Webinar Reminder :: Exams in the CM Homeschool!

Hi friends!  Happy Friday!

Just wanted to remind you about the "Exams in the Charlotte Mason Homeschool" webinar I'll be doing for the Learning How to Live community this coming Tuesday at 8pm Eastern.  If you haven't signed up yet but were planning to, please head over there to get yourself on the list!

Edited to add: The webinar is over, but you can still purchase the replay by following the same link!

I'm really excited about the chance to chat on this topic in a live audio/video format.  If you've been around my blog for any length of time, you know this is an area of passion and interest for me.  And thanks to the flexibility of the platform, I'll have the chance to get into more detail than I've been able to before!

Just to give you a peek at some of the topics I'll be covering:

:: how exams looked in the PNEU, especially in light of the culture of English schools at the time
:: the inspiring vision for exams from the volumes, Parents Review articles, the programmes and examination booklets themselves, and more gems from the archives
:: specific ways that exam questions change through the Forms and what that tells us about the intellectual development of our students, the curriculum we offer them, and the methods we use
:: a clear articulation of principles from her approach and how we can carry over that mindset into our own homes
:: nitty-gritty suggestions toward creating and implementing exams with your children
:: the tremendously fruitful process of assessment, and strategies for applying what we learn through that process to benefit our homeschools
:: common difficulties and reservations, and options for troubleshooting those

I have pulled examples to share from our term exams through the years, and am looking forward to answering the questions I have received so far -- and am up for more as well!  And, of course, the workshop will feature a healthy dose of real-life experience, because as a mom of eight very different children, that's where I'm coming from. ;)

I'm hoping it will be valuable to both newbies and veterans alike.

If you'd like to sign up, now's the time!  Registration will close on Monday.  Head over to Learning How to Live for more information.

{This and That} :: Announcements!

Hi friends! I hope May is treating you kindly.  I know it has been a bit quiet here, but that's only because I've been busy elsewhere...

First up: my interview with the wonderful Cindy Rollins on The Mason Jar aired last week!  She invited me to talk about exams primarily, and we also snuck in a little about how to commit to regular nature study outings with lots of littles.

I mentioned this on my Keeping Company post, but I'll share here too in case you missed it: my friend Dawn invited me to share about nature journaling as part of her "Hobbies for Homeschool Moms" series at Homeschool Solutions with Pam Barnhill. This little interview was a treat to write up and I hope it encourages mamas to start journals alongside their kids, which is my first piece of advice for troubleshooting children's lack of interest in nature study. Summer is the perfect time to start a new hobby, moms!  So be sure to follow along with Dawn's monthly series, in which she explores lots of different options for find a soul-feeding activity you can enjoy.

This past week was also my turn to host the @charlottemasonirl account over on Instagram.  Our theme was the Science of Relations, and there were so many rich posts shared by the community that I had a real challenge curating them for our feed!  Even if you're not signed up for Instagram, the account is public, which means you can look through all of this week's shares if you are interested. I think you'll find a lot of inspiration and encouragement there. I know I have.  This week we're talking about narration, which I know is a topic people are full of questions about.  Go have a peek!

I told you I have been busy elsewhere! ;)

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One last special announcement:

At the invitation of Amy and Camille of Learning How to Live, I am offering a webinar on Charlotte Mason-style exams in the homeschool later this month.

Over the years of sharing our family's exam process here on the blog, I have received many questions from fellow moms about how to create, implement, and assess end-of-term exams.  I had the wonderful chance to chat about that recently on The Mason Jar (linked above!), and between that interview and many blog posts here on the topic, there's plenty for you to get started on Charlotte Mason-style exams with your students.

But if you'd like to hear more about how exams worked in the PNEU and how we can apply those principles and practices as mother-teachers, or if you have lingering questions you are hoping I might be able to help with, this webinar will provide you the opportunity to either get the footing you need to get started or enliven your understanding and enrich your experience.  I've been doing lots of research into this area over the past year and am excited to be able to share some of the things I've learned in this unique format.  I'm hoping it will be a helpful and encouraging resource for those that attend!

For more information about how to register for the webinar and what topics we'll cover, please head over to Learning How to Live. Also, feel free to comment here with any questions you might have and I'll try to fit them into my talk!

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On a related note (although this really was just a coincidence in timing!): I finally have all my scanning and filing for the year finished and am ready to share all of our term exams.  So I'll be doing that over the next couple days, first for Year 5 and then for Form I.

If you're not interested in exams, bear with me while I get these couple posts up and into my archives. I promise I'll move on to new topics next week. ;)  (And if you are, then lots of examples to come!)

Coming up after that, I have some posts for this month already ready and waiting in my drafts folder: What We're Reading for May, our Morning Basket plans from the last term of the year, spring nature study notes, a description of how we do Summer School, and more about our homeschool community's Shakespeare Festival.

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On to other topics:  my allergies have been in attack mode and our family has caught every cold going around this spring, but other than that, it has been a pleasant few weeks: we got to the beach last week, I completed the seasonal clothing switch-out and lived to tell the tale, we celebrated Xavier's 7th birthday, and I finally got some plans for summer break worked out.

 

What are you up to this month?

Happy Monday!