Homeschool Update Final Term|| What’s Working & What’s Not || Curriculum & Homeschool Style
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- Опубліковано 22 сер 2024
- We are in our final term and in this video I look back in this past year: what we’ve liked and disliked. I also share some big changes we will be making in our homeschool… again! Hope you find some encouragement and ideas in this casual homeschool chat! Thanks for watching!
welltrainedmin...
www.alveary.org/
To reach out to me, either comment below or send me an email:
bliss.in.the.little.things@gmail.com
Thank you for your honesty and for this update. I also find that the Charlotte Mason method is lacking in the language arts area, and I really love WTM resources. I think it’s comforting to remember that Charlotte Mason is just one voice in a long line of classical educator voices in the Great Conversation.
Yes I completely agree! ❤️
I have been trying to use the CM approach for the first 2 years of our homeschool and I completely felt adrift. Like we weren’t moving forward, and I didn’t really know how to utilize it. Then I watched your video about the WTM LA resources you use, and immediately started using them. I love it so much better, and truly feel more equipped to teach my kids. And they seem to be responding to it well. I’m just disappointed I found it at the end of our year, and really don’t want to take a break in ten days lol! I just want to keep chugging along and seeing their growth!
Yes I agree! I found it difficult not being able to somehow quantify what my kids were learning. We had stopped using the WTM LA last year, and went back to it when we realized what we were using wasn’t working. We continued on through the summer months (lightly) just so we wouldn’t lose our momentum! I’m happy it’s working well for you! 😊
Thank you for sharing and being honest!
I really appreciate this video and your honesty! It really aligns with our perspective as well! We have yet to start homeschooling, but we are definitely planning a classical/charlotte mason combo. We love Ambleside Online, but also feel it is lacking in Language Arts and Science, so we plan to add in those separate curriculums. Thank you for sharing what you use to supplement these areas!
There’s no one right way of doing things! I think combining the great things from various methods is a great way to go! ❤️
Thanks for sharing. You mentioned that you noticed with the CM method of just having the student narrate back without a little guidance could lead them to not have a well organized way of thinking; in order to narrate and write. I have not started formally lessons yet but am leaning towards a CM philosophy in homeschooling, but this did cross my mind as well when it came to narration. Could you share a little more detail of what you used from the Well Trained Mind and Classical model in teaching that you should model for your students what good writing and narration looks like. Thanks in advance for your feedback, it is appreciated as I am learning to see what will work best for our family.
I believe that CM’s method is a classical approach, but different from the popular “neoclassical” model, which to me means that CM and classical styles of teaching are very compatible. You can take the parts that you love from CM and fill in what may be lacking with classical!
I’ve read CM volumes (her books, not books written by other people) and I believe that some people are mistaken about her philosophy. When she said not to give our children pre-digested bits knowledge and spoon feed them, she meant that we should allow them to feast on the works by great minds, not adaptations written by other people, and to not tell them what they need to know from great books, but let them work that out for themselves in their own minds. BUT, I believe CM did correct narrations, guiding them and modelling what a good written narration should look like.
The classical model guides narrations this way:
1. After reading a passage, ask the students guiding questions to help them recall the important points in the passage. This still fits with CM’s philosophy because the students are workout out their own thoughts and processing the reading themselves.
2. Ask the student to narrate (orally or written). After narration, correct grammatical errors. You can write down the oral narration with properly structured sentences, and if your child is old enough, have copy it, or just read it back to them.
3. Model a good narration for them as a bench mark.
They don’t have to be perfect, but giving them this guidance helps them work toward improving their oral and writing skills.
I use The Well Trained Mind’s Writing with Ease (and later Writing with Skill) that follows these steps of guiding questions and includes what a “good” narration should look like each week with passages from classic literature. I also use First Language Lessons to give my children a strong foundation in grammar. The lessons are very compatible with CM as well.
Would it be helpful to make a video on this topic? I think it might be helpful to others as well.
Hope this helps!
Thank you so much for this detailed response, it really does help! YES!!! I think a video on this topic will be helpful to others.
Thank you also for your sense of urgency in responding and thank you for your videos I find your content well informative.
@@dunit92007 I’m so glad you find them helpful!
Great video, love your honesty and your thought process. I look forward to following your homeschooling journey and wish you a speedy voice recovery.
Thank you so much! 😊
I am very excited to see you full plans for this Fall! 😊
I’m excited to put it all together and share it as well! 😁
This is a great and helpful video.
Excited to see what you think of Berean Builders :) I've looked at that for a long time, but my kids aren't old enough to use it...
I will definitely give it a review once we get started! 😊
If you like classical, you might like Tapestry of Grace. It’s kind of like CMEC/Alveary in that it’s an online, planned out for you curriculum but for the classical model. You have to add your own math and science.
That sounds interesting! I’ll take a look at it! 😃
Thanks for sharing. This was encouraging :)
Thanks for watching! I’m glad you found it helpful! 😊
Plz share the picks of each subject for 5th grade...i am really looking forward to it..
I will share that soon! 😃
We are Canadian too! We're in Ontario 😊. I really appretwhat you said here about cm and Language Arts. We've always done CM only, but my children are all having a hard time with writing. Do you have more information about the WTM LA curriculum? How do we jump in? My oldest is 12 and still has a hard time with spelling.
Nice to meet you! Here is a video I made about what we will be using for language arts by the WTM:
ua-cam.com/video/v5S9zC348W0/v-deo.htmlsi=8eyNw58-TkrXY1IN
If they have never had any formal grammar or writing, I think you could really start at the beginning and fly through them! Your 12 year old could probably start with Writing with Ease level 2 or 3 which guides the students through well structured narrations towards independence. For First Language Lessons, they build on one another with lots of review, so starting with level 2 would also be a good place to start with an older child, otherwise I’d just start at the beginning! Let me know if I can answer any other specific questions. Feel free to send me an email! 😊
Have you ever used or looked at A gentle feast? I’m just looking and learning CM curriculum.
A Gentle Feast is a great CM curriculum! It does not include all the subjects, like math, and I think the literature selections are slightly more on the gentle side (which is what some people love about it!) but it is still true to CM philosophy and a solid choice!
@@littlebitsofbliss thank you 😊 I’ve been looking into A Gentle Feast and the Alveary or to do some of the ideas that we had from our Classical background. I’m just really learning CM style. Thank you so much for your videos.
We have been using the alveary in part, but have recently started a family science using berean builders science in the beginning, and have been really enjoying that so far! I do love the alveary selections for science in the way those books bring science to life. So i'm debating if I will use the books listed in science as independent science readings, and then continue with the lab based BB 2-3x per week, family style. The science for grades 7-8 hasn't been a great fit for our son in particular with the alveary (not saying its bad, but we don't love the Joy Hakim science books). I am debating if I will have him move to BB at the middle school level for next year, independently, or what we'll do, so that's still up in the air. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Yes I do love some of the science book selections from the Alveary as well! We will most likely read them during our morning time. 😊
Have you looked into any Amy Fathers World? It’s a mix of Classical approach with CM. I would LOVE to hear your opinion 😘 praying for your vocal cords recovery 🙏🏻
I have never used it, but I am familiar with it. It looks great and very thorough! I think it’s an excellent option!
Hi! I saw your video several weeks ago about Beauty and Truth Math. Are you still planning to continue with that?
And, happy healing!!
Yes absolutely! We love it! And thank you! 😊