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mamacrow
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| Posted: July 19 2006 at 4:10pm | IP Logged
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I'm still trying to understand the CM method. But one of the things I wonder most about is how your schoolday is structured.
I personally like to compartmentalize my day, but of course that doesn't always work for my children.
Do you set a schedule with your children like say:
Math 8-8:30
Grammar 8:30-9
Reading 9-9:30
or is it more do whatever strikes your fancy at that moment? Or do you find one child needs a structured schedule while another needs a freer reign?
Thanks,
Misti
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JuliaT
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| Posted: July 19 2006 at 10:23pm | IP Logged
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I use a schedule to organize our day but I don't use time slots.
For example, my day to day list looks like this:
Bible
Math
Picture Study
Writing
Spanish etc.
If I put times to my schedule, it puts too much pressure on me if we don't get done within the designated time. I do need a schedule, though, to make sure that we get everything done. My children need a schedule as well. They like to know 'what comes next'.
Julia
http://homeschoolblogger.com/Juliainsk/
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Kathryn UK
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| Posted: July 20 2006 at 8:15am | IP Logged
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I do much the same as Julia. I draw up a schedule with time slots, but that is just to check that it is realistic. In practice I don't make any real attempt to follow those timings, but I try to cover the subjects in roughly the same order as my schedule. It isn't set in stone though, and I juggle the order if necessary so that I can use my own time most productively.
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Kathryn
Dh Michael,  Rachel(3/95) Hannah(8/98) Naomi(6/06)  (11/07)
The Bookworm
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cathhomeschool
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Texas Bluebonnets
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| Posted: July 20 2006 at 8:31am | IP Logged
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I do the same thing as Kathryn! I used to try to follow the time slots, but that got stressful. Now I just use the times to make sure I'm not packing too much into a day and to guage how much we can do before leaving for violin/etc.
"Pegs" are another way of looking at your day. This thread and it's links explain it much better than I could.
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Janette (4 boys - 22, 21, 15, 14)
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Natalia
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You might find this website helpful Simply Charlotte Mason
Natalia
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ALmom
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| Posted: July 20 2006 at 6:14pm | IP Logged
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I liked the idea of pegs in a day. Ie my biggest downfall is not starting the day soon enough or having mealtimes slide all over the spectrum (and sometimes with people eating lunch in shifts which means lots of extra work - besides the loss of some togetherness time).
So I have a family schedule - wake up time, breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack time. I try to peg things like chores and school here (chores generally are associated with mealtimes as many of the chores involve cleaning up our messes with meals  . I do sit down and try to figure out timewise when I would work with different dc and when different subjects might get done or when I would gather everyone for group projects - but the reality is that these more detailed schedules are more to make sure I don't overschedule myself or anyone else.
My dc do their subjects in their own chosen order so it never works for me to say math is at... I have learned that group projects have to be planned for a specific time when everyone is together anyways. Ie - Bible study as a family will have to be in the AM right after breakfast along with morning prayers or right after dinner with dad or everyone will be deeply involved in their own things and it would be impossible and counterproductive to drag them away.
Janet
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MicheleQ
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| Posted: July 20 2006 at 7:25pm | IP Logged
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mamacrow wrote:
I'm still trying to understand the CM method. But one of the things I wonder most about is how your schoolday is structured.
I personally like to compartmentalize my day, but of course that doesn't always work for my children.
Do you set a schedule with your children like say:
or is it more do whatever strikes your fancy at that moment? Or do you find one child needs a structured schedule while another needs a freer reign? |
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Misti,
I think difficulty in understanding the CM method and how its applied has to do with the fact that not everyone uses CM's methods in the same way. Mind you there's no one "right" way to do it but understanding that it's used differently is sure to be helpful in determining where your family would find the best fit. For the sake of making it easier, think of the CM method as falling into two different categories: structured and influenced.
cutting and pasting from the Mater Amabilis intro. page :
"A Charlotte Mason structured education attempts to follow the methodology set out in CM's own writings as closely as possible. Children follow a set, formal course of study, using a highly efficient method which allows children to cover a broad range of subjects in the course of a short school day."
"A Charlotte Mason influenced education gleans ideas such as living books, narration, short lessons and nature study from CM and applies them to a range of different styles of education – a particular curriculum, literature based education, relaxed homeschooling or even unschooling."
Now, some of your children may do better using a structured program (like Mater Amabilis or Ambleside Online )with a timed schedule while some of your children may do better using CM's methods in a less structured way through the use of living books, copywork and narration, nature study etc. with a more loose daily routine. We generally have a mix here and as you seem to have already discovered, what works for mom isn't always what works for the children. Overall it really is a matter of figuring out what combination works best for your family and applying it.
Of course, this board is a great place to start as there's a wealth of info. here and people who generously share their ideas and experiences.
Oh, and do check out this wonderful post that Lissa wrote on her blog recently. I think you may find it very helpful!
God bless!
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Michele Quigley
wife to my prince charming and mom of 10 in Lancaster County, PA USA
http://michelequigley.com
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saintanneshs
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Thank you, Michele, for taking the time to post your response.  I am always wondering just how much CM I am actually using and now really have an understanding of where we are. When I see all of the different discussions on curriculum and materials used on these boards, I see a CM spectrum and you've outlined it perfectly!
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Kristine
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Topic: organizing the day
