Hello all please may I ask for wisdom from the boards ;) Is there a resource just for diagramming? Something simple that can be done in short lessons? that starts right at the beginning & will hold this mother's hand. Oh, and something I can get hold of in England, please! Thanks in advance

Thank you for your thoughts. I think the 'pen' thing is a great idea. I am going to have a look for a fountain pen and ink.

Thank you Ellie I did not know that and it will be most useful :)

Thank you, that is super helpful. I shall look into those fonts. I should definitely have 'sat' on her more & observed her writing more closely. That will have to be the goal for our Autumn term.

Please can I ask for thoughts.. My daughter's writing is difficult to read. She is 11 yo & writes in cursive. It is getting tiny & not particularly uniform. Today is our last day of school, so I am going to leave it over the Summer break & come up with a plan for Autumn term. I am thinking to get her to do her writing on the computer & work one on one with her daily, on copy work / dictation until the situation is remedied, but wondering if any of you wise ladies had better suggestions...

I am wondering how much you do & how you fit it all in? I am wanting to read most if not all of our read alouds before the kids do, so I can think them over & make notes. DD 11 & I are studying Latin together this year - 'getting started with Latin' so I thought it would be a good idea to study ahead. Then there is the maths...oh, the maths! How do you do it?

Please keep me posted on your thoughts :)

That is interesting...we do not have a 'school room' as such. We work at the table in our dining room, but we have a BIG blackboard in there & various posters on the walls (world map, map of the UK, The British Year, kings & Queens)

What a great point! It ties in with Charlotte mason`s quote Education is an atmosphere,a discipline,a life.

Thank you! I shall load that onto my iPod. It sounds intriguing.

Thank you I actually used to read Lori`s blog. I have not read the book so must look into it. I am currently reading the living page :)

Inspiring isn't it! Thank you for the bump.

The Liturgical Classroom, Virtue & Renewal of Education I have only watched this video once so far (hoping to watch again this afternoon) but it made me feel so excited about what *could* be achieved in my own home. The 'making honey' was just beautiful. I went on two silent weekend retreats very recently (November & January) & personally explored Lectio Divina whilst there & I was able to see the fruit it bore in my own life. I was hoping that more experienced mums could share how this process works with your own children? The 'making honey' part. I gave up 'pointless' crafts a few years back, and this year began to see that a lot of projects don't work for us. (you know the type!)They drain me & the kids don't actually seem to learn much. The Circe discussions have just been a series of lightbulb moments for me & I have pared back our requirements. Well, actually no. I have pared back the wide spread of 'lessons/resources' but this year I think I will actually require *more* from us all (me included) So, to get back on track, how do your children 'make honey'? Do you guide them towards activity? (write a poem, paint, get out the clay etc) or do they create naturally? If so, how did you guide them to that place? How do you 'make it happen' regarding time? Do you have a set block of time for this stage of responding, or, for example, is the time found from the time you have allocated to literature (if the response is to what you are reading?) OR do you just have not time planned for anything & just have 'things to be done' so this fits in pretty seamlessly ? My own children often do come up with their own responses. For example, we have been reading Norse myths this year & my 11 yo DD made herself a book into which she wrote in Runes, drew pictures etc. But I would like to create the opportunity for this to happen more frequently. I see that TIME would be a key factor... I hope this question is clear, I do not write very well. Please excuse me. Thanks for sharing any thoughts you may have, I know we are all busy mums here.

Also, would this be an accurate resource for us: http://www.montessoriforeveryone.com/Plant-Kingdom-Chart-Masters_p_38.html TIA!

Hello all! DD & I are working in our nature journals. We decided to classify 'Feverfew' (herb) & now I am hugely confused. First of all, could someone help me out with classification itself? We found two different tables: Kingdom Phyllum Class Order Family Genus Species Kingdom Sub kingdom Superdivison Division Class Subclass Order Family Genus Species So which one would be 'correct' or most widely used? Also, what category in the second table does 'phylum' equate to? Thank you for bearing with me!!! Help most appreciated !

oh, I just *love* this!

I agree with Mandy. There really are only so many hours in a day. Is it possible to combine some subjects ? Is it possible to study, say, Logic for 3 months & science for the rest of the year?

I am still here... :)

Wow! well done to you *both!*

I really like your suggestions... I have ordered her a little book (see post above) but have not yet decided whether it should be blog or book :) She does like having little notebooks & I thought that it would be a more permanent record of her reading... she will enjoy sketching out scenes etc & I LOVE the sticky note idea, thanks

That sounds lovely! I have just ordered this one for my daughter. I liked that it was lined & had a sewn binding. Our daughters are the same ages! I have an 8 yo also :)

So after researching & also reading part of 'The Living Page', which arrived yesterday, I do think keeping a Commonplace Book would actually sum up what I am looking for. I found this piece on keeping a commonplace book most helpful. I hope it is of use /inspiration to someone else!

I just found this quote: "It is very helpful to read with a commonplace book or reading-diary, in which to put down any striking thought in your author, or your own impression of the work, or of any part of it; but not summaries of facts. Such a diary, carefully kept through life, should be exceedingly interesting as containing the intellectual history of the writer; besides, we never forget the book that we have made extracts from, and of which we have taken the trouble to write a short review." -Charlotte Mason This is what I am thinking of, but did not realise it :)

My daughter is 11 years old. We have read aloud time during the day & we discuss what we are reading as we go along. She also has required reading that she usually does in the evening (she is my night owl) I thought that it would be a great idea to reflect on her reading via keeping a blog. But I don't want to turn this into something dull. I would like this to be 'authentic reflection' IYSWIM? This is all so new to me (my summer plans are to self ed re. Lit. analysis) Would anyone have suggestions of prompts I could print & discuss with her that she could refer to as she blogs. I feel like I don't need a huge long list, just a short succinct list that will lead to meaningful reflection on her part... Thank you for any thoughts you can share!

Printing it off too! Thanks for taking the time Lori to type all that info.