me. I longed for it after reading the book and fantasized about a missed vocation, !
I have always seen the RL style as already sort of like this. Many of our rabbit trails have been seasonally themed and the more rigid subjects, math, spelling etc.. are such a small part of our day I guess I feel we are sort of doing this already.
I love this thread, bc I have been feeling a bit loosey goosey and I like the points Helen has given, I think this will help with keeping a continued sense of purpose and vision.
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Leonie
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Hi all,
Back from hols/work conference and enjoying the thread..
We do an organic form of seasonal learning - there are no hard and fast rules , so it can differ from year to year. But I do find we do more nature study, for example, in spring and autumn. We do more focused work in winter. Lots of outings and read alouds in summer. We always make a book towards the end of the year, prior to Advent stuff...
We also think in blocks of terms - roughly ten weeks. I think of a focus ( or one just comes up) and, although we do other things too, the focus is our One Thing. When I read good ideas I don't feel guilty that we are not undertaking them right now - we either drop other things for a week or two or I note the ideas down for next term...
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Mary G
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| Posted: March 27 2007 at 4:36pm | IP Logged
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Cay Gibson wrote:
Here's the Ignatian Retreat Schedule (pretty much the only religious schedule I'm familiar with in real life):
7:00 AM Rise
7:40 AM Morning prayer
7:45 AM Breakfast
8:40 AM Rosary
9:00 AM Conference (a 30-minute talk and reflection are given at each conference session then we are left to walk, think, write, meditate, pray, read Scripture, etc.)
11:00 AM Conference
12:10 PM Angelus
12:15 PM Dinner, Rest
2:45 PM Rise
3:00 PM Conference
4:15 PM Stations of the Cross
5:15 PM Eucharistic Celebration (followed by Angelus)
6:00 PM Supper
7:30 PM Conference (followed by Night Prayers & Confessions)
Retire at will.
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Cay,
I really like this schedule -- I like the short conference (class-lecture) time of 30 mins and spread throughout the day in 4 or 5 chunks ....it seems to be a wonderful mix of unschooling or CM's masterly inactivity with formal scheduling/habit building times....
Hmm, this also answers my question about when to make kids get up, etc.....
This is very cool (as is your sig quote from Emeril, Cay!)
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Shari in NY
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Mary G wrote:
[QUOTE=Cay Gibson] Here's the Ignatian Retreat Schedule
This is very cool (as is your sig quote from Emeril, Cay!)
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Oh! Mary! Thanks for the first great laugh of my day Where else but this forum would a grown woman look at an Ignation retreat schedule and say "Cool!) And I totally agree 
Shari
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: March 28 2007 at 3:14pm | IP Logged
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I really like the Ignatian schedule and I know that it is a forumula that works and leaves ample time for meditation and masterly inactivity. It's a perfect match for our family. So Sunday night I jotted down this quick list to begin on Monday. I'm not a lover of doing this because I always know in the back of my mind that it will not last. But Willa and Helen's ponderings and schedules give me hope and courage.
I was very mindful of retaining a seasonal/organic flow and keeping in mind the normal flow of our day:
Quote:
I know we have to do math. In today's world that's a no-brainer. Because of the Pope's new Sacramentum Caritatis I want to place Latin as a focal point as well. I just used English from the Roots Up with my older three and haven't used it with the younger two at all. Reading every day. I want to touch on the Greek Myths and offer a steady diet of poems and Shakespeare. Science will be sporadic and more hands-on than book learning.
7 AM Rise - Dress - Check email
8 AM Prayers - Devotional - Candle for all intentions
8:30 Breakfast - Seasonal poem - Religion Q/A
9 AM Latin Prayers
Math for all
11 AM Reading:
M/W - Heidi, then individual choice
Tu/Th - Greek Myth, then individual choice
Friday - Lambs' Shakespeare
12 Noon Angelus - selected poetry reading (MODG)
Lunch while listening to:
M/W - Rosary CD
Tu/Th - Music Masters
F - Chant
12:30 Rest - Silent reading
2 PM English and Writing
2:30 Art / English from Roots Up Word/ Latin Study-LCI/ Cajun French word or phrase
3 PM Sign Language (requested by Chelsea)
3:30 PM Science - Nature Study |
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I debated around scheduling nature study immediately after rest time to get them outside but I know my children. Once they're let outside that's the end of our day. They're like little birds let out of their cage.
Like I wrote earlier, I don't schedule after 3-3:30 PM because of dh's work schedule and outside curriculums.
I also focused in on that
One Thing a Day:
Quote:
Monday: Library
Tuesday: CCD/ Visit MawMaw
Wednesday: Piano
Thursday: Dance
Friday: Group Activities/Aquatic Center |
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And that One Thing a Month:
Quote:
American Girl Club
4-H Club
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One Thing a Season:
Quote:
Autumn: Academics
Winter: Solitude/Being/Home
Spring: Nature
Summer: Family
Faith is a given...year round.
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Thank you for bearing with me. I am constantly trying to fit our life into something that makes sense and is meaningful. But life happens faster than I can address it. 
As they say..."the best laid plans..." . I wrote this lovely set-up on Sunday night and intented to start it on Monday morning.
Instead the past three days have just happened in random living and learning and nothing has been in order and no Latin has been touched. No CHC workbooks have been opened.
I've been looking over other blogger's daily learning notes and I note the copywork and the math programs, etc. being used and our schooling looks so unschooling by comparison.
My head prefers a classical, structured curriculum but my heart finds joy in the haphazard beautiful spring days we've been having. So, in the education of my children, what should be considered first? My head? or my heart?
And I ask myself the final question: "Are they learning?"
Yes, they are!
And my curious little girl has not been saying anything about wanting to go to school these past couple weeks. Of course, she said that said-school-friend has not been saying anything about school either. So there's the culprit. I know she's still curious but at least she seems happy now and we're floating merrily along. 
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JenniferS
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Cay,
That is wonderful. May I be a copycat to some degree???
Jen
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Paula in MN
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JenniferS wrote:
Cay,
That is wonderful. May I be a copycat to some degree???
Jen |
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Me too?!
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 Paula
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Helen
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| Posted: March 28 2007 at 4:37pm | IP Logged
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Great post Cay! Thank you
Why do you have poetry twice? Is the morning poetry for enjoyment and the afternoon for memory work?
I have a funny story with my seven year old son and poetry. Just as we were piling into the van for Sunday Mass, he stops me in the garage and said,
"You know Mom Paul Revere said, 'There is a time for the casting of gold and there is a time for the casting of canons. I think it sounds better if he had said,
'There is the time for the casting of Gold and a time for the casting of bullets.'"
Even in that hurried state that exists before Sunday Mass, I realized that my 7 year old had been "thinking."
As a result, I've been thinking that poetry might be one of the simplest (quickest) ways to introduce "ideas" into the school day on a regular basis.
So Cay's schedule with 2 slots for poetry really jumps out at me!
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: March 28 2007 at 5:05pm | IP Logged
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Super ideas, ladies! I have to run to the store but I will be adding my thoughts to this soon as well.
Just thought I'd warn ya! 
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rose gardens
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lapazfarm wrote:
Here are my very early thoughts on what the seasons of homeschooling could look like:
Autumn: we are full of energy after a summer break. Cooler weather gives us a lift. This is the time to tackle subjects like new math concepts, latin or foreign language, and get in some good nature study before the winter hits. Go camping!
Winter: Hibernation time! Excellent time to schedule those living history read-alouds, bake bread like the pioneers, and write stories. Math and Latin are on maintenence mode. Let nature study go unless there is a lovely crisp day or a fresh snow to inspire you to get out.
Christmas: is a natural break where we can celebrate, decorate and enjoy a break from routine, and do crafts to keep little hands busy while cooped up indoors.
Late winter: Didn't do enough science? Well now is the time for geology-study rocks,the soil, and landforms before the leaves come back and cover it all up. Besides, you need to test the soil in preparation for your garden, right? Time to get out the seed catalogs and start planning!
Spring: Time to get out and get your hands dirty! Plant, build, do! After a winmter of sloth it feels good to get moving! Read nature stories on the porch, feed the birds, start an exercise program, build a trebuchet and knock down a castle!
Late spring/summer: Read good literature with a glass of sweet tea or lemonade, do a pond or stream study-any excuse to get wet and cool down! Visit museums and libraries as well as pools and rec centers. take a trip to somewhere new and journal it!
Are you ready for next year yet?
Anyway, just my early thoughts and ramblings! Please tell me what you think!
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I love it! I look forward to reading more of your thoughts.
I pondered this seasonal flow to our homeschooling lives this year. Winter here in Minnesota is l-o-n-g and very cold, and I concluded earlier that the most difficult and important thing for us was to STAY WARM--meaning warm and loving. (Relating back to the burnout thread, I struggle with that mostly in January/February/March.) This year, we mostly cozied up in front of the fire and read lots of books. We did other academics too, but my primary goal was to stay warm, cozy and loving during the time of year when it's easy to be cold to each other.
Yes, there are definately various seasons in the homeschooling year. Finally recognizing that helped me a lot this past winter.
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lapazfarm
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So much wisdom here!
Rose gardens-I love what you said about staying warm and loving as a winter focus. Cabin fever can get SO UGLY, can't it? Definitly need to keep that in mind here.
Cay, do you find often that you make lovely plans on a weekend and by monday they are out the window? I know I do. ALOT! What can we do to keep our plans more realistic? Or are we just dreamers at heart?LOL! Nothing wrong with that, its just that sometimes it can get a bit frustrating to see pages of well-though-out plans go unused. Again.
Helen, I love the idea of using more poetry to introduce ideas. If I had an appropriate poem, it might be a great introduction to a topic, a great little "kick-off" so to speak. Now, where to find all these great poems? I have a few resources that are good, but I always forget to pull them out!
I can be quite a scatterbrain, really. Maybe that is why the seasonal approach appeals to me. If I follow my natural inclinations, rather than fighting them, I have a greater chance at actually arriving at my intended destination!LOL!
Here is an example of where planning gets me into trouble: this afternoon we were in the car on errands. I had left our read-alouds on the porch and since there was a chance of rain I asked ds to grab them on the way to the car. So there they sit in the car and ds gets bored and starts reading our history read-aloud. Alot of it! My first reaction was "I need to stop him. If he reads this now, it will spoil our read-aloud time." Then it hit me (I can be a bit dense!LOL!) What was I thinking!?! He is reading American history! And he is sharing and talking about it and asking questions and enjoying it!I should be celebrating, not worrying about my "plans."
Anyway, this is just one example of why my plans never work and why I can never plan more than a few weeks at a time.
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: March 28 2007 at 11:45pm | IP Logged
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JenniferS wrote:
Cay,
That is wonderful. May I be a copycat to some degree???
Jen |
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Go right ahead, ladies. Enjoy!
And let me know how you improve it.
Helen wrote:
| Why do you have poetry twice? Is the morning poetry for enjoyment and the afternoon for memory work? |
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Exactly.
Helen, a secret to share. I am the world's worse with keeping track of our poetry readings. We'll spend two weeks or so going strong and enjoying it then it just vanishes from the schedule and I'm too lax to notice.
Now, in self-defense, I will say the children are exposed randomly each week through their other lessons. We've been using Hillside Education's "Stories with a View" this year which offers a steady diet of poems and Seton's Handwriting book often give poems to copy. And my 9 yr old literally walks around the house and outside with her nose stuck in a petite size "A Child's Garden of Verses" book (Minature Edition published by Running Press).
We love poetry but we aren't disciplined with it.
I want the morning poetry selection to be fun and seasonal. We'll use Helen Ferris "Favorite Poems: Old and New". This book offers poems for everything from birthdays to bird-watching to pets to history to everything. It's such a fun book.
We'll read one poem then have a thoughtful Q/A religion question. Something thought provoking and meaningful. Questions that children are naturally curious about like "Will my pet go to heaven when he dies?" or ones they need to know like "What is purgatory?" I plan to use the excellent OOP book Eternal Wisdom which has beautiful artwork in it and great answers to go with the Q/A.
This morning poem and Q/A session will be very brief. Again, as you stated, Helen, it's a gentle opportunity to "introduce ideas into the day".
The second poetry session at lunch time will be our MODG memorization. This is a chance to gain the discipline I seek. We'll read and recite the same poem throughout the week and copy it on Friday.
Aside from poetry, I felt the need to schedule in the writing with English. I definitely need to get the 14 yr old son to do more writing. We'll do writing and use it as editing practice. We're way behind and he's far too weak with this skill.
I'm a little worried about the 2:30 PM time slot. I'm thinking of doing Art separately one or two days a week and leaving the Latin study, French and Sign Languages for the other three days.
I am not stressing myself over these extras languages. We'll use LCI and the CD. We'll only learn one French word or phrase each day and build our vocabulary that way. Again, I am not disciplined with this. Sign Language will be by way of videos and a book we own (I don't have it on hand for the title).
I'm still tweaking and sorting but, for the most part, I think this schedule will work better than any other has.
__________________
Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
mom to 5
Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Organic/Seasonal Learning
