Homeschool Diva

A Charlotte Mason education has a few distinctives. Here is a great little summary for you if you are new to the philosophy of CM education. We don’t really use workbooks, and narration is a STRONG component of what we do. If you have done any research about it, it can be a bit daunting trying to pull all that off by yourself. That is why I am indebted to the folks over at Ambleside Online. A few Homeschool Moms got together about 10 years ago, and started putting things together for their own families, and just kept on going, keeping track of what they were doing all along, and offering it free for others to find them on their own homeschool journey.

Part of the homeschool process for me, really steamed from my own childhood. I was dreadfully BORED in school and then had a few teachers who just didn’t seem to like me in the 4th and 5th grade (hard to imagine, I know!) and from those 2 things I developed a loathing for school until I reached the collegiate level. When I did get to the collegiate level, I realized some dreadful holes in my understanding of the world, its history and the relationships between how things worked. And I went to one of the top 5 highschools in the nation. I know some of that was because I was being taught to pass tests and not to have a holistic understanding of the world.

So fast forward 15 years, and you can see why some things are very important for me. I really wanted a classical approach with a strong emphasis on history as a whole, not just random little parts that rarely flowed together, and an appreciate for great literature, art, poetry and music. Not just modern things but through the ages. Charlotte Mason filled the bill for me, and now here we are. I literally can’t wait to see what we cover next. It is all so much fun and fascinating, and our kids beg us to keep reading. “DON’T STOP!” is a common phrase in our house, but alas, I do, because it keeps them hungry for more. A love of learning for life is what we are going for, and I see it blooming in the smallest and sweetest way in these early years. I can’t wait to see how it matures through the years.

So here are a some of the questions that Christine asked and I thought I would answer here in case any one else is in her boat.

• Our DC are 12 & 10 (7th & 5th). This is 2nd year HSing 10yr old and 1st year with 12 yr old. Do you think Ambleside is something that they could just get into with no prior use of CM?
  • Absolutely! A CM approach is very different from traditional schooling and workbook driven curriculums. It may take a bit of detox from the way they are used to schooling but give them space to transition. Children are brilliant and if we give them good stuff for their little minds to engage with, they take off and soar. I think they can transition over beautifully. AO is set up in years, yr 1, yr 2 and so on. Those do not mean school years. So a 5th grader coming out of 5th grade traditional school, may need to do yr 3 or yr 4 based on what they can handle. This is where the flexible part comes in. The language component is challenging and it will take a bit for them to get used to the literature readings, and the concept of narrating. One way to check where they should start is by going to a given year and look at the free reading books. Check one out from the library and read it aloud as a family. Track where they are with it. This will tell you if you need to pull back a year or two. There are many 3rd graders coming out of traditional school starting with yr 1. You have to start thinking holistically and not by years. My children are not yet at the age of being able to read their own literature on their own. My 7 year old is in love with Shakespeare. He couldn’t read King Lear on his own, but boy does he LOVE it when I read it to him. It does not mean they can not engage with it beautifully, they just need a facilitator, me. I read aloud, and bit by bit I am transitioning the reading over to them. By yr 4 they should be doing most of their reading on their own. In the beginning you may read a ton with them, even at their age. Just like riding a bike with training wheels, you will see when they can go it alone.

• Also, one of our DC is VERY right brained, visual, Will Ambleside work for him?
  • Yes, you may have to think a little differently. They will have to begin to visualize the story in their brain. You may need to have a notebook handy during the readings, so they can draw out the characters and their interactions. You will also create a Book of Centuries which is a very visual way to keep track of what you are studying. My oldest is very visual too. That is why we LOVE Math U See, it works splendidly for him. You can also incorporate some pbs movies about certain things you are learning about, Shakespeare etc.

• Is there workbooks or is it pretty much reading?
  • I use 3 workbooks, one for Handwriting, one for phonics and one for Math. Other than that, they are creating their own narrations and work, based on how they narrate to me. I don’t ask them leading questions, because it makes them sloppy in their thinking. I read, they listen and then tell me back to the best of their ability. With one of our selections I started asking leading questions and I am paying for it now. With mine, I read one paragraph and ask them to tell me back to the best of their ability exactly what they heard. This is how they are picking up great grammar, vocabulary and how to make the connections in their brains and then give it back to me. It is a hard discipline, and you should not expect them to master it right off the bat. Your age would be giving a written narration. Mine are still orally narrating. I also “test” in this way. They don’t know it is a test, I call the “Oral Reviews” and they go something like this….”Tell me everything you can about…”.

• What are the pros/cons of Ambleside?
  • Pros - it fits all of the things we wanted in an education for our children. I love that it is gentle and challenging at the same time. The information you cover over the 12 years is amazing. The advisory suggests that once a child has moved through year 7 work, they have gotten the equivalent of what a traditional highschool senior would have.
    
  • Cons - Not many, however you may not be “down” with every book selection for different personal reasons. I have no issues with them, but some parents do. Again, be flexible and substitute a great equivalent. They offer suggestions in those areas. Some Moms on the email loop are HARD CORE and can at times put pressure on you to do what they are doing. If you know what you want and where you are going, you will be able to stir clear of that. Comparison is bad stuff, so stay away from it:-)

• Do you teach your children all the same level or do you teach each one at their own levels?
  • I do Bible, Art, Music and Nature Study the same for all 3, handwriting at the same time, just different aspects for each age, Poetry together(I usually pull this back so the littles can hang with it), and math at the same time, just different aspects for each. The reading/phonics, history and literature I do differently as they are at different levels and ability to understand. Your 2 however, are close enough in age, and probably ability at this point that you may experiment doing the same year for both of them. Just ask your older to do a few things a bit more challenging then what your younger can do.

  So, I hope that helps a little. The FAQ’s are very helpful and the email thread is a great source of info as you get going. One of my favorite CM blogs to read is here. She “rocks the shizoks” with all of this stuff. I go there often. If I can be of any help just drop me an email.