Not exactly wordless wednesday-Questions that need answering about our homeschool.

Since I've been in the throes of back to schoolishness, I have been blogging about homeschooling a lot. Which means that lots of other homeschooling familes have been reading my blogs, and checking out the CLAA where we homeschool. Which then leads them to the two MILLION questions that I asked myself before signing up.
One of the hardest things for our family was understanding the vast amounts of information on the website.... we literally spent hours reading and still felt like we had no idea what it would look like in practical theory. We were also worried about the primary means of information being the computer, since we did NOT want our kids in front of a computer all day! Well, eventually, we decided to try it anyways based on the rave reviews families were giving us who had tried it or been using it, and in the last month, as I've said, we have LOVED it and it has truly lived up to its' promises.

I'm now getting lots of questions about it, so I thought it would be helpful to do a "how we do it" blog.
PLEASE keep in mind this very important disclaimer. We are a BRAND NEW CLAA family with very young children... our kids are in Petty School, and not Academy students. So everything we do pertains to Petty School and might change later on. From what I understand, though, the system is the same in Petty School and in Academy, with Academy being, obviously, far more challenging and far-reaching. Because the system is the same, and everything builds on itself, no matter what age your children are they can all work together and go at their own pace. This makes the program very easy for large families and one thing I find wonderful! We live in the suburbs, and this is how we live right now. Some CLAA families live on farms, some on urban farms, some in cities. Some work, some don't. There is no cookie cutter mold, and this is the way OUR Family has implemented it. However, I could comfortably say that if our situation changed tomorrow, I would keep using CLAA.... it is possible no matter what the scenario. Also, remember that in NO WAY do we represent the CLAA or the Michael Family. 


So, without further ado, here is a photo tutorial about homeschooling with CLAA and how it works.

PART ONE: MOM'S PART
QUESTION ONE: What do you need to begin schooling with CLAA? Is it really as "liberating" as people say it is?
ANSWER: we needed a computer and a printer, a rosary for each person seven and older (we got one for each person, period, and use the unbreakable cord ones for the littles) alongside the following items: 
TWO three-ring binders, one for school and one for home management.
ONE folder for each child who is schooling.
ONE copy of the Liturgy of the Hours/Christian prayer one volume edition per person over seven in the house.
I find that I need a Bible and use it every day with them. That's really all you need. Pretty amazing, huh?

I have to say, this was one of the most refreshing changes for me, who was considering getting floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall shelving just to accomodate the insane amounts of expensive curriculum materials I was having to buy, borrow, use, and even STORE (because if I can find one I will be using ten years from now for a decent price now, you bet I'm gonna get it!) My first official act as a CLAA mommy was to GET RID of all the extra books and curriculum materials. And the purge continues, I'll be finding stuff for the next year, I'm sure! Good riddance.... thanks for the extra space, CLAA.

QUESTION TWO: So what do you keep in your binders/folders? What is the system and how does it work?

ANSWER: The children are required to do two things in each class-- memorize the lesson and do any writing exercises. On my end, it is very helpful to remain organized and set goals for them each week so that we stay on task. Here is my system: 

In the folders, I keep their written assignments which I have printed out and they are working on on the left alongside some sheets of blank paper to practice on. The upcoming assignments I have printed go on the left. I staple the sheets together into packets for each lesson to complete. Once they have finished, it goes out of the left side and into my binder, where dividers seperate the work by child. Then the child can take the new assignment from the right and get to work.

Inside the SCHOOL Binder, page one is the Schedule. That way I can check the time and check it to make sure we stay where we are supposed to be.

Page TWO is tips for our family culture, to remind me to stay on target with our goals, and also a printout of the week's lessons in every subject so I can drill them and work with them without getting on the computer. We can go outside, go in their rooms, I can drill them while I cook.

Page THREE is their goal sheet for the day and week. It helps me to make sure they are completing the work and not getting behind.

Behind that goes their actual written work, separated by dividers bearing each child's name (in this case, number).

Second binder contains my home management system (think, my organizer)

This has a copy of the schedule in it too, and then a printout of how the system works that William Michael wrote. You can download the system from him but it's tailored to CLAA and I don't know how helpful it would be for others. For me, it's perfect-- like using a really good Franklin Covey planner tailored to my lifestyle. It contains all of those elements plus some handy goal sheets that help you keep track of how your students are learning and what lessons they are doing next.

In the middle is the system itself (calendar, task lists, etc) and in the back is an envelope to hold mail that needs filing, pens, a thermometer , checkbook, etc. (hi Josemaria!)  and yes, I keep my NFP Charts in there too (these are from my vacation last month away from my husband, no laughing. :D)

I also have our clan motto, mission statement, and rules:

and..... a basic chore list organized by day of the week that I've used in the past. I am in the process of revising it so that it works better now that we have more chores and responsibilities around here, and more little helpers to do it all. This one, honestly, is kind of hilarious to me now because it is so outdated, and yet I remember how not very long ago I found it so challenging to keep up with just these menial tasks! There is LIGHT at the end of the tunnel, that's for sure.

OK, so now, the BIG question. The Kids' part! What does it look like? I apologize if I have to re-use some pictures that I've recently used but I don't have the time to take new ones and I think they will accurately illustrate the point.

STEP ONE: The kids are engaged in a daily culture of prayer and hard work.

STEP TWO: The kids complete rigorous academic exercises, memorize their work, and complete written assignments. They start by watching the lesson once on video (maybe a few times if it's tough) for about ten minutes. They can all do it together, or work at their own pace, and even the littles can participate. And even I learn something new. :)

After they have seen the video, I sit down with them and work on making sure they learn it. They do this together or one at a time, as needed. In the picture below, I'm working with my oldest while my middle does laundry and my youngest plays quietly on the floor. We're using a magnetic doodle pad to work, but you don't really even need that.

Lastly, you go about your normal business (here, the kids are doing a nature study outside. While we walk, I drill them on their lessons so we just keep at it all day, no matter what we are doing.)

Then, they sit down to do their written work. Once they are all done, I quiz them, and if I think they are ready, they take the test for that lesson. If they pass, they move on. If they fail, they stick with the same lesson as long as it takes to get it. It's that easy!

More than a few people have asked me about the discipline and prayer life at home... what that means, what it entails. I would say that there are a few guidelines which are "recommended" by Mr. Michael. They are involve specific devotions/prayers/ways of living your faith.  People have asked me if the Michaels check up on your family culture. I kind of laugh, because I wondered that too, but now it seems silly. They are adamant because they want you to do it since it will help your homeschool. But they have no idea what goes on in your home (hello? They are a CURRICULUM PROVIDER, not a cult, even though they have a cult following. :D)  and so we do it a little differently.
They recommend praying the liturgy of the hours, and base alot of later religion coursework on it. My kids are WAY too young to follow along, but I do it anyways, because it's good for them. They recommend doing so in the Family Chapel, which they recommend placing in the "spare room" instead of a playroom or office. We have a family altar and that is where we say our morning prayers, and we say our evening prayers in bed. Not because we don't want a family chapel, but because we don't have one, and right now, we can't have one.

During the day, we use the family altar, but I don't pray daytime prayer from liturgy of the hours. Instead, I will praise and worship with the kids, or read to them from the readings of the day.
He recommends going to mass. But he does NOT recommend going to daily mass unless you CAN. And I love that, because.... we can't! :) Nevertheless if things change and we suddenly live next door to a Parish or something, we will.
He recommends frequent reception of the sacraments. We go to confession as a family every Saturday, and Mass as often as possible.
He has a list of daily CLAA prayers, they are the basic prayers every Catholic says. We sometimes start and end our day with them, or sometimes start our day with St Patrick's Breastplate and in the evening, the "Evening prayer for the family" and Litany for the Church.
We pray the rosary together every day. Sometimes twice a day!
That's about it as far as devotional PRACTICES go, but then are the choices-- what to wear, watch, say etc. I'm always trying to build up a culture of eternal life in the house, whatever that means to you. To me, it means teaching them about the Lord when they lie down, and when they rise up, and when they walk on the way.... etc.
As far as discipline goes, in our house anyways, we just don't encourage foolishness. We want smart, holy , serious kids and we provide them with the means to achieve that through correction and training and teaching and example, but at the same time, we are a very loving, very happy, very fun family. We are always laughing and always being sweet to one another. Well, not always, but you know what I mean! I try to build up my husband, and he tries to build me up and encourage me. We know our kids imitate us, so we are as kind as we can be to them, and they respond by being loving and kind. And we love adventures. So when I say that we are working towards being "disciplined" I mean that we set boundaries and are firm with them, we try to train away selfishness and foolishness and pride and lust and gluttony and envy and deceit and things like that. We hate laziness. That kind of thing. Our motto around here is to be good, and do good. And our Clan Motto has historically been: "I will endure." I think THAT about sums up the discipline side of it.  There is no lack of hugs and kisses, laughter and fun.... but our focus and goal is to get to heaven and bring everyone we know with us, so we don't waste time because we know it's precious, and there is work to do.
I HOPE this has been helpful to anyone seeking out more information about the practical application of the CLAA curriculum, and I would love to hear your comments and questions. Blessings!