Multum non Multa - what does that look like in your home?

[FiveOaksAcademy]

I promise I'm not asking for a play-by-play of your day or a curriculum list.  If you have some particular combination that just simplified your life, I'm all ears.  I'm more interested in how you simplify yet deepen the academics in your home.  I like reading ideas on these topics that I'm toying with in my brain.  I just listened to a podcast about the eight essential elements of a classical education, and he talked about multum non multa, and that idea has been on me for about 3 or 4 months now.  If this topic is too much like the Circe/Kern thread, I apologize.  It's not meant to be.

[maize]

I consider what is most needful for my individual children, and focus on those things. Also, we don't attempt to have my children study every subject every year.

 

For example, if my child is a good natural speller and picks up writing conventions and grammatical language easily, I don't spend time teaching spelling and grammar. At some point I do plan to go through a discussion of spelling rules so the method behind the madness becomes clearer, but if they're not misspelling words very often in their writing they don't need a spelling program. The same goes for grammar--a child with a natural grasp of grammar doesn't need to work through a grammar program every year. We might do a formal program one year, probably at the junior high level, to cover whatever has not already been introduced through foreign language.

 

I have also discovered that for my children it is OK to give a subject minimal attention one year if it gets more intensive treatment the next year. A couple of my kids have done this with math--it gets put on the backburner for awhile, either to allow some time for brain maturation or just to focus on something else. When it comes back into daily focus, they tend to move ahead very quickly and make up for lost time.

[FiveOaksAcademy]

I consider what is most needful for my individual children, and focus on those things. Also, we don't attempt to have my children study every subject every year.

 

For example, if my child is a good natural speller and picks up writing conventions and grammatical language easily, I don't spend time teaching spelling and grammar. At some point I do plan to go through a discussion of spelling rules so the method behind the madness becomes clearer, but if they're not misspelling words very often in their writing they don't need a spelling program. The same goes for grammar--a child with a natural grasp of grammar doesn't need to work through a grammar program every year. We might do a formal program one year, probably at the junior high level, to cover whatever has not already been introduced through foreign language.

 

I have also discovered that for my children it is OK to give a subject minimal attention one year if it gets more intensive treatment the next year. A couple of my kids have done this with math--it gets put on the backburner for awhile, either to allow some time for brain maturation or just to focus on something else. When it comes back into daily focus, they tend to move ahead very quickly and make up for lost time.

Thanks!!  I agree a lot with the bolded.  I'm playing around with either a 10-minute per day focus on grammar, maybe orally, maybe through memorizing grammar rules then discussing them in their writing.  I'd then like to hit grammar with a full-out grammar program maybe in 7th-8th grades or something like that.  I have done so much grammar through the years...I know enough not to use a curriculum.  I just need an outline to go by.  I'm still thinking through this.  We've had such success with WWE and just talking about rules as we write.  I don't know that they are retaining as much through the formal curriculum I have used with them.  FLL, used loosely, in 1st-2nd was a good fit for us as well.  

 

I honestly had never thought of that with spelling.  I have a natural speller.  We move quickly through his lessons, but I never thought of just ditching it and possibly covering spelling rules.  Thanks for responding!! :)

[Hunter]

Back in the early 2000s "multum non multa" was my signature. I dropped it when the author of LCC informed he was writing a book and using that phrase. I didn't want to look like I was copying his book. I grieved the loss of my signature, because it summed up my philosophy at the time.

 

Before LCC was written, LCC was a method. Some of us were pretty radical about it. The LCC book was a bit of a disappointment to us, and the second edition was nothing like what we were doing. Radical LCC in the 90s and very early 2000s, was mostly the following books.

Climbing Parnassus. Start with Part 2 and read part 1 later. Many people bog down in part 1 and never get to the good stuff in part 2. Part 2 was my son's reading list.
http://www.amazon.com/Climbing-Parnassus-Apologia-Greek-Latin/dp/1933859504/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403553118&sr=8-1&keywords=climbing+parnassus

The Devil Knows Latin. This book dropped in popularity when Climbing Parnassus was published. It's an easier read than CP.
http://www.amazon.com/Devil-Knows-Latin-Classical-Tradition-ebook/dp/B00KFTZN58/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403553200&sr=8-1&keywords=the+devil+knows+latin

Quintilian. No one reads this anymore, but this was considered essential reading.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Orators-Education-Volume-Classical/dp/0674995910/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403553277&sr=8-1&keywords=quintillian

Composition in the Classical Tradition. I still prefer this book for MY progym spine, but it's not appropriate for children to see.
http://www.amazon.com/Composition-Classical-Tradition-Frank-DAngelo/dp/0023271418/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1403553425&sr=8-5&keywords=classical+composition

Henle Latin. Some used Wheelock, but usually those old enough for Wheelock were past Wheelock.
http://www.amazon.com/Latin-First-Year-Henle/dp/0829410260/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403553477&sr=8-1&keywords=Henle+Latin

Loeb Classics. I loved them but many thought they were a damaging crutch. The red ones are Latin and the green ones are Greek. They were designed to fit into a business man's suit coat pocket and are a darling size.
http://www.hup.harvard.edu/collection.php?cpk=1031

Great Books of the Western World. We were lucky enough to have access to a library set.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Books_of_the_Western_World

KJV BIble

Ray's and Saxon math

And maybe Hey Andrew Greek followed by 1st edition Machen. First edition Machen was in public domain, but then pulled back into copyright in the USA when the laws changed and the book became unavailable. The second edition was very expensive and ruined and didn't come with an answer key.

[Hunter]

Thanks!!  I agree a lot with the bolded.  I'm playing around with either a 10-minute per day focus on grammar, maybe orally, maybe through memorizing grammar rules then discussing them in their writing.  I'd then like to hit grammar with a full-out grammar program maybe in 7th-8th grades or something like that.  I have done so much grammar through the years...I know enough not to use a curriculum.  I just need an outline to go by.  I'm still thinking through this.  We've had such success with WWE and just talking about rules as we write.  I don't know that they are retaining as much through the formal curriculum I have used with them.  FLL, used loosely, in 1st-2nd was a good fit for us as well.  

 

I honestly had never thought of that with spelling.  I have a natural speller.  We move quickly through his lessons, but I never thought of just ditching it and possibly covering spelling rules.  Thanks for responding!! :)

 

If you are doing Henle Latin, it covers most of grammar. Mostly, you just need to add mechanics.

 

Intensive Latin study does reduce the time needed to study English.

[Coco_Clark]

I try to do less subjects each day, and instead really delve deep into what's interesting to us. What this looks like in our home specifically?

 

- a 5 year history cycle. It may even *gasp* turn into six years but it gives us time to wallow in what's interesting and to read every extra book we want!

 

- alternating subjects. We alternate history/science and grammar/spelling and have a weekly rotation of enrichment. This allows us more time for each without having to watch the clock to get to the next thing. When your list is only 4-5 things long it feels like you can take all the time you need.

 

- interest led science. We just finished an entire YEAR of zoology.

 

- copywork as a MAJOR work-horse. I use it for handwriting, spelling, and grammar and it comes from content subjects.

 

- narrations/dictation ect from content work as well.

[TheAutumnOak]

Before LCC was written, LCC was a method. Some of us were pretty radical about it. The LCC book was a bit of a disappointment to us, and the second edition was nothing like what we were doing.

Oh Hunter, do explain if you can...I have both editions of LCC and would like to know more of your thoughts on this...

[FiveOaksAcademy]

I try to do less subjects each day, and instead really delve deep into what's interesting to us. What this looks like in our home specifically?

 

- a 5 year history cycle. It may even *gasp* turn into six years but it gives us time to wallow in what's interesting and to read every extra book we want!

 

- alternating subjects. We alternate history/science and grammar/spelling and have a weekly rotation of enrichment. This allows us more time for each without having to watch the clock to get to the next thing. When your list is only 4-5 things long it feels like you can take all the time you need.

 

- interest led science. We just finished an entire YEAR of zoology.

 

- copywork as a MAJOR work-horse. I use it for handwriting, spelling, and grammar and it comes from content subjects.

 

- narrations/dictation ect from content work as well.

Can you explain more about the bolded?  Do you do every other week or every other day on the alternating subjects?  Copywork as your work-horse, are you having them copy/dictate/narrate from, say grammar and spelling rules?  

[FiveOaksAcademy]

Back in the early 2000s "multum non multa" was my signature. I dropped it when the author of LCC informed he was writing a book and using that phrase. I didn't want to look like I was copying his book. I grieved the loss of my signature, because it summed up my philosophy at the time.

 

Before LCC was written, LCC was a method. Some of us were pretty radical about it. The LCC book was a bit of a disappointment to us, and the second edition was nothing like what we were doing. Radical LCC in the 90s and very early 2000s, was mostly the following books.

 

Climbing Parnassus. Start with Part 2 and read part 1 later. Many people bog down in part 1 and never get to the good stuff in part 2. Part 2 was my son's reading list.

http://www.amazon.com/Climbing-Parnassus-Apologia-Greek-Latin/dp/1933859504/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403553118&sr=8-1&keywords=climbing+parnassus

 

The Devil Knows Latin. This book dropped in popularity when Climbing Parnassus was published. It's an easier read than CP.

http://www.amazon.com/Devil-Knows-Latin-Classical-Tradition-ebook/dp/B00KFTZN58/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403553200&sr=8-1&keywords=the+devil+knows+latin

 

Quintilian. No one reads this anymore, but this was considered essential reading.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Orators-Education-Volume-Classical/dp/0674995910/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403553277&sr=8-1&keywords=quintillian

 

Composition in the Classical Tradition. I still prefer this book for MY progym spine, but it's not appropriate for children to see.

http://www.amazon.com/Composition-Classical-Tradition-Frank-DAngelo/dp/0023271418/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1403553425&sr=8-5&keywords=classical+composition

 

Henle Latin. Some used Wheelock, but usually those old enough for Wheelock were past Wheelock.

http://www.amazon.com/Latin-First-Year-Henle/dp/0829410260/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403553477&sr=8-1&keywords=Henle+Latin

 

Loeb Classics. I loved them but many thought they were a damaging crutch. The red ones are Latin and the green ones are Greek. They were designed to fit into a business man's suit coat pocket and are a darling size.

http://www.hup.harvard.edu/collection.php?cpk=1031

 

Great Books of the Western World. We were lucky enough to have access to a library set.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Books_of_the_Western_World

 

KJV BIble

 

Ray's and Saxon math

 

And maybe Hey Andrew Greek followed by 1st edition Machen. First edition Machen was in public domain, but then pulled back into copyright in the USA when the laws changed and the book became unavailable. The second edition was very expensive and ruined and didn't come with an answer key.

Thanks for this, Hunter!!  Those are good.  I'm so drawn to Ray's!!!  We have used Singapore with great results and will continue, at least until we are done with 6a and 6b, but oh how Ray's draws me!!!  I've looked at the free online version.  If it didn't involve me throwing more money at a subject, I'd think of starting it with my littlest guy.  I still might.  It isn't really inexpensive. 

 

Climbing Parnassus has been on my list to read for.ever.  I have no idea why I have not bit the bullet.  

 

Henle, what age do you start that with?  I had planned to use it.  I already own LC1 and LC2, but I was considering purchasing it after those.  

 

For what it's worth, even though you used to use that as your signature, I do like the one you have now.  It is a string of good stuff!!  Thanks for responding.  I enjoy reading posts from you!!!  

 

 

[FiveOaksAcademy]

Oh Hunter, do explain if you can...I have both editions of LCC and would like to know more of your thoughts on this...

 

I agree!!  I read one of the editions, and liked the idea of it but was not blown away by the content of the book itself.

[Hunter]

Oh Hunter, do explain if you can...I have both editions of LCC and would like to know mor of your thoughts on this...

Read part 2 of Climbing Parnassus to see what a LCC education used to be like. Then when you read LCC the book, you see it's NOT Latin CENTERED and it's not multum non multa.

 

The Robinson curriculum is an example of multum non multa. I'm not saying to purchase the CDs or follow the booklist, but the underlying method is truly multum non multa. The basic method plus Latin is LCC.

 

A truly LCC multum non multa education is rigorous, but not competitive, and most rigorous people are also competitive focused. I don't think I've met anyone since the early 2000s that is radically LCC the method.

 

There were plenty of families in the 90s that had a $100.00 a year budget. That bought Ray's elementary and Saxon high school math, phonics, and Henle Latin and very very little else.

 

After that families often only had a broken and old set of encyclopedia, the KJV Bible, a library card, and whatever they scavenged at year sales and thrift shops.

 

This was a common schedule. Children started the day with the Bible and prayer and singing. Some did a little Bible copywork or prayer journaling. Then they did their math, and read some books till lunch and maybe went outside and played for awhile. After lunch they did their Latin/phonics and mom read aloud books that were too tough for them to read on their own. Mom tried to squeeze in some writing, but often didn't. The phone was ringing, the PS kids were home, and supper needed to be cooked.

 

And then TWTM was published and the internet became widespread and mainstream people with more resources and loftier goals became the majority of homeschoolers, instead of the minority.

 

I did LCC. I'm not advocating or discouraging it. It seemed the right thing to do at the time, with the kid and resources that I had.

[Hunter]

There was no LC1 and LC2 back then. I started afterschooling a bit earlier, but did not start homeschooling until my youngest was 5th grade. I was on a $100.00 budget. After I bought him Saxon Algebra, I didn't have much left. We used Latin made Simple that was either a library or yard sale copy; I can't remember which. Then we started Henle in Grade 6. I remember I had it shipped to my neighbor's house so my husband wouldn't see the UPS man deliver it. :lol:

 

Those of us that jumped our little guys right into high school and adult books just wrote our own exercises for them, BASED on the lessons. I made up little stories in 1st declension using words from Latin Made Simple. We chanted and made flash cards. My son journaled in Latin and drew pictures, and created snarky cartoons.

[Hunter]

And people had Timetables of History. :confused1: They just did. I'm not saying this was the best use of such a small budget. I think one of the catalogs really pushed it.

http://www.amazon.com/Timetables-History-Third-Revised-Edition/dp/B002H55Q8M/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1403614374&sr=8-2&keywords=timetables+of+history

[TheAutumnOak]

Read part 2 of Climbing Parnassus to see what a LCC education used to be like. Then when you read LCC the book, you see it's NOT Latin CENTERED and it's not multum non multa.

 

Thanks Hunter, I will read this...It was on my Amazon wishlist so I went ahead and ordered it...I have been eying it for at least a year and finally am ready to read it  ;) 

 

[Hunter]

Thanks Hunter, I will read this...It was on my Amazon wishlist so I went ahead and ordered it...I have been eying it for at least a year and finally am ready to read it  ;) 

 

 

Make sure to start with part 2. I've been told over and over that this is important advice. The books used with children and the rubber-hits-the-road tips are in part 2. They are buried in the text; you will need to mark up your book and maybe even color code it or copy the information elsewhere. This was THE book, though, that was my scope and sequence, for my younger son's LCC education. There might be better books out now; I don't know. I'm no longer LCC. LCC was the right way for the time, with THAT kid. 

 

And I'm solidly convinced that Henle is the text to get the child reading Latin. The vocabulary is reduced to what is in Caesar. You can expand the student's vocabulary later, but it's good to get them READING so they can absorb the grammar in a more natural way. 

 

I'm not saying not to use other things before Henle with young children. I'm just saying Henle is the book to make serious progress with.

 

Even now, I give students Loeb classics, to just read the English, so they get used to seeing the Latin/Greek on the facing page and see these ancient men as AUTHORS with something significant to say to them.

 

Caesar can be VERY boring in Latin and in English, but sometimes if you read portions and give the child a sword, and use blankets and pillows to create the geography, you can spice things up. Boys love to yell Latin.

[Tress]

Hunter,

 

what did those LCC oldtimers do in the high school years? Was that all dual enrollment? Or did those kids not go to university?

 

I have always been LCC minded, but I have to prepare my kids for state exams, so I'm trying to see how far I can go with LCC before I have to conform to the regular course load.

[Coco_Clark]

Can you explain more about the bolded? Do you do every other week or every other day on the alternating subjects? Copywork as your work-horse, are you having them copy/dictate/narrate from, say grammar and spelling rules?

We do every other day on alternating subjects. I do think every other week would work well for subject based work like history/science. I even know folks that do every other quarter on those! But skill work like grammar/spelling really needs to be touched on more often. And my kids are young, they forget stuff :P

 

I have them copy from quality literature. That may be from our read aloud, or from our science, or from our history but its never lists of rules. When I say it's a workhorse it's because if we are working on, say, contractions in grammar I will try to occasionally pick a sentence with a contraction for a few weeks. So we do a 10-15 minute lesson on contractions and then he is reviewing by writing one every few day. I may ask as I present his copywork for the day, "remember contractions? what two words make this word? why is the apostrophe placed here?" Or if he is having trouble with a spelling rule I can pick a sentence that includes a word using that rule. I also just truly believe that writing sentences with rich language, proper spelling, and correct grammar they will get ingrained.

 

And again, my kiddos are young. We are learning only the very basics of grammar and spelling rules. Things like proper capitalization and silent e's. So that's easy to just do as we go along. Copywork may lose its heyday in our home when we need to start diagramming sentences and studying latin roots. Then again it may not. I do lean CM at times ;)

[FiveOaksAcademy]

Hunter,

 

what did those LCC oldtimers do in the high school years? Was that all dual enrollment? Or did those kids not go to university?

 

I have always been LCC minded, but I have to prepare my kids for state exams, so I'm trying to see how far I can go with LCC before I have to conform to the regular course load.

This!!!  Some of my dreams and ideas are things I'm wanting to implement for my younger set.  I have one that has graduated and is in university and one who will graduate in 2 years.  I feel like I have to think completely differently for him...I'd love not to do that but I'm too scared!!  

 

Funny thing: I feel I could tell you all of the ways I should have done this or that differently with my college child.  I'm not doing with the youngers what I did with her...I'm making changes.  I was too subservient to curriculum, too fearful, too rigid, not enough focus on just a love of learning.  But when I asked her how she feels now about being homeschooled, if it hinders her at all socially or academically (I was scared to hear the answer but knew that I needed to know), she said that it has been good for her and she is doing well.  The marked difference she notes is her level of excitement for and enjoyment of life and learning.  She has had a couple of students tell her that they knew she was homeschooled.  She asked one of them why, rather nervous to hear the answer, and the student told her it was because she seems so excited about life, to meet new people, to learn new things, not jaded by the system.  It's a great comfort to me, to know that even in all of the ways I think I could have done so much better, the results were still very beneficial.  

[FiveOaksAcademy]

We do every other day on alternating subjects. I do think every other week would work well for subject based work like history/science. I even know folks that do every other quarter on those! But skill work like grammar/spelling really needs to be touched on more often. And my kids are young, they forget stuff :p

 

I have them copy from quality literature. That may be from our read aloud, or from our science, or from our history but its never lists of rules. When I say it's a workhorse it's because if we are working on, say, contractions in grammar I will try to occasionally pick a sentence with a contraction for a few weeks. So we do a 10-15 minute lesson on contractions and then he is reviewing by writing one every few day. I may ask as I present his copywork for the day, "remember contractions? what two words make this word? why is the apostrophe placed here?" Or if he is having trouble with a spelling rule I can pick a sentence that includes a word using that rule. I also just truly believe that writing sentences with rich language, proper spelling, and correct grammar they will get ingrained.

 

And again, my kiddos are young. We are learning only the very basics of grammar and spelling rules. Things like proper capitalization and silent e's. So that's easy to just do as we go along. Copywork may lose its heyday in our home when we need to start diagramming sentences and studying latin roots. Then again it may not. I do lean CM at times ;)

I see what you mean.  It's good and it makes sense!!  Your children are young, but I think you are wise to do it this way now.  I'm enjoying reading people's ideas.

[birchbark]

Prioritizing the 3R's and keeping the overall number of subjects down.

 

Block scheduling the content subjects.

 

Learning to mastery. That is, not moving on until you have thoroughly learned a concept. This can be difficult to do with a spiral curriculum or frustrating with one that is paced out for exactly 36 weeks. I guess it's an opportunity to let curriculum be your servant, not your master.

 

Very few out-of-the-home or extracurricular activities.

[Chelli]

I don't know that I'm qualified to post in this thread considering that we have eased into this approach and into a schole/circe approach in the past few months, but I will share what we do. It has been going so unbelievably well and my children are responding so positively that I'm kicking myself for not doing this sooner. In fact I started writing a blog series about my experience of making this transformation called From Type A to Schole.

 

Anyway here is our approach:

Morning Meeting (we cover Bible reading, history reading, poetry, memory work, art/music appreciation and our loop (Shakespeare, character study, Plutarch, and nature reading). = about 1 hour to 1 hour and a half. The kids have a Morning Meeting basket that has quiet things for them to do while I read and we discuss.

 

After Morning Meeting I cover the 3 R's with both girls rotating them out while they go back and forth from independent to working with me. This takes about an hour to an hour and a half for my first grader and about two hours for my 4th grader.

 

Then we eat lunch and have our Lit for Lunch time where I read aloud while they eat. After Lit for Lunch they play outside for 30 minutes or so while I eat lunch.
 

Around 2:00 PM we all gather for Table Time. During this time we focus for one week on a different subject. This is our rotation: one week history, one week geography, one week science, one week interest led, then we start over. I set a timer for two hours (although if we finish before the two hours, then we're done but many times the girls keep going even after the timer goes off!), lay books about our topic on the table, set out our notebooks and craft supplies. Although we don't follow a set pattern every time usually I read from a spine or overview book first for about 20 minutes, then I let the girls choose from some of the books I've gathered on the topic to read themselves for about 30 minutes. We spend the last hour or so adding what we've learned to our notebooks, making a craft or project, doing an experiment, discussing, narrating etc.

 

Our days are so much more relaxed doing school this way. I don't panic if we can't get to something. The girls are really beginning to love learning and I'm SOOOO much more laid back about the entire process. I make sure the 3 R's get completed every day. The girls beg for Morning Meeting and Table Time so they keep me on track for that!

[Tress]

Funny thing: I feel I could tell you all of the ways I should have done this or that differently with my college child.  I'm not doing with the youngers what I did with her...I'm making changes.  I was too subservient to curriculum, too fearful, too rigid, not enough focus on just a love of learning.  But when I asked her how she feels now about being homeschooled, if it hinders her at all socially or academically (I was scared to hear the answer but knew that I needed to know), she said that it has been good for her and she is doing well.  The marked difference she notes is her level of excitement for and enjoyment of life and learning.  She has had a couple of students tell her that they knew she was homeschooled.  She asked one of them why, rather nervous to hear the answer, and the student told her it was because she seems so excited about life, to meet new people, to learn new things, not jaded by the system.  It's a great comfort to me, to know that even in all of the ways I think I could have done so much better, the results were still very beneficial.

That is great to hear! Well done! :hurray:

[Tress]

Loved your post, Chelli! And I'm looking forward to your blog series.

[AimeeM]

This sounds so lovely. I'm not sure I could make it work with such a huge gap in ages with my children (DD will be 13 in August, middle DS just turned 5), but it's nice to imagine it working, lol.

I don't know that I'm qualified to post in this thread considering that we have eased into this approach and into a schole/circe approach in the past few months, but I will share what we do. It has been going so unbelievably well and my children are responding so positively that I'm kicking myself for not doing this sooner. In fact I started writing a blog series about my experience of making this transformation called From Type A to Schole.

 

Anyway here is our approach:

Morning Meeting (we cover Bible reading, history reading, poetry, memory work, art/music appreciation and our loop (Shakespeare, character study, Plutarch, and nature reading). = about 1 hour to 1 hour and a half. The kids have a Morning Meeting basket that has quiet things for them to do while I read and we discuss.

 

After Morning Meeting I cover the 3 R's with both girls rotating them out while they go back and forth from independent to working with me. This takes about an hour to an hour and a half for my first grader and about two hours for my 4th grader.

 

Then we eat lunch and have our Lit for Lunch time where I read aloud while they eat. After Lit for Lunch they play outside for 30 minutes or so while I eat lunch.
 

Around 2:00 PM we all gather for Table Time. During this time we focus for one week on a different subject. This is our rotation: one week history, one week geography, one week science, one week interest led, then we start over. I set a timer for two hours (although if we finish before the two hours, then we're done but many times the girls keep going even after the timer goes off!), lay books about our topic on the table, set out our notebooks and craft supplies. Although we don't follow a set pattern every time usually I read from a spine or overview book first for about 20 minutes, then I let the girls choose from some of the books I've gathered on the topic to read themselves for about 30 minutes. We spend the last hour or so adding what we've learned to our notebooks, making a craft or project, doing an experiment, discussing, narrating etc.

 

Our days are so much more relaxed doing school this way. I don't panic if we can't get to something. The girls are really beginning to love learning and I'm SOOOO much more laid back about the entire process. I make sure the 3 R's get completed every day. The girls beg for Morning Meeting and Table Time so they keep me on track for that!

 

[Hunter]

Hunter,

 

what did those LCC oldtimers do in the high school years? Was that all dual enrollment? Or did those kids not go to university?

 

I have always been LCC minded, but I have to prepare my kids for state exams, so I'm trying to see how far I can go with LCC before I have to conform to the regular course load.

 

Every story was very different. Some children were very gifted and homeschooling was still a novelty back then; sometimes colleges wanted these kids just because of their non traditional background. Others merely accepted it.

 

Some kids went to the CC dual enrolled, and some started as Freshman after taking the GED like my younger son did.

 

Some families used American School's easier general diploma often started and finished early just for the diploma, like my older son did. My older son abandoned a classical education early on, but many families did both. A diligent student could finish the general diploma option in 2 hours a day in 3 years.

 

Some kids went from Latin to roofing and plumbing and rodeoing and never went to college at all.

 

Some families switched to traditional at the last minute, but were LCC before that.

 

There were just so many stories, all different.

[ALB]

I just finished Climbing Parnassus last week, and can't believe I hadn't read it before!  I had already committed to Latin and Great Books, but this book challenged me to really make "classical studies" the central focus of our school.  We have departed from the 4 year history cycle (not sure I was ever thoroughly convinced on that one), and have "demoted" other subjects to once weekly.  We will spend most of our time and most of my homeschool budget on math, writing, Latin and good books.  We are going to continue with R&S English, because my dd enjoys it and it takes us very little time.

 

We start our morning with Bible, Latin hymns and prayers, recitation.  Then phonics/ spelling/ math.  Next is Latin, which I try to spend at least 30 minutes on a day.  We do the workbook, games, listen to the CD and flashcards.  We do writing and grammar after that.  

 

Classical studies (MP Greek Myths for now), Geography and Science are rotated once a week, although we review our Greek Myths information daily.  The rest of our "school time" is reading lots of good books.  Fine Arts is considered more of an elective and my goal is to do it once a week later in the afternoon once our other work is finished.  The kids love art and music, so they're generally happy to add that to their school days.  

 

[Mrs. A]

For us this looks like a focus on the basic skill subjects daily with content subjects rotated in on a weekly basis. It also means spending lots of time enjoying the things that capture our interest and digging deep into those things. We spent almost 2 years reading nothing but LoTR and Narnia and lately the craze is about Robin Hood (we're currently reading a third version of RH and dd likes to take the book and compare the stories in it to those we've already read in the other books). It means allowing lots of free time for exploration and expression, which usually translates into games based on our current story and lots of drawings of favorite characters and episodes. 

[mama25angels]

I don't know that I'm qualified to post in this thread considering that we have eased into this approach and into a schole/circe approach in the past few months, but I will share what we do. It has been going so unbelievably well and my children are responding so positively that I'm kicking myself for not doing this sooner. In fact I started writing a blog series about my experience of making this transformation called From Type A to Schole.

 

Anyway here is our approach:

 

Morning Meeting (we cover Bible reading, history reading, poetry, memory work, art/music appreciation and our loop (Shakespeare, character study, Plutarch, and nature reading). = about 1 hour to 1 hour and a half. The kids have a Morning Meeting basket that has quiet things for them to do while I read and we discuss.

 

After Morning Meeting I cover the 3 R's with both girls rotating them out while they go back and forth from independent to working with me. This takes about an hour to an hour and a half for my first grader and about two hours for my 4th grader.

 

Then we eat lunch and have our Lit for Lunch time where I read aloud while they eat. After Lit for Lunch they play outside for 30 minutes or so while I eat lunch.

 

Around 2:00 PM we all gather for Table Time. During this time we focus for one week on a different subject. This is our rotation: one week history, one week geography, one week science, one week interest led, then we start over. I set a timer for two hours (although if we finish before the two hours, then we're done but many times the girls keep going even after the timer goes off!), lay books about our topic on the table, set out our notebooks and craft supplies. Although we don't follow a set pattern every time usually I read from a spine or overview book first for about 20 minutes, then I let the girls choose from some of the books I've gathered on the topic to read themselves for about 30 minutes. We spend the last hour or so adding what we've learned to our notebooks, making a craft or project, doing an experiment, discussing, narrating etc.

 

Our days are so much more relaxed doing school this way. I don't panic if we can't get to something. The girls are really beginning to love learning and I'm SOOOO much more laid back about the entire process. I make sure the 3 R's get completed every day. The girls beg for Morning Meeting and Table Time so they keep me on track for that!

 

I love, love your post!! Will you please post and let us know when you make the next blog post?

[Nicholas_mom]

 

Loved your post, Chelli! And I'm looking forward to your blog series.

 

Ditto!

[WTMCassandra]

I haven't had time to read the replies, but here's a few practical ways I try to practice multum non multa in high school:

 

1.  We do a WTM-purist Great Books study, coordinating history and literature. Literature is very carefully selected, at the rate of one or two titles per month. It is sooooo easy to assign too many titles and then fly through them shallowly. I resist this tendency and try to cut, cut, cut my list until only the very best survive. And then the student writes a short persuasive essay on each title (we brainstorm essay ideas--no outside curriculum). It really helps them process the book at a deep level.

 

2.  Math and Latin (and now Greek) are prioritized and done early in the day. That way, if the day falls apart, I feel like we have done the basics.

 

3.  Extra-curricular activities: We do not do tons and tons of things, but the things we do, we do as a family and are deeply involved. NCFCA homeschool speech and debate is a prime example.

[Mystie]

Here's how I keep it simple yet deep:

 

1. I don't overteach language arts as is commonly recommended and practiced in homeschool guides. Phonics, followed by a year of spelling to cement the phonics, then light writing (like written narration once a week). Grammar is covered in Latin and we learn terms & definitions as memory work. At age 8-10 I start teaching writing, with grammar along the way as needed. No workbooks, no real programs. Partly, I can do this because I know and love grammar, was an English major, and I have 8+ years experience teaching homeschool middle school kids to write. I used a program as a crutch before, but now I can teach and don't need the crutch.

 

2. That's not the case in math. So I use MUS with the enthusiastic Mr. Demme as video-teacher. Math is every day and learned to mastery (with continued fact drill with Calculadder or xtramath). As long as we work at math everyday, the rate at which we go doesn't matter. In 7 years, I've found the slow points and fast points even out to a reasonable average, so I don't stress about pace as long as we're being diligent and working until understanding and skill is reached before moving on.

 

3. My readers read *a lot*. I don't assign it, I just strew books. I know that doesn't work for all kids or families, but it works beautifully for us. I don't teach history or science, I just offer good books. I also make audio books readily available. 

 

4. Circle Time, or Morning Time, is a key to our day, where we sing, pray, and memorize Scripture, poetry, and catechism.

 

5. Um, did I mention we read? I don't do programs. I don't care if all our reading and literature and science is tied together with a bow, with a program making all the connections for us. I'd rather the kids work out the connections themselves. They read lots of biographies, lots of narrative history (less historical fiction, but still some of that). We don't really have a distinction between "for school" reading and "for fun" reading - it's just reading. I don't do activities or crafts or projects. I haven't found that they are necessary to create interest in our house and I don't think it helps with retention as much as freely chosen drawing or lego-creation based on what captures their imagination. Remove the twaddle, keep away the fluffy and easy entertainment, and they will be captured by "vital interest" as CM put it.

 

[Mrs. A]

Another thought I had about how it looks for us: I don't worry about how long it takes for us to get through any particular curriculum/program. It doesn't matter to me if a book is laid out with x number of lessons that can be finished in 1 year. We work through the lessons at our own pace. With skills we work through for mastery and with content it just takes as long as it takes for us to discuss and enjoy and follow rabbit trails if we want. Sometimes we don't take a long time with a lesson, other times we do. But I do not worry about being done by the end of the year or any specific ending point. Now my children are still little, so I may feel more pressure as they get into older grades, but I hope (!) not to cave to the pressure and instead want to keep our overarching goal of education as formation in sight and so not be pressured into following someone else's goals for my children. 

[KrissiK]

Ok, I am looking through this thread and am getting a little down. I would love to delve, explore, wallow, think, discuss..... I can't "strew good books around the house" because they don't get read, they get stepped on. And I've been reading to my kids since they were babies. I do read myself, when I get a chance, but none of my kids really sit down and read. Is this idea, this philosophy of education and educating even possible for families of many kids who would rather throw Legos at each other and who fuss with each other and just want to get done with school?

 

I've been looking at a lot (not all) the siggies, and a lot of you are only teaching 1 or 2 children. I'd love to hear from parents who are teaching 4 or more grammar/logic stage children, whose homeschool resembles a 3-ring circus, and whose children, while smart enough, are not academically interested. Sometimes I wonder, is this philosophy of restful learning even possible for us? Maybe I should just get a boxed curriculum and stop killing myself.

[Slache]

Ok, I am looking through this thread and am getting a little down. I would love to delve, explore, wallow, think, discuss..... I can't "strew good books around the house" because they don't get read, they get stepped on. And I've been reading to my kids since they were babies. I do read myself, when I get a chance, but none of my kids really sit down and read. Is this idea, this philosophy of education and educating even possible for families of many kids who would rather throw Legos at each other and who fuss with each other and just want to get done with school?

 

I've been looking at a lot (not all) the siggies, and a lot of you are only teaching 1 or 2 children. I'd love to hear from parents who are teaching 4 or more grammar/logic stage children, whose homeschool resembles a 3-ring circus, and whose children, while smart enough, are not academically interested. Sometimes I wonder, is this philosophy of restful learning even possible for us? Maybe I should just get a boxed curriculum and stop killing myself.

 

Your thoughts remind me of 1 Corinthians 12. The whole one person is an eye, another is a foot, but we're all part of the body thing. (Give me a break, I have a cold). Maybe you're meant for a box?

[KrissiK]

Your thoughts remind me of 1 Corinthians 12. The whole one person is an eye, another is a foot, but we're all part of the body thing. (Give me a break, I have a cold). Maybe you're meant for a box?

Sometimes I wonder. I really do. I want to give my kids an excellent education. Latin, Greek, art, all the good stuff. But what do you do when they don't want it? My mil told me the other day that she worries about me and homeschooling because I look so tired all the time.

[Piper]

Sometimes I wonder. I really do. I want to give my kids an excellent education. Latin, Greek, art, all the good stuff. But what do you do when they don't want it? My mil told me the other day that she worries about me and homeschooling because I look so tired all the time.

 

I don't know that I have any qualifications at all to answer this, as I am only schooling two, but I've been thinking about this sort of thing in my own school - so I hope you don't mind if I think out loud a bit here.  There are certain subjects that my kids do not like.  Different ones for each kid, according to their personalities, and that tends to color their view of school.  Eg: "Because I have to do math during school, I hate school!"  I really want them not to think like this.  I want them to enjoy the challenges and celebrate the successes, to really feed that "love of learning" that everyone talks about, and to say "I like school!" (Maybe at least once a month? :p).  And the conclusion I've come to is that this has to come from me.  I have to have a better attitude, and if necessary, I have to pare down my subject list and change how we do things each day (introduce "morning time" for instance, or have them take more frequent, physically-active breaks) so that school becomes more enjoyable for them, and they think less about the "pain" of completing a page of math problems, but more about the fun of cuddling during read-alouds, or hunting flash cards around the room, or reciting the times tables while jumping rope, or whatever it is that will help reduce the "angst".  And maybe for you that will be using a boxed curriculum.

 

I don't know if I'm making any sense, or if I'm just repeating what everyone else has already said multiple times, or if I'm even coming close to answering your question here, but I have realized that I can't wait for the kids' attitudes to shape up in order to "teach from rest": I need to learn how to "teach from rest" first, I need to do whatever it is I need in order to achieve that peace, and then once I am teaching from rest, that will lead the kids' attitudes to shape up.

[Slache]

Sometimes I wonder. I really do. I want to give my kids an excellent education. Latin, Greek, art, all the good stuff. But what do you do when they don't want it? My mil told me the other day that she worries about me and homeschooling because I look so tired all the time.

 

That's not homeschooling, that's motherhood in general. People always comment on how tired I am and I'm frequently asked if I'm sick. It makes me feel so pretty.

[Hunter]

Sometimes I wonder. I really do. I want to give my kids an excellent education. Latin, Greek, art, all the good stuff. But what do you do when they don't want it? My mil told me the other day that she worries about me and homeschooling because I look so tired all the time.

 

My younger had an LCC education and my older did NOT. My older went out to work, and worked more than schooled. In the long run, he did better.

 

LCC is one way to do things, but is not the best way for all families and all children. My older needed to work and sweat and be in pain. He needed to spend his days with men. That is what HE needed.

[Hunter]

I haven't had time to read the replies, but here's a few practical ways I try to practice multum non multa in high school:

 

1.  We do a WTM-purist Great Books study, coordinating history and literature. Literature is very carefully selected, at the rate of one or two titles per month. It is sooooo easy to assign too many titles and then fly through them shallowly. I resist this tendency and try to cut, cut, cut my list until only the very best survive. And then the student writes a short persuasive essay on each title (we brainstorm essay ideas--no outside curriculum). It really helps them process the book at a deep level.

 

2.  Math and Latin (and now Greek) are prioritized and done early in the day. That way, if the day falls apart, I feel like we have done the basics.

 

3.  Extra-curricular activities: We do not do tons and tons of things, but the things we do, we do as a family and are deeply involved. NCFCA homeschool speech and debate is a prime example.

 

Do you do all the TWTM suggested books? If not, can you post your list. 

[KrissiK]

My younger had an LCC education and my older did NOT. My older went out to work, and worked more than schooled. In the long run, he did better.

 

LCC is one way to do things, but is not the best way for all families and all children. My older needed to work and sweat and be in pain. He needed to spend his days with men. That is what HE needed.

Mine needs that. He needs to learn how to work. Unfortunately, there are no opportunities with where we live and who we know (or don't know!)

[WTMCassandra]

Do you do all the TWTM suggested books? If not, can you post your list. 

No, although that list definitely informed mine. And even SWB says don't try to do the whole list but see it as a pool of ideas.

 

I have course descriptions (that include book lists and how the history/lit integration works) for all four years of the rotation (we are completing Year 3). If you want them, please PM me your email address.

[Mystie]

Ok, I am looking through this thread and am getting a little down. I would love to delve, explore, wallow, think, discuss..... I can't "strew good books around the house" because they don't get read, they get stepped on. And I've been reading to my kids since they were babies. I do read myself, when I get a chance, but none of my kids really sit down and read. Is this idea, this philosophy of education and educating even possible for families of many kids who would rather throw Legos at each other and who fuss with each other and just want to get done with school?

 

I've been looking at a lot (not all) the siggies, and a lot of you are only teaching 1 or 2 children. I'd love to hear from parents who are teaching 4 or more grammar/logic stage children, whose homeschool resembles a 3-ring circus, and whose children, while smart enough, are not academically interested. Sometimes I wonder, is this philosophy of restful learning even possible for us? Maybe I should just get a boxed curriculum and stop killing myself.

 

I have five kids and our oldests are similar ages, it looks like. 

 

I *do* think 1 Cor. 12 applies and my oldest two are reader-thinker-types like myself. I'd say my husband is half-reader, half-doer. I am not really a doer at all. I am curious to see how this ends up working out with my next ones coming up, because my third is not an early reader like her older brothers and appears to be more of a doer extrovert while my olders are definitely introverts who enjoy retreating into books. And my fourth is physical, nano-second-attention-span. So I don't know how the set up that has come naturally to me and worked for my olders will pan out across all my children. I would definitely suggest looking into personality stuff and try to determine what would serve them best. 

 

Our books are stepped on as much as they are read. Our house looks like a whirlwind has passed through even though we tidy up almost every day. It's a circus. The days where *someone* at *some point* doesn't freak out over some part of their work are few and far between. The days where the toddler doesn't wreak havoc are rare. The days when there isn't bickering to resolve are non-existent. However, working out bickering and fussing always trumps academics, because you can't get to the academics or have an amicable discussion if people can't exercise patience, kindness, humility, and self-control. It's foundational to learning and to life. So we have to address those issues underneath the academics, too. So I really focus on attitude and obedience and politeness when they are five and under more than anything else. And we always have occasions where we have to stop everything and return to those basics again and again. And no one here, not even myself, have mastered any of them. We all fail and we repent and try again. What we can't do is fail and decide to not bother getting back up again.

 

It's ok to use the boxed curriculum to serve your needs. I don't think not using boxed curriculum makes one a better person. The trick is to use it to serve you and not make you or your children serve it. You do that just by paying attention to their needs, and it sounds like you're seeing that they (or you!) might need something like that. You should definitely stop killing yourself. :) It would kill me to follow a script, so I don't. If it kills you (or your relationship with your kids) to do it without a script, then by all means use the script. 

 

Know yourself, know your kids, and homeschool in a way that serves who you are and where you are now, taking you toward your goal. Don't homeschool based on how you wish you all were. :) Who knows? The rest that a boxed curriculum brings might help you move closer to your ideal in the end!

[Hunter]

No, although that list definitely informed mine. And even SWB says don't try to do the whole list but see it as a pool of ideas.

 

I have course descriptions (that include book lists and how the history/lit integration works) for all four years of the rotation (we are completing Year 3). If you want them, please PM me your email address.

I sent you a pm. Thanks!

[maize]

Ok, I am looking through this thread and am getting a little down. I would love to delve, explore, wallow, think, discuss..... I can't "strew good books around the house" because they don't get read, they get stepped on. And I've been reading to my kids since they were babies. I do read myself, when I get a chance, but none of my kids really sit down and read. Is this idea, this philosophy of education and educating even possible for families of many kids who would rather throw Legos at each other and who fuss with each other and just want to get done with school?

 

I've been looking at a lot (not all) the siggies, and a lot of you are only teaching 1 or 2 children. I'd love to hear from parents who are teaching 4 or more grammar/logic stage children, whose homeschool resembles a 3-ring circus, and whose children, while smart enough, are not academically interested. Sometimes I wonder, is this philosophy of restful learning even possible for us? Maybe I should just get a boxed curriculum and stop killing myself.

.

 

I have five children with ages very similar to yours. This fall, they will be 11, 9, 6, 4, and 2. Three ring circus indeed!

 

The main thing I do is cut out anything that is not specifically benefitting my family; this allows me to focus what energy I have on the things that are most important. I don't worry if we don't study formal science one year if that is not the top of the priority list at the moment. My kids do sit down and read, but we also do a lot of audio books ((librivox is one of my best friends) mostly ay bed time and in the car. I have both Latin and Greek programs on my shelves, but we're not using any of them at the moment as I opted to focus on a modern language.

 

IMO the key components of a decent education are reading and math, so we do those.

[Chelli]

Ok, I am looking through this thread and am getting a little down. I would love to delve, explore, wallow, think, discuss..... I can't "strew good books around the house" because they don't get read, they get stepped on. And I've been reading to my kids since they were babies. I do read myself, when I get a chance, but none of my kids really sit down and read. Is this idea, this philosophy of education and educating even possible for families of many kids who would rather throw Legos at each other and who fuss with each other and just want to get done with school?

 

I've been looking at a lot (not all) the siggies, and a lot of you are only teaching 1 or 2 children. I'd love to hear from parents who are teaching 4 or more grammar/logic stage children, whose homeschool resembles a 3-ring circus, and whose children, while smart enough, are not academically interested. Sometimes I wonder, is this philosophy of restful learning even possible for us? Maybe I should just get a boxed curriculum and stop killing myself.

 

A few things:

 

1) My dd10 does NOT enjoy reading. She will do it when I make her for school such as what I talked about above, but she very rarely will choose a book to read for pleasure. It makes me sad since I love to read, but it is what it is. My dd6 is not reading well enough yet to read most content subject books on her own so I still read those for her during our Table Time. All that to say, my girls LOVE to be read to so they will do a relatively long Morning Meeting with me and listen to lots of read alouds. There is no way I could just leave books lying around for them to pick up on their own. They wouldn't do it, so I make them do it by having Table Time where my oldest reads about the topic for 30 minutes. I get a variety of books from the library for her to choose from, but she does have to do it.

 

2) I purposefully state in one of my blog posts that when you start really looking into a CiRCE or schole type approach, you quickly find that there is NOT one correct way to do it. That's because what is restful and leisurely for one family's learning style will be totally different from another. The example I gave in my post is that I had to let go of Heart of Dakota once and for all. Not because I didn't like the program and not because it didn't work for my dd, but because it made ME stressed out to teach. All of those boxes to check off before the day was over did not make my teaching restful! I mentioned this on a Heart of Dakota Facebook group and another mom immediately said that HOD does provide her that restful learning; it keeps her from stressing out. So for that lady HOD can be used in a CiRCE/schole way, but for me it can't. If using a boxed curriculum works best for you and your children, then that IS your place of rest and leisure. 

 

3) It took time to get my kids to where they will learn the way we are now. When I decided to become more minimalist and more focused, I introduced it in baby steps to our homeschool. The first step was a lot of personal introspection. What did I want our homeschool to be? What do my kids enjoy? What were the ultimate goals for my children's education? Next, I instituted a new and improved Morning Meeting. For about the first two weeks they did nothing but complain about it, but I kept on. I wanted us to have this time to focus on truth, beauty, and goodness first thing. Fast forward and now they love Morning Meeting. We have discussions about poetry, Plutarch, Shakespeare, etc. that we all get something out of. Some days we don't discuss anything; we just read what I wanted to read for the day. It's very go with the flow. If something jumps out to me or the kids, then we stop and mull it over. If not, we keep going. The last thing I started was our Table Time. This was born out of my desire to not do so many content subjects each week. When I had things scheduled by doing history on MWF and Science on TTh, then I would get a bit stressed and anxious if we missed that day, so part of my introspection faze was to realize that I didn't want to do content subjects that way. I moved to my weekly focus at that point and I'm considering doing a two week focus in the future. Only studying history, science, geography, or interest led for one (or possibly two) solid week, instantly brought rest to me. Now I didn't have to stress about how much got done or if we covered what I wanted because we would be spending the rest of the week on the same topic. We've done one rotation (one month) of Table Time since it was the last thing I started and it's worked great for me and the kids. 

 

In a nutshell: my advice to you would be to be realistic about your family. You have quite a few littles and there is no WAY I could have done a long Morning Meeting with toddlers and babies around. There's no problem with that, just adjust. Boxed curriculum can be multum non multa, but you might have to change the weekly layout to make it that way. Look at Memoria Press' weekly schedule: history one day, science one day, classical studies one day, geography one day. Could you rework your boxed curriculum to make it fit that kind of set up? Finally, be patient with yourself and your children. School is not a sprint, but a walk. It was really difficult for me to let go of that feeling of urgency to get it all done and to do it like XYZ person that I admired.

 

ETA: Sorry! This turned into a super long post, but I've been exactly where you are back in March. I am not an expert, but these are things that worked for me.

[Tress]

3) The last thing I started was our Table Time. This was born out of my desire to not do so many content subjects each week. When I had things scheduled by doing history on MWF and Science on TTh, then I would get a bit stressed and anxious if we missed that day, so part of my introspection faze was to realize that I didn't want to do content subjects that way. I moved to my weekly focus at that point and I'm considering doing a two week focus in the future. Only studying history, science, geography, or interest led for one (or possibly two) solid week, instantly brought rest to me. Now I didn't have to stress about how much got done or if we covered what I wanted because we would be spending the rest of the week on the same topic.

Great post! And I really like your idea of doing content subjects a week at a time. I'm certainly going to try this.

[vaquitita]

Nm

Edited December 13, 2015 by vaquitita

[Hunter]

AO can definitely be multum non multa. Well, at least it could last year before The Living Page "revealed" all these previously undiscovered ideas about how CM should be done. CM is changing to shaming people into a LOT more written work, because…like...we seem to have unearthed some scripture, you know. :lol:

[vaquitita]

Nm

Edited December 13, 2015 by vaquitita

[My3girls]

Ok, I am looking through this thread and am getting a little down. I would love to delve, explore, wallow, think, discuss..... I can't "strew good books around the house" because they don't get read, they get stepped on. And I've been reading to my kids since they were babies. I do read myself, when I get a chance, but none of my kids really sit down and read. Is this idea, this philosophy of education and educating even possible for families of many kids who would rather throw Legos at each other and who fuss with each other and just want to get done with school?

 

I've been looking at a lot (not all) the siggies, and a lot of you are only teaching 1 or 2 children. I'd love to hear from parents who are teaching 4 or more grammar/logic stage children, whose homeschool resembles a 3-ring circus, and whose children, while smart enough, are not academically interested. Sometimes I wonder, is this philosophy of restful learning even possible for us? Maybe I should just get a boxed curriculum and stop killing myself.

 

I have 3 not 5, but feel that I could have written this.  My kids are not in love with school, don't pick up books on their own, and I work so I cannot be available 5-6 hours for school for all of them.  Our homeschool is still evolving, but right now, it looks something like this.

 

Math, individual reading, a read aloud, and handwriting everyday.  Math is 2-3 pages of Math Mammoth 4 days a week, and one day of Life of Fred.  I have to tell them to read, but I let them choose the book (from ones that I have supplied).  This coveres all kinds of subjects.  I only make them read for 15-30 minutes.  Sometimes, they forget to ask for time, and they accidentally read for more.  Read alouds cover Greek myths, poetry, Shakespeare, and occassionally some history or science.  In handwriting, we are learning cursive.  Once we are done with that, we will focus more on what we write instead of how.

 

Nature walk once a week with Dad.  Lot's of science is covered with this.  I fit in grammar, composition, vocabulary, spelling, phonics on a rotating basis.  I was worried a little about this, but they are kicking butt on their end of year testing so I'm going to stop. lol  We do activities when they are requested.  I occassionally come up with something and ask if they want to do it, but it usually comes from them.  We do one field trip a month, and I try to make it pertain to something we are studying.  This fall we are adding in music with a co-op once a week.

 

I was really stressed because we aren't going to finish everything by the end of the year.  I have decided that we will just keep moving forward and call it good.  I am not going to not finish any curriculum so that we can start up new "on time."  We will continue until July 30 as planned then take off August and start back up where we left off.  If we finish by July 30 then yay.  Otherwise, we'll finish it when we come back to it.  I figure there will be slow and fast times and subjects, but it will all come out in the wash.