CM: 5 Reasons Why I Joined The CMEC (The Charlotte Mason Educational Center) // Homeschool

[@bloominginthelight]

I love using Charlotte Mason's philosophy. It's so respectful to children as people. And her emphasis on atmosphere is hard but so so necessary. Please share below any comments or questions about CM or The CMEC!

[@HolisticUly]

We joined CMEC this year too...form 1b/a and kinder...I get a lot of edifying discussionz and comradery from Autumn's Common Place community on the Mighty app. Highly recommend!!!...she is a treasure trove of wisdom on everything Classical Charlotte Mason, and so are the 600 + members.

[@bloominginthelight]

@@HolisticUly I've never heard of that community. Does she use The CMEC as well? Don't know love the Kinderleben guide from the CMEC?? I wish I had a little to use it with. Enjoy Form 1. It's so sweet and simple and full of TBG! It all is but the reading load gets challenging (in a good way) as you go up.

[@lellachu1682]

It's so good to see other Catholic CMEC families! We've just finished our third year with the CMEC (Forms 1-4, and one graduate) and we love it! Honestly, Form 1 isn't my favorite, and there can be quite a learning curve as a mother-teacher. But once you hit Form 2, it only gets better each year!

[@bloominginthelight]

I love that other Catholic moms are responding to this video. I love the sharing here about the CMEC. Congrats on a graduate!! Thank you for the comments about high school - that's really helpful.

[@guadalupeacademy]

Okay I love seeing another Catholic mom who has joined the CMEC!! I am highly considering joining next school year when my son will be preK age.

[@bloominginthelight]

Their Kinderleben guide is SO worth the $300, plus the mother culture! You will be so set up for success if you start now! I wish my kids were just starting out! Plus you can do the Common Subjects songs and singing games now too.

[@steadfastschoolhouse]

Love this video! We struggled with the CMEC this year, as it was our first, but we signed up again and ready to begin having all this knowledge and support to guide us. It really is so amazing with all the resources they provide!! Totally worth it!

[@bloominginthelight]

This is our third year. Every year things click more. It's a lot but I'm really committed. It truly gives back way more when I put in the up front effort. What form(s) are you in?

[@steadfastschoolhouse]

@@bloominginthelight I agree. Plus I think that other curriculums I’ve used in the past, trying to understand the way they implemented CM principles, were maybe not exactly the way they should have been implemented. Lots of growth, learning, and reflecting for me. We are in forms 1AU and 2AU.

[@bloominginthelight]

I have a 2AL and a 3A this year, so Neil is just a year behind your oldest! The jump from 1 to 2 was so intense and then from 2-3. Since we didn't start with CM and the CMEC from the beginning it's taken me a couple years. Both kids started out near the top of a form and then transitioned. This coming year they're both again in 2 and 3 so the books are familiar and we're adding in Plutarch and Citizenship after some false starts out first year. It's been a journey! I just made my timetables SO quickly the other day though. If you ever want to chat CMEC, email me and maybe we can Marco Polo about it! I have CMEC MP group already set up with a couple friends.

[@bloominginthelight]

Also, your videos on your YT page are impressive. My ideal self is that organized and put together. haha

[@valeriesearles3000]

Sounds great ! I keep hoping they will come out with a "resource plus beauty option" something that could be used for moms who already have a different curriculum but would love teacher training and things like handcrafts etc.

[@bloominginthelight]

That's an interesting idea. What curriculum are you using?

[@valeriesearles3000]

@@bloominginthelight we are enrolled with MODG.

[@bloominginthelight]

@@valeriesearles3000 So many Catholics use MODG and love it. :)

[@mummymcphee6342]

So happy that you are back! Listening to you has been such a blessing. I have just signed up for the CMEC for the first time. May I ask what math curriculum you use? I was set on RightStart but the CMEC suggests Beauty & Truth so now I am torn!

[@bloominginthelight]

Yay! Another CMECer. Will you be at the Common Subjects launch live? I will!! (first year being in the same time zone!) For math, both kids use Teaching Textbooks and I supplement when needed with Simple CM's Arithmetic books, which are beautiful and simple and very approachable. Highly recommend! In the path, before CMEC I used Math U See, TGTB, and Seton. Math has been a very tricky subject. There's a GREAT podcast by Sterling Jaquith about math that's quite eye-opening. I think my friend Kate is using Beauty & Truth. I'll see if she's up for commenting.

[@mummymcphee6342]

@@bloominginthelight Thank you so much for replying! Yes, I am hoping to make it but I am in the UK. I will try to find the podcast and give that a listen. So far, I haven't really found a math curriculum that 'clicks' as such. It's difficult to find many reviews online about Beauty & Truth so having a hard time comparing them!

[@HolisticUly]

Wait...are you back on KZbin?! 😮 I used to watch What Laura Likes!

[@bloominginthelight]

Yes! Did you miss my announcement video? kzbin.info/www/bejne/haCzn6Z9p66mabcsi=yUjWjcGtFVqKxcza

[@HolisticUly]

@@bloominginthelight I missed it, this particular video just popped up in my feed...the algorithm is something else.

[@bloominginthelight]

Very true! I did a quick video over on WLL explaining the new channel but again, it obviously didn't get over to everyone. I don't have social media anymore to post on so I'm not sure how else to get the news out. Other than maybe word of mouth.

[@HolisticUly]

@@bloominginthelight totally there with you. I parted with my special media as well. I closed my Punch and Judy Pegs shop too, and just really enjoy the quiet, hidden, CM lifestyle.

[@AndreaSorial]

I was just coming to say this!!! I'm so excited. We love CMEC too!!!!!!❤ You look great. Welcome back

[@genesisdejesus35]

I signed up a couple weeks ago and I feel lost honestly… I think I should’ve gone with alveary as they lay out the lesson plans for you! I wish I would’ve known before joining the cmec waaaaaah

[@bloominginthelight]

TRUST the process!! It will get so much easier. You can email me for help. Or email the Form leader, who is so helpful. What form are you in?

[@allisont.0478]

I sent an email to the CMEC, but haven’t heard back yet a month later. Maybe you would have some insight. How challenging would it be to use the CMEC on a January to November schedule instead of the standard school schedule? Trying to decide if I need to change our schedule around before joining in the next year.

[@bloominginthelight]

I'm sure there are members who do that! I can check the chat board to see if there's a thread. The biggest challenge would be all of the live support and meetings are around a traditional schedule. Could you shift it to where you're doing Term 1 work in the Fall and Term 2 winter/ spring and Term 3 summer?

[@JH-kg9gu]

I'm assuming CMEC is not specifically Catholic. Is it "Catholic friendly" for each of the subjects, particularly for history and religion?

[@bloominginthelight]

You're right. It's based on CM's original curriculum and that was my concern at first too. Yet Amy and Celeste are both Catholic and Celeste puts out a blog post each year with Catholic picks for religion and history. That said, at first I was scrupulous about the curriculum and didn't have peace with the Protestant voices. But recently I realized I see two women with large Catholic families having peace and joy using these voices. So I'm "all in" and trusting God. And there are Catholic choices such as we're doing St Hildegard's music this term.

[@janiraplude7949]

Hi Laura. Where can we find Celeste’s blog posts with her Catholic book picks? Do you have to be a member to see those?

[@bloominginthelight]

@@janiraplude7949 They're at her website. Did I not link it in the description? Here's her post from last year: joyouslessons.blogspot.com/2023/06/catholic-history-and-religion-2023-24.html. Last year she posted June 18 so expect this year's selections around that time.

[@not_phantomyt5507]

How is the science? I heard the information in the books they chose are very outdated. Choosing the books Charlotte Mason used during her time will not be appropriate for what we know today about modern science. There has been so many developments since that time and unless you, the mother, is very well-versed in science where you can see these inconsistencies, then you are passing on information that is not considered "truth".

[@bloominginthelight]

Yes, they are the original books. I was also concerned about that. And some of the science books have an evolution overtone I have to pre-read and warn my kids about. That said, they provide amazing guides and the base information and living voice has been such a joy. The goal is not perfect information but the ideas within the content. This is an education of ideas. We supplement with videos and encyclopedias but all of the basic science is still true. It was actually very fun to read what they thought about the moon, to see that most was accurate even today, and then to watch some videos and read some articles to update it. I've gone through all of the emotions and thoughts re the older books and at this point I have 100% peace about what the CMEC is doing with their book selections.

[@lellachu1682]

The CMEC's high school science program is up to date. One mom, who is a scientist, said that she'd pay the membership fee just for their science curriculum as she thinks it's the best out there.