Sometimes Wonder

I don't know if it is just my personality, or perhaps it is just a hazard of homeschooling - but it seems like I question myself a LOT about what we are doing.   And sometimes I feel sorry for Delta, otherwise known as "Guinea Pig"....  because he of course is the main person to try out everything....

I love Charlotte Mason homeschooling.  I admit that I like the ideal, and our homeschool doesn't often look like the idea.   But I'm starting to wonder a little on a couple of things.....

Delta is struggling with a few things.  I strongly suspect he has dyslexia, but am finding roadblocks everywhere to getting him tested, and even bigger roadblocks for finding things to help.  So, of course, I am doing what research I can on my own.  And of course, there is conflicting information out there, which doesn't help.

So I question my methods - because that is what I do....   I taught him to read with phonics - moving then into readers - the Dick and Jane readers, the Treadwell readers - then into just doing various readings....  last with us buddy reading Harry Potter together.... and this last year I have just done some letting-alone while he did his work with audiobooks.   And really, it seemed like he got to so-far, and then just stalled.  He isn't reading well enough to do his school work if there isn't an audiobook.  So here is what I wonder.  Would he be reading better if we had done true CM style reading lessons (very basic phonics, word families, and then learning whole words that MEAN something...?)  Or would that have made things worse.  Or maybe that is close to what happened anyway.  (He certainly has forgotten the phonics he learned....)    OR, maybe I should have done a more complete phonics program... which is what tends to be recommended for dyslexics....

Which brings me to the other things.  CM doesn't have spelling until about Year 4 - when the child is about 9 or 10.  Well, I guess you are supposed to be kind of doing spelling through the word-building - and also through the child doing copywork by learning to write the copywork 1 word at a time instead of 1 letter at a time.  I tried to get Delta doing copywork 1 word at a time - but that seemed beyond me.  Was that because we did the reading a non-CM way?  or do the CM methods just not work for a child with dyslexic tendancies?   I had to adjust - we have added in All About Spelling Level 1 to our work, and I think it is helping Delta.  Echo is also doing AAS.  But I wonder - should we have been doing this all along?  I also wonder if it will help his spelling when he is actually trying to write.... some programs seem to get good results while the child is doing the program, but then they constantly misspell words they should be able to spell while writing.

About a year ago - Delta asked me to teach him to write.  I showed him that copywork is supposed to be helping with that, and that he would learn to write his narrations down when he was older - but I don't think that was what he wanted, exactly.  I have dispared at knowing how to help....  and on the CM forums the information I am told is to keep working at Oral narrations, and then eventually move to doing 1 narration a week.  But I have felt that, for Delta at least, he would need something more.... something to teach him HOW.   I have recently found "Writing with Ease" which I hope to be the key for us....  It will teach him how to move from Oral narrations to Written in a more step-by-step process.  Yes, the narrations used in Writing with Ease are more like oral answers to questions (and I won't call them narrations) - but I think it will help.  But kids doing the "Well Trained Mind" classical style of education start this around grade 1 or 2....

And - CM doesn't do grammar until about Year 4 or so either.... again when the child is about 9 or 10.  My kids know nothing about grammar because I haven't taught them any.  And I worry - is this going to end up being a problem too?  It has seemed like everything that CM says to wait until they are older, has ended up being a major problem with us having to start from scratch instead of it being more natural.   Is this because of Delta's blend of strengths and weaknesses, or is it a flaw in the method?

I know that often looking back like this isn't helpful.... except I have 3 more children that I have to concern myself with....  If this is a flaw in the method - then I don't want to repeat it and have the same problems.   It leaves me to wonder if I am doing the right things or not....

Yet, I have to say that I still love the CM method.  Delta can discuss things like Richard the Lion Heart, the Crusades, and various English kings.  He knows a lot about a lot of things.  He is enjoying books he can't read on his own - like Pilgrim's Progress, Tales from Shakespeare, and Robin Hood.  He enjoys learning about great Art and Music.

And I am faced with trying to figure out how to help him out (with apparently no help for me), with our limited budget.   I am looking at "Dancing Bears" for reading..... It is a phonics program that is simple for a parent, takes 10 minutes a day, and uses a "cursor" to help promote proper eye tracking and to stop guessing.  And, more important, I have heard good things about it from someone on one of my forums that has been using it.  They also have a "fast track" version for the older child.   I just wish I knew if it would help.

This is how my day is going...

Just in case you think everything runs well here.  I'm SO tired....

This lasted about 30 minutes...      She has finally started doing the work.   When she screamed at me or would jump up and down, I would add another job for her to do.   I am open to suggestions, as I don't know what happened recently that this is becoming a common reaction.

Probably partly winter "climbing the walls" and being cooped up more than normal.

When things don't go as planned.

A lot has been happening here at Maple Hill Academy. Of course, they were all unexpected, and included things such as sickness. Besides not having time to Blog (which I'm sure you all noticed) - it has put us behind our homeschool plan.

It would be easy to panic at this point - especially as I expect to be very busy around the end of June, meaning that further delay may stop us from completing the entire year.

So - what do you do when things don't go as planned?

As "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" would say "DON'T PANIC!"


Especially in Year 1, there are really only a few things that I feel need to be completed to keep us over-all on track. Those are the good old-fashioned 3R's.... Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rithmetic. Is your student learning their math? Is he learning to read? Is he learning to write? Even if you don't finish the whole program, if those are well on track by the end of the year, you have succeeded. And the chances are, your student will have learned a LOT more then that. "Gaps" won't be a huge deal -- remember that even at public school, if a student is sick - he just misses anything learned that day. At least in subjects like math that are sequential, we can make sure our student doesn't miss some important concept!

Even in the later years, if you end up having to skip a reading book, or miss a chapter or two of the history book, I think your student will still be far ahead.

So, what is my revised plan? We will just keep working with the schedule - who cares that we are not on the week that I wanted to be? At the end of the year, I can see where we are at. For stuff like Math, I have the choice of starting Year 2 wherever we have stopped in Year 1 - or we could spend a little bit of summer time finishing it up. For other subjects, that are not so sequential, I can decide to either skip some items - or for some of the reading books we could always read them together during the summer. Again, our choice.

I think the main thing is not to panic - not to get frustrated - not to let the student know that he is behind - and not to throw out the program!

That Time of Year

Well, it is August. Where I live, school starts in about a month.... and the nerves have started. Am I doing the right thing? It isn't too late to enroll my son, who is starting 1st Grade, at the nearby school.... and this would be the latest time to get him into French Immersion.

I seem to go through this a couple of times each year.... in early spring when the nearby schools all put up their signs for Kindergarten Orientation and enrollment meetings - and in August as it moves towards the first day of school.

I spend a lot of time reassuring myself that I am doing the best thing for my family. I also spend a lot of time praying about it. I also know that this feeling will go away soon - until the next nervous season.

I'm hoping that these feelings will fade to memory in the next few years as I see the results from our homeschooling.

In the meantime - it may be time to go on our local homeschooling message list and see if there will be another Annual "Not-Back-To-School picnic" this fall. That always helps.