Frog and Toad have one about seasons. I find Brambly Hedge to be gardeny... :lurk5:

I love the IDEA of Oak Meadow... but I don't think it's for me or my son. I have looked at the Great Books Academy SOOO many times thinking about it as a core for us to work off of. I love their book selections... I might give it a try again. thank you!

Thank you so much! I really love the sound of the BFIAR/FIAR program... but I've never really known if it would work at all with my son. I worked with LD/ADHD teenagers a long time ago as a tutor, and so luckily I have enough experience with different learning styles and I can usually figure out what might work or not work... but my son is a challenge, I LOVE incorporating your idea of the mat and physical study. Very important for him I think. He also isn't naturally physically dexterous, so I think it would help him.

thank you thank you... this all sounds VERY VERY familiar!

My 3 year old needs some more routine/structure. I'm pretty Charlotte-Masony and don't really want to HS until K or 1st... but my son needs something. Our lives are currently pretty crazy and it's been really really hard for me, no matter how hard I try, to set up some routine/activities to interest him. He's highly-sensitive and stubborn... and just isn't happy if he hasn't had interesting stuff to do. I've planned more weekly activities (story-time type stuff, playground dates, etc...) but need more at home. SO - I've decided to get a "curriculum" that's drawn out for me and follow it VERY loosely.... just stay super super flexible with it. I have some montessori resources and plan to use them - but I really just need some kind of coat-hanger to hang it all on. I need something that's drawn out completely to get us going on a routine. So - would you recommend Before Five In A Row, Flowering Baby or some other? He knows all ABCs, letter sounds, can count to 100, and when he feels like it he's sounded out short words before. I never push him on it, so I don't know how much he actually knows.

Just now finally getting back on here. You are all FANTASTIC! Thank you, seriously, for your input. I've been trying to find people IRL, trying to google, and your ideas and information feels more grounding to me than ANYTHING else!!! Seriously thank you for your time. the PhD route appeals to me because of the possibility of college teaching down the road. I'm 33, with a masters in a related field, a field that I think would help me develop a "niche" private practice eventually. I know with private practice there's still the aspect of marketing yourself, but I'm a pretty cautious person and I think in my community I might be able to build something. Thank you thank you! I think I'm going to pursue it, just look into school options and costs and such and see if I find a good fit. I don't know how many times I'll say I'm done with school only to go back again! AChK! :)

I'm going to the hive - 'cause I can't find help in real life. I'm considering getting a second MA/MS in psychology/counseling to try to get licensed. Anyone who is an active MHC or LCSW or LPC or any of the many other options out there? I'm wanting it so that my family has a more secure "back-up" plan in terms of finances - as our "careers" require more creativity and luck I think to succeed. Basically I'm wanting to hear if anyone is out there - and if there is, if they're happy they did the master's, if they feel PhD is more appropriate, and if they're able to get work. I'd like to move toward a part time private practice, but, to be honest, don't think I'm willing to work away from the kids full time to build up hours and reputation at a clinic - any thoughts?

I think it's normal. Mine will sit still and listen... but books are just his thing. Ask him to pay attention to anything else for more than 30 seconds and it doesn't go well. So while he'll sit still and listen to chapter books, he won't do crafts, games, or much else for long stretches. He has a cousin who won't... but started to with super short books about trains. He has another friend who refuses to be read to at all. I think they're all just different.

Wonderful - thank you!!!

Thank you thank you thank you! I found it and it plays on my kindle. SOOO perfect for what I needed right now. Seriously thank you!

I've been trying to figure out some CDs to get or order from the library - but I just can't find what I"m looking for. I want to have several CDs to start listening to with my kids, so I can have the month of Mozart, month of Bach, month of Chopin, etc... etc... Anyway - I really want to find CDs that have some of the most recognizable songs, a mix so to speak... one or two from each composer. The problem I'm finding is that some of the "best of" CDs seem REALLy poor quality. I'd also love love love love love love to find some that are JUST piano, no orchestra or accompaniment. Anyone? :)

I posted a new thread in the "Following Charlotte" group for us to use. We can continue to chat, ask questions, that kind of thing. It's HERE

I so agree with you! Off and on I've had some great (and some not so great) little learning centers, montessor style stuff. If I HAD to pick one "category", I'm totally Charlotte Mason. It's interesting, though. Our lives were in some chaos for the past 6-12 months and I think because of the stress and business I just haven't been really on the ball. For me it takes energy and thought to be really engaging about montessori type activities. I guess it's like parenting in general, especially Homeschooling probably. When I need a break to catch up on "life" I don't do as good a job for the kids, which makes me feel horrible, which makes me even more stressed, which makes me do even worse for the kids. You know? Or maybe I've just unnecessarily venting - haha. Anyhoo - I think I'm going to break down and get Flowering Baby. Between that and the list of activities in the montessori book - it's something for me to start with when my brain is on vacation. Just descriptions, gather materials, etc... My son doesn't really fit well into any "curriculum" for his age group. he's behind in some physical stuff, doesn't focus for long on much, but already is trying to blend phonics sounds... so this is at least a way for me to have 2 big places to pick from once in a while... Just to have entertaining stuff for him to do on the days when my brain and body are just not up to par.

Alright - I'm making a trip tomorrow afternoon with the husband to the dollar stores and a few other places... I never go shopping with help, and it's so hard to look carefully and think creatively at stuff to come up with activities... i think I might get the Montessori house binders eventually, depending on our money flow closer to fall. The Montessori at Home book has so many amazing links all organized to other free sources as well! I had to print most of it out because I'm just not an ebook person... but the links are so handy!

Thank you for this! I think that's exactly whey I've struggled to find something for my son. He's very very gregarious and social (read needy and not an independent player) haha! He's deliciously interactive, but not one that you can suggest an activity and expect him to do it. And it's interesting, as much as he'll sit and "read" books, even by himself, he's not interested in any kind of printout/workbook kind of thing at all. I ended up searching online a LOT last night. Couldn't sleep well, and found the montessori at home book. It's so affordable and so far full of great ideas and links to other sites. I think I"ll just have to gather my own stuff together. But - I keep stumbling across Flowering Baby lately so I'll go check it out! Thank you!

Haha! Just yesterday I was thinking to myself that I needed a new copy also without my old notes! haha! I'm hoping we'll all move onto volume 2, then 3, then 4, etc... so come back to join us when we do? :)

Thank you for mentioning those videos! I hadn't been to that site in forever and had completely forgotten about them. I'm trying to schedule a little "retreat" for myself - just an hour or so once a week with videos to watch. Mostly so that I can pretend I'm at a HS conference or workshop - as I can't find any near me soon to go to ! :)

The best way I can describe it is that I'm looking for a non-curriculum preschool curriculum.. hahah. I'm a Charlotte Mason/Classical HSer I think... but I have deep respect for Montessori also and almost put my son in a Montessori preschool program a while ago for a little while. I don't really want to do or push preschool until K age... but also... my son is bored. Seriously bored. We've just moved and our lives are still in a bit too much busyness crazyness for me to come up with a good program for him that will work. I don't want to push any book learning, and workbooks are definitely not something he's into or ready for. What I'd love is for a magic box of new activites, games, puzzles, crafts, stuff like that to be delivered to my door every morning all ready and organized for us to pull out and have fun with when we had the opportunity. I'd also like a beach house in Maui... BUT - We don't have the cash for such a magic program if it existed... but I at least need something drawn out saying - this is the activity, these are the thigns you need... now prepare for the week. Go! I'm just looking for something to try for 3-9 months depending on how it goes to see if we're both happy. DS LOVES reading, will sit and read for hours, or watch leapfrog/superwhy for hours if I let him! haha! Except for that it's a new activity every 5 minutes. Anyone tried Montessori house (on ebay and their own website) I've been looking at them for over a year... I feel like it might finally be worth trying. Or - anyone have another program they'd recommend? Maybe I should break down and try FIAR... but from the sounds of it I don't know if he's ready to focus for long stretches and I'm not sure if it would work for him? I think for where he's at now the Montessori way might work best. sorry for the novel. Thanks for anyone who actually read the whole thing! :grouphug:

Yup! Part one of Volume one... Introduction, part 1 "Some preliminary considerations"... sound good? to page 41 in my edition.

Hi! So excited some more people are going to join us! On monday I'll post a thread in the "Following Charlotte" group under community so that we can chat there and continue planning. In the meantime we can stay here so that we get anyone else through the weekend who might want to join? Then 2 weeks after that on a Monday I'll post the first "book club meeting" thread. Sound good? We'll begin just by reading part 1. So those who need to order the book have a little time, and a small section to start with. So we'll chat in the meantime but gather on the 20th in the "Following Charlotte" group to discuss part 1? Sound okay? Any other ideas or preferences?

yay! I think you'll love the original series. To me they're not hard to read, or really intimidating... it's just that there's SO MUCH IN THERE! seriously! It almost makes me laugh. I randomly pick any page and within 1 page I feel like I can find a lot of helpful information. So when I try to read the whole lot it's just too much for my mind to absorb. That's why reading slowly with a group of people to chat about seemed so great to me! I'm sure they'll come up as we read, but the charlotte mason experts out there really have helped me start to get a handle on it.

I found the community and joined. It definitely makes the most sense to me to put ourselves as a new thread in there, easier to find and stuff, so we don't clutter up the k-8 thread. What do other people think? Is that okay?

I think it's fine if we use whatever versions we want. What do other people think? I personally much prefer the original version, I like her words and the sound of them. I think it's partly why I want a book club or group so bad. Because it does take a while to really absorb all that she's saying! :) I'm a quote fiend. SO I'll probably quote a lot. But I think we all probably just want to understand as much as we can and chat about it, right? It might make comparing notes/quotes/page numbers harder. But I'm up for it if other people want?

I use these. You can often find them used. I've never tried any others. I like the originals and I think they're the only ones based specifically on them? In the introduction, if I remember right, a family tracked down the books when they were out of print and made these reproductions of them.

I decided just to do introductions since my computer time is usually so early in the morning and I wasn't sure if I'd get back right away and didn't want to leave ya'll hangin! :grouphug: I'm Anne. My kids are still really young, 3 and almost 8 months. I'm slightly addicted to homeschool planning right now and I'm trying to just educate myself, gather materials, that kind of thing right now. I love Charlotte Mason. I've read so many of her works and works about her... every time I drift away from her philosophy a little in my reading I end up coming back to it because of her clarity, simplicity and brilliance. I just think she knew kids really well, and was very wise. I recently moved across country so am still in the midst of re-organizing our lives. We live on a small farm and are slowly building up our home/homestead and fixing up the farm. I love all things vintage, wish that we drove horses and buggies instead of cars, and have an unhealthy appreciation for chocolate.