Charlotte Mason moms, what are you using?

[IslandMama]

I'm planning for next year, and feel so confused! I'm pretty set with my olders, but more concerned about my 8yo dd. We have been doing are own thing, with some Ambleside, Sonlight readers, and other things thrown in. I feel like I don't want to miss out on any good books... But I'm tired of putting my own thing together and want to save time. Right now I'm kinda torn between AO and MWF and also wanting to add in some Sonlight readers. I'm drawn to Ambleside, and just can't say no to it, so I'm thinking I might go with that. I want to choose something that we will stick with in the long run... So I'd love to hear what others are using and why... I'm eager to start ordering books and starting this summer. Thanks! :heart

[Singingmom]

This year I pulled everything together myself, and I'm wondering if I want to do that again next year or find something that's planned out more for me. So I'm in a similar boat! :)

[IslandMama]

There's gotta be more CM'ers out there! ;)

[Leslie]

There's me - but you already know what I'm using. :giggle

Are you on the cmason list (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cmason/)? Lots of moms there put together their own plan, using AO, Simply CM, Old Fashioned Education and whatever else they can find - or using none of those at all. You might get more varied options there than you would, say, on the AO list.

[The Tickle Momster]

I opted for MFW. I LOVE the look of AO but couldn't figure how to make it work with my 4 kiddos. Plus, MFW schedules bible and makes it relevant, something I would never be able to do on my own. I love having it all planned out for me.

[ShangriLewis]

Well, we are using CM methods along with some WTM suggestions. Here is what's going on with us.

Math: We use Math U See. Our youngest is just learning to count and plays with pattern blocks a lot. He will start MUS next year.

History: We are using Story of the world with CM methods for History. We started with the AO suggestions this year, but with me sick I couldn't keep up. So, we went back and decided to finish SOTW 1. That's working well and is pretty CM friendly for us. I check out library books/DVD's for extra reading material. We keep track of books on Good reads (well we try anyway). We will go on to SOTW 2 next. I might add some of the readings for the AO year (I think 7 is Middle Ages). They both do the map. 6th grader does a typed narration which he copies and paste a picture from Google. 3rd grader colors the notebook pages and I write down his oral narration. He hand copies the oral narration for his notebook.

Science: Apologia for Science along with pretty informal nature study. Not sure about next year yet. 6th grader will do the first half of Apologia General Science since I picked that up for free at some point. The other two will continue informal nature study.

English: I've been really bumping up the copywork and narrations for the boys. It's making a huge difference for them both. Next year I'm adding dictations into our oldest work. I think he is ready for grammar and we are going to try Winston Grammar with him. He hates writing and I think diagramming would just drive him batty. They will continue with Italics for Handwriting. The youngest will do Get Ready for the Code books, too.

I've tried adding in Art Study. But, honestly I'm so tired with this pregnancy I'm just doing the best I can.

I don't know if that helps any. I blog a bit. But, it seems like I'm always changing my mind. I feel like I'm actually settling into homeschooling finally. I figure that's just in time for a new baby to shake things up :giggle

What do you feel like is too much work about this year? Sometimes I would love to just have it all done for me. But, whenever I've tried that we feel like failures. We always get behind for some reason or find we have already studied something that is scheduled. I'm trying to figure out if I can come up with some type of weekly schedule that shows what everyone should do every week. I think I'm going to be overwhelmed with a new baby :nails

[WanderingJuniper]

We are also a blend of CM & WTM and a little bit of child directed study.
This is a glance at next year for us.
For History we will be using SOTW 1.
Math will be Math-u-see.
Science is Apologia Botany along with the Burgess Bird Book and Nature Study. The Bird book is at the request of my Bird who loves the Burgess stories.
LA is copywork, First Language Lessons. (My oldest has already been introduced to grammar and spelling since she was in ps)
I have our lit. list on the other computer. It is a blend of the AO reading list from years 1-4 and the suggested grammar stage reading list from Tanglewood.
We are doing the Artist study from AO but music will be a study Ballet and Opera at the request of my oldest.

We'll see how it all goes for us. Right now I'm only hsing a 5 yo. Next year will be different with my oldest home as well. I'm hoping we've made the decisions that are the right fit for all of us.

[HuggaBuggaMommy]

We're a relaxed CM blend here, using the AO schedule for history, composer/art study, science, poetry and *some* of the literature. For math, we use Singapore. For my little scientist, we do nature study every week, plus Real Science 4 Kids and tons of unschooling (the RS4K pretty much unschooled, too, since ds reads and does what he wants with it - he loves it). LA is copywork, oral narration, dictation, and Simply Grammar. And ds would *not* be happy without spelling, so we're using Natural Speller. Unschooled math, history, literature, LA (and really everything else) is very common here. For language, ds is learning koine Greek.

What I love about AO is that it give ds plenty of time to explore his own interests - that's the unschooling part we wouldn't want to give up.

[Herbwifemama]

Have you ever read a Pocketful of Pinecones? I'm basically doing that. We're attempting to get outside for at least 2 hours daily (aiming for 6), and I'm going to be toting my camera and the Handbook of Nature Study with me, and we'll look up what we find. Yesterday it was sulfur butterflies, dandelions, and apple trees, and today it was a tortoise and some mushrooms that looked like morels, but I would bet money they were poisonous. (And more dandelions and violets. :))

We also read living books out there under the trees. Right now we're reading Winnie the Pooh and Babar. And I plan on doing a lil unit study on sun and wind to go with that Aesop's fable about the sun and the wind. Still in the planning of that.

I'm also going to be working on habit forming, I got a book called "Laying Down the Rails". We ALL need to work on our habits. :yes

(I knew when dd got older we'd be doing something CM-esque, but I honestly had no idea how well CM philosophies fit with us! I :heart CM!!

[IslandMama]

Thank you ladies! I guess most of us do combine and make our own booklists... I love CM and there's so much I really like about a lot of curriculum out there, I have such a hard time deciding! I guess I thought having a schedule to reference would help me keep on task, because I am very relaxed... I'm drawn to AO, SOTW, OFE, MWF, Simply CM, and Sonight... :lol But it seems everytime I consider one curriculum over another, I find myself adding to or taking away from it, so might as well put my own thing together! :giggle I think history/literature is my biggest dilemma. Anyhow, thanks for listening to me think out loud! No matter what we choose, using CM philosophy will be fine, I'm sure! :heart

[amanda1]

I too, feel I need a schedule, but love CM. I have not started yet, although we plan on starting mid-June. I felt a lot better about things after using AO and writing down a daily schedule for us. It is a flexible, changable schedule, but having it in writing and having some structure to guide me made me feel like it will work for someone like me.

[veggiegirl]

Using MFW this year simply because we have some other things going on in our life and I need an already thought out plan to help keep ME on track.

[michelle]

We are using Sonlight, because I am in college and do not have the time to plan a schedule. I also pull from AO for additional ideas.
I like using Ray's Arithmetic for math,
Sonlight science and nature walks (they have added more biographies this year in Sonlight science),
Sonlight language arts is modified to be CM style,
Art study is Sonlights electives.
Additionally I add various videos from VOD on different topics and books.

Personally I find it easier to adapt Sonlight to be more CM, because my schedule is pretty loaded right now.

[WanderingJuniper]

I hadn't realized MFW was so affordable. I didn't consider any boxed curriculum because I knew my budget was limited and the ones I looked at were so very much out of my budget. I'm set for next year but I may consider MFW for Pirate especially since there is so much hands-on stuff that would suit him much better than what is working for Bird. :yes

[mom2boys]

we are using Heart of Dakota for all the littler boys, and Ambleside Online for the big two.
I made my own planner to schedule the AO stuff, and now it makes a lot more sense to me! :doh I am on the schedule email list (can't remember the exact name of it-but I'm sure I found it through the AO website) and that has helped me a lot to keep on track and make it work for me.
At first AO looked so overwhelming to me-but once I just "dove in" and started to use it a bit, it makes more and more sense. And thanks to the wonderful translation of the CM series (a shout out to Leslie :giggle :heart) I finally understand the CM method better! I used to feel so "dumb" because I couldn't always figure out what she was saying when I tried to read the original series.
Anyway, now I'm LOVING AO for my older boys!

[IslandMama]

I think I've figured it out! We will be using AO mostly, with a few things switched up...I'm changing the scope and sequence of the history, to do American and World history at the same time (similar to Mater Amabilis (http://www.materamabilis.org/) and Lindafay's curriculum plan (Higher Up and Further In blog (http://higherupandfurtherin.blogspot.com/)) for younger ages, then more in depth as they get older....and there's no planning involved...just 1 chap a week of each book! Then I will follow the appropriate year for literature, etc. Of course, I will be throwing in some of my favorite Sonlight readers. I already have my booklist for my 8 yo...Now I just need to get one together for the older dc! :tu I'm so excited!

[Katydid]

We are using Ambleside Online, too. :tu And it's funny that you are changing the history.... one of the things that appeals to me most about AO is the emphasis on early British/Western history, and not just US. :giggle But that's partly because my DH is British, so I am glad they (and I) will get more British History. ;)

Glad you settled on something! :yes

[Joyful Mommy]

:popcorn
DS1 just turned 4 in February, and we are planning on using a Charlotte Mason-inspired approach. Not sure at all what that will look like for this coming year except for lots of time outdoors.