This is what I have done for this same problem: We read one read-aloud with breakfast (this is usually our devotional read-aloud). We read one read-aloud with lunch (this is usually our "fun" book) We read one book with Daddy in the evenings usually during dessert (usually our Thornton Burgess books because my husband loves those) I do a picture book before nap and at bedtime We will read a little during the school day (history, science, fairy tales), but this isn't consistent My kids seem to really like this. In fact, this week there was a day when I didn't eat lunch with the kids and they made my husband read the lunch book. I like the pegging of reading with different times of day and the habit of reading. It also gives my voice some time to recover and gives my kids a break between readings. On days when I don't feel like reading, we will substitute one or more of the readings with a selection from Audible. We also listen to Audible and Jim Weiss recordings in the car.

Here is how I do it. I don't watch the videos so I am not sure if this is the "right way" or not! But here goes: I first find the subject, verb and direct object or p-nominative or p-adjective. I put all those things on the main line. I then start at the beginning of the sentence and go through the "rest" of the words and put them where they need to be. I do find that the parsing is much easier than the diagramming. I rarely make a mistake in the parsing (although she does sometimes trick me)!!! I have found that the diagramming is where I find out if I truly understand the structure of the sentence. I do sometimes have a little trouble deciding where to put a prep phrase in the diagram. I usually miss at least one every page I do. The further I get into the program, the more I have internalized these and the fewer I miss. I think this is a great program. You get all the grammar you need and you don't have to spend years learning grammar. That said, your son just might not be ready for this program. 8th grade is on the cusp really. I would either get Junior Analytical Grammar and start there or hold off until next year, especially if you haven't done Latin. My kids are much younger so I can't speak to this specifically, but in a lot of areas taking some time off can cause someone to improve greatly. This has happened with different math and reading concepts with my son. Just my 2 cents. Best of luck.

He convinced me too!!!! I am going to start Latin next year in second grade and follow the Memoria Press timeline for Latin. I will also do Jr. Analytical Grammar or something like that in late elementary and then Analytical Gramma in middle school. I am currently reading The War Against Grammar. I highly recommend it!

I don't see how you could do the program without the diagramming. Could you just have him do half a lesson a day? I am doing this on my own since I never learned any grammar. It is very rare for a lesson to take me more than 20 minutes. Could he be stalling between each question? Or is he having trouble with the diagramming?

My son is a perfectionist and I was one too! I spent a lot of the day telling him every time I made a small error. We also talked about people like Thomas Edison who tried so many times to invent something before something worked. I also celebrated successes and we discussed how hard he worked to earn that success and how it was worth the effort, even though he had to make mistakes in the process. Eventually, he saw that hard work pays off and he is doing better (not completely, but a substantial improvement). You need to really be careful with perfectionists because they tend to develop the idea that if they can't do something perfectly, they won't do it. This has been a huge obstacle in my life! It is very difficult to overcome as an adult. Just keep things positive. it might be that he just needs a few weeks off and then a fresh start. That has worked wonders for me sometimes!

I have thought about going, but decided to go to the Circe Conference instead. If the Circe conference is far from my house, I plan to go to the Memoria Press Conference next year.

These books are really good and are a quick overview. We are currently using the D'Aulaire's biographies with my kids. We are basically just doing an overview of US History, but we are taking two years to do it. I like that my kid have a basic understanding of our history. I do not gloss over anything bad. We have talked about how the American Indians were treated. We have talked about slavery. My kids understand that these things were wrong, but I don't dwell on them. When we come upon something, we talk about it and then move on. My kids are very good at understanding why these things are wrong and it doesn't seem to bother them. I think honesty is important. I do have to agree with others that ancient history poses just as many, if not more, potential problems in this area. That is why I am holding off on ancient history until 3rd grade. (I also agree with CM that kids should know their own history first.) One last thought: if you don't want to teach US history, why are you? It isn't mandatory and it will be covered if you do SOTW.

Leif the Lucky is the worst one by far. Christopher Columbus was excellent. My kids especially loved Pocahontas. We are currently reading Ben Franklin. It is also really good. By the way, I read a couple of paragraphs and have my kids narrate. We end up reading about two pages per day FWIW.

My family has absolutely loved the Thornton Burgess books (Reddy Fox, Bobby Coon, etc). My husband insists that we read them when he is at home so that he doesn't miss anything!!! We have also loved (trying not to mention those already mentioned): Tum Tum and Nutmeg (and the sequels) Paddington Bear chapter books Folktales

I have been doing AG myself and absolutely love it (although I didn't really like it for the first few units mostly because my grammar knowledge was so pitiful). I have found that I can get through the lessons much faster now that I am on Unit 9 of Season 1. If it is moving so slowly, maybe you could do it over a whole year and just do half of the unit each week. To OP: I am planning on using this.

My son (just finishing 1st grade) spends a lot of time reading on his own. I have a lot of Level 3 and Level 4 books, especially animal books since those are his favorite. I was going to post a similar question about when to start having them read silently from books that we choose. He is starting to read chapter books. He is so enthusiastic about reading that I don't want to squelch it though!!!! :bigear:

BTW, give Climbing Parnassus a chance. The beginning is more stuffy than the last part!

We school year round, but I have more time to read in the summer since we don't have as much other stuff going on. So, this is my chance to finally finish books that I cannot seem to finish: Herodotus The Histories Poetic Knowledge Charlotte Mason Book 6: Philosophy of Education I think I can, I think I can...

I think you need to forgive yourself! You did not ruin your kids. Have a nice, restful summer and then start over in the fall!

As a fellow Catholic who follows CM, I cannot recommend enough the 4real forums. Here is a link. This is a great place to plan booklists!!!! This is a great blog to spend some time on, but especially this post about the Considered Booklist. She has a list of books for each grade somewhere, but I couldn't find it right away. As far as CM goes, I think it is a wonderful way to educate. I also think that the earlier you start the better. It is easier to teach kids to narrate when they are young. It just becomes a part of their life and leads to such better attention. I would definitely call CM rigorous and I would also consider it to be a classical education. CM taught Latin in all of her schools and they were very proficient in Latin. Also, look at some of the sample exams!!! I also don't think that science is light in CM because we do a lot of science. My kids are very good at observing nature and we read a lot of living science books. We have really enjoyed using this for science as well. I think it is good for K-2. I do think that CM is more akin to the classical education of late and is farther from the WTM way which is think is neo-classical in nature. As far as history cycles, I spent way too long stressing over that. I don't know if you saw the CiRCE thread from last year, but I have really let it go and have been schooling from a place of rest ever since! I decided to start with American history. We are doing the D'Aulaire's biographies supplemented with picture books. This year, we did Leif Erickson, Columbus, Pocahontas and Jamestown settlement, and we are now on Ben Franklin. Next year (2nd and K), I plan to add in some "Classical studies" where we will start learning about myths and a little bit of ancient history (using Ancient Rome Modern Rhymes About Ancient Times and Ancient Greece Modern Rhymes About Ancient Times). I plan to do American history and world history simultaneously for early elementary (kind of like HUFI, but I can't follow anything exactly). I can see why people do the three cycles of 4 years, but I want to spend more time on each cycle and spend more time on American history. I think learning American history first is wonderful since we live here! I don't think we need to stress as much about this as we do. I don't know if you use a Morning Basket time, but that is the best addition to my homeschool. This is when we do our reading: history, science, literature, poetry, composer study, picture study, memorization, etc. Then we do our seatwork (math, phonics, reading, etc). It is good way to mesh CM and WTM if you really want to do that. Best of luck!

Hunter, first of all let me say that I am very sorry about what you have gone through. That isn't right and it never was right no matter when it happened in history! That said, I like reading older books because the language is usually so much more beautiful. So many modern books REALLY dumb down the language. I am not saying that they all do and I judge books more on a case by case basis. I also think that it is easier to see the bias in older books. If I am reading the book aloud (which is most of the time since my kids are are still very young), I just substitute words as I see fit. This is very easy for me to do. If it is a picture book or a book my son is reading, we have a little discussion about things. The bias is OBVIOUS to my kids and they mostly just laugh about it and say that people were a little weird back then. I actually think that the bias of today's books is harder to discern since we live in the society. I have found that lots of animal books (which we read a lot of) have such a focus on how humans are destroying the planet. I am an environmentalist, but I do not believe that humans cause every.single.problem. I also don't believe that there is the huge overpopulation problem that is so in vogue right now (which allows for abortion to stop it). I don't want to pick a fight here. There is overpopulation in certain areas, but not worldwide. There is a lot of empty space in this earth! I also find a lot of over the top feminism in books. I got a picture book about an Olympic swimmer from the early 1900's and the whole book was about how she was not only as good as a man, but even better. It was just a really weird vibe. I am obviously a feminist since I am female, but I don't need things shoved down my throat. So, I guess what I am trying to say is that all books have a bias. Some are worse than others, but they are easy to see in old books. I guess I haven't come up on any books so far that put women in a bad light. Which books have you seen with this problem? We haven't really gotten into history that much yet so maybe I just haven't gotten those books yet. I'd love to hear which books to avoid!

Hunter, first of all let me say that I am very sorry about what you have gone through. That isn't right and it never was right no matter when it happened in history! That said, I like reading older books because the language is usually so much more beautiful. So many modern books REALLY dumb down the language. I am not saying that they all do and I judge books more on a case by case basis. I also think that it is easier to see the bias in older books. If I am reading the book aloud (which is most of the time since my kids are are still very young), I just substitute words as I see fit. This is very easy for me to do. If it is a picture book or a book my son is reading, we have a little discussion about things. The bias is OBVIOUS to my kids and they mostly just laugh about it and say that people were a little weird back then. I actually think that the bias of today's books is harder to discern since we live in the society. I have found that lots of animal books (which we read a lot of) have such a focus on how humans are destroying the planet. I am an environmentalist, but I do not believe that humans cause every.single.problem. I also don't believe that there is the huge overpopulation problem that is so in vogue right now (which allows for abortion to stop it). I don't want to pick a fight here. There is overpopulation in certain areas, but not worldwide. There is a lot of empty space in this earth! I also find a lot of over the top feminism in books. I got a picture book about an Olympic swimmer from the early 1900's and the whole book was about how she was not only as good as a man, but even better. It was just a really weird vibe. I am obviously a feminist since I am female, but I don't need things shoved down my throat. So, I guess what I am trying to say is that all books have a bias. Some are worse than others, but they are easy to see in old books. I guess I haven't come up on any books so far that put women in a bad light. Which books have you seen with this problem? We haven't really gotten into history that much yet so maybe I just haven't gotten those books yet. I'd love to hear which books to avoid!

I am planning on using First Form Latin by Memoria Press. I used it myself to start learning Latin and found it to be wonderful.

Thank you. I also ordered book 5. Maybe I will just do that and then maybe do Book 4.5 later! I appreciate your advice!

My son is the same way. He could read science books all day! I just found this list and I love it. These are some great books! Maybe your library will have some or you could find them all used on amazon.com like me. :huh: We have a lot of science type picture books and short chapter books lying around that my son is constantly picking up. We will occasionally do an experiment, but I also don't have the time to make it a regular thing!

Sorry, I accidentally posted this on the wrong board so I think now it is on the right one! My son is almost done with ETC 4. He has been struggling a little with the syllabication. He also often forgets that when a vowel is at the end of the syllable, it is long and otherwise short, etc. However, he can read the silly sentences without any problem whatsoever. He reads books with these words in them and is fine. A part of me wonders how important all of this is if he can read the words in context (and almost all the words out of context). At the same time, I want him to have all the tools necessary to decode words. He is basically a fluent reader. When he reads, I usually have to help him with about 2% of the words in basically anything he is reading. He can read the Boxcar Children books, etc. Is there a time to stop phonics if it is confusing him and frustrating him or should I just push him through? I bought ETC 4.5 for extra practice and should be getting it any day now. I just can't decide if I should us it or not! Thanks!!!!

No, you don't need critical thinking books, but they can be a fun diversion during school! My kids really enjoy mind benders. I will usually give them some of those once or twice a week just to break up the other subjects and give them something a little fun. I don't think these are harmful, but I also don't think they are necessary! As homeschoolers, we are able to discuss books and many other things so I feel like the kids gain these critical thinking skills naturally! Honestly, I think that it is really important to teach kids to observe and look for patterns or interesting things. As Andrew Kern says, they need time to contemplate and behold things. I feel like kids who are only given comprehension questions without any discussion might need to work on these skills. These books also make great books to work on in waiting rooms or in the car. So, I guess I am saying buy them if you want to, but don't do them at the expense of other subjects or if they will add stress to your life! I love your list of games. I just bought a couple! :hurray: By the way, you might really like Scotland Yard. It is a great game!

My son is almost done with ETC 4. He has been struggling a little with the syllabication. He also often forgets that when a vowel is at the end of the syllable, it is long and otherwise short, etc. However, he can read the silly sentences without any problem whatsoever. He reads books with these words in them and is fine. A part of me wonders how important all of this is if he can read the words in context (and almost all the words out of context). At the same time, I want him to have all the tools necessary to decode words. He is basically a fluent reader. When he reads, I usually have to help him with about 2% of the words in basically anything he is reading. He can read the Boxcar Children books, etc. Is there a time to stop phonics if it is confusing him and frustrating him or should I just push him through? I bought ETC 4.5 for extra practice and should be getting it any day now. I just can't decide if I should us it or not! Thanks!!!!

I have been doing Kolbe Academy 9th grade history and literature. It has been wonderful. I an also doing analytical grammar and Henle Latin 1, but I started with First Form 1. I did about half of that before starting Henle.

I love TTC! I also love the courses from Simply Charlotte Mason. Although I guess it isn't specifically teacher training, but more of me learning what I don't know so I can pass it on to my children, I love the Great Courses and Modern Scholar and Smartpass Shakespeare on Audible.com.