Classical Mason Homeschool - Term I Recap

11/21/2019

'Tis a Gift to Be Simple

We are off to a great start with Term I of our homeschool year. I am especially enjoying our new Bible Course and our Autumn Nature Walks! (Before I jump in with the Term I Recap, you should know that our homeschool ages are 1, 15, and 17 with a Classical Mason method.) Our Program of Study includes:

Program I: Christian Studies
Program II: Enrichment Studies
Program III: Grade-Level Studies

I've included Book Lists as a help!

gather for Family Together Studies

Our Method

Our method (or style) of homeschool is:

Biblical
Classical
Charlotte Mason
Traditional (full scope & sequence)...

for a solid foundation. So, I'm calling it a Classical Mason Method*.

I'm prayerfully considering starting a Charlotte Mason Co-op in our Willis, Texas Area! Any interest?

Our Simple Daily Schedule

8:30 - 9:00: Christian Studies (Breakfast & Bible, History, Geography Together)
9:00-12:00: Independent Studies (Math, Science, Language Arts)
12:00 -1:00: Lunch Break
1:00-3:00: Classical Studies (Reading, Latin, Logic) or Free Afternoons
3:00-4:00: Enrichment Studies (Art, Music, Literature, More Together)

Bible is the Foundation!

Christian Studies

Christian Studies is with breakfast. The big change we made was our Bible Curriculum. I highly recommend this ...

Our memory work is not progressing too quickly, I confess, so I am planning on making Scripture Memory Recitation & Copy Books to help.

Here is our History Book List. Since our Bible Course took front seat, History took at back seat. Yes, Bible is history too, but our world history needs a little more attention. I plan to remedy this during the remainder of Term I which I am extending until the December 31. I want to dig-in with our Timelines and bring history to life! The good news is that the girls do read history during grade-level studies.

Geography & Biography. The broken record must repeat itself. Since our Bible Course took front seat ... enough said! I will redeem the time. What are we using? I purchased an old and very rich textbook called The Elements of Physical Geography for older students. Mapping will be done with the Timeline Kits which have a most beautiful world map.

An Invitation is Here

Enrichment Studies

Enrichment Study is with Tea. You can see our Enrichment Book List. Adding Enrichments to our homeschool has been the best decision I ever made. It has been a slow process, but we are coming along!

I learned so much Sonya Shaffer at Simply Charlotte Mason on building your own curriculum.

We have beautiful trails behind our home, and so Nature Walks are a vnatural and daily way of life for us. Recently, we were looking at an old dead tree. It is tall and white with a few bare branches sticking out. "Look," said my daughter. There at the top were two storybook vultures! Out came the Nature Sketchbook.

If you have been doing a Charlotte Mason Enrichment Program, you know that a lot is packed into a short amount of time. Just for fun, I'm going to "grade" our progress adding (my personal comments) in parenthesis.

(For Enrichments, I am currently using a lot of resources from SCM, so I'm giving credit by having them link over to her site.)

Scripture Memory Verse Pack 1 ( 7 Verses Memorized ) - A
Picture Study Three artists per year (Loving Giotto!) - A
Music Study Three composers per year (Dreadfully behind on Back!) - C
Hymn Study Hymn Group 1, one group per year (Learned first 2) - A
Handicrafts & Art Three projects per year (Crochet is underway!) - A
Shakespeare One play every year or two (Saving for a later term.) - n/a
Foreign Language One conversational language for the whole family; older students may add a study of Latin (We use French for Children with CD for Young Students and French in 10 Minutes a Day.) - B
Nature Study Outdoor time and nature notebooks once a week ( Even Adeline knows the Crow's "Caw, Caw." Try National Audobon Society.) - A
Poetry One poet per year (We completely skipped poor Emily Dickenson!) - D
Literature Favorite family read-alouds; older students may have additional silent reading (Emma by Jane Austin has become a good friend.) - A
Habits & Personal Development Habit-training; older students read and discuss additional books with parents (I wrote a "habit of the week" on the chalkboard and this really helped. I hope to read Ourselves in Term 2-3.) - A

So, that's my report card! That was an eye opening list.

"Tis a Gift to Be Simple

I did want to also tell you about some wonderful Baby/Toddler Books by Rod & Staff. These simple books, many with rhyme, give a picture of everyday life as it should be! I will list a few of my favorites below:

As I was reading these books to Addie, I remembered a song I learned years ago.

Simple Gifts

’Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free
’Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
’Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come ’round right.

What about Brushwork?

Brushwork. I would love to begin a Brushwork Course as well. I am only just beginning to learn about it, and so must do a little more research. Does anyone do this? If so, can you recommend a good beginner's book?

Individual Studies

I just completed Individual Studies for Ninth Grade! It gives Chloe a well-planned day and you can see the Book List Here. It includes:

Math
Science
Language Arts
Great Books Reading List
Daily Lesson Plans
4-Day Week Schedule

I will be reading the Great Books too!

You can view the Book List is Here.

Mom Time

My Mom Time Reading List get's an A! Charlotte Mason said, "Never be without a good book." It's a good idea to pour-in so that you can continue to pour-out. Isn't it amazing how a few little minutes here or there add up to a book read? I did add Isaiah to my reading list. Wow, that is a rich book! I enjoyed reading Mother Culture, but I haven't been reading Rhoda's Reform.

The Verdict

Overall, I would say that we're having a fairly successful term but want to improve and gain momentum as we go! I will do an update as we near the beginning of Term 2 (January - March).

What Enrichment Program are you using?
You are welcome to share below.

Notes

*By Classical, I should clarify, that I embrace some of the classical teaching methods, not the classical stories refered to as myths, as this was actually false gods).

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