The first thing I would like to express is that homeschooling does not have to be "school at home". It doesn't have to take up the whole entire day, and it can be fun for both parent and child. It doesn't have to mean six hours on Zoom or a cyberschool.
In homeschooling, you can read great books with your kids or have children who can read, read on their own. I will tell you from my years of experience as a homeschool mom, my boys' favorite part of homeschooling was having me read aloud to them. I did my best to use different voices for different characters, which was a big part of why they enjoyed it, but you don't have to do that if you prefer not to. However, just sitting together on the couch and reading aloud to your child(ren) creates special memories and a special bond for you and your child(ren).
Another great thing about books is that you can use one book to cover more than one subject. Here are some examples for different ages:
One Tiny Turtle is a great book to read aloud with kids in Preschool through first or or second grade, and it's a great story that allows your child to learn about the life of a Loggerhead Turtle. This can count for English because you are reading literature to your child, and for science because it teaches about the life of a Loggerhead Turtle. You can even add an art lesson by asking your child to create their best drawing of the tiny baby Loggerhead Turtle.
Hitty, Her First Hundred Years is a great book that you can use in so many ways! This was one of the first books I read aloud to my youngest son. It's great for second through fourth or fifth grade students. It follows the story of Hitty and what happens to her in one hundred years. I used this book to have my son create a booklet in which he created maps of the travels of Hitty, he drew and colored pictures of some of his favorite pictures in the book, and he wrote about some of his favorite scenes/adventures. Therefore, we could count this for English including writing, Art, and Geography.
A Murder for Her Majesty was a favorite of my youngest son's during his middle school years. Reading this story allowed us to discuss many things that happened in the story. This can be counted for both English and History, and for additional history credit or to have something to show your evaluator, you could have your child write a report on Queen Elizabeth I or the Yorkshire Cathedral.
Les Miserables is a great story to read aloud with your high school student or have them read on their own. My oldest son enjoyed this book so much the first time, that he chose to read it a second time. All of my boys have a love for learning and reading, but my oldest is the most self-motivated, and he never liked when we took our summer break. So, during the summer break after his 8th grade year, he chose to read the complete "unabridged" Les Miserables and found so much about the French Revolution in the book that when he finished reading the book, he wrote a report on the French Revolution over his summer vacation! Then in his 11th grade year, he took a class at a homeschool co-op with a teacher who taught the "abridged" version of Les Miserables, and at the end of the reading of the book, the teacher showed the dramatic movie version of Les Miserables, starring Liam Neeson, to the students. So, this book can be used for English and History, and it also gives you so many great things to talk about with your student if you read it with them because there are so many themes that run through the book: forgiveness, redemption, revenge, and so much more.
Again, if you have any further questions, please feel free to leave a comment and I will respond. Also, I highly suggest you click the "Homeschool Legal Defense Association" link on my sidebar and search for your state's Homeschool Law and read it carefully so that you understand exactly what your state requires. If you need help understanding, you can contact someone from the Homeschool Legal Defense Association for further information.
If you live in Pennsylvania, I can answer your questions because that is the state we live in.
No comments:
Post a Comment