I'm Cassandra, and I'm so thrilled you're here! I'm a Charlotte Mason homeschooling mama of three who's saved by grace and fueled by coffee. Here you'll find a new video each week on topics that include:
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And if you'd like to read more of our story and get loads of additional content on homeschooling, motherhood, and faith, check out my online home at abeautifullywreckedlife.com.
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I recently found the schedule cards, and I agree they are so helpful! As you were talking about gluing the cards and it not working for you, I thought, what if you laminated the cards first and then used magnetic strips on the back and hung them on a magnetic board. Then you can easily rearrange them and still have it up to see.
Hey sweet mama! I just subscribed to your channel. This is very helpful! We are a Charlotte Mason/ Classical homeschool family! Love this. Thank you for sharing! 🙏☺️
Would you be willing to share a copy of your planner pages that have the two sets of 36 weeks with the book name on the side? Those are such a great idea!
Thank you! I wait until my kiddos are around 6 to start Kindergarten (or the year they're 5, going on 6) and then we do a pretty light year. Here's a video I did a couple of years ago sharing my middle kiddo's Kindergarten plan: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9A9m-TfAg9g.htmlsi=5Mdw2b4bcR6hkS2V
I plan very similar to your style but I use excel instead of the print outs, :) I appreciated your talk on forecasting which I was sort of doing but never could organize like you. Loved your homeschool planner spread!
You’re welcome!! I recorded this planning video a couple of years ago, and I have a video where I shared what we used for Kindergarten: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9A9m-TfAg9g.htmlsi=-fCIq4ZUTTDfXH57 Happy planning! ❤️
That's a great question! I actually made my own planner to use because I could never find *exactly* what I wanted. I just recently did a flip-through of it on my Instagram stories, and you can see it in my "Planning" highlight. :)
Great questions! I have a blog post about how we do exams in our homeschool: www.abeautifullywreckedlife.com/exam-week-how-we-do-exams-in-our-charlotte-mason-homeschool/. It's from a few years ago, but that's still basically how we do them. We don't typically do any kind of Easter or Christmas units for our morning lessons, but I usually add special extras for both Advent and Lent. We do some of them in the afternoons (like baking cookies or making crafts) and some of them as a family in the evenings (like our Advent calendar, etc.). For the 24-25 school year, I'll have a 4th grader, 2nd grader, and very informal preschooler. :)
I’m loving your videos! I wish you were still making more!❤😊 I have been homeschooling for 5 years, but am trying a little more CM each year. I have 18 more years to go…so by then I will be fully CM 😂
I would love to know where to get the visual aides that you spoke of. The scheduling cards and curriculum templates. I looked on the ADE site but didn't see them, or how to order them.
I'll add those to the video description, but here are the direct links (not an affiliate): www.adelectableeducation.com/downloads/curriculum-templates/ www.adelectableeducation.com/downloads/scheduling-cards/
I actually work part-time from home every afternoon, and Charlotte Mason works perfectly for us! I'm working on a Q&A video, though, and will be answering this question in more detail!
Hi, do you still love this curriculum a year later? Next year I'll have a 2nd grader and 5th grader coming from Master Books. Would you recommend starting with book 1 for the 2nd grader since we did not learn math "the Charlotte Mason way?" Thanks!
Love your choices. Thanks for sharing. Just subscribed. I’m trying to move more toward CM in our homeschool. I also have a channel mainly about homeschooling and it would be fun to be friends and connect here 😊
Thank you for this review - I purchased the CM Elem Arithmetic Book 1 (for my first grader and book 3 for my 3rd grader). This is my first Simply CM Homeschool year. LY was my very first homeschool year. I have jumped right in (will start our school year in the middle of August). So question for you - should I start my 3rd grader in book 3, or should I go ahead and start with the foundational Book 1 with my daughter. He will probably advance quite quickly, so I would think we could do more than one lesson in a 20 minute time period. Thoughts on what you would do or would suggest? - My son has used Saxon Math and ACE Math and then we have started grade 3 Good & Beautiful during the summer to keep up with Math so he doesn't "fall" behind. Thank you! Debbi
Hi Rachael! Instead of moving on to EA Book 3, we've actually switched to Beauty & Truth Math for Year 3. I'm still using EA Books 1 and 2 with my younger kiddos, though, because I do really love them!
This was very helpful. Thank you so much. As a mom starting back again, with using Charlotte Mason's methods, and really now delving in to reading her work, this is a big encouragement and help!
Yes, I do still love Elementary Arithmetic! We actually switched to Beauty & Truth Year 3 for my oldest son, but I'm still using SCM EA Books 1 and 2 for my younger kiddos. *Hopefully* I can get a video up soon comparing the two!
@abeautifullywreckedlife A comparison video would be AMAZING! I actually purchased both SCM Arithmetic and Beauty & Truth Math to look over this summer, but I am still having a difficult time deciding between the two.
i don't know if you have any family from the south but i swear we must be related because you look so much like me and my family LOL. i am a homeschooling mom of a 8 and 6 year old. i throw in some CM when it works!! great video, thanks!!
Hi Angela! We usually spend between 2-3 hours on school each morning, and then we typically add some type of nature study, scouting lesson, or handicraft in the afternoons for occupations.
That's a great question! Elementary Arithmetic follows a very different scope and sequence from more traditional math programs, so things like calendar, telling time, geometry, etc. aren't covered in the first couple of years (I simply added those in on my own). However, it does develop a very solid number sense and really gets students comfortable with mental math and problem solving. Everyone will feel differently about what they want a math program to cover, so I think it's important to identify your goals for your homeschool and keep that in mind when selecting a program. I'm happy to answer any other questions you have about our experience with it!
This is the most helpful review I have EVER watched about CM curriculum. I literally JUST researched about every source you mentioned RIGHT before watching your video. I still have tabs open for Singapore Math, Simply Charlotte Mason Arithmetic and Beauty and Truth! Thank you so much for this. I was literally about to be so overwhelmed!
@abeautifullywreckedlife so was the books inspiration rays arithmetic? Is it basically the same thing? Instead of buying rays primary arithmetic book PLUS the answer keys book.. cm elementary arithmetic has teaching and answers combined right?
The pre-reading set is amazing!!! My little one was eager to do this and talk to Ziggy each lesson! I highly recommend to doing the pre-reading like you said because it covers so many skills besides letters and sounds that children need to know prior to actually reading words.
I agree! I love having this book on my shelf. I found it amazing to see my kids grasping all sorts of math concepts without realizing that they were learning "advanced" concepts. Like practising multiplication and division without really saying "Now we are going to learn multiplication and division!" Instead, they skip counted or told me how many 3's are in 24 using buttons. And they aren't afraid of story problems because we've always done them. Win! And I love that we can use the notebook if we are feeling like it, or I can skip it if I see my kids fading.
YES to all of this!! We just finished Book 2 and my favorite thing about it is still that they really are learning advanced math without realizing it!!
I'm so sorry for such a late reply! If you go to A Delectable Education's website, they have all kinds of teacher helps, which includes the map questions!
So cool and encouraging to see someone a little ahead of us making similar choices and enjoying them! I love the insights, and resources ideas for solfa - we just moved into Form IA and I need to learn about that 😅 so I can add it too! You are adding to my shopping list, haha! I’ve been eyeing the mapmaking book and the Holling maps for a while now. Where do you get the older version of the Christian Liberty Nature Readers? I need to find those. I love that you are trying to stay true to Charlotte Mason but still implement things that aren’t exactly how she did it but using it in as CM of a way as possible. We have also tweaked a few things, but trying to stay true to the beautiful method!
This is such an encouraging comment - thank you! We really do strive to stay true to her method, but with the addition of 100 years of updated research since then! I got the nature readers from Amazon, and they're honestly my very favorite nature study books we have!
I have always wanted to do CM and I still want to but it’s so overwhelming! I have no idea where to start and make it work. My oldest is entering HS next year and doing CC for some classes. But I have a soon to be 1st and 3rd grader and feel like I have a path to change all of their curriculum for next year. This might be my year to do it. I just have to totally understand it and where to start
Thanks for this review! I saw one homeschool mom use this curriculum in a ‘day in the life’ video and it looked amazing. I’ve seen some mixed reviews but it will be $80 for the book for me (Canadian,including shipping) so I have to be sure 😅 It’s so beautiful though. My 6 year old is a ‘slow’ learner, she really needs short and repetitive lessons and I think this could be a good fit for her!
I am going to be starting homeschooling next year with my rising 3rd grader Lily who is currently 7. I am doing lots of research. My question is, this is a lot of material. How is it worked in to a school week?
Hi Holly! First of all, YAY for beginning your homeschool journey! Second, that's an excellent question! A lot of the subjects that we cover are only taught 2-3 times per week. We do Bible, math, reading, spelling, recitation, handicraft, poetry, Spanish, and handwriting every single day. But the rest are only a couple times a week, and when it's all spread out, it's very manageable. Also, most subjects are between 15-20 minutes long each day, and some (like poetry and handwriting) are even less. In our homeschool, we cover about 13 subjects per day and get all of our schooling done in 3 hours. So it seems super overwhelming to see that entire list, but once you get your timetable figured out, it's actually very doable and provides a lot of variety each day! I hope that helps!
We are thinking about changing from Singapore (level 1) as well and trying Simply Charlotte Mason Arithmetic. When you changed, did you start with arithmetic book 1 or 2 when coming over from singapore 1?
Thanks so much for your question! We did start with Book 1, because I wanted to make sure my son had a solid number sense AND because the SCM curriculum is so different. I wanted us to just start from the beginning to really get the hang of how the curriculum works. I don't regret that decision, either! I hope Elementary Arithmetic works for you guys if you switch!
We are brand new to homeschooling and the Charlotte Mason way. My daughter will be starting the third grade at home. She is used to public school and hundreds of work sheets. Will this be an easy transition?
Hi Chrissy, thanks for your question! First of all, welcome to homeschooling! I hope your journey is incredible! Second, I think you'll find that this math curriculum is very gentle. It's such a multi-sensory approach to math (zero worksheets) that I personally feel like it lays a really solid foundation and makes it really engaging. With that said, it's a VERY different approach from what she's probably used to. Simply Charlotte Mason has some very helpful resources about how to teach math the Charlotte Mason way, and I would highly recommend their companion book and video. As a former public school teacher, I needed those supplemental aids to help me truly understand the CM way. I hope that's helpful!
