Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our Patroness. You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our needs. You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to learn from the example of your holy life. You are our Mother, and like children, we come to offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive, dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively to our supplications. Amen.



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AngelaM
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Posted: Aug 20 2008 at 9:18pm | IP Logged Quote AngelaM

Hi...I have a 3rd grade boy, 1st grade girl, K girl and 3 and 1 yr old....I need some advice to begin this new style of teaching. this is my 2nd full year of homeschooling and my first in living books...can someone guide me on how to start?
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JeniferS
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Posted: Aug 20 2008 at 10:31pm | IP Logged Quote JeniferS

Winterpromise and Sonlight are both good packaged curriculums that incorporate a good amount of living books.



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Cindy Mac
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Posted: Aug 20 2008 at 10:52pm | IP Logged Quote Cindy Mac

I have a 5 yo kindergarten boy, an almost 4 yo kindergarten boy and a 20 month old and we are going to be using the Serendipity curriculum this year. Here' my plan for next year. Good luck!

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SylviaB
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Posted: Aug 21 2008 at 6:57am | IP Logged Quote SylviaB

Cindy,
I looked at your plan and it looks great! I also have a kindergarten/preschooler. I had never heard of Our 24 Family Ways. It works well for that age group? Anything non-Catholic that I need to be concerned about if I use it?
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TracyQ
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Posted: Aug 21 2008 at 9:25am | IP Logged Quote TracyQ

Another great program for younger years is Five in a Row. You can read about it here:
Five in a Row

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folklaur
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Posted: Aug 21 2008 at 12:05pm | IP Logged Quote folklaur

Everything I was going to suggest, has been. Five in a Row for the youngers, and Sonlight (or WP) for the older....

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Bookswithtea
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Posted: Aug 21 2008 at 12:59pm | IP Logged Quote Bookswithtea

The goal is to keep them together as much as possible. Easier on mom, happier kids because they are working together.

I would use either Serendipity or FIAR (Catholic Mosaic would be wonderful to go along with either). Both can accomodate your age spread and both are wonderful and relatively inexpensive as well. Sonight will require more than one level so I'd not recommend that at this point.

Make a general plan for what you want to cover over 4 days (don't try to school 5 days a week...unnecessary), and keep it simple. Less is more with kids your age. Plan to be done with everything by 11:30 am. Only exception is read alouds in the afternoon, if you'd like. Make a list of books you want to read aloud (for instance, I am taking the Serendipity alphabet path and then adding in the FIAR books that go along with each letter) and keep it somewhere close. Just work through them in whatever order you've determined. Don't stress over getting behind.

Best advice I learned last week from a certain board member (you know who you are ), go with what inspires you personally. If it looks joyful and you can't wait to get started, then you've found something that fits. No matter how good people say something is, if it doesn't look *fun* to you, it won't be when you try to do it.

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SallyT
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Posted: Aug 21 2008 at 1:18pm | IP Logged Quote SallyT

Another excellent resource -- not to make things more confusing! -- is Mater Amabilis. It's not a curriculum with specific lesson plans, but is a Catholic Charlotte-Mason program/syllabus with levels beginning at "Prep Level" (preschool/K) and still being added at the high-school level. Their book lists are beyond excellent (and all living books), and there's a wealth of information there about implementing a Charlotte Mason education from a Catholic perspective. There's also a very useful Teacher Training Forum dedicated to implementing the MA program.

We use MA very loosely -- mostly as a syllabus and a governing principle, if that makes any sense! But many, many of our favorite books have come from those lists. If you'd like an idea of what we do -- I have, currently, a high-schooler, a 5th-grader, a kindergartener and a preschooler -- stop by my homeschooling blog, Saint Daniel the Stylite Academy. My ages don't quite correspond to yours, but I hope I'm communicating how our family, at least, incorporates living books into our learning life.

Have fun -- sometimes the array of curriculum out there can be downright daunting, but as Books says, go with what makes you joyful!

Sally

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AngelaM
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Posted: Aug 23 2008 at 3:46pm | IP Logged Quote AngelaM

Thank you so much everyone for all your encouragement and info....I pray that this year will be fruitful. I am so grateful I amm starting a new approach...This is exactly what I have been looking and praying for.
Angela
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