Secular Charlotte Mason

Hi!  We're going to be starting kindergarten with our daughter this fall.  We're going to be using Five in a Row and I was just wondering if anyone has done this with a CM style?  Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I used Before Five in a Row with my elder two. I have to admit that my kids were not keen on it. Far too much repetition for them. In regards to doing it in a CM way I think that is totally doable. The thing I would keep in mind is that Ms. Mason was not a proponent of getting between the book and the child. To me this means that you would just do the FIAR activities that appeal to your child adding in some CM style verbal narrations (which for this age should really look a lot like playing) rather than trying to explicitly follow FIAR's instructions. Does that make sense on paper because it sure did in my head? LOL

The FIAR part of the question:

We liked the books so we used it conversationally.  Usually I could get in a couple of readings and he would say he already knew the whole story.  Lapbooks didn't fly with him, he was 5 yo at that time. We read all of the Volume 1 books and some books from other volumes. I plan to use the books again with my almost 4 year old when he is ready for them.  He is my more academic child, so he might like it.

But we did have a lot of fun, using plenty of my son's ideas, for a half dozen of the books.  We "rowed" for about one to two weeks without re-reading the story each time.   Field trips, cooking and some projects.  Good memories!

My older son likes to make his own connections and wasn't as open to my leading when we did this curriculum.  *I* love it though and wished it had worked for us to use it to the full potential.

It's a great way to get started homeschooling IMO.

(side note: I saw on your profile that you'd like some smaller books or resources on the method, I might be able to help you when my brain is rested)

The Charlotte Mason recommendations for children under six years of age:

I started to say that CM would say one reading but actually the recommendations for children under 6 are completely different than FIAR.  Fewer books and more storytelling (including family or heritage stories) and if you do read books, they are to be classics read over and over (which is NOT the recommendation for over 6).  Plenty of outdoor time and exploring of their environment.  For more suggestions on the under 6 (Year 0) kids, the yahoo group for Ambleside Year 0 is VERY helpful and most definitely Christian.

I think the FIAR books are good, IMO, but also keep in mind what Charlotte Mason said for under 6 and try not to overdo the seatwork.  IMHO  Have fun!

Charlotte Mason said, "In this time of extraordinary pressure, educational and social, perhaps a mothers first duty to her children is to secure for them a quiet growing time, a full six years of passive receptive life, the waking part of it spent for the most part out in the fresh air. And this, not for the gain in bodily health alone––body and soul, heart and mind, are nourished with food convenient for them when the children are let alone, let to live without friction and without stimulus amongst happy influences which incline them to be good."

"My older son likes to make his own connections and wasn't as open to my leading when we did this curriculum."

Cori, 

That is because, much like my youngest, your eldest is the nonacademic version of a CM kid. They feel that they don't need Mom getting in the way of their learning.   I have to admit that I found my academic oriented child the easiest to homeschool. Some days the girls just confound me with their lack of academic interest at which point I thank CM for nature studies and handicrafts!