Motsy802 Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 Maybe there's an actual term for this, but let's just call it the Classical/Charlotte Mason approach to homeschooling. :) Whatever it may be, please tell me, what is your favorite one? I'm exploring what is out there. Also, if you don't mind, tell me what you like about it. TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS Mom in NC Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 Some people call it "Living Books." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motsy802 Posted February 2, 2013 Author Share Posted February 2, 2013 Some people call it "Living Books." Yes, I did know this much at least, but I thought that was a term mainly used with Charlotte Mason? That might not be the case, but I thought it was which is why I didn't use it. Thanks! So what are you favorites? TOG, Sonlight, Veritas Press, etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFM Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 I use combinations from many different resources. I see the merit in both of the philosophy. I have never used TOG, it makes me nervous, it seems people are usually in a "fog" for a while and I am not signing up for that right now. I like Sonlight's book lists. I like Veritas Press' timeline cards and book lists. I like Ambleside Online for a guide to help me choose what we want to incorporate. I like the idea of writing being natural and using narration, dictation, and copywork for our primary writing "curricula". I like Science to be experimental and not using a bunch of textbooks but learning from the sources themselves. I like History to have a "spine" we use SOTW and then we jump off to learn and discuss more of that time period, the people from that period, the events, etc. I like R&S Grammar -- it's thorough, doesn't take too long and gets the job done. I like Writing Road to Reading because it is explicit phonics and thorough without a lot of bells and whistles. I like nature study and becoming aware of the world around us. I like Geography to be natural, discussing the people and animals and cultures around the world and giving a blackline map and taking off. What else? Hm. Well, Art, picture study, music appreciation....there's so much to expose them to and then hopefully let them find their passion. :) So, while I like the idea of WTM and having "guides" I overall I enjoy piecing it together myself to fit for our family. We love reading, talking about what we read, discussing ideas, writing without formulas --- allowing it to flow as naturally as possible. I might be rambling. I have no idea if this answers your questions.... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 Living Books is a more Charlotte Mason term, but it can be used for classical, as well. Some prefer to use "Great Books" or "Good Books" for classical education. My favorite resources for CM are AO and Charlotte Mason Help. I like them because they are loose plans to use as you see fit, rather than a step-by-step, "you must do what this says" TM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle My Bell Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 Heart of Dakota & Ambleside Online. I plan to mix Ambleside Year 1 with Memoria Press 1st grade next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 We are probably more CM than classical, but I like parts of each method. We're using Simply Charlotte Mason's free curriculum guide. This has been our best year yet! I've made a few changes, but we are following it pretty closely. Most of the changes I made were to work with materials we already owned. Now that we have 3 school aged DC, I realized we needed to make some changes and simplify things a bit. SCM does an amazing job of combining them. We are also using their history program and I love that everyone is studying the same time period. We have a family lesson followed by additional readings for each age group. Since my DC are young, we all do the extras for grades 1-3 together, then my older two (grades 2 and 5) listen in on the grades 4-6 reading. It is a bit lighter than other programs, but I really like that. It gives us more time to work on 3Rs (which we really need). I was using another literature-based program and felt like I was spending way too much time on history and science...and no where near enough time on the 3Rs. Being a lighter program, SCM also gives us a bit more time to add a few extra books without cutting into their 3Rs time. There are so many "must reads" out there, and I'd like to fit as many in as we can (within reason). ;) We add some in as literature books and some for extra history readings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in MS Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 Ambleside. It free, organized, easy to follow , and includes excellent suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna A. Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 I wouldn't consider Veritas, Sonlight, or TOG to be Charlotte Mason'ish. Maybe sort of, but TOG and Veritas lean far more classical all the way across than CM. Sonlight is really just a huge list of books compiled in no particular order, well, not particularly chronological, anyway. Also, CM wouldn't have scheduled nearly the *quantity* of books to get through in a week's time that SL schedules. If you end up reading a lot of books, that's one thing, but the structured part of a CM school day wouldn't look like SL. CM is definitely classical by the time you hit high school, but much more gentle in the beginning years than a curriculum otherwise labeled as "classical". Heart of Dakota and My Father's World both mix elements of classical and CM. They use different resources, but follow a similar path chronologically speaking. Neither one is truly classical OR truly CM, but these two are probably the most "balanced" of all the prepared curriculum packages out there. I would also put Linda Faye's free curriculum in this category. There's a ton of CM information on her website: www.charlottemasonhelp.com Simply Charlotte Mason is nice, but tends to schedule some pretty light (IMO) books along the way. Ambleside leans the other direction, scheduling "heavier" books from the very beginning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 I like Heart of Dakota! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle My Bell Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 I wouldn't consider Veritas, Sonlight, or TOG to be Charlotte Mason'ish. Maybe sort of, but TOG and Veritas lean far more classical all the way across than CM. Sonlight is really just a huge list of books compiled in no particular order, well, not particularly chronological, anyway. Also, CM wouldn't have scheduled nearly the *quantity* of books to get through in a week's time that SL schedules. If you end up reading a lot of books, that's one thing, but the structured part of a CM school day wouldn't look like SL. CM is definitely classical by the time you hit high school, but much more gentle in the beginning years than a curriculum otherwise labeled as "classical". Heart of Dakota and My Father's World both mix elements of classical and CM. They use different resources, but follow a similar path chronologically speaking. Neither one is truly classical OR truly CM, but these two are probably the most "balanced" of all the prepared curriculum packages out there. I would also put Linda Faye's free curriculum in this category. There's a ton of CM information on her website: www.charlottemasonhelp.com Simply Charlotte Mason is nice, but tends to schedule some pretty light (IMO) books along the way. Ambleside leans the other direction, scheduling "heavier" books from the very beginning. I agree with your thoughts here. what would you think is CM? Anything? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faithr Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 I think Mater Amabilis is a great resource. If you google that name and Charlotte mason you'll find it. It is Catholic but many of the recommendations are for anybody. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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