6 Reasons to use CM's PNEU Charts

Scheduling.  It is a crazy business.  In my years I have tried many iterations and I have decided that the PNEU schedule might be the best way to go.  The PNEU was the parent education branch of Charlotte Mason's philosophy. You can see more about scheduling this way at Sabbath Mood Homeschool.   This is the "original" schedule reorganized to show all grades on one page.  Here is a sample chart, can this really make it easier??  

This is for the youngest kids - 1st to 3rd grade.  I won't go into details of what all these things mean but do want to talk about how it has helped our house.  I do agree with Afterthoughts, who reminded us last week, that the charts aren't the point.  But . . . they were used and with good reason. Here is what I have found.

1.  Decision Fatigue - Do you see ALL of those subjects?  Can you imagine trying EVERY week to figure out how you will fit everything in and for how long, etc?  In Volume 3, decision fatigue is the modern term for what she is talking about.  Her example is in relation to young children and parents asking them to make choices that aren't appropriate for their age. . . but.  With such a "feast" it can be hard to decide how and when to lay it out.  Putting together a schedule isn't easy BUT once it is done you have made the decisions and you can just go with it.    If you find yourself making tacos and pizza every night for dinner and turning on the TV - it may be a sign of decision fatigue.  CM was right again about decision fatigue and willpower.  

I have tried to use block scheduling as explained in Teaching From Rest.  It was not really restful because of the cajoling that happened around here.  Which leads me to my next point . .

2.  Less room for negotiating - With time blocks my oldest was still trying to negotiate ALL THE TIME.  Well how about I play for the first 15 minutes (use up the margin first) and then work?  Do I have to do it in this order or can I do it different today?  What if I just do some of the time and save some for later?  GOOD GRACIOUS!  With a timetable it is pretty easy to just DO IT.  I don't want to negotiate - just do what it says.  He still tries but I have a firmer rule with a chart.

Gretchen Rubin in Better Than Before talks about different personalities and habit change.  Some people need to go cold turkey and others can handle a treat every now and then.  I am a COLD TURKEY person (who knew)?  For me having a schedule is like quitting randomness in our schedule with no outs.  Now, in reality, we still sometimes go to the park before we finish dictation but we are MUCH better than we were.

I have also tried the notebook method.  Let's just say I was inconsistent and still tried to keep most things in my head.  There was no order to the day and it wasn't easy to see where we had spent our time.

3.  Keeping the Feast - Honestly, with notebooks there was always something that wasn't getting done because something else came up, we got distracted, etc.  I would often realize that I left something out the night before and then the battle of "Mom, you are adding more - that's not fair" would begin.  Often things like picture study or handicrafts never made it on the list. The timetables make sure that you have everything included in your week at some point.  The schedule is posted and everyone (well, all those who can read) can help ensure that we are keeping it together.  My oldest can read and know what is coming next and move on without me - if it is something he can do alone (read the next book).  I can share the "keeping" with others because it isn't all in my head.  I used to get frustrated because my son wasn't a mind reader - a timetable minimizes that issue.

4.  Sanity and Attention  - As I have added students, some subjects and children need more guidance than others.  This is the first year I have had two in full time schooling. With the notebook method we ran into conflict everyday.  My older son would wait until I was just settling in with someone else to say that he needed my help RIGHT NOW! Then, of course, it became my fault that he wasn't able to do his work.  How convenient??  (Yes, I realize there are other character things going on here).  

With a schedule you take these factors into account.  You can think through who needs help with math and what someone else can do independently at that time.  Factoring these things in your planning can save your sanity and cut down on disputes. It also allows you to more fully focus on the child in front of you because that is what is supposed to happen during that time (not that interruptions won't happen but you know where your focus should be).  Now, some mom's with notebooks probably created a fantastic schedule to help kids move through their notebooks each day in an orderly fashion.

However the PNEU schedule includes one key element that doesn't get discussed many other places . . .

5.  Variety - When I used the notebooks I lumped like subjects together.  Therefore, we didn't switch the type of brain food we were getting that often.  We would sit and read for long stretches (different things, but still).  CM is big on changing out the type of work you are doing and using short lessons "because a change is as good as a break".  We weren't switching tracks because once we started we just kept going.  This wasn't good for any of us.  Using the charts makes sure we are covering the whole feast AND switching up the type of work we are doing consistently.  It also helps us keep the times short.  Knowing you only have 15 minutes really does help you to focus in and apply yourself to a subject.  Nebulous statements like do Ch. 15, don't have quite the same effect.

6.  ENOUGH! - For me this works two ways.  Looking at those schedules you realize just how FULL the curriculum is and I can say - that is enough.  I trust that, over the course of a the year, we are probably going to cover enough to feed my children's minds and draw them into relationships with a variety of subjects.  That is huge.

However, on a daily basis I can also say ENOUGH.  Before I always felt like we were still missing something (often we were) or adding "just a little bit more" (Andrew Kern cautions strongly against this).  Whether it was an "extra" (like art, that isn't extra) or going just a little longer with math - it wasn't helping us.

Using the chart I have already decided (with the help of others with many more years of experience) that this will be ENOUGH for today and that in the end it will be enough overall.  So, if we follow what it says doing 2 or 3 hours of school is enough.  I can be done, my kids can be done and we can move on to other pursuits.  That never really happened before.  I was always trying to fit in more.   Now there is a time for everything and it is enough.

If you want to think more about this type of scheduling there are now even handy cards that can help you think through these things.  I thought that randomness would lead to freedom.  In my house it led to stress and frustration.  A schedule has reduced conflict, enriched our curriculum and allowed me to enjoy the rest of my day.  I'd love to hear what you do!

Circle Time - Part 1, the plan

Well week one went well.  Basically we did our work in the morning and played all afternoon - soaking up the last rays of summer (it was 102 most of the week - so we were in the pool or indoors).  After such a good week of solid morning work I wonder why we are adding in all of these other morning responsibilities! But, alas, they do seem to serve a purpose.

The main difference was reading aloud.  We really didn't read aloud at all this summer because we were playing and I didn't really feel up to it.  We listened to lots of books on tape though.  We started back with our morning time readings that typically occur while my kids get breakfast.  This includes:

Watts' Family Vision for Education and Key Ideas for Life - The first is basically our mission statement for education (mostly cobbled together from what I have gathered from those who are older and wiser than myself). The second is a series of 8 quick phrases that I want my kids to understand about our relationship with God and others.  The concept comes from 24 family ways.  I don't have the book but somewhere I found her list, prayed about it for us and this is what I use now.  We do one a week and talk about it from different viewpoints.  This week we focused on "The Big Story: Creation, Incarnation and Recreation".  It fit in really nicely since we were reading the Creation story this week.

Last year we also talked about a core virtues (the four cardinal virtues and then the three theological virtues and added in the few suggested by N.T. Wright's After You Believe - chastity, humility and patience (or LONG SUFFERING).   I would try to focus on how these are developed in community (not just one hero) and how we need God to really guide us into them. This year we are NOT doing it (yet) because it seems like overkill and stories do a much better job.  At some point (middle school) I will probably use Jenny Rallens' (her 2014 talks was AMAZING) approach and then have them trace these through the literature and history that they read (a la Mortimer Adler 103 great ideas).  I still refer to them as appropriate (without trying to moralize) when we are reading stories together.

Bible (following the suggestions from the Golden Bible Book found in Introduction to Classical Studies),

Prayers - I ask the kids if they have any specific prayer requests - often they revolve around Grandma's, legos and friends. We then do two set prayers. This term it is the Collect for Guidance from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer (this is from prayers and reading you could do every morning - no wonder those who do it know their Psalms!)

Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our 

being: We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by 

your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our 

life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are 

ever walking in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Amen.

and the Lord's Prayer in Latin (which is being reinforced in Latina Christiana). 

Bible Memory work 1 Corinthian 13:4 - 8, Psalm 1 a few verses from Proverbs 21 (2, 3 and 23).

Motto: Have communion with few, be intimate with one, deal justly with all, speak evil of none. 
I found this in an old hymnal/ prayer book - no idea where - but I really like it.

Latin - Some mornings I try to read Latin.  I am POSITIVE I am pronouncing it wrong but oh well!  Last year we read aloud the translation passages from Visual Latin (that follow the Bible) but this year I am going to try the first history reader from Classical Academic Press that focuses on Roman history - which is one of our interests this year.

Poetry Memorization - There are poems we will get to through Memoria Press's Poetry for the Grammar Stage and Primary Language Lessons (we won't memorize all of the one's recommended there).  I decided that I wanted to work on a long poem because my oldest really does memorize pretty well.  I also wanted to keep it fun (knowing that Hiawatha might be next - but I didn't want to start there).  So, we are doing Casey at the Bat by Lawrence Ernest Thayer.  I was surprised that we both got the first stanza this week.  Today at the library I picked up the Maestro's Classics series that focuses on this poem - it is a fun way for him to listen to it again and again.  I'll probably keep it in the car.  

Poetry - We are also reading The World of Christopher Robin.  In part because I got it for 25 cents this summer and because my youngest is OBSESSED with Winnie the Pooh.  So, I put this at the end and try to draw him back in as we close with a poem or two.  

If the boys are still with me I try to read the book from Proverbs that matches the date.  The oldest isn't quite 8 yet, so I don't push it too often.

This whole process probably takes about 20 to 30 minutes depending on spilled food, whining for more food, if we get involved in a conversation, etc.  So we have this covered by about 8 am!  I am blessed because my husband is home to help take care of the food while I focus on the reading.  I also try to remember to dismiss, as many have mentioned, with "The Lord be With You" and "Also With You."

It worked well this week because we didn't have anywhere to be in the morning.  It might fall apart when we need to leave the house by 8:30 or so.  This week we did this until about 7:45 and then the kids played (often outside, while it was only in the mid 80s) and did their morning round up (chores, teeth, beds, clothes, etc.).  We started our individual work around 9:00.

We are doing Classical Conversations this year so I might add in a few of the memory components here - but I haven't really thought through that yet.  Probably do it mostly in the car like we did last year.

This is circle time - part 1 - later in the day we pick up other weekly readings and oral work - typically in conjunction with a snack or lunch (it helps keep the youngest one occupied).  I'll talk more about what else we are reading in another post.  This year my oldest is having to do more individual work - mostly writing - he tried to put up a little fight, but was fairly easily overcome.  Again, we can talk about that at another time.