The Value of Living Books and Reading Aloud to Your Child(ren)

 

According to Charlotte Mason, a "living book" is usually written by one person who has a passion for the subject and writes in conversational or narrative style. The books pull you into the subject and involve your emotions, so it's easy to remember the facts and events. Living books make the subject "come alive". They can be contrasted to dry writing, like what is found in most encyclopedias and textbooks, which basically lists informational facts in summary form. You might be surprised to find that living books are available in most school subjects. (https://simplycharlottemason.com/faq/livingbook/)

The above pictured living book is a great children's book with beautiful pictures. I read this book with my youngest son and then found the lyrics to the song "Rockin' Robin" and played the song for him and taught him the words, so we combined this book and a song for science and music.

As for reading aloud to your child(ren), not only is it a fun activity, but it is an opportunity to increase the bond between you and your chidl(ren) and to create lasting memories. I read books aloud to all of my boys all the way to their high school graduation, and my oldest says it's still one of his favorite homeschool memories. I always do my best to change my voice for each character's dialogue lines, and even at the high school level, my boys enjoyed our read aloud time. My oldest also said, when he was home on school breaks from college, if he was doing something in the same or next room where I was reading aloud to our youngest son, he would become distracted from his own activity and find himself listening to me.

A favorite read aloud memory of my two older boys is my reading of "Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain. That book drove me crazy, and I would get frustrated when the bad guys kept showing up wherever Huck went for quite some time. The boys found that quite funny.

Homeschooling Because of Covid-19

 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.

Homeschooling Offers Opportunities

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted here. The past five years have seen my two oldest sons go away; one to college and one to Bible school, study and graduate from those educational facilities.

While they were busy furthering their education, I continued schooling my youngest son, who is seven years younger than my middle son. In addition, I have been working on writing my first historical romance novel and beginning a writing career, (but that journey is on another blog). 

I guess I didn't feel like I had much in new ideas or resources to offer during the past five years. But now, with Covid-19 affecting whether schools may or may not open in September and talk about the children having to wear masks and other regulations that parents are uncomfortable with, more parents are choosing to homeschool. Many wondering how to go about it or planning to implement something like "public or private school" at home.

I hope you will visit old posts here to see what I did with my first two sons in their homeschool years because most of those things are still relevant. In addition, I checked all the links to the Homeschool Curriculum Suggestions, Important Homeschool Links, Homeschool Resources, and the Homeschool Related DVDs to make sure they are still functioning and taking you to the correct websites, and all those, still listed, are, indeed, fully functional.

If you are wondering what the two photos at the top of this post are: the first is the "ink pen" from inside the squid, which is the second photo. My youngest son dissected this squid last school year in a Biology Labs class taught by a staff member at our local County Parks and Recreation Center.

In this post, I just want to encourage you, if you are homeschooling for the first time, or even if you've been homeschooling for a while. You don't have to homeschool alone, even if your location doesn't offer a lot of homeschool resources or groups. I will be posting here more frequently and my next post will be about homeschooling during Covid-19 because homeschooling as also been affected in some ways.

If you have specific questions about how to begin, what to do for a certain age or grade, or how to create a schedule, or anything else you are unsure of, please look at my "About Me" page. You will find my email address on that page. Please feel free to contact me personally, and I will give you information and encouragement based on my 17 years of experience.

What I've Learned About Co-Ops

This is my thirteenth year of homeschooling.  One of our boys has graduated and is in his first year of college, after taking two years off, in an honors program.  Our second son will graduate high school at the end of this school year, and our youngest son is in fifth grade this school year.

We became involved in a small co-op, that was just starting out, in our first or second year of homeschooling.  After two or three years, the lady who ran that co-op decided to leave, and I and another lady decided to take over because we didn't want to lose the co-op; both we and our children enjoyed it.  We ran it for about three or four years and then passed it on to someone else, but we continued to be involved in co-ops every year.

Now, let's define what a co-op is and what its definition is.  In our area, all of the co-ops we've been a part of, which is a total of four over the years, have been run the same way, and from what I know from talking to other homeschoolers in other co-ops, it seems that the majority of co-ops in our area are run the same way.  That is that moms have to teach or be a helper in a class and classes consist of children in several age groups or grades (i.e. Pre-K -- K-5; 1st - 3rd; 4th and 5th or 4th thru 6th; 6th - 8th or 7th & 8th; and 9th - 12th grades).  Each class is similar to a school classroom as far as a teacher teaches the subject and there is a helper in the room to help in whatever capacity is required.  The main differences between a co-op classroom and a regular classroom is that if kids are wiggling, it's okay, if they are drawing while listening to the teacher, it's okay, and the teacher tries to include activities that work for all of the learning styles, which means the class requires listening skills, visual skills, and hands-on activities.

Now, here are two definition for the word 'cooperative', (co-op for short), 1) involving mutual assistance in working toward a common goal, and 2) a farm, business, or other organization that is owned and run jointly by its members, who share the profits or benefits.

As I thought about the meaning of the word cooperative, I began to think that the co-ops in our area have stretched the definition and created something similar to school, and I have to admit, that we chose to homeschool for several reasons:  because our boys were facing issues in the Christian school we had them enrolled in that I didn't think we needed to deal with; because we want our boys to grow up knowing and believing in the one, true God and we wanted that to be part of their everyday learning; because we want them to know the truth of history; and because we want them to be able to learn at their own pace according to their interests.  (The first two reasons were our original reasons, the last two reasons have been added over the years.)

Our two older boys have enjoyed these co-ops throughout their school careers, and our youngest enjoys them too.  However, for me, this year, I began to desire something different.  I want our youngest to experience some of the things that our older boys experienced when they were younger that are currently missing from our homeschool.  Also, I was struggling with some of the things going on in our current co-op, mostly administrative things.  Then a friend came to me and expressed similar thoughts, and we began talking about what we really want and we started writing ideas down and brainstorming.

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So, what's new?  Our brainstorming session actually turned into a plan; a plan we were going to begin next school year, and that we were praying about.  Then God stepped in and set the timing for us.

My friend and I each had a homeschool mom call us and ask us for help because the Governor of PA shut down some charter schools, and the one they were going to send their children to was now not operating, and school was to begin by the end of the week.  After these conversations, I called my friend and she and I were talking about this situation, when we both received the same text from a mutual friend asking about getting together once a week for a physical education activity.

We saw that as three affirmations that our plan was a good one.  We also saw it as God telling us we need to start it this year, not next year.  So, we got together again and finalized the plans.  Then we spoke to the ladies, and they loved the idea.

Today was the first day of our new homeschool group, which we are not calling a co-op, even though it actually is what the definition of 'cooperative' says it should be.  We are using a Unit Study approach and including kids from 1st to 12th grade, although our current group is 4th through 12th grade students.

Now let me tell you what we did today, as this is the plan for each week:
At home, before we had our first meeting today, each of the families involved, read an assigned section of The Door in the Wall by Marguerite De Angeli.  This is a book about Medieval times.
Today, I taught an English lesson based on the book, discussing literary elements and which ones are in the book.  Then I gave them two short writing assignments that must be completed in two weeks, as next week we will not have English.
Next, another mom taught History, and she went over the feudal system and how people each had their specific place in the community from the King, to the Lords, Barons, Earls and the Clergy, to the Vassals (knights) to the Peasants.
Then another mom taught Art, and she had the students make their own hardcover books that they can write and/or draw in because in Medieval times, the monks made their own paper and books.
Then we had a lunch break and after lunch, another mom taught a physical education class, where the students played two games that children in Medieval times played.  That ended our day.

The plan for next week will be:  one mom teaching Science, two moms working together to teach Geography, one mom teaching Music, lunch, and then everyone can go home or just socialize for an hour or two.

During week three, we will finish the book with:  me teaching another English class, another mom teaching an Architecture/Art class, another mom teaching History, lunch, and one mom teaching cooking Medieval food.

A week later, we will be going on a field trip to a museum that will be having a Medieval theme exhibit.

So, that's the new plan:  all moms participate and work together for a common goal, all activities are related but include multiple subjects; all students work at their own level but everyone gets to participate together and learn from each other and help each other.  And, we are a small group, and we plan to keep it that way because we meet at a mom's house and rotate houses each week so that it doesn't become a burden to anyone.  We all bring supplies and share our resources.

The results of the first week, according to the students:
1)  It's fun, and I can do more here independently than I can at the other co-op.
2)  I really like it because it's more relaxed than the other co-op and I was able to talk to other people, and I liked that it was on a Monday because it gave me something to look forward to over the weekend, and now it helped me to feel like doing school the rest of the week.

The results of the first week, according to the Moms:
1)  It is fun and relaxing because we participate, but also have some down time in between and there's no pressure about time frame as long as we end by our end time.
2)  It is more community-like and less stressful.

We are all looking forward to continuing this homeschool group.

Anthony Barr | #TrustParents

Here is a speech my son presented at Demme Learning (the creators of Math-U-See), his employer, at their school choice rally in January.  I am very proud of him and it was such a blessing to me to hear this speech, as he talked about the value of his homeschool experience as I taught him at home.  I hope it will inspire you in your homeschool journey as well.

School Choice/Trust Parents

I know it's been a really long time since I have posted here, but I find that I have become very comfortable in my homeschooling and don't see much as new to post for those of you who read this blog.  I apologize for that.  Also, I am also trying to become a successful and, hopefully published, writer in addition to homeschooling my two remaining school age children and that requires a lot of my time.  I also have two other blogs, one for my writing, and another on healthy eating/living.  I rarely publish on the healthy eating/living one either.  There just aren't enough hours in a day to do all of the things I feel I should be doing, so I have to prioritize.

Today, however, something new happened that I thought would be important to share here.  Today is "School Choice" Day, and I attended a small School Choice Rally this morning at Demme Learning, the creators of Math-U-See, and now, Spelling-U-See.

What is "School Choice"?  You may ask.  It is concerned citizens, parents, politicians, etc., who are trying to find ways to make it possible for ALL parents to be able to choose the best place for their child(ren)'s education, be it private school, private Christian school, public school, or homeschool.  Right now only people who can afford to choose have the ability to choose where their child(ren) are educated, but what about those who live in poverty or the single parent working two jobs to put a roof over their heads and food on the table -- shouldn't they be able to choose the best possible education for their child(ren) too?  Do we not think that those parents don't care as much for their child(ren) and their child(ren)'s future as the parents who can already afford to make a school choice?

The CEO, and a couple of other Demme Learning employees, including my oldest son, a lady from a local Christian school and Senator Ryan Aument all spoke on this topic at the School Choice rally:

                                                Ethan Demme, CEO of Demme Learning                                                    

Senator Ryan Aument

Lady from Dayspring Christian Academy

My son, Anthony, PR Assistant at Demme Learning

Amy Spencer, Marketing Director at Demme Learning

All of the speakers did a wonderful job, and another key piece that was talked about was "Trusting Parents".  Because parents know and love their child(ren) and want better for their children than they, themselves, had, they should be trusted to know what is best for their child(ren) and to make the best choice for them.  

The lady from Dayspring Christian Academy gave information on some Tax Credit programs that are available to help parents be able to get their child(ren) into private schools they wouldn't otherwise be able to afford.  It has to do with businesses contributing to the schools.  I don't know if these programs are available in all states, but they are available here in Pennsylvania.  You can find out more about the EITC (Educational Improvement Tax Credit) program here and the OSTC (Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit) progam here.  

Senator Ryan Aument wants to get the community to work together to make the necessary changes to enable ALL parents to be able to have School Choice because he Trusts Parents.  He also spoke about the fact that public schools that are failing are concerned about what would happen to them if everyone was able to implement School Choice, and Senator Aument is aware that they could face a decrease in students, but he has ideas for solutions.  He gave a very visual picture to stress his point about school choice when he said that he vividly remembers learning about June 11, 1963 and seeing the photo of Senator George Wallace standing blocking the doorway of the University of Alabama to prevent two black students from entering to get a better education, and Senator Aument said, "We are standing blocking the doorways of the failing schools and preventing students from leaving, which is just as much of an injustice."

What About State Required Testing?

State testing is nothing to get worked up about.  It really has very little importance.  It is just one more thing the government wants us to do.  So, in Pennsylvania, we have to have our kids take a standarized achievement test in 3rd grade, 5th grade and 8th grade.
There are quite a few tests to choose from, so how do you know which one you should have your child do?  Well, I say that depends on your child.  My oldest child had taken the Iowa Basics test at each of the three required grade levels, my middle child took the WRAT in 3rd grade, which is no longer an acceptable test to the state, the CAT test in 5th grade and the Iowa Basics test in 8th grade, and my youngest just had his first testing and he took the PIAT test.
The CAT and the Iowa Basics are written tests where the students read problems/questions and color in the circle of the answer among the multiple choice possibilities.  The PIAT, which is similar to what the WRAT test was, is an oral exam, where someone administers the questions to the student by showing them questions, sentences, pictures and asks a question and the student has to orally answer the question or choose the correct answer from 4 visual options.
The written tests can be challenging and can cover most of your school subjects.  The verbal PIAT test simply covers: general knowledge, reading comprehension, spelling, vocabulary and math.
For students who are not good test takers or who fear test taking, I suggest the PIAT.  For students who work well with paper and pencil and who are comfortable with test-taking, I suggest one of the written tests.  The three tests I mention in this post are the only ones that I am familiar with.  I find all of the tests quite useless as I know what my child(ren) are learning, what their strong subjects are and what the subjects are that they need a little more work on because I watch them daily as they do their lessons in our home.  The test may help pinpoint some weaker areas, and that's about all the good they are.  I certainly am not the kind of mom who feels the need to put my children through these ridiculous tests more than the state requires, but I know some who have their child(ren) take them yearly, which I see as a lack of confidence in their own judgement and teaching ability.
If you are an involved homeschool parent, you know your child(ren) better than anyone else because you spend the most time with them, so if you are happy and pleased with their abilities and progress, don't worry so much and don't stress yourself out, and don't put too much stock in these achievement tests.  More often than not, homeschoolers test well above their peers on all the tests they take.