Beginning with a Plan
From Sarah Stabenow, Marketing Coordinator:
We all understand the importance of starting well. Things usually go more smoothly when we take the time to prepare and plan. I have found this to be especially true for homeschooling. While there have been days when I've gone with the flow, our most productive days have invariably been the ones where we had a plan. That's one of the things I love most about Alveary—it helps me think through this plan to awaken my children to delightful living and gives me the tools to execute it!
Devoting some time on the front end to plan well will pay dividends during the school year. I highly recommend checking out the Office Hours video with Kim Keel, where she demonstrates how to effectively utilize Alveary’s free program and scheduling tools. Download the Reflective Practice Plan Book and commit to working through the thoughtful questions this year. Engage with other members in the “School Schedules” Circle in Alveary Hive.
One crucial aspect of planning is the need to add in margin—for you and your children. I recently read a Parents’ Review article* about imagination, and this quote about the schedule resonated with me:
For the right use of the programmes two things are necessary—solitude and independence. Children must have these. Nursery children come off fairly well in these respects; they get time when they can wander and dream alone in the garden. But this happy state often ends where school-room life begins. Lessons, walk, and lessons again, always in company, and always something that must be done now. Miss Mason devises time-tables which cover such reasonable hours as to leave time over for this solitude, but parents are often very culpable in thinking that Tango or some other new thing must be learned as well, and the much needed time for solitude is used for plans which necessitate hurried journeys, always in the company of a responsible person, who feels it her duty to talk in an instructive way, and the thinking time, the growing time, the time in which the mind is to find food is diminished, and the child becomes restless, tiresome, irritable, disobedient—everything that a child who is reputed to be difficult can be. The parents marvel and say, ‘But we are giving him the best education that can be procured, we are neglecting no opportunities.’ Kind, generous parents! You are giving your child every opportunity but one, and that is self-development; by your generous care, you are safeguarding him from ever using his own mind, ever relying upon himself in any way. The child who at first found interference irksome, later depends on it so much that he is unable to work without constant prodding from his mentor. I believe that this is the prime reason of the oft repeated lament of teachers and professors, "Little ones are so eager, older children are less keen, adults are dull and lethargic.
While the 2024-25 Program is fresh and the excitement of planning is underway, make sure you build in some time for “solitude and independence” in the schedule. Your students—and you—will benefit greatly from it!
We'd love to hear from you: How do you currently incorporate moments of solitude and independence into your homeschooling schedule? What strategies have you found effective in ensuring both you and your children have the space to think, grow, and explore independently? Let us know in the comments of this Fabulous Friday post.
*Read the entire Parents' Review article, Imagination as a Powerful Factor in a Well-Balanced Mind, here.
Notes
1. Survey: 2023-24 members, please check your email or use this link to complete the survey for a chance to win Alveary+! TODAY is the deadline!
2. Blue Open Door Course: Dr. Shannon Whiteside is teaching a 6-week intensive, “Knowledge of God,” starting the first week of March. Register here for this deep dive into Mason’s principles on teaching the Bible and leading our children to God.
3. Practicing School Observation and Training: Join us for this three-day event hosted at Blue Willow Tutorial—an Alveary/Charlotte Mason school—located in Athens, Tennessee. See more details here.
4. Employment Opportunity: Gillingham Charter School, a CMI-accredited school in Pottsville, PA, has multiple job openings. Learn more here. (To see job openings, “Click Here to Apply.”)
5. RightStart Math: Use promo code MATH15 to receive 15% off your entire order when you purchase an RS2 Math Set. Offer expires March 31.
Query
I’m confused about the scheduling tools on the Alveary dashboard and the upcoming Alveary+. Do they all do the same thing?
The dashboard tools and Alveary+ have different functions. Our free basic and advanced digital tools on your dashboard are designed to help you set up your schedule for the year. They include everything from printable schedule cards for those who prefer to work with paper to nifty new digital tools. (By the way, “advanced” doesn’t mean you need a lot of tech skills. It’s simply a way to differentiate from our basic tools. See this video from Office Hours.)
Once you have created a schedule that works for your family, you can use it when you set up Alveary+ by entering what day you want to do each subject. Your lesson plans will automatically populate for you to use digitally or to print out as a custom schedule for your family!
