Answers to Dina's Questions

Dina recently asked a great couple of questions, and there was so much to the answer, I decided to make a post out of it!  Here is what she said:

We are beginning homeschool this July. I love the Charlotte Mason concept but I am a bit confused. How do I plan a year of lessons and how do I know if a living book is factually accurate?
Job one for this first year is to work on faith and Character and learning to read for our 7 year old. I would appreciate any suggestions for living books that would help build character and faith. I would also like to begin learning more about American History. Do I begin at the beginning of our country and go forward chronologically? Please help!!!!

Dina, these are great questions, and I’m so glad you are looking into this method for your own homeschool experience!  First of all, you have your priorities right!  If we give our children all the knowledge the world has to offer, but don’t give them faith, or train good character, then we have raised brilliant heathens. 

As to how to plan a year of lessons successfully, I would first recommend that you RELAX!  This is especially true if your oldest is learning to read.  If you accomplish learning to read, and instilling a love for learning in the first year – you have laid a great foundation for future years in your homeschool.  Second, plan from the big picture down.  Start with your end goal in mind – what do you want to have accomplished by the end of the year?  Write it down.  Then break it down into smaller chunks – divide your year into terms – 6, 9, or 12 week terms work well.  Figure out what you have to accomplish in each term to reach your year-end goals.  Write that down.  Break each term into the number of weeks, and figure how much you need to accomplish in each week to reach your term’s goals.  Write it down!  (Do you see a theme, here?!)  Then, break each week down into 4 or 5 days, depending on your schedule.  Write down what you need your daily schedule to look like in order to accomplish your weekly goals.  Now, you will live and work out your schedule one day at a time, but with the goals for each day, week, term, and year before you.  You will be able to see the progress you make toward your year-end goal! 

Let’s move on to knowing if a living book is factually accurate.  Naturally, you won’t worry about this with your fiction picks, but your history and biography books you definitely want to be accurate!  My source for knowing what books to read for these areas is primarily our History curriculum, written by Diana Waring.  She has studied history so thoroughly, that she really knows her stuff, and she has wonderful recommendations of living books throughout her curriculum.  (You can see her curriculum here.)  Now, she isn’t the only reliable source for truthful books.  You can see some of the books we have read at this post.  Mostly, what you want to do, is find a reliable source of recommendations, and stick with someone you trust. 

Moving on to American History – there is a wealth of information out there!  One general guideline is to stick to books that were written before 1920.  After this, the revisionists really started producing a lot of books.  You want to look at a books’ bibliography, and you want to see a large number of references to original source documents.  I will right away recommend two books to you – Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford (about the Plymouth colonists and why they came to America, and what they left to us - click on the title, and scroll down the page a bit, and you'll see it), and Original Intent by David Barton (just below Plymouth Plantation, on the same page).  Mr. Barton is a contemporary author, but he is very careful to give excellent documentation from original source materials.  His bibliographies are as thick as a chapter!

This is such a cursory reply to such deep questions, but I hope I have given you much to think about, research, and ponder as you begin your homeschool journey.  Next time, I’ll add a few more thoughts for you, after I have pondered this myself, for awhile!  Meanwhile, enjoy your children, and love them extravagantly!

Comments

[Dina]

Thank you so much for this great answer! And thank you for reminding me to relax, the accountant in me has a hard time doing that! One more question. How do I establish an end goal? I know this sounds silly, but I don't even know what kind of goal I should set. Our oldest dd (9) needs some major character help and our ds (7) needs to learn to read. I am concerned that I am setting my sights too low. Or maybe too high! At the end of the year I would like to see a growth in character and faith, ability to read, and a love of learning. Thank you for holding my hand as I begin this blessed journey. Have a lovely day!

[Sue]

Dina,

I'm so glad you were encouraged by my post! That's why I'm here!

Ok, I'm in the midst of painting our new house, and I'll be doing so for several days, and I'm already wiped out! I'll be posting more on your questions as soon as I can think clearly!

Meanwhile - enjoy your children, and keep reading up on CM and her methods!