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time4tea
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I am trying to decide between these two for my upcoming 1st and 3rd grade dd's. Can anyone here compare or share their wisdom regarding these two?
I want something that is at least outlined for me so that I don't have to come up with everything on my own, and so far, I like these two options the best, and am having a hard time deciding between the two of them.
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Donna Marie
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I like both for different reasons, but the one that we enjoyed the most was MA. Everything we used the kids really got a lot out of. Do you have any specific questions? I have some great memories doing this work with my dc!
God love you!
Donna Marie from NJ
hs momma to 7dc +one more due 10/08!
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Cindy Mac
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Donna Marie -
Does MA have a "curriculum"? That is what I like about CHC since I am going to be starting Kindgergarten for my almost 5yo and 3.5 yo in the fall and I'd rather start out with someone giving me a loose idea of what to do when.
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Donna Marie
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Cindy Mac wrote:
Donna Marie -
Does MA have a "curriculum"? That is what I like about CHC since I am going to be starting Kindgergarten for my almost 5yo and 3.5 yo in the fall and I'd rather start out with someone giving me a loose idea of what to do when. |
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Here is the link for Mater Amabilis
I was very easily able to line up our daily work. When I first started with this I had just had a baby and was able to stack books next to my nursing chair and read with the kiddoes. The seatwork ala CM was very doable for me..with my math program thrown into that time. We went at a relaxed pace and I know we got a lot out of our time together.
I hope this is coherent...I am rather tired from my day.
I liked the idea of spending more money on the actual books used. I do have the CHC plans for the younger years and I have thrown in some of their recommendations here and there when I have energy and time....but truth be told we spent more time reading together and sharing that information then I spent on any kind of plans or future planning. They do have a great list on yahoo...
Mater Amabilis
I hope this helps somewhat. My pregnant brain is seeking rest at this point...LOL!
God love you,
Donna Marie from NJ
hs momma to 7dc +one more due 10/08!
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Donna Marie from NJ
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Finding Elegant Simplicity
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SuzanneG
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Donna Marie wrote:
I was very easily able to line up our daily work. When I first started with this I had just had a baby and was able to stack books next to my nursing chair and read with the kiddoes. The seatwork ala CM was very doable for me..with my math program thrown into that time. We went at a relaxed pace and I know we got a lot out of our time together.
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This is similar to what we do. I like the "feel" of MA...it feels more natural to me and like it's just part of our day, as opposed to seatwork and checking things off a list with CHC. Not that seat work is "bad" or that getting things done isn't important, but I find myself feeling more like a drill sargeatn with CHC. With MA, I relax a bit and enjoy things more. (cuz it's all about me, ya know...   ) But, we do still use CHC.
I have borrowed the chc plans from a friend for 1st,2nd grades. Do you know anyone that you could do that with? I think it's been helpful for me to use both at different times to see what we're drawn toward.
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Lisbet
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Okay, personally, I think it is easy to pour in a little of each, stir gently, bake up a great curriculum. 
CHC offers gentle workbooks for the times when it may be to noisey to read aloud for long stretches or if mom is too tired to stay awake for long stretches .
MA offers the fluid, relaxed, and intimate read alouds, narrations and such for the more easy going times.
I would keep the CHC lesson plans open to which ever 'week' we would be on, and pull from it what looked good for a particular week, I would check off the things we did, keep notes in various places. I would hole punch whatever work we did from MA and place it in that particular 'week' in the lesson plan binder, and we had a pretty good record that way of what we had done.
I don't know if I am explaining this very well, but it worked well for us to do it this way. So well in fact, that after a year of Seton, we are eagerly returning to our MA/CHC combo next year!
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Elizabeth
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Cindy,
If you want more structure than MA but more of a literary approach than CHC, you could do Mother of Divine Grace Kindergarten and add the Real Learning Booklist books. Put a fresh basket of those beside your read aloud chair every few weeks or so and work your way all the way through the K-2 lists. Don't worry, we're hard at work on new lists, so by the time you finish the current, we'll have a fresh set of books to read.
I think CHC is weak in the living books department, so if you go with that be sure not to lose your read aloud habit. You need to add it to the daily plans and find a source for great book ideas.
Mother of Divine Grace is tried and true and their Kindergarten Syllabus will certainly tell you what to do when. But MODG, especially in the early years, leaves plenty of time for rabbit trails and real life.
Tea, sorry for throwing a third option in there. Given the two you asked about, I'd go with MA and substitute some of CHC's resources. Sorry that might confuse things more 
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Maryan
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Elizabeth wrote:
| If you want more structure than MA but more of a literary approach than CHC, you could do Mother of Divine Grace Kindergarten and add the Real Learning Booklist books. Put a fresh basket of those beside your read aloud chair every few weeks or so and work your way all the way through the K-2 lists. Don't worry, we're hard at work on new lists, so by the time you finish the current, we'll have a fresh set of books to read. |
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This is what we did for Kindergarten. It's how I found Elizabeth's book... looking for book lists!
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Maryan
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time4tea
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Elizabeth,
That's perfectly fine to bring up a third option. I think of third options all the time (and fourth options, and fifth options..). We actually have done MODG in the past, but I have always ended up tweaking their syllabi so much that it makes it hardly worth the purchase in the end. The biggest thing for me is the very heavy emphasis on memorization (poems aside) that MODG begins to get into as you get further into their program. I have had MODG consultants tell me that all that memorization is used in successive years of the program, but I know that we will not be using their program in successive years. We also don't do well here with Abeka Math or Teach Your Child to Read in 100 easy Lessons and Sound Beginnings, so...you get the picture.
Right now, we are in serious burn-out mode, so I am trying to think of something I can do with my littler, school-aged dc that will be somewhat laid out for me so on those days when I can't think, I don't have to, but also something where I can see we are making progress through a planned course of study so that I can have something together for our year-end review  . I have also thought of FIAR again, too, but I am not leaning as strongly toward FIAR as the other two.
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Elizabeth
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Tea,
You're singing my song! When I get to the end of the year, I always think I want it all laid out for me next year. And then, I buy something (or not) that is all laid out and then I tweak it beyond recognition:-). Both CHC and MODG in the early years are light enough that tweaking, especially adding, is easy.
And FIAR is a great option. A few years ago, we did FIAR and Beyond FIAR and only added some CHC worktexts. It was pretty much all laid out and, since I used the FIAR board to supplement both reading and activities, there was a really nice balance of both literature and activity. I think FIAR is a GREAT option, particularly if you are comfortable adding the Catholic component and you have a sense of what's out there and what you need to make FIAR complete.
Just as an aside, I'm not all the familiar with MA and I have no practical experience with it so I might be missing the best option of all.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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time4tea
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Elizabeth wrote:
| I think FIAR is a GREAT option, particularly if you are comfortable adding the Catholic component and you have a sense of what's out there and what you need to make FIAR complete. |
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Elizabeth,
This is my weak area and is why FIAR is not higher on my list. I know Cay's book would be a great one to do along with FIAR, but do you have any other suggestions? I have gone to the FIAR board before, but find myself literally getting overwhelmed by the quantity of options there.
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Meredith
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Tea, what about doing a combination of the Real Learning Booklist for the ages suggested, some FIAR and Catholic Mosaic together. With Math and Grammar thrown in, you'd be pretty well set. You'd have plenty of read-alouds, a catholic component and enough nature and science ideas coming from the booklists. I think this would be lovely!!
We found MA to be very user friendly for the lower grades as well, just as an FYI.
Blessings!
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folklaur
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Elizabeth wrote:
| When I get to the end of the year, I always think I want it all laid out for me next year. And then, I buy something (or not) that is all laid out and then I tweak it beyond recognition:-). |
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wow - this was just a light-bulb moment for me. you're right - it is always at the end of the school year that i start to really think "we need lesson plans, we need more structure, i can't do this by myself next year!" and then i do buy something and then i think of all the ways i can make it better and tweak away.
huh.
thanks for saying this before i placed my *huge* sonlight order. i may think about things a little more.... 
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Kristen in TN
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Yup, I like the collective wisdom here. We use mostly MA. Each time we have strayed we are all overjoyed when we return.
There were a few years where I was all gung-ho for CHC. By the second week I was sorry I went there only because someone usually didn't match up with the curriculum (not at the same math place, etc.) I like Mater Amabilis because it suggests how many times a week to do each thing. This is manageable and gives us a lot of flexability to how the material is pressented.
Also, I have found some great books at that site!
God bless,
Kristen in TN
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JennGM
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I'm tagging another question on top of this thread. How many of you have used MA for Kindergarten? I know that curriculum hasn't been posted for very long.
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Maryan
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JennGM wrote:
| I'm tagging another question on top of this thread. How many of you have used MA for Kindergarten? I know that curriculum hasn't been posted for very long. |
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If I had heard of it, I think I would have LIKED to use it -- although I don't know if I would have been brave enough to figure out how to break up the material to a Kindergartener. But her book lists also look great!
I was too afraid of making school too rigid from teacing 7th grade that I liked having Laura's curriculum to hold my hand while I needed it. She had pointers that helped me a lot that year.
MA has mostly picture books for Kindergarten which are delightful and hands on stuff for Math.
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Maryan
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Elizabeth
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I just took a good look at Mater Amabilis Prep Level and I think you could use this and not change a thing. Let me say this, since this appears to be shaping up as a day for disclaimers, I've never tried to implement MA and I don't know the site well and this just isn't my season for learning something new  . But, I looked carefully at the K because two IRL friends (with similar needs) have asked for my K opinions. And I think they both would be happy with MA K. Since they both want tidy schedules, I'd advise looking at Simply Charlotte Mason schedule samples and downloadable forms. I also think that those planners we recently discussed (someone please link for me--I can't find the thread) would be very helpful in keeping the focus and offering accountability to nervous daddies.
Tea, I think you could go with MA for a more living books approach than CHC. Personally, I'd probably stash some Language of God workbooks and some of those new CHC handwriting books to use along with MA.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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JennGM
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Elizabeth wrote:
I just took a good look at Mater Amabilis Prep Level and I think you could use this and not change a thing. Let me say this, since this appears to be shaping up as a day for disclaimers, I've never tried to implement MA and I don't know the site well and this just isn't my season for learning something new . But, I looked carefully at the K because two IRL friends (with similar needs) have asked for my K opinions. And I think they both would be happy with MA K. Since they both want tidy schedules, I'd advise looking at Simply Charlotte Mason schedule samples and downloadable forms. I also think that those planners we recently discussed (someone please link for me--I can't find the thread) would be very helpful in keeping the focus and offering accountability to nervous daddies.
Tea, I think you could go with MA for a more living books approach than CHC. Personally, I'd probably stash some Language of God workbooks and some of those new CHC handwriting books to use along with MA. |
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Lovely, very helpful, Elizabeth.
The Good News Planners is what you were referring to.
Reading and Writing isn't posted yet for the Prep level, which is the only downside, but I think I can flesh something out.
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Elizabeth
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Jenn,
If you wanted to, you could use CHC reading and writing. Katie and Nicholas have both liked it fine. I end up paring together my own reading and writing but there was certainly nothing objectionable about CHC's. And my sense is that Gregory will read easily.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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MarilynW
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I am planning K right now - this discussion is very helpful. I did not know MA had a Prep level. Just to throw in some other ideas
I am finding it hard to use a pre-designed syllabus in its entirety - I often do not like either the reading or Math or some other element. But I too wish I could just have a plan all laid out for me!
What are the ideas for Math and Grammar/Writing?
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4Real Forums : Philosophy of Education
Topic: CHC or Mater Amabilis?
