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I recently purchased A Charlotte Mason Companion. This is my 2nd year with HOD, but I want to understand the CM method much better. However, every time I pick it up to read it, it seems to me that this is something I should have started with my kids at a younger age, and I wonder how it applies as they are reaching upper-elementary and middle-school ages. (my kids are currently 12, 10, and 7) Have I missed my opportunities (except with my youngest, who is 7 yo)? How does CM translate into upper-elementary and middle-school, esp. if you're just starting out on this type of learning? It seems that in the book, she mostly gives examples and principles that apply to younger children.

I know I'm playing "devil's advocate" a little by asking these question, but, honestly, when I read it it gets me discouraged. I'd appreciate anyone's thoughts. Also, is there something I should read which addresses those questions about upper grades? Thanks.

Bump in the hopes that someone will answer. maybe Carrie or Julie?

It's funny because when I read that book a few years back, I felt the exact opposite! I remember thinking, "Well, he's too young to do that, but in a few years, won't that be so fun!" I think you have a wonderful opportunity to bring the joy back into learning for children who may have been in a dry, textbook-oriented education for years. What a breath of fresh air for them to learn in an interesting, inspiring fashion and enjoy great stories along the way! They may take a while to get used to it, especially skills such as narration because really processing, evaluating, and synthesizing information is higher-level thinking which is not utilized very often in traditional curricula. Your youngest is really just at the cusp of beginning to learn the CM way, so no loss there at all. As far as I can tell, CM never advocated much formal learning for children much under six. I think your kids will do great.
hth even though I'm not Julie or Carrie!
Laura

I started my ds on HOD as a 5th grader and yes there are some things I wished he had learned earlier for example oral and written narration, but I don't think it is too late for him to learn these things. He has made great gains and I see that he will have a love for learning that my high school dd doesn't have. He also is learning to apply his knowledge in ways she didn't. My dd is in 11th grade and this year she is doing World Geography in a more living book manner and loves it! She comes to me saying "Mom listen to this, did you know...?" That never happens when she is using textbooks. There are many people who use Charlotte Mason for high school.

My oldest didn't come home until 7th grade and that year I tried to do public school at home. It wasn't until 8th grade that I had done some learning myself and knew I leaned in a CM kind of way. I certainly wish he'd had an earlier start (CM and HSing), but it is what it is. I worked hard to help him learn some CM skills and he found he really loved it- his kind of learning. I regret that he didn't get a full CM education, but I think what he did get (lots of living books!) helped him love learning and succeed in high school.

That to say, start where they're at, work on skills not yet learned, and enjoy the journey.

Here's an excerpt from an article I read about homeschooling Charlotte Mason for high school.

"While the challenges of the Charlotte Mason approach to education carried through high school can be daunting, the benefits and blessings of perseverance can be most beautifully realized at this level. Discussion of the great questions with your high school students richly grounded in timeless works of history and literature can offer some of life's most invigorating, enjoyable, and inspiring moments. Even more importantly, you will have provided your scholars with a knowledge of the works that have formed the greatest minds of the ages. In that, you will give your students a priceless gift that will carry them through the rest of their lives."

See full article here: http://www.crosswalk.com/family/homesch ... 38172.html

Thanks for everyone's replies. I can't wait to find time to read that article that was posted. I will return to reading the book with the attitude that I will see what I can get out of it for where my kids are now. I guess part of what I've been experiencing is that, while my oldest dd loves this curriculum, my middle ds "hates school" (I dont' let him say that, I'm just expressing what I know he feels.) So he has not grasped that love of learning that CM seems to almost promise if you do things her way. This partly, I think, has to do with some learning issues he has (not major ones - a processing speed issue, and perhaps dysgraphia). So school is just hard work for him. it has really been hard for me that, so far, I haven't been able to find anything that he LOVES. I've tried so many things that I've finally decided he just needs to do the next thing, whether he loves it or not. But things have improved since last year, thank the Lord. I just wish that I could hear him say that he loves something we're doing.

If I have further questions about the book, too, I think it would be helpful if I'm more specific. So I will come back with specific issues, if I have them. Thanks again.