I’ve been feeling very drawn to Charlotte Mason-style education, especially lately, even though it would be easy to look at the boys I’m teaching and decide it’s not for them. Maybe that’s a misinterpretation of Mason’s philosophy, I don’t know. I do know that we need habits and to work on the skill of attention and to spend heaps of time outdoors and to learn to see God in the world and words around us.
We’ve had a long summer and it’s been an uphill battle getting the boys engaged with a back-to-school routine. Toss an energetic toddler into the mix and throw many very full, late evenings on top and I end up feeling like mornings are impossible to get on track. We’ve had good luck with some of the materials I’ve brought out for them; I think I will make those our focus for now.
Life of Fred for math has been a hit with everyone who is doing it (A and R). I’ve done MEP math with those two plus L and it has been enjoyed as well but I find it more difficult to get through. There isn’t a lot of planning but I do need to review the lesson beforehand and it turns into me doing 5 math lessons for 3 kids if I try to do both every day. Maybe we’ll do LOF three times a week and MEP twice a week.
The boys will sit down and listen when I read. I’m completely intimidated by narration, though. I suppose I know I just need to jump in and try it, but I would like to feel more secure in my knowledge of the how-to side of it. I know the point of it is to focus on ideas, not facts. It’s a surprisingly hard shift to make.
Music has been going well so far, when I do it. Sight Singing School is a favourite (of course it helps that it's online and I put it up on the tv) and they like listening to our composer for the term (Dvorak). Who wouldn't?
This time of year is great for nature study and journals, yet we’ve done very little. Again, I’ve been waiting to figure it out perfectly and know what the perfect materials to use are. I just need to start where we are. I sorted out a little pouch of pencil crayons for each boy and I will have A and R use a large sketchbook from the dollar store. They are heavy and so I’ve hesitated to use them but I will just carry them. I have some field guides coming. Again, I was trying to find the best, most comprehensive field guide without spending a fortune. I ended up buying Peterson’s first guides instead -- cheap and will likely have the common birds and animals and plants we will be observing.
I’ve done a little reading on habits from other CM moms. I need to figure out where to start and stick with it. Late bedtimes have been an issue -- Mon, Tue, and Wed all have late activities for some of the kids, and make it difficult for us to have family scriptures and prayers before bed. The advice from various people always is to add in one new habit or schedule change at a time. I just don’t know if it’s best to work on the evenings or mornings first. Working on evenings really starts in the afternoon, when I do some dinner prep to make evenings better.
Our basic schedule would look something like --
Early morning: prep for the day (breakfast, make beds, get dressed, etc.)
Morning: short lessons. Reading, narrating, math, music, etc.
Afternoon: outside, then screen time inside while Mom preps dinner/older kids come home
Evening: tidy up, bed prep, read, family time
… except on Mondays when 5 of the kids have gymnastics, or on Tuesdays when 3 of the kids have church activities, or on Wednesdays when one of the kids has gymnastics.
What does this week look like?
Here is my schedule for the week:
Week 6 Oct 10
Book of Mormon
Fifty Famous Stories Retold: "Cornelia's Jewels" (Roman)
Burgess's Bird Book: choose one chapter based on geographic region and season
Handbook of Nature Study: Cobwebs, p436-8
Paddle to the Sea: chapter 5
Aesop's Fables: "The Ass and his Driver" and "The Oxen and the Wheels" pg 18
Fairy Book: "Nightingale"
Spirit of Canada
MEP math x2
LOF x4
French phrase -- practice daily
Sight Singing School/Jolly Music/Sing Solfa
A Child's Garden of Verses: a poem every day
3. Artist study from folder
3. Carnival Overture (may also be spelled Karneval)
Daily Work
Copywork (penmanship)
Reading Instruction
Math
Music practice
French
Weekly Work
Outdoor Nature Study
Picture Study
Composer Study
Handicrafts
...except we’re behind on the readings in 50 Famous Stories, the Burgess Bird Book, and Aesop.
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