After my knee surgery I spent almost an entire week in bed and I spent a lot of time on my laptop. Our co-op follows the classical model of schooling and I have found a lot of curriculum that goes along with that style that I really like. But, one thing that I really was missing this year was reading with the kids. Not that classical schooling in anyway dissuades you from reading with your kids, but I found that it was one of the first things to be pushed off until the next day when we fell behind in our schoolwork. Reading with the kids is one of the greatest pleasures I have being home with them, and I was missing some of the joy in our school days because of not making it a priority.
So, while I was spending time on the computer I came across several Charlotte Mason sites that I really connected with. To understand a portion of what Charlotte Mason believed here is an explanation about how she viewed books from this web site. Reading this helped me re examine our schooling and decide to make reading time with the kids a priority.
Charlotte’s students used living books rather than dry textbooks. Living books are usually written in narrative or story form by one author who has a passion for his topic. A living book makes the subject “come alive.”
As I searched out Charlotte Mason home-schoolers, there were wonderful book suggestions that I sifted through and began to place orders for. I was able to get many of the books used which also meant they were from individual sellers, so several times a week I would find a package in our mail box. I LOVE getting mail, so this was a real treat for me!! That, on top of Christmas cards, made this one of the best December mail months ever! :) As the packages continued to arrive, Andy said to me one night, "So this is what you were doing on your computer." :)
Since I couldn't go upstairs for several weeks after surgery, we schooled downstairs instead of in our usual area in the loft. Instead of jumping right into our seat work, we would all find a spot on the couch and begin our day with reading. It was wonderful! Now, some days it would take us about 15 minutes to figure out where everyone was sitting, who was sitting next to who, who was sharing whose blanket with who, etc. But, once we got settled, I would begin reading and they would be captivated by the stories. Some days the littles could sit for longer periods than others, and at times they would slither off of the couch and begin to play quietly within a few feet of us.
Some of the things that I have helpful found when reading aloud are:
- Begin with books that interest the younger children. If I could settle them with one of their books, they would tend to stay and listen as we moved on to other books that were a little more advanced. Plus, my older ones still find pleasure in these books, as do I.
- Find books that contain colorful and interesting illustrations. It definitely helps to have pictures to capture their attention. Especially on pages with longer narrations.
- Linger over the pages. I used to read a story (short stories) cover to cover without stopping. But I have found that with these shorter books, especially ones with wonderful illustrations, it's so nice to stop on each page and ask them questions about what I read or what we see. They love pointing out animals, or flowers, or anything else that they see.
- When I'm reading chapter books, we set up some sort of toys that they can play quietly with while I read. Since there are rarely pictures in these books it's almost impossible to get the little ones to sit still quietly. You can erase "almost" in that last sentence. :) I know that the littles may not follow the story, but the big boys get an opportunity to follow along and play. Most days this goes really well because they know if they aren't doing this quietly we will move on from reading and begin our other work. :) Many times we will get out our Imaginext and play quietly with them. Today they had cars and trucks out because they had built structures out of Magformers and Arx that they got for Christmas.
So here is a sampling of how we began today.
Ellis got this book for Christmas and she loves it!
We were introduced to Richard Scarry books when Drew was younger and he has become one of my favorite children's authors. These books have some of the most interesting and colorful illustrations I have ever seen, and as you can see from the second picture, there are so many details to linger over on each page.
This was one of the new books I had received in the mail over the holidays and it was a sweet book based on a true story of a young girl becoming a teacher. We took our time talking about the story and examining the pictures. It will definitely be a re-read for us. :)
This has become a daily read for us. It is filled with well known fairy tales, poems, and stories I'm unfamiliar with. The illustrations are colorful and plentiful. (There are a few black and white pictures sprinkled though out.) I came across this series of books several months ago and went ahead and ordered them. I was able to get a used set consisting of 10 of the 12 in the series. It progresses from simple stories to much more in depth in the upper books. I did look on Amazon the other day and it looks like they have significantly gone up in price, but wanted to mention them in case any of you ever come across them. :)
We did not read this next book today, but it is one of the ones I recently ordered and gifted to Drew for Christmas. I mention it because as Knox and I were working on some copy work today, his sentence was about Winnie-the-Pooh. Drew chimed in that he knew how Winnie-the-Pooh came about. It was not only fascinating for me to learn about, but I also delighted in the fact that my 8 year old was able to teach us about it based on a book he has been reading. (The third picture tells about Winnie-the-Pooh's origin for those interested.)
And finally, this is our current read-a-loud. We don't get to it everyday, but I just pick up wherever we left off.
I'm so excited as I think about filling our days with more and more books. I realize that every home school mom is different and I need to be thoughtful about what not only brings the children joy, but also myself. Reading in our family seems to be a win/win.
If anyone has any must reads, please pass them along!
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