Why did you choose to follow mostly WTM, mostly CM, or mostly LCC?

[dragons in the flower bed]

This is kind of a follow up to my thread about being overwhelmed. In that thread . . .

 

I love the WTM 4 year history/science rotation, but LCC makes a lot of sense to me and then there's CM which is appealing on so many levels. How do you decide or is it a matter of picking pieces and putting it all together? It is totally mindboggling!

 

It IS totally mindboggling. There are so many philosophies of education out there. What was your thinking process when you chose the one that you did? Did you decide based on what worked on a practical level for your family, make an intuitive decision, judge it against your religious authorities of choice, consult your children and partner?

[Sasha]

It is mindboggling, isn't it?

 

For me it depends on many things. For one thing, what works for one child at a certain age might not work the next year with the same child, nor may it work with a different child who is the same age. I need to remind myself often that I'm homeschooling so that I can taylor the kids' educations to them, not fit them into an educational box.

 

I've found that, after using Ambleside year 1 with older two kids, that CM just isn't a very good fit for us. I get very inspired whenever I read LCC, but at the end of the day I always find myself coming back to TWTM.

 

We'll never be complete disciples of any one educational philosophy. Still, I'm interested in what works for us. I do judge it against our lack of religious beliefs--some of the core beliefs of, say, CM just don't translate for us. I don't really actively consult my kids, although I do keep an eye on what methods are fitting best with their personalities. I do discuss things with my partner but he's generally content to leave stuff like that up to me.

[chiguirre]

We're still evolving our school time, but I tend to use what works practically for us. So far no philosophy of education has really fit us well. I use textbooks for math and language arts for the most part. We like short unit studies for content subjects now, but that will almost certainly change as the kids get older. I think we'll head in an unschooly, CMy approach to content subjects. I see us reading about topics that interest the kids and doing narrations to record what we've learned. I think we'll continue to follow a textbook approach to math and a structured approach to LA (FLL and WWE, probably).

[Mama Lynx]

There are so many philosophies of education out there. What was your thinking process when you chose the one that you did? Did you decide based on what worked on a practical level for your family, make an intuitive decision, judge it against your religious authorities of choice, consult your children and partner?

 

 

I guess I made an intuitive decision, but by that I mean that I read through different philosophies and picked the one that resonated most with me, that seemed *right* to me. Bits and pieces of other philosophies seem right to me, but I always come back to classical.

 

From there, I changed it to work with what is actually practical for my family, and sometimes added in those bits of other philosophies that really resonated with me.

[Karen in CO]

When I first started homeschooling, I just wanted my ds out of public school. I knew homeschoolers that used Sonlight so that is where I went first. I just needed a place to start. I found TWTM after that and it seemed like too much for me, but I had been raised in classical private schools so it stuck in the back of my mind.

 

As I continued to search for the right fit for my ds, I tried on workbooks, AO, and a mix of my own things. Just when I got comfy in my own eclectic mix, my dd was ready for K. I started all over again looking at everything around and decided that unschooling was for her. That seemed like a good choice until I taught a co-op class to a group of unschoolers. Yes, I know teaching unschoolers is against the definition. After two weeks, I had TWTM out and started planning my dd's future. I realized that I wasn't comfortable with unschooling.

 

I started out her first grade year with a by-the-book WTM first grade. A week later I knew that was not right for us. I did the same thing with Wladorf, LCC, and AO year 1.

 

My poor children. I came to the same conclusion for my dd that I had for my ds. I want a rigorous classical education for them, and all of these "different" schools of classical are just tools. Tools to help me make an education for my kids that fits them. I appreciate that they have sample schedules and resources. They are a great place to start when you have no idea what you are doing, but once you try them on for size you need to keep what fits and modify them for your own family.

 

Good luck.

[Kathie in VA]

I really liked the idea of WTM and the 4 year history cycle. I considered CM but never did read all about it as I liked WTM and got enough there to take off. I considered LCC also but somethings tells me that it's not for us. I do like the idea of doing less subjects but that's not really what LCC is all about. It's about putting Latin at the center and I don't think I'm there. I have altered our 4 year history schedule though. I ended up trying out Classical Conversations - Foundations program. They do a 3 year history rotation. It did bother me and I tried to do our own history in addition but for me it just didn't work. We are now in our second year and I've finally found a way to make it work for me, although I do miss reading a narrative of history using SOTW. Instead we read up on each history sentence that we are memorizing to add depth. Usually that is what my kids do their weekly oral presentation on. It's amazing how this is sticking with my kiddos. I'll go back to a narrative history with my older kids that are out of Foundations.

 

I'm still flipping around with what to use for the older two kids (rising 7th and 8th graders) as I am not putting them into the Challenge programs.... that one just doesn't fit what I want to do.

[Jenny in Atl]

I think I'm more practical than anything else... I've been known to be the kitchen sink kind of hs'er; throw all sorts of things at them and see what sticks. I like the WTM for the levels of study, revisiting history with more depth each time, the increase in work with age and understanding, etc. I like CM when my first was younger but found she needed more. LCC looks good too but I worry about the girls not having enough of a global view (not enough history/current events) if I focused on just a few subjects. For me, I see no one right way. If the parents are actively engaged in their kids education, no matter the style, I really feel most kids will learn and thrive.

[Wendy in ME]

We started homeschooling rather abruptly so I started with Abeka because it was all figured out for me and it is what the few hs families I knew were using. It was not what I wanted from our hs experience but it worked while I spent the year reading and researching and planning for the following year. I read TWTM and loved it. I basically agree with everything it says and love that it provides a road map for the home school journey. I did feel as though we were spread a little thin trying to do everything TWTM suggested and working a full time job. I heard about LCC and bought the book and read it over Christmas break (we took the entire month of December off). We started implementing a LCC type curriculum in January and haven't looked back. Of course there are things that I tweak but overall I love the simplicity of it. It gives me the road map that I want and the rigorous education that I want for my dc to give them the best future possible.

[nutmeg]

I use WTM as our basic guide, and keep CM principles in mind to soften the edges. It is a combination that has worked for us for 6+ years!

[PeterPan]

I don't follow any curriculum/philosophy. I decided early on I wasn't going to jump on anyone's bandwagon and call myself a CM'er, LCC'er, whatever. I think ALL of them have elements of truth, so I try to read broadly, everything from unschooling to you name it, and then pick the best of each thing, whatever resonates as true and applicable to me. I don't think ANY of them have the niche on truth. They all have elements of truth, and I view it like a buffet.

 

Remember, the methods that work best in your home are going to be the ones that fit YOU and YOUR dc. You might even have preferences that vary with the subject. For instance, I'd say I verge on unschooling history (because my dd is very self-motivated, begs for it, does it on her own), while I'm a standard textbook lugger on math and don't give a flip about being fun with it, reading living books, and all the things some people get into. Know thyself, know thy dc. The best things I've done in planning and getting comfy with homeschooling are:

 

-learning styles evaluation for dd so I'm using materials that best fit her. http://www.educate.com has a free one

-time to myself so I can really think. For me this is in the shower, and it needs to be a LONG, hot one!

-conventions so I can get recharged and inspired.

-talking with my dd to get her feedback.

 

Sometimes the best answers and the clarity come when you get away from everything. Sometimes you have to leave the boards, send the kids of with dh, and just have some time to yourself where you can really be honest about how it's going, what needs to change, what's working and what's not, why things aren't working. Sometimes you have to get away from the pressure of people tugging at you or making you feel guilty that one way is right or that a certain thing you're doing is not enough. Then your peace comes and you can make your own, best decision for each thing.

 

I also went into this thinking if I didn't find the BEST of something or do it perfectly, I was doing it wrong or ruining her, and it's just not true. Your kids will survive you. Just pick something for each thing and do it, even imperfectly. You'll find your way in this. It's take me 3 years to get pretty comfortable and find your groove, and I think that's pretty common.

[Susan]

I'm not trying to take over this thread, but just wondering what LCC is?

Thanks! : )

[Heather in VA]

I agree with OhElizabeth. I've read them all and found very helpful parts to each of them but I've had to take what speaks to me from each and meld them into my own philosophy for my children. Often when I'm at a crossroads with a particular subject, usually when one of my kids is moving to the next level of expectation in a particular subject, I read sections from various books to help remind me of my long range goals and focus. It doesn't mean I'll follow to the letter any of these philosophies (you'll find even the authors don't do that) but that I'll remember what goals from each of these philosophies were important to me. Those goals help guide me in the current issue or decision making.

[Heather in VA]

I'm not trying to take over this thread, but just wondering what LCC is?

Thanks! : )

 

Latin Centered Curriculum - it's a book (and an educational philosophy) but a man named Andrew Campbell who is a member of this board as well as an educator. There is a current edition as well as a revised edition due out this summer.

[Kim in Appalachia]

I started out with doing CM, almost unschooling. It did not work with my first dd. She needed structure and I was burning out trying to do it all on my own. I read TWTM and it was what I was looking for; stucture with lots of good books. It was a good mix of traditional (with the text book recommedations) and classical. The book made homeschooling doable for me. It showed me how to do the subjects (with the notebooks, outlines, narrations). I now use Veritas, but I still follow a lot of the methods from TWTM. I love Ambleside, and would probably use that if I didn't have all my Veritas stuff. But even if I used Ambleside, I would incorporate TWTM.

 

Even with using TWTM I don't do all of the written narrations each week. But everything is narrated. I try to keep the written work down. I did TWTM staight with my oldest, and I found it was too much. I prefer to do less, but to do that less well.

 

You have to go with what works for you and your children. My kids did not do well with whole to part instruction, so the LATL approach did not work. Math needed to be drill type, hands on stuff drove them nuts. They got confused and hated it. They need lots of repetition and practice.

 

It can take some time to find what works well for your family. My oldest has been my guinea pig and sometime it shows.

 

Find what works, and stick with it. The biggest problem I have had is with switching curriculums (mostly math). One approach is best.

 

HTH,

 

Kim

[SnowWhite]

I feel like I follow OhElizabeth around with a "Me Too" sign.

 

I will add to her post the fact that my ideas about education are highly colored by my own educational background, which was:

 

1) Basics focused Amish parochial school for grades 1-8 (no I wasn't Amish... long story)

2) Unschooled summers and evenings, and lots of time after completing the basics in Amish school to read, read, read.

3) Four years of "on the job training" as teacher of a 1 or 2 room Amish school (depended on enrollment whether we split into two groups).

4) Typical elementary education course for BS and MS in Elem Ed from my local government university.

5) Three years of seeing what worked and what didn't as a special ed coordinator who was in and out of every classroom in two elementary schools.

 

I think the first part of my decision making process was identifying my goals:

 

Did I want to produce Harvard and Yale material graduates? (answer not necessarily)

 

Once that was established, I did all the things you asked in your OP.

 

As a result, I'm very eclectic in my thinking, as OhElizabeth describes.

[OneRoomHomeSchool]

Hmmmm.....

CM - no, not our style

LCC - ummm, no

Unschooling - never

Unit Studies - hate them

Beechick - love the ideas, implementing - no can do

Eclectic - somewhat, but makes me crazy

 

Classical meets Traditional Textbooks is what I always come back to... :D

 

I like the guidance and practical application found in WTM, the philosophy found in Teaching the Trivium, but refuse to give up our traditional Christian textbooks. ;)

[Kelli in TN]

Hmmmm.....

CM - no, not our style

LCC - ummm, no

Unschooling - never

Unit Studies - hate them

Beechick - love the ideas, implementing - no can do

Eclectic - somewhat, but makes me crazy

 

;)

 

I like your list here!!

 

I will add mine to yours.

 

Textbooks-mostly boring, only use when necessary

Better Late than Early-no way

LCC-I am just not smart enough to pull that one off

 

WTM resonates with me, it is the education I wish I'd had. I love the 4 year cycle, I love the semi-structure, I love all the ideas and ideals behind it.

[claire at home]

I especially agree with nutmeg who said they use WTM as a basic guide and then CM to soften the edges. (sorry I don't know how to quote).

For me, I think you have to go with what speaks to you, and learn to trust that instinct. It will probably lead you to multiple approaches but for me that is the beauty of the homeschooling journey. It is about growth. For you as much as for your children.

This journey is also intimately tied to my own journey of faith, which for me started out very rigid, very there is only one right way. Hopefully I have moved into a space that can appreciate the subtleties and nuances of other approaches and learn from those, too.

For me, CM speaks to the heart of what it means to relate to your child. I need that gentle voice to balance me as I am prone to be too rigid. But I am also prone to self-doubt and TWTM is my guide that gives me the confidence that I need to believe that I can give my children an excellent education. I think they complement one another beautifully.

I think you have to know yourself, and you have to know your child and then find the approach that best challenges you and keeps you in check.

 

my $.02

 

Blessings,

Claire

[Jami]

I think I'm some sort of blend, though I haven't intentionally set out to do that. I read and studied and tried to develop an understanding of what a classical education is/was. Historically and by intention. Meaning how was it practiced (ancient and medieval) and what did it intend to accomplish. As I've done this I think I've developed a pretty good idea of what goals, forms, content are important components in a classical education and which also serve our family goals well. Then as I look at WTM, CM, LCC...I can see where each one aids or perhaps hinders my ability to teach with classical goals in mind. There is a lot of overlap between LCC and CM (ala Ambleside and original writings) and between some elements of CM and WTM (narration before writing, living books).

 

I suppose if pushed to choose I would place myself closest to LCC or a traditional classical model. And then probably Ambleside. And less close to WTM. Though we really enjoy SOTW. :)

 

Jami

[...................]

with a strong flavor of traditional textbook homeschooling here...

 

I do, however, often read Karen Andreola and Heart of Homeschooling to gentle myself and remind myself of the beauties of home learning and family love.

 

Reasons:

 

1. I never knew when I was done when I was doing CM last year

2. I love workbooks and textbooks. I know exactly how much to do, when to review, etc. I just love well done workbooks and textbooks.

3. I don't love workbooks and textbooks in history...I would rather read!

4. I don't like doing all CM because I find that hard to document and I like documentation

 

So for me the WTM approach using more actual specific books and resources with actual specific goals and rotations is preferable to the more natural method of CM.

 

However we are moving into Covenant Home for first grade and will be using more texbtooks that SWB would recommend. But for me this is the ideal! I just wish they used Horizons Math because I like Horizons and I don't know if I'll love MCP.

[Guest Lorna]

If the parents are actively engaged in their kids education, no matter the style, I really feel most kids will learn and thrive.

 

This is so well put. I loved 'Homeschooling For Excellence' and 'Hard Times in Paradise' by the Colfaxes and I wanted that kind of education for our children. The books and resources are outdated now and the Well Trained Mind pointed me in the direction of good books that we could use.

The main lesson and philosophy I follow though is what I learned from the Colfax family. Treat your children with respect; do everything you can to facilitate their interests (working hard behind the scenes to find what you think will suit them) and let your children play the active part in their education and in the decision-making in the family.

I reread these books when I can. I love the fact that they make mistakes but, because they listen to and respect their children, everything works out well.

[OneRoomHomeSchool]

with a strong flavor of traditional textbook homeschooling here...

 

2. I love workbooks and textbooks. I know exactly how much to do, when to review, etc. I just love well done workbooks and textbooks.

3. I don't love workbooks and textbooks in history...I would rather read!

4. I don't like doing all CM because I find that hard to document and I like documentation

 

 

 

Oh wow, we are so similar! :D

[WTMindy]

when I read WTM because it was the first thing the "resonated" with me. I don't know how else to say it, but I felt like I had come home when I read WTM. I had decided to homeschool my kids (dd was going into K) and I had looked at different things and was feeling so discourage by what I was seeing. But, when I read WTM, I actually cried with relief! :o I don't follow it exactly, by any stretch of the imagination, but I do stick pretty closely to the premise and the big ideas.

[WABeth]

when I read WTM because it was the first thing the "resonated" with me. I don't know how else to say it, but I felt like I had come home when I read WTM. I had decided to homeschool my kids (dd was going into K) and I had looked at different things and was feeling so discourage by what I was seeing. But, when I read WTM, I actually cried with relief! :o I don't follow it exactly, by any stretch of the imagination, but I do stick pretty closely to the premise and the big ideas.

 

Wow, I could have written this post almost word for word. This is exactly my experience. We decided to homeschool. I began reading everything I could find on homeschooling and was underwhelmed and uninspired by anything I found. I still was unsure how to go about this new endeavor. Then I read WTM and it just made perfect sense to me. I still love the whole concept and general flow. We also do not do it exactly, I substitute many specific curriculum, especially for secular resources, but generally I am a WTMer!

[Free Indeed]

We use Teaching the Trivium as our main guide. That really fits our educational goals and the way we want our trip to be! ;) I continually refer back to it. http://www.triviumpursuit.com

[SparrowsNest]

I am only barely knee high to a grasshopper in the homeschooling world. So this is a total novice's viewpoint! Once we had decided to keep ds10 home next year, I started researching homeschooling. WTM/CM/LCC/Waldorf/etc. Everyone seemed to be saying "this is The Best Way and if you do this, your Children will turn out Optimized for the Long Term." It was overwhelming and confusing and I began feeling just like I had when my first child was born -- overwhelmed and confused. If I didn't co-sleep, would I really leave him feeling mistrustful and fearful at night? If breastfeeding didn't work, was he doomed to a life of physical ailments? If I never spanked him, was I rejecting Scripture for man's philosophy? etc., etc., etc. A few years into my parenting journey, I read my gazillionth parenting book which said "If your parenting books have left you feeling confused, disheartened, and doubting your own common sense, throw them away." That was the first time I felt empowered as a parent.

 

Anyway, the point of all that is I have experienced that in miniature over the last month/six weeks. I started out thinking a 100% WTM approach was right and anything else just crazy. Then I started reading about other options, and some of what they offered seemed reasonable, too. Then I started feeling fearful of doing it 'wrong.' Now I'm coming to that "OK, look. This isn't rocket science, I can figure it out. He needs the three R's, and he needs some history. He needs Latin and he needs some fun subjects." So I guess at the end of the day it's looking like I'm going to homeschool like I parent -- by looking at what others suggest, applying my common sense, trying it out in our family with my child, keeping what works and unapologetically tossing what doesn't.

[Annie Laurie]

I don't follow any curriculum/philosophy. I decided early on I wasn't going to jump on anyone's bandwagon and call myself a CM'er, LCC'er, whatever. I think ALL of them have elements of truth, so I try to read broadly, everything from unschooling to you name it, and then pick the best of each thing, whatever resonates as true and applicable to me. I don't think ANY of them have the niche on truth. They all have elements of truth, and I view it like a buffet.

 

Remember, the methods that work best in your home are going to be the ones that fit YOU and YOUR dc. You might even have preferences that vary with the subject. For instance, I'd say I verge on unschooling history (because my dd is very self-motivated, begs for it, does it on her own), while I'm a standard textbook lugger on math and don't give a flip about being fun with it, reading living books, and all the things some people get into. Know thyself, know thy dc. The best things I've done in planning and getting comfy with homeschooling are:

 

-learning styles evaluation for dd so I'm using materials that best fit her. www.educate.com has a free one

-time to myself so I can really think. For me this is in the shower, and it needs to be a LONG, hot one!

-conventions so I can get recharged and inspired.

-talking with my dd to get her feedback.

 

Sometimes the best answers and the clarity come when you get away from everything. Sometimes you have to leave the boards, send the kids of with dh, and just have some time to yourself where you can really be honest about how it's going, what needs to change, what's working and what's not, why things aren't working. Sometimes you have to get away from the pressure of people tugging at you or making you feel guilty that one way is right or that a certain thing you're doing is not enough. Then your peace comes and you can make your own, best decision for each thing.

 

I also went into this thinking if I didn't find the BEST of something or do it perfectly, I was doing it wrong or ruining her, and it's just not true. Your kids will survive you. Just pick something for each thing and do it, even imperfectly. You'll find your way in this. It's take me 3 years to get pretty comfortable and find your groove, and I think that's pretty common.

 

I agree with almost everything said here. I was way too caught up in educational philosophies at first and moved away from that when I realized I could really simplify by just looking at what works for my kids and myself. I have always been most attracted to both unschooling and classical education, which sounds like an oxymoron. But I finally figured out that what I love about both is the idea of the love of learning and the pursuit of knowledge for knowledge's sake. We're moving back toward classical after a year of mostly unschooling because I have seen how much better my kids do with structure, and me too. I still strew things around as much as possible, try to find as many varied experiences for the kids and ways to participate in the community as I can, and don't sweat the non-essentials. But I do like following an orderly routine, and I do believe in spreading a buffet before my children, as I don't think they'd necessary seek out some things on their own. I do believe kids have an innate curiosity and drive to learn, no question about it, my kids come up with great stuff on their own all the time; but that some areas they wouldn't know they wanted to explore without a at least a little introduction.

[BusyBee]

I was homeschooled by traditional textbooks only K-12th. I found this very boring and had always wanted more out of homeschooling. Then I found the WTM. This was the educational approach I had always wanted for myself and so I am trying to give it to my children. Of course I throw in some textbooks here and there, and tweak this and that, but for the most part this is my guide.

[Colleen in NS]

I chose to use WTM as our guideline for homeschooling, because it was the only really practical book on homeschooling I had read. What I mean is, it told me exactly HOW to study history, science, and literature, HOW to teach writing skills, it gave me several resources/descriptions for math and grammar texts to check out, it argued a pretty good case for studying Latin (something I had never considered, but became convinced of), and it laid out a big, overall, practical picture of everything you could possibly study. It made me realize that there are patterns to learning, patterns to various subjects.....I never realized science could be broken up into biology, earth/space, chemistry, and physics. I never realized history could be studied chronologically. I never knew that learning a foreign language could be done systematically and I never knew that literature built on past literature. Or that art built on art, music built on music, and that all of these things were intertwined throughout history. I never realized that you need certain skills in order to learn content areas more efficiently, which in turn makes it far more interesting. WTM (and TWEM and other products and articles by SWB and JW) made me get excited about learning and teaching my kids skills so that they, too, could go on learning for the rest of their lives.

 

There are other philosophies/books that I have gleaned good things from (like CM, unschooling, Ambleside, Sonlight, etc.) - but WTM gave me the guideline and patterns that I needed. I don't follow the schedules exactly in there either (they are just samples for people to get started with), but I glean the PRINCIPLES and patterns from what is laid out, and apply those.

[Closeacademy]

I read a lot and researched curriculum and homeschooling before I had children.

 

Once I had them, I tried out various methods and such and really looked at the needs and abilities of my children.

 

My oldest learns best with logic, facts and pictures. She is creative, has a short attention span and a lot of energy. She loves math, science and languages.

 

My youngest is dreamy and likes stories. I think she will be my reader.

 

So I looked to methods that would appeal to their needs, draw out their best and help them work on skills that they have problems with.

 

So we use:

 

Charlotte Mason for short lessons and ideas on good books.

 

Waldorf for visual and artistic appeal and stories for math.

 

Classical for rigorous math, science, grammar and language arts.

 

Montessori for hands-on activities and manipulative ideas.

[Michele B]

I follow WTM pretty closely right now. Except for science, we are doing long unit studies and having fun. I like the four year structure and I cannot wait for the writing program. This is working well for my dd7, but who know how things will go when my youngest is school-age.

 

Michele

[Trivium Academy]

I really don't think I could EVER wholeheartedly follow anyone else's program from beginning to end without tweaking it and making it my own in some way. I really have to "own" the decisions of what, why and when to feel comfortable with them and after realizing that WTM wasn't the way we were going to go, even with a little tweaking- I started looking around with my instincts and what I already know about my children to figure out what IS going to fit us and our goals.

 

You could apply almost any education theory to our homeschool, we'll fit at least 1 aspect of all of them in some way or fashion but we don't fit one in all of its aspects and I'm okay with that.

 

The more I've learned about the curricula that is available and the educational theories & theologies behind them, the better able I've been to pick what would most likely fit us. I've had a lot of missteps, times that I've tried to adopt learning strategies because of someone else's convictions or reasons but they only last a little while in our own home. Thankfully, it's only been in the implementation or low-cost strategies where we've found something doesn't work for us.

 

The most prominent question I ask myself now is, "How worthwhile is this? Is it really worth our time, energy and money?" From there I can identify my own whims and whether something is truly going to be right for us in the long run rather than just a trend.

 

I see homeschooling like clothing, there are classics- the books that you know you want to read because they are timeless treasures and they make you look smart.

 

There are comfort clothes, curricula that you get to know and love through using and you feel comfortable with them.

 

There are brand, new, shiny, trending items that the boards (ah-hem) will be buzzing about and you'll want to check out just to see if you might find another comfort outfit to add to your wardrobe.

 

Then there are the thrift store clothes, they look great (and sometimes they are cheap) but you can never get the smell out of them and they don't work.

 

Of course you have the, "I will fit into this size someday" items too and although they sit on your shelf year after year- you want to use them, only to find later you didn't make the time for them.

 

I want comfort clothes but I want to look good in them, lol. For me that means finding products that *I'm* excited to teach with or ones that I can easily change the implementation of without too much trouble. If my dd7 is a visual learner and I choose Horizons Math for her, I want to be able to use Horizons Math with my son too- but what if he's a tactile learner? No problem, I use the manipulatives more- no need to change programs.

 

I'll tweak anything. :o

[mcconnellboys]

I suppose I will choose "intuitive decision". When I began homeschooling, I referred to very detailed weekly lesson plans that my son's kindergarten teacher had used. I'm very detail oriented and I loved the way she had set up her schedule. I also bought E.D. Hirsch's books and used those as reference to help me gauge where my son was, what gaps I needed to attempt to close, etc.

 

When I was told about WTM and read it, I was surprised that it was very much like what I was already doing and really resonated with me. Later I began reading CM works and was surprised to find that these, also, were much like my own ideas about how to school.

 

So I would say that I combine these approaches, tailoring them to each child's strengths and weaknesses, areas of interest, etc. I don't find them to be mutually exclusive, nor do I feel compelled to follow any one idea of education exclusively.

 

I don't know a thing about LCC as I haven't looked into it.

 

Regena

[sagira]

For me, CM speaks to the heart of what it means to relate to your child. I need that gentle voice to balance me as I am prone to be too rigid.

 

Claire, I love that quote. I feel this way. I was a Montessori gal at first. Well, at least I liked the ideas of Montessori. But neither ds or I are hands-on. Then I found Charlotte Mason and I said, "aha!" that's it and it matches ds perfectly. Now I don't know about dd yet, but I'm crossing my fingers.

 

I love CM because the balance of rigid structure and free afternoons fit us perfectly. I love the discipline before unstructured play. The emphasis on the outdoors. The emphasis on just being children. The nature studies. The living books. The gradual building of attention span and the rigor of the later years. What can I say? I found my method. Doable as well (K is/was our test year).

 

TWTM seems very close to CM after fourth grade onwards. I'll just update the science for the kids, combining both nature studies with some "hard science" as I think CM would do would she be living nowadays. She was a woman of her present time, and not living in the past but looking towards the future.

Edited April 30, 2009 by sagira