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Nique
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Please forgive me if this topic has been discussed before...
I was ready to call it quits to HSing (back in June) until a "new" Protestant friend introduced me to the Charlotte Mason Method. Then my Catholic friend told me about Real Learning by Mrs. Foss.
I'm in the middle of reading both "Real Learning" and "For the Children's Sake".
Found Pocketful of Pinecones, For The Love of Literature, and The C.M. Companion on Cathswap.
Everything looks overwhelming and like so!much!work!
Could anyone who's "been there, done that" lend me some good advice on how to approach this brand new way of HSing, with what's worked for them?
Even a what they wished they knew then, that they know now?
One more..borrow from the Library or buy them?
I'll have Grades 6, 4, 2 and SK.
Thank you!
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I had always thought that once you grew up you could do anything you wanted - stay up all night or eat ice cream straight out of the container. ~Bill Bryson
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mom3aut1not
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Nique,
Have you looked at Mater Amabilis? It's a free, online, Catholic Cm curriculum. It might give you a good starting point.
Personally, I would buy For the Love of Literature (and add A Picture Perfect Childhood) and get A Pocket Full of Pinecones and the CM Companion from the library if you can. Then you can decide whether or not you want to buy either or both as well. (The first two are unlikely to be found in a library.)
My experience wouldn't be very helpful for you, I'm afraid. However, one thing that does help me is to decide on specific goals and to keep these goals in mind as I start any curriculum or program.
In Christ,
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Deborah
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JuliaT
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I think the key is to take baby steps. Figure out what parts are important to you and implement them right away. In a few months, when you are comfortable with this, then add another element.
Blessings,
Julia
mom of 3(10,8,6)
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Birdie
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I like the book lists at Ambleside online. Only when my kids were smaller (all under 9) I chose not to follow AO as much as I do now, but instead to do family studies of certain living books that I often chose from AO book lists and other book lists. I found it easy to implement nature journal and dictation and narration and not as easy to implement great art, composer study and Shakespeare. Those I did sporadically and am adding in now in earnest.
The D'aulire books, Holling C. Holling Books and Burgess Books make great history, geography and Nature Study for the youngers and can easily be used for those subjects as a family. If you need or want guides the D'aulaire and Holling C. Holling Books have guides you can purchase from Beautiful Feet Books. I bought some of them and ended up not using them but instead using narration. They are not too expensive. Most of the Holling and D'aulaire books are easy to find at the library.
I tried in those early years to concern myself more with reading,spelling, writing and math as I felt they needed those basics. I tried spelling programs and kept coming back to using the books they were reading as food for dictation when them chosing sentences to study and spell out from dictation.
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Susan (Birdie)
A Charlotte Mason Education
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Nique
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Thank you Deborah, Julia and Susan for making the time to answer my questions..I truly do appreciate it!
May I please ask you another?
Did you find it easier buying your curriculum or borrowing what the Library had?
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I had always thought that once you grew up you could do anything you wanted - stay up all night or eat ice cream straight out of the container. ~Bill Bryson
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JodieLyn
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Just popping in quick to echo Julia.. it's not an all or nothing gig here.. maybe just start with the litature aspect (history, reading, spelling, etc) over to your new plan.. and then add in extra anything else that you don't have time this year to get going.. like say math you can keep using whatever program you have been using if it worked for you this year.. and only pick and choose those things to implement differently this year.. the ones that you're so excited about you've probably already done half of the work in your head  are good bets. 
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All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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Angie Mc
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Nique, can I ask you a few questions? What is it about CM that you find attractive? Are there some things that you are already do, formally or informally, that mesh with CM? I ask because by the time I "found" CM I was already doing some CMish things and was thrilled to find names for what I was doing...living books...nature study...short lessons...habit formation...rabbit trails... Here are more considerations from our About Us, Towards Educational Philosophy for Family. Perhaps finding what you already do that you enjoy will act as the foundation from where you can build new ideas, strategies, habits, etc.
Love,
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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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Birdie
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I print a lot of books from AO, buy some from our friends of the library sale and use the library some. When my kids were younger I used the library more as our family studies were brief. They are now 9, 11 and 12 and borrowing a book I need for the year isn't good for me so I tend to purchase those. I always buy Math. When I go to schedule each child I pick books first based on what I have, second on what I know our library has if that helps any. I do have a list of books I need for the future based on AO that I keep in my library bag so I can look for those at the library sale. Our library sells books all the time in a section of the library they call Friends of the Library Book Store. You buy the books at 20 to 50 cents a piece. Oh and I have found trading books through paperback swap helpful.
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Susan (Birdie)
A Charlotte Mason Education
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Mackfam
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Let me ask you some questions, Nique....
:: What draws you to a Charlotte Mason approach?
:: Are you overwhelmed by the thought of planning? or pulling resources together?
:: What specifically seems like so much work with Charlotte Mason/Real Learning?
Give yourself permission to step into this way of life slowly. My bet is that you're already doing this to an extent, but haven't assigned a vocabulary to it yet.
All the children are perfect ages for lots and lots of rich picture book time! Use Cay's Picture Perfect Childhood and the booklists in the back of Real Learning to come up with some simple picture book themes and lists for your library days. Mater Amabilis has some great suggestions as well. If you need help with living books in religion, Cay has written a perfect guide - Catholic Mosaic will guide you through the liturgical year with picture book ideas.
Allow other parts of your day to remain the same - leave your math in place for example. Just add in the extra living books in various parts of your day for now.
Your children are still so young yet - it's the PERFECT time to make the shift and feel out the waters. Don't feel like you have to incorporate every single idea that looks wonderful here! The boards are a tremendous resource, but they can be overwhelming in their scope! Put your blinders on and repeat after me...keep it simple...keep it lovely...keep it true...keep it simple. You don't have to incorporate everything about a Charlotte Mason education right away...just choose one thing and let that be enough for now.
As to the buy or borrow question....
buy
For the Love of Literature
Picture Perfect Childhood
Catholic Mosaic
you didn't mention, but I'm throwing out and **I** would buy
Educating the WholeHearted Child by Clay and Sally Clarkson (but borrow it first)
borrow
A CM companion
Pocketful of Pinecones
I'm exercising restraint...I could suggest a million more. 
I think you'll find your way as long as you move gently and move forward one step at a time.
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
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Mackfam
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| Posted: July 08 2009 at 7:04pm | IP Logged
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 laughing....
It took me a little while to piece my post together between the happenings here and I didn't check to see if anyone had posted between me and the last post I saw...
It seems Angie and I are on the same wavelength...right down to the questions.
Nique wrote:
| Did you find it easier buying your cirriculum or borrowing what the Library had? |
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Definitely borrow if your library is nice!!!
There are some books, some classics I'd put on my shelves even if I had a great library.
If they aren't though  (and this is the sad boat I'm in) you'll have to start stomping around thrift stores, used book stores, used book sites online, book sales, finding coupons and deals. Valerie (vmalott) had a great idea I saw on another thread....she plans out her year in a detailed way and then makes purchases in chunks throughout the year using her detailed list. There are a number of ways to approach this. If you're unsure, start getting to know your library first!
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Jen Mackintosh
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Leonie
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Whem we started homeschooling, we bought Maths books. We had the children do some maths every day and some sort of writing actvity - copywork, daily diary, journal, dictation, phonics and sight words, depending on their ages. The rest we covered wth living books.
I set aside lunch tume for reading about religion. I set Fridays for nature study or Science experiments. Mondays for poetry or music appreciation or art and art appreicationm. The rest just came naturally, following good books lists, havibg the children read on ther own and I read aloud.
So, I would personally start simple and see where the good booklists will take you..Others here have suggested online resources and books that have good booklists to use as a guide.
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Leonie in Sydney
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Angie Mc
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Mackfam wrote:
laughing....
It seems Angie and I are on the same wavelength...right down to the questions.
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Great minds think alike?
Love,
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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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SuzanneG
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This just came through in my email in the Simply Charlotte Mason newsletter:
Quote:
| New Series - In just a couple of weeks we will be starting a new series in these e-mails: Making the Transition to Charlotte Mason. If you, or a friend of yours, has been using a different homeschool method and wants to start using Charlotte Mason, this is the series for you. We'll discuss a step-by-step approach that can help you ease into CM methods a little at a time. Watch for this upcoming series very soon! |
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If you're not already, you may want to sign up for the SCM newsletters! 
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Suzanne in ID
Wife to Pete
Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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Nique
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Oh ladies! The response here has been FANTASTIC! THANK YOU EVERYBODY! You have given me alot to think about and many wonderful resources! I promise to write again (when I have alittle more time)..till then 
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I had always thought that once you grew up you could do anything you wanted - stay up all night or eat ice cream straight out of the container. ~Bill Bryson
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JennGM
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I'm not experienced hsing mom, but it did help me to see schedules, like at Mater Amabilis and AO.
Macbeth's Opinion has wonderful ideas for books. For beginning nature study for us the Crinkleroot books by Jim Arnosky have been invaluable. Most can be found at our library.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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AndieF
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In terms of using the library, and buying, I do both. I buy Math, Grammar, and a History Spine and a Science Spine. I usually buy my Math book new, and then I look for other books at our local curriculum sale, here at the Trading Place for the other "spines", other used sorces, and buy those new if I can't get them. But I fill in LOTS with that I buy at thrift stores for super cheap or library books. For example, if we were studying Ancient History, I would buy Story of the World I as the spine, but I would check out books for a few weeks about Ancient Greece. Now if I find it is a book that we keep checking out, or one that the children are really drawn to, or more than one child is using/may use, then I will consider putting on my list to try and buy.
Andie, mom to dd 9, dd 7, and ds 4.
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Nique
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Angie Mc wrote:
| Nique, can I ask you.. What is it about CM that you find attractive? |
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Angie, the comparison of nursing (C.M Method) vs. bottle feeding (all the other curriculums) was the way Charlotte Mason's Method was described to me. I was intrigued!
It was my first, and second and third click onto Ambleside Online that overwhelmed me  However, I'm finding if you take it in small doses, like was suggested, the advice is easier to digest!
Jennifer asked:
:: Are you overwhelmed by the thought of planning? or pulling resources together?
:: What specifically seems like so much work with Charlotte Mason/Real Learning?
Having to leave behind the textbooks is going to be a challenge Jenn! I realize I can keep the Math..it's the other subjects...(Spelling, Grammar, Writing)... and using Narration, Dictation, Copywork right out of the "Living Books" that's gonna be a BIGGEE from what we are used too. I imagine it to be "freeing" yet at the same time, I see it involving more creativity on my part. (You see, I've been "borrowing" everyone else's ideas up to this point  !)
I'm going to have to familiarize myself with the booklists from the books/links that were recommended ..check out our Library first..I'm going to admit, the pulling resources part sounds like alot of work to me.
The planning will have to come after I get those resources..
THANK YOU all of you busy Moms for answering my questions! I've written your ideas down and am going to read them over! As my kids would say, "You rock"
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I had always thought that once you grew up you could do anything you wanted - stay up all night or eat ice cream straight out of the container. ~Bill Bryson
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Birdie
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Nique,
I think it's fun to read about everyone's take on CM. The authors though like Levinson, Gardner, Foss, MacCauley and Andreola all have their own way of interpreting CM. Even AO board members and list mates have their opinions that are not always the same.
What helped me in the beginning was to make a list of CM subjects I wanted to use: Century Book, Nature Journal, Dictation, Great Art . . . put them all on a different notebook page or large index card. Then as I read take notes on how to make that subject CM like. The research it seems never ends. It's been almost eight years since I first read about Charlotte Mason and I'm still learning.
Please ask more questions if you feel the need.
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Susan (Birdie)
A Charlotte Mason Education
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Mackfam
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Birdie wrote:
| What helped me in the beginning was to make a list of CM subjects I wanted to use: Century Book, Nature Journal, Dictation, Great Art . . . put them all on a different notebook page or large index card. Then as I read take notes on how to make that subject CM like. |
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That's a really GREAT idea!!!! What a fun way to compile your thoughts and organize them...then, in a couple years when you sort of get lost (it happens!) you can pull out your cards and review yourself and re-focus!
Really great suggestion, Birdie! 
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Jen Mackintosh
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JennGM
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Mackfam wrote:
Birdie wrote:
| What helped me in the beginning was to make a list of CM subjects I wanted to use: Century Book, Nature Journal, Dictation, Great Art . . . put them all on a different notebook page or large index card. Then as I read take notes on how to make that subject CM like. |
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That's a really GREAT idea!!!! What a fun way to compile your thoughts and organize them...then, in a couple years when you sort of get lost (it happens!) you can pull out your cards and review yourself and re-focus!
Really great suggestion, Birdie! |
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I agree, Birdie! I'm going to use this idea, too! Thanks for sharing that!
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Jennifer G. Miller
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: C.M/Real Learning beginner
