Re: Charlotte Mason?
 

Yes, I believe so also, but again, giving the benefit of the doubt, I am incorporating them into our daily life as well.

At this point, we are memorizing simple songs/poems like, "Run, run, as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man." or the patty-cake patty-cake song that Cameron sings with Elijah, changing the verses each time he sings it, trying to make someone in the house laugh. We're setting the bricks for recitation and memorization.

Cameron has learned which side of the house the sun will set and where the moon can be found. He often will comment on the "pretty" sunsets and squeals at the sight of the moon when we're out and about. He gets his left and right most of the time, but seems to have regressed in the last few months, not sure if he's playing with us or if it's the 3 yr old thing.

We have been working on some wildflowers/garden flowers. Poppies, marigolds, roses and irises are among the plants he recognizes and can name out loud.

This summer, we talked about woodpeckers and then looked in DH's ID book to see what kind lived around here. When the woodpecker is up in the trees pecking, Cameron often will mention it and look for it in the tree.

At this age, I don't expect that I will get an answer when I ask questions about this stuff. It depends on his mood. I find that if I don't mention it and he sees something he knows a bit about, he'll bring it up. I wouldn't expect more of him than what I listed above and even that is inconsistent knowledge.

Funny enough, the last two days, I've really come to respect the idea of stretching a child upward, spiritually, emotionally, and knowledgeably without expecting consistency from them at the higher level. Believing that they "get it", giving them the benefit of the doubt, encourages me to think that their level of absorption is higher than we all might expect.

Oh boy, I'm talking a lot tonight. I'm going to keep my mouth quiet now. Hopefully I won't be having to put my foot in it. :nails

Jen D.

Re: Charlotte Mason?
 

Jen, you are so wise. I'm sucking this up like a sponge. Please, keep talking. :cup

Re: Charlotte Mason?
 

I'm having a good day but I should probably stop because I couldn't remember how to spell "absorption" and had to google it and then didn't believe it so I grabbed a dictionary and lo and behold, it doesn't have two "b"s :crazy

Jen D.

Re: Charlotte Mason?
 

:spit Don't you know I'm the worst speller ever??? You could spell my name wrong and I probably wouldn't notice. :bag

Re: Charlotte Mason?
 

That is similar to what I did with Bart. He was and honestly still is hesitant about us homeschooling. However, having things laid out in front of him and seeing it in a traditional school format has helped him understand that while it may look like we are reading and playing outside all day there is a purpose and we are learning and learning things that have a place in our family culture.

Also, we are loosely working through year 0 books right now with JJ and he is seeing results from it which has also helped. Funny bit is after a quick overview of AO his response was "Huh, you've been doing this since Tori was 3 and didn't know it." :heart

I plan on being loosely structured. My oldest needs it. She would prefer a strict schedule but a part of me dies a little inside when I have to stick to a strict schedule. I want to be able to explore topics deeper when and if our children express an interest. That freedom is important to me.

Re: Charlotte Mason?
 

This is what I think too, and self discipline is one of the reasons why every book I read on unschooling left me. :/ But thats JMO.

And come on, most of the quotes in my signature these days are very unschooly of her. ;)

Re: Charlotte Mason?
 

Jen, I'm an INTJ: it's pretty difficult to offend me. ;) But I am a stickler for accuracy, and if my definition of unschooling is incorrect, of course, I'd want to fix that on the website.

I know what you mean - that's why I could never be a pure radical unschooler. I'm too undisciplined. Yet there are aspects of it that I still use.

I think the label is probably the problem. Most people seem to be an eclectic combination of two different approaches. That can present a problem when trying to explain to someone the differences between CM and other approaches - there's so much overlap in the way people actually homeschool in their own home. One of AO's goals is to sort out the differences in pure definitions, more for the sake of clarification than to tell people how they should homeschool.

Re: Charlotte Mason?
 

Thanks for understanding, Leslie.

I was so profoundly impressed by the amblesideonline work my friends were doing, it stuck with me and is something I've been looking forward to using to some degree with my sons.

I also am adamant that if I, as a child, would have been allowed to go at the rapid pace I wanted for the stuff I was interested in (reading, spelling, music, handwriting, etc) and go as slow as I needed for the hard stuff (math, science), I would have been a much better learner and would have understood more.

Jen D.

Re: Charlotte Mason?
 

Alyx also loves the moon and MUST show everyone when he see's it! As well as the sunsets... "Look at the beautiful clouds Mama!!!!!" (When they are orange and purple)

We also teach him simple songs/poems like you described. But his memory is so good, he memorizes things after hearing them once...so he knows many things by memory.

Also, we just moved and this place has a larger window box for plants. I plan to find some things for us to plant and take care of in there as well! :tu

Re: Charlotte Mason?
 

I use a lot of Ambleside Online's stuff, as well as Simply Charlotte Mason.
I'm suprised to hear some thought she was punitive, becuase I've heard her speak and I've been through her blog a zillion times and nothing's ever sent up my red flags! She usually very gentle, esp. with her autistic child.
I also use Heart of Dakota for my youngers, which is charlotte mason based. :-)

Re: Charlotte Mason?
 

http://simplych arlottemason.com/2008/11/05/natural-consequences/

"....Second, it takes a long time to force down a glass of lemonade mixed with milk."

The rest of that post will explain but this is what I will say. If my child mixed lemonade with milk and tried it because I said that would be okay, so be it. What is the point in making them finish it? :shrug

Ewwwwwwww

Re: Charlotte Mason?
 

Amblesideonline is free? :jawdrop Wow, I really like what I have read so far. I am thinking of using this more as a mixed method with some Montessori type things too.

Re: Charlotte Mason?
 

:yes :rockon Hard to navigate though. But worth it.

Re: Charlotte Mason?
 

:hugheart what do you find difficult about it?

Re: Charlotte Mason?
 

I've also found it very informative yet difficult to navigate. I'm still finding answers to my questions when I thought I already looked at that page. :shrug That my simply be a result of the amount of information they provide.

What I find somewhat difficult and it may just be how my mind processes and an aesthetic things is a Book list should be a list with bullets etc. The spacing is tight and for the amount of infor spreading out the spacing and changing up the text a bit would help break up the awesomely helpful info. Again that may just be more or it could just be that I'm not used to finding info on there just yet. :shrug