I am so excited to be back with another curriculum overview! Today we are learning about the Charlotte Mason approach with momma of 6, Shannon. Shannon has one in college at the University of Michigan, 2 middle schoolers attending SCAPA Bluegrass, and she’s homeschooling 2 ½. Her 4 year old is the “half” who comes and goes as he pleases and gets a few brief “formal” lessons in reading and math as time and interest permit. The other 2 homeschoolers are 7 and 9. All but the college student have been homeschooled at some point with the current 9 year old being the one who has been homeschooled the most, and she will be attending SCAPA as a 4th grade strings major in the fall.
Read on to learn more about Shannon’s current curriculum and how it has worked for her family.
What curriculum are you using? How long have you used it?
I am currently using the Charlotte Mason based curriculum offered by the Alveary. We’ve used this curriculum plan for 2 years, but we did skip a year in between and were surprised by the development and changes within that year. For math I use Singapore and for writing I use a mixture of WTM Writing With Ease and narrations.
What special features, if any, are offered by the curriculum you are using? Do you use these features if available? Why or why not?
Alveary is accessible online. The plans are available through various fashions on the website. You can choose the LEVEL, which includes all subjects and tailored lesson plans for that level OR you can choose individual subject PDFs. This allows for flexibility and control. Another feature I have grown to like are lesson plan scheduling tools which are pretty navigable and easy to use. A few other features I like are webinars and tutorials in addition to an adjacent online community.
What attracted you to this curriculum?
I have been interested in the Charlotte Mason based model for a while having followed discussions and readings over the years. I like the idea of brief but DEEP lessons and I do like the idea of spreading the feast as well to foster the connections made across disciplines. The offerings are really what attracted me to ALVEARY which include Art, Artist Appreciation, Music Appreciation, Literature, French, History, Geography and Science/Nature lore. Additional offerings, which we’ve not been able to get into, include handiworks in sewing, Sloyd, and crafts.
Is this curriculum flexible with substituting different course materials for a subject if you prefer one thing over their recommendation?
Yes. For example, MATH. Alveary doesn’t offer MATH lesson plans and allows for whichever program the parent chooses. However Alveary does recommend Math U See or Charlotte Mason approach. I feel comfortable following Singapore myself, so that’s what we use. Also, in lesson plans for history or nature study/science and geography, literature you are free to substitute living books you prefer, you just have to try to fit in a schedule that works. Some books may not be suitable in terms of your child’s temperament or maybe they may not the world view your family follows or perhaps the book is out of print, unavailable or cost prohibitive. Alveary works to find and use books that are widely available and within normal budgets of families, but when desired by the parent, allows for substitutions and often will provide ideas for possible substitutions as needed or requested.
Is there a religion component as a part of this curriculum? If so, do you use it or prefer something else? Is it Catholic or non-Catholic Christian?
The religion component is basically Bible readings daily. The readings alternate between NT and OT throughout the week. I’ve taken breaks from these when Advent or Lent happen in order to bring in some of our Catholic identity and I’ve added rosaries and saint readings here and there. This is TOTALLY flexible and up to mom. The Bible readings we use are from our Catholic Bible.
What do you consider to be the strength of this particular curriculum?
There are many strengths besides the flexibility and possibilities afforded by online situations. I like that the lesson plans are written out and are available for download and printing, but I can also make school “mobile” with a laptop or an iPad simply by viewing PDFs on the screen. I kinda use a hybrid approach where I link the PDFs in my google doc, but I have printed out lesson plans with 2 pages per side folded and used as “bookmarks” in our books we are using so that I’m not always tethered to a screen. This allows us to move at our own pace as well.
What has been the most positive result for your family of using this curriculum?
Increased awareness of different things, making connections across subjects, as well as applications in REAL LIFE. Also, spending more time reading scripture has been wonderful for ME as well as my children.
If there is something you could improve upon in this curriculum, what would it be?
It can be cumbersome starting out. To address issues, the team developed some awesome tutorials. I think they continue to tweak and develop a seamless curriculum that is accessible online, but can be used easily offline as well.
If someone is interested in learning more about this curriculum, where should they go?
https://charlottemasoninstitute.org/alveary-membership/
Besides this curriculum, what other educational type activities are your children involved in?
My children receive violin lessons weekly and up until COVID19, we were attending Forest School in the Red River Gorge every Friday. Forest School is basically a nature co-op/drop off for 4 hours where the children are engaged in guided play, song and open lessons involving nature study, science, and art. In addition to those, my daughter has been involved in local youth orchestra, MUSIC WORKS every day in the afternoons for three years until COVID19. My boys began wrestling in the fall and through winter (before Covid19) with Central Kentucky United Wrestling Club. Boys and girls have also been in t-ball and baseball through rec leagues, but those are also on hold due to the pandemic.
Anything else you feel is important to share with someone looking into using this for their own homeschool?
I don’t think you can beat the pricing for all that is available. Membership is $299 a year and this includes however many children you have. You get webinars, tutorials, links to articles and lesson plans for this membership as well as special pricing for Charlotte Mason courses for mom. The Alveary is offering something new this year...for co-ops. Info is available on the link above.
