Friday, June 05, 2009

An Appeal

I know at least one or two of you homeschool, and I don't want to be exclusive (for those who don't), but I'm trying to decide what curriculum and method to use for homeschooling. There's a lot of info out there.

I am very interested in the Charlotte Mason method, but there's a lot of info and I don't know that I have the time to wade through it all. I may try to integrate some of her schooling ideas into another curriculum.

I have several friends who use Sonlight, and I am considering it - as it is loosely based on Charlotte Mason from what I understand.

I am always trying to teach character and good habits, and have had some great materials recommended.

BUT, I'm wondering what you use? What works for you? What doesn't?

4 comments:

Clarissa. said...

My friends' mom has used a variety of different home school methods for her 8 kids and is currently using Classical Conversations for her last two kids. My friend said that her mom really likes it.

Christy said...

thanks, Clarissa! ...looking into it right now!

Annecourager said...

Charlotte Mason is cool, but I was always worried about trying to pull all that together. Out of that search I discovered Sonlight. Loved it. What I found difficult was the Instructors Guides - being in different places at the same time, having to flip back and forth. I eventually stopped using the IG's and just did the books, which were fabulous.

I started using k12 (you can get it independently or through CAVA) because of the ease of record-keeping and the layout of the online things. The books are juuuuuust about as good as Sonlight (slight hesitation there) but the record-keeping is what sold me, because I hate paperwork x2, and with k12 I have that information at the click of a mouse: How many lessons left, scores, etc.

I hear good things about Calvert but have never used it personally.

A. said...

Oh My Goodness, can't believe how many people are talking about this lately! :)You must know I use Sonlight, too--I love the Charlotte Mason way but wanted a little more structure & don't have the time to put it all together myself. I use the IG's loosely and actually don't keep very detailed records--I use a series of checklists as far as "what a 1-2nd grader should be able to do" and work on those along with the books (most of it gets covered in the course of the year w/out trying).
Sonlight is actually based on Ruth Beechick but it is similar to Charlotte Mason and overlaps/dovetails well.
I add/change a few things each year, esp. mini-unit studies on favorite books, but overall Sonlight is a great flexible program right out of the box.

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