You were the first person I had ever heard mention the Alveary. My oldest starts kindergarten this fall, but I am absolutely in love with what I’ve seen and hope to start the Alveary for first grade! So thank you!
That’s wonderful! I think you will absolutely love it! There’s not a lot of content out there about the Alveary yet, but it’s popularity is definitely growing! We have a great community! 😃
Hi! I have two questions: 1) With the living books, how do the children learn to discern what is real facts from what is fiction in the stories? 2) Are there a lot of videos to watch on the QR codes? I usually prefer simple lessons that don't include extra stuff, specially media. My kids really lose focus when I put a screen in front of them.
Living books are most often nonfiction told in a narrative voice (story telling), like a biography for example. It’s learning about history, geography, and science through the eyes of real people through history. Fiction is not often used as “living books”, but they are chosen for literary selections, like classics, historical fiction (that is factual in historical detail) and poetry. Most of the links in the QR code are things like images, maps, and articles. I haven’t noticed many videos.
Sorry, one more question: how do the children learn to focus for longer projects? I mean, it's nice that the lessons are short (20-30 min), but many times in life they will be required to focus for a lot longer than that. I'm an engineer, if I want to get anything done on a job I need to be able to focus for hours.
The length of lessons gradually build each year, and although each subject may only be 20-30 mins each, the lessons are back to back without breaks. This is possible be alternating subjects that require different types of brain power and focus. For example, you wouldn’t want to read all the living books for multiple subjects in a row. You would break it up with math, picture study, or poetry. Students do learn to focus for longer periods of time, but it’s done incrementally to not burn them out and develop a dislike for learning. And many of the skills like narration and dictation (which get longer and more detailed by grade) also specifically teach focus and attention. Yes, as adults, we need to be able focus for longer periods of time, but studies show that the majority of people are distracted every 15 with emails, texts, or even google. I’m not sure that anyone works 8-12 hour days with 100% focus. We stop and talk to co-workers, check email, or even think about personal things. I personally think that Charlotte Mason methods is one of the best to teach children focus and attention. 😊
The QR codes also have a link to click on beside it. I use my laptop to click on the link and print anything we need. If it’s a video, we watch it from my laptop. The links are mostly images, documents to print and read, or video links.
Is this easy to do with multiple children in different forms? It sounds like you need a lot of time one on one with your children. I'm new to homeschooling and will have a 5th and 3rd grader in the fall, with two other littles at home.
Not at all. There aren’t huge differences between the literature selections for each form, meaning: one is not written for a lower grade in a simple language, while another is written for an advanced grade. All the book selections are living books (other than maybe a few selections for the form 1-2 students are a bit more basic) so it’s really quite easy to choose any lesson plan and combine your students. You might only vary what you expect from each student. One might only need to give you an oral narration, while another might have to give you a written narration or a composition. This past year I have combined my 5 and 10 year olds for history, science and geography. I tend to choose topics that will be of particular interest to my oldest, and have my youngest join in. I think 5th and 3rd grades would be wonderful to combine in many subjects!
You were the first person I had ever heard mention the Alveary. My oldest starts kindergarten this fall, but I am absolutely in love with what I’ve seen and hope to start the Alveary for first grade! So thank you!
That’s wonderful! I think you will absolutely love it! There’s not a lot of content out there about the Alveary yet, but it’s popularity is definitely growing! We have a great community! 😃
Hi! I have two questions: 1) With the living books, how do the children learn to discern what is real facts from what is fiction in the stories? 2) Are there a lot of videos to watch on the QR codes? I usually prefer simple lessons that don't include extra stuff, specially media. My kids really lose focus when I put a screen in front of them.
Living books are most often nonfiction told in a narrative voice (story telling), like a biography for example. It’s learning about history, geography, and science through the eyes of real people through history. Fiction is not often used as “living books”, but they are chosen for literary selections, like classics, historical fiction (that is factual in historical detail) and poetry.
Most of the links in the QR code are things like images, maps, and articles. I haven’t noticed many videos.
Sorry, one more question: how do the children learn to focus for longer projects? I mean, it's nice that the lessons are short (20-30 min), but many times in life they will be required to focus for a lot longer than that. I'm an engineer, if I want to get anything done on a job I need to be able to focus for hours.
The length of lessons gradually build each year, and although each subject may only be 20-30 mins each, the lessons are back to back without breaks. This is possible be alternating subjects that require different types of brain power and focus. For example, you wouldn’t want to read all the living books for multiple subjects in a row. You would break it up with math, picture study, or poetry. Students do learn to focus for longer periods of time, but it’s done incrementally to not burn them out and develop a dislike for learning. And many of the skills like narration and dictation (which get longer and more detailed by grade) also specifically teach focus and attention.
Yes, as adults, we need to be able focus for longer periods of time, but studies show that the majority of people are distracted every 15 with emails, texts, or even google. I’m not sure that anyone works 8-12 hour days with 100% focus. We stop and talk to co-workers, check email, or even think about personal things.
I personally think that Charlotte Mason methods is one of the best to teach children focus and attention. 😊
@@littlebitsofbliss awesome! Thank you!
Do your children use a Chromebook, other style computer, or tablet for schooling or how do you utilize the QR codes?
The QR codes also have a link to click on beside it. I use my laptop to click on the link and print anything we need. If it’s a video, we watch it from my laptop. The links are mostly images, documents to print and read, or video links.
Is this easy to do with multiple children in different forms? It sounds like you need a lot of time one on one with your children. I'm new to homeschooling and will have a 5th and 3rd grader in the fall, with two other littles at home.
Not at all. There aren’t huge differences between the literature selections for each form, meaning: one is not written for a lower grade in a simple language, while another is written for an advanced grade. All the book selections are living books (other than maybe a few selections for the form 1-2 students are a bit more basic) so it’s really quite easy to choose any lesson plan and combine your students. You might only vary what you expect from each student. One might only need to give you an oral narration, while another might have to give you a written narration or a composition. This past year I have combined my 5 and 10 year olds for history, science and geography. I tend to choose topics that will be of particular interest to my oldest, and have my youngest join in. I think 5th and 3rd grades would be wonderful to combine in many subjects!
I will have a 5th and 3rd grader as well! And kinder. I’m glad you asked this question!