We just picked this up recently, I actually purchased the video too and watched it to prepare-So helpful to understand more specifically, and the way Sonya Shafer explains CM methods makes so much sense to me now and I have a better understanding on how to teach the material. I guess I'm a visual learner lol! Thanks for your thoughts on this!
Sonya was just at our local convention in March and I loved listening to her! I bought Laying Down the Rails and I can't wait to get started it! :) Thanks for sharing how this works for your family.
Thanks so much for this! I love the idea behind this and want to incorporate it. Next year is our first year homeschooling (oldest in Kindergarten, youngest will be 3). Do you think they would be too young to go ahead and start? Also, did you see growth or improvements in the habits you all focused on? Thanks so much! 😊
This might go well with the book our 24 ways. Thanks for the flip through I think this will be good to mix with other books we are covering next year on our ways and values, habits and housekeeping.
Such a great flip through, Abby!! I am pretty sold on this for our upcoming school year! It looks like it will help us where we are struggling and introduce new habits that I hadn’t even thought to “teach”!
You said dawdling at the end and I'm like sold! I had considered this before when you mentioned it at the beginning if the year. Also what you read about habits being formed no matter what...and that really resonated with me as well!! Thanks for sharing and insight!! :)
Thank you for going through this! I looked at the main book briefly at our local homeschool convention in March. I didn’t know there were workbooks to go with it. Lol This was really helpful and helped me make sense of it!
Birth to death? Some habits are better introduced at a later stage, like thrift for teens, but something like the habit of having a routine can be laid as early as 3 months. Obedience for 1-2 year olds and kindness for 2-3 year olds but if you haven't learned the habit of kindness, there's no upper age limit where you won't benefit from learning it.
do you have any ideas on stories, poems, quotations, bible verses, or activities to practice attention/focus? I have the Rails for kids book but I don't see any suggested ideas. Thanks!
I have been researching this curriculum and somehow I missed this video!!! I chickened out buying it at FPEA!! I also saw you at FPEA and chickened out coming up to you to introduce myself 😂😂
This might go well with a blog post I read that had self governance tickets. So anytime you see the kids using the habits you track it and then if they fill up the ticket you can do some positive reinforcement that you noticed
Charlotte believed it was never too early to lay good rails and that discipline issues come from parents not laying rails deliberately, so the children lay them themselves, which obviously leads to rails being laid through the easiest and most selfish paths. To uproot those rails and lay new ones along good paths is always going to be more work than laying them well at the start. I bought it before I had kids and started from 3 months with regularity and moved through some more before we got to obedience at 18 months and we're working on kindness now at 3yo. We still have a long way to go and my kids aren't perfectly behaved all the time but they are manageable in ways that their playmates are not.
Thank you:) I am considering purchasing- Do you need to have the handbook? I am wondering if I could just purchase the books-laying down the rails for children by itself.
I was just wondering if you think it would be too much to start with my four year old. Her sister is two years younger. Should I wait until they are 6 and 4 to start? Also, did you notice a difference between your habits and your kids habits?
Charlotte believed it was never too early to lay good rails and that discipline issues come from parents not laying rails deliberately, so the children lay them themselves, which obviously leads to rails being laid through the easiest and most selfish paths. To uproot those rails and lay new ones along good paths is always going to be more work than laying them well at the start. I bought it before I had kids and started from 3 months with regularity and moved through some more before we got to obedience at 18 months and we're working on kindness now at 3yo. We still have a long way to go and my kids aren't perfectly behaved all the time but they are manageable in ways that their playmates are not.
Do you think I could start doing this with my 4.5 year old? I’m attending the FPEA conference and was looking at this to help start building her character and habits.
Totally! I started from 3 months with regularity: the habit of a routine. My daughter is now 3 and doing kindness. As long as you pick habits that are appropriate for your child's stage of development, it will work wonders.
Charlotte believed it was never too early to lay good rails and that discipline issues come from parents not laying rails deliberately, so the children lay them themselves, which obviously leads to rails being laid through the easiest and most selfish paths. To uproot those rails and lay new ones along good paths is always going to be more work than laying them well at the start. I bought it before I had kids and started from 3 months with regularity and moved through some more before we got to obedience at 18 months and we're working on kindness now at 3yo. We still have a long way to go and my kids aren't perfectly behaved all the time but they are manageable in ways that their playmates are not.
So I understand habits are a very good thing. Your habits are either good or bad, helping you live a good, healthy life or not. My only hesitancy is my hubby and I left a religious cultic group a couple years ago. The Prophet wrote a similar book for children all about habits "Child guidance"; character, training children how to dress and behave all in line with bible scripture (according to the prophet's method of taking out scripture and inserting into her context), but underlining belief being raising perfect children so as to earn/keep salvation, which they believed could be lost with a single unconfessed sin. Literally a chapter, said something about mothers will stand on judgement day watching their children burned up in hell, and the children will cry "You did this to me". These are my own words but pretty fear based teachings. My main goal is parenting children to become responsible, great adults, who are critical thinkers and yes have great character/habits, but not interested in taming my children to be Perfect drones. This actually makes me sick to think about, as this other habit training book I'm referencing ultimately squashed children's spirit and instilled a lot of fear if one should misbehave. I would sum it up as a mind control book over a truly helpful building healthy families book. Maybe too deep of a question for here, but do you feel this is some kind of “Perfect” indoctrination Or what are your thoughts in regard to this. I love the work of Dr. Henry Cloud and boundaries and definitely know my kids and I could use some refining in our habits along with that. :) My kids are definitely on the wild side but mostly our homeschool days together are pretty wonderful. I grew up in a chaotic home, and I would say love, peace, kindness, respect, hardwork, love of learning and life are all things I'm seeking to reign into our home and want more of, along with healthy habits for not being perfect kids or adults, but healthy, happy, and responsible adults. I would love to hear your thoughts, as you are so familiar with this book and I'm considering adding more SCM teaching into our classroom "specifically the enrichment studies next year". :)
This is a great question, and I’m happy to answer it. The purpose of this curriculum is not to have your children serve you or your faith well, but rather, for their habits to serve them well in life. You are either actively or passively forming habits every day, and the point of using “Laying Down the Rails” is to actively aid children in taking away the taxing effort of decision in their lives by forming good habits, ie “laying down the rails”’ for a smoother road. It involves a lot of celebration as a habit is formed, and we have yet to come across something that instills fear after using it for years.
@@RootedinRest WHAT A LOVELY WAY YOU WORDED THAT, "NOT TO HAVE YOUR CHILDREN SERVE YOU OR YOUR FAITH WELL, BUT RATHER FOR THEIR HABITS TO SERVE THEM WELL IN LIFE." That was just wonderful. I feel like this book could be really awesome and I'm getting more than a little bit excited about Enrichment studies next year!!! Thanks so much for responding and so great to hear from you. I'm enjoying your channel, new to it and SCM and looking forward to learning more! Thanks!!!!
Hi! Thank you so much for this flip through! I’m wondering how you handle it with multiple ages? Like if you start it as a family curriculum before some of your kids are school age? Would you just circle back through, since it’s intended to be such a long-term plan? Would each kid have a different habit focus? Is that addressed in the book? Thank you!!
There is no starting point, so as theyre old enough to sit in, they do. We will cycle back through some of the same ones over time, and inevitably, there will be some I choose to do twice, some I choose to skip, etc.
Question: we are non-religious. Other then the religious habit section is there alot of religious beliefs tied into the rest. I font mind mentions here or there but overall I would like to not have religious references making up the majority. Hope that makes sense and i would appreciate your input.
We just picked this up recently, I actually purchased the video too and watched it to prepare-So helpful to understand more specifically, and the way Sonya Shafer explains CM methods makes so much sense to me now and I have a better understanding on how to teach the material. I guess I'm a visual learner lol! Thanks for your thoughts on this!
I’ve always wondered what this curriculum was actually like. Thank you for going through it so thoroughly!
Thanks for this! So helpful! Been considering this for a while
Sonya was just at our local convention in March and I loved listening to her! I bought Laying Down the Rails and I can't wait to get started it! :) Thanks for sharing how this works for your family.
Can you please do an update on how this went/is going? 🙏
Thanks so much for this! I love the idea behind this and want to incorporate it. Next year is our first year homeschooling (oldest in Kindergarten, youngest will be 3). Do you think they would be too young to go ahead and start? Also, did you see growth or improvements in the habits you all focused on? Thanks so much! 😊
This might go well with the book our 24 ways. Thanks for the flip through I think this will be good to mix with other books we are covering next year on our ways and values, habits and housekeeping.
Ok totally looking into buying this!! I love Charlotte Mason but I've never heard of this!
Such a great flip through, Abby!! I am pretty sold on this for our upcoming school year! It looks like it will help us where we are struggling and introduce new habits that I hadn’t even thought to “teach”!
Thank you! I have heard "Laying Down the Rails" referenced in regards to CM. This makes so much more sense to me know.
Are you still using this curriculum? What are your thoughts on it a year later?
Yup...I need a update please on this. Just now discovering because we need good habits without nagging for harmony and peace!!!!!!!!
LOVE this video. Thank You! Exactly what I needed. Heading over to order it now.
Thank you for introducing me to this! Mine came in the mail today and I can’t wait to start!!
Wow this just popped up and what a blessing! We need this in our home! Thank you so much for this video! 🙏🏻
Does each child need the children book for themselves? Thanks!
You said dawdling at the end and I'm like sold! I had considered this before when you mentioned it at the beginning if the year. Also what you read about habits being formed no matter what...and that really resonated with me as well!! Thanks for sharing and insight!! :)
Great overview! I have been thinking about using this in our homeschool.
Thank you for doing this video! I had been considering it but wasn't sure how it worked. I just may have to add this to our morning basket next year 😊
Thank you for this video Abby! I just checked out this book from the library and now I am so excited to buy it for myself!
Have you noticed a change? Thank you SO much for this!!!
This is such a great idea!🌞 It is perfect timing for my twin boys!!
Thank you for going through this! I looked at the main book briefly at our local homeschool convention in March. I didn’t know there were workbooks to go with it. Lol This was really helpful and helped me make sense of it!
I have looked into this before and it seems so overwhelming to me. Thank you for the flip through!
Thank you so much for the Flip Through! It was super helpful!
I'm so glad you were able to show this curriculum. I have really considered purchasing it. Is there a recommended age range?
Birth to death? Some habits are better introduced at a later stage, like thrift for teens, but something like the habit of having a routine can be laid as early as 3 months. Obedience for 1-2 year olds and kindness for 2-3 year olds but if you haven't learned the habit of kindness, there's no upper age limit where you won't benefit from learning it.
This was super helpful, I have the parent book and couldnt figure out how I should use it. Now I understand.... lol
Excited to start "laying down rails" next week! Did you stick to one habit at a time or could you possibly do a moral AND physical?
Thank you for this I go about habits. I think I’ll get the books 📚 😊
Thank you for this review! I just found your channel, and this is so helpful.
Thank you!! I really appreciate the review!
do you have any ideas on stories, poems, quotations, bible verses, or activities to practice attention/focus? I have the Rails for kids book but I don't see any suggested ideas. Thanks!
I really liked this. I think im going to include it this coming school year. Thank you
I have been researching this curriculum and somehow I missed this video!!! I chickened out buying it at FPEA!! I also saw you at FPEA and chickened out coming up to you to introduce myself 😂😂
Very interesting. I've been considering this for awhile now. This looks great and something I think that would work well for our family.
This might go well with a blog post I read that had self governance tickets. So anytime you see the kids using the habits you track it and then if they fill up the ticket you can do some positive reinforcement that you noticed
Love this! What is the recommended age for this curriculum?
I was just going to ask the same thing.
Charlotte believed it was never too early to lay good rails and that discipline issues come from parents not laying rails deliberately, so the children lay them themselves, which obviously leads to rails being laid through the easiest and most selfish paths. To uproot those rails and lay new ones along good paths is always going to be more work than laying them well at the start. I bought it before I had kids and started from 3 months with regularity and moved through some more before we got to obedience at 18 months and we're working on kindness now at 3yo. We still have a long way to go and my kids aren't perfectly behaved all the time but they are manageable in ways that their playmates are not.
Thank you:) I am considering purchasing- Do you need to have the handbook? I am wondering if I could just purchase the books-laying down the rails for children by itself.
I was just wondering if you think it would be too much to start with my four year old. Her sister is two years younger. Should I wait until they are 6 and 4 to start? Also, did you notice a difference between your habits and your kids habits?
Oh darn lol! I just missed seeing this. Our convention was in April. On the list for next year.
Thank you, I really need to get this!!!
I’ve been considering this for a while. What age would you say is good to start at?
Charlotte believed it was never too early to lay good rails and that discipline issues come from parents not laying rails deliberately, so the children lay them themselves, which obviously leads to rails being laid through the easiest and most selfish paths. To uproot those rails and lay new ones along good paths is always going to be more work than laying them well at the start. I bought it before I had kids and started from 3 months with regularity and moved through some more before we got to obedience at 18 months and we're working on kindness now at 3yo. We still have a long way to go and my kids aren't perfectly behaved all the time but they are manageable in ways that their playmates are not.
Thank you for this! do you think that a secular family could use this and just omit the religious parts?
Absolutely
Iv really wanted it since you first mentioned it but it’s very very expensive to get it in the UK. Can anybody suggest alternatives?
Pdf is reasonable. I'm in Australia and use it on the tablet.
Do you think I could start doing this with my 4.5 year old? I’m attending the FPEA conference and was looking at this to help start building her character and habits.
Totally! I started from 3 months with regularity: the habit of a routine. My daughter is now 3 and doing kindness. As long as you pick habits that are appropriate for your child's stage of development, it will work wonders.
Is there an age recommendation to begin this?
Charlotte believed it was never too early to lay good rails and that discipline issues come from parents not laying rails deliberately, so the children lay them themselves, which obviously leads to rails being laid through the easiest and most selfish paths. To uproot those rails and lay new ones along good paths is always going to be more work than laying them well at the start. I bought it before I had kids and started from 3 months with regularity and moved through some more before we got to obedience at 18 months and we're working on kindness now at 3yo. We still have a long way to go and my kids aren't perfectly behaved all the time but they are manageable in ways that their playmates are not.
So I understand habits are a very good thing. Your habits are either good or bad, helping you live a good, healthy life or not. My only hesitancy is my hubby and I left a religious cultic group a couple years ago. The Prophet wrote a similar book for children all about habits "Child guidance"; character, training children how to dress and behave all in line with bible scripture (according to the prophet's method of taking out scripture and inserting into her context), but underlining belief being raising perfect children so as to earn/keep salvation, which they believed could be lost with a single unconfessed sin. Literally a chapter, said something about mothers will stand on judgement day watching their children burned up in hell, and the children will cry "You did this to me". These are my own words but pretty fear based teachings. My main goal is parenting children to become responsible, great adults, who are critical thinkers and yes have great character/habits, but not interested in taming my children to be Perfect drones. This actually makes me sick to think about, as this other habit training book I'm referencing ultimately squashed children's spirit and instilled a lot of fear if one should misbehave. I would sum it up as a mind control book over a truly helpful building healthy families book. Maybe too deep of a question for here, but do you feel this is some kind of “Perfect” indoctrination Or what are your thoughts in regard to this. I love the work of Dr. Henry Cloud and boundaries and definitely know my kids and I could use some refining in our habits along with that. :) My kids are definitely on the wild side but mostly our homeschool days together are pretty wonderful. I grew up in a chaotic home, and I would say love, peace, kindness, respect, hardwork, love of learning and life are all things I'm seeking to reign into our home and want more of, along with healthy habits for not being perfect kids or adults, but healthy, happy, and responsible adults. I would love to hear your thoughts, as you are so familiar with this book and I'm considering adding more SCM teaching into our classroom "specifically the enrichment studies next year". :)
This is a great question, and I’m happy to answer it. The purpose of this curriculum is not to have your children serve you or your faith well, but rather, for their habits to serve them well in life. You are either actively or passively forming habits every day, and the point of using “Laying Down the Rails” is to actively aid children in taking away the taxing effort of decision in their lives by forming good habits, ie “laying down the rails”’ for a smoother road. It involves a lot of celebration as a habit is formed, and we have yet to come across something that instills fear after using it for years.
@@RootedinRest WHAT A LOVELY WAY YOU WORDED THAT, "NOT TO HAVE YOUR CHILDREN SERVE YOU OR YOUR FAITH WELL, BUT RATHER FOR THEIR HABITS TO SERVE THEM WELL IN LIFE." That was just wonderful. I feel like this book could be really awesome and I'm getting more than a little bit excited about Enrichment studies next year!!! Thanks so much for responding and so great to hear from you. I'm enjoying your channel, new to it and SCM and looking forward to learning more! Thanks!!!!
Are you still using this curriculum? I’ve been considering it for a year or so.
Yep!
Hi! Thank you so much for this flip through! I’m wondering how you handle it with multiple ages? Like if you start it as a family curriculum before some of your kids are school age? Would you just circle back through, since it’s intended to be such a long-term plan? Would each kid have a different habit focus? Is that addressed in the book? Thank you!!
There is no starting point, so as theyre old enough to sit in, they do. We will cycle back through some of the same ones over time, and inevitably, there will be some I choose to do twice, some I choose to skip, etc.
Question: we are non-religious. Other then the religious habit section is there alot of religious beliefs tied into the rest. I font mind mentions here or there but overall I would like to not have religious references making up the majority. Hope that makes sense and i would appreciate your input.
It’s not all that is inside, but it is certainly woven in to the lessons where possible. Some days are solely scripture discussion, etc.