Tag: Reading Aloud

Why We Stopped Reading Instruction for Our Son

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My son was 6 1/2 when we started having some concern over his inability to sound out basic words such as c-a-t and d-o-g.  Truthfully, I was not as worried as my husband, but it begged the question…

Was the answer MORE reading instruction?

To me, that idea was not ideal painful. We had already been reading the same beginner Bob books over and over and were getting NOWHERE.

By that point, I had read enough and heard other homeschool moms say the same thing: Sometimes they just need time.  However, when you’re in the thick of it, you sometimes start to worry.

About a year prior, a friend had introduced me to Carole Joy Seid’s philosophy.  She even lent me Carole Joy Seid’s DVD series to watch.  What Carole had to say made so much sense, but was unlike anything I had heard before.

Homeschool Made SimpleIf you’ve never heard of Carole Joy Seid, she’s a homeschool consultant who has been around a while.  The DVD series of hers that I watched was called Homeschool Made Simple.

And really that is her mission – to make things easier for moms so they can not only survive but SUCCEED.  She has much wisdom to offer, and at that time my husband I agreed that I should pursue a consulting session with her.

Stopped Reading Instruction

Homeschool Advice

Carole gave me lots of wonderful homeschooling advice during that phone call, but one piece of advice really stuck out and helped lay a foundation for my 6 1/2-year-old son.

The piece of advice: Stop the reading instruction and just read aloud to him.

She offered advice as to when to start up again and what to do if he still wasn’t ready when we did try again.

After that call, I had a plan and felt empowered.

Because we had just moved to WI, we still did not know anyone, were not yet part of a co-op (or any activities for that matter), and we had plenty of time to read aloud together.  And that we did.

Shortly after his 7th birthday, something clicked.  And out of nowhere, he was on the turbo track to becoming an amazing reader. Within a month, not only was he reading but he was reading chapter books! I realize that’s not most peoples’ story, but that is his, and I am happy to share in case it might encourage someone else.

Why the decision to stop reading instruction was a gift.

My son, now nine, is not only an amazing reader, but he LOVES to read.  All kinds of things.  Fiction, non-fiction, history, newspapers, anything and EVERYTHING weather, you name it – he’ll read it!

I believe those months of just reading together WITHOUT THE STRESS of being forced to do something his brain was just not ready to do, laid a foundation for a LOVE for reading.  And that is a gift he has for LIFE!

stopping reading instruction
Reading about his favorite topic – WEATHER!

*If you’re feeling overwhelmed by homeschooling and looking for simplicity, Homeschool Made Simple is a great place to start!

Homeschool Made Simple

**The point of this post is not to promote forgoing reading instruction, but rather point out the beauty and power of reading aloud to our youngsters, and also not pushing them before they’re ready!

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Ancient Rome books

We’ve studied Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and now Ancient Rome!  We have really enjoyed diving into living books and learning about these ancient times.  And I’m not sure who’s learning more – me or my kids!?

One of my absolute favorite things about homeschooling is redeeming my own education and getting to dive deep into things that I was only able to “scratch the surface” of during my time in school.

Listed below are the books we used to learn about Ancient Rome.  I used these for my 9 and 11-year-old.

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through these links will result in a small commission for me (at no cost to you!) 

Our “spine” books that we use for all of history:

A Child’s History of the World by Hillyer.  A great overview of history.

Story of the World Volume 1 We only do SOTW on audiobook, the kids (and hubs!) just love listening to Jim Weiss.

Other books that cover Ancient history:

These are all Usborne books.  We love Usborne!

Time Traveler

Atlas of World History

The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History

Books for Ancient Rome

Non-Fiction Books For ANcient Rome

Rotten Romans from the Horrible Histories Collection -These are bit much for my taste BUT based on the fact that my kids love it and are learning a ton in the process, I have it on the list…  I have been amazed at historical facts my non-history loving daughter will spout out that we did not learn together.  When I ask, “Where did you learn that?”, her response is almost always, “Horrible Histories”.

Augustus Caesar’s World by Genevieve Foster – Genevieve Foster’s books are unique because she takes the main character (Augustus Caesar in this case) and weaves all world happenings together, going into detail of what was happening in other parts of the world at that same time in history.

Historical Fiction:

Twice Freed by Patricia St. John – Based on life of the slave Onesimus from the book of Philemon in the Bible.  This one was soo good!

The Runaway by Patricia St. John – set during the time of Jesus’s ministry on Earth.

Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare  – another one that’s during the time of Christ’s earthly ministry.  We listened to this one on audiobook and finished it in just a few days because the kids enjoyed it so much! Suspenseful and descriptive.

Other books to consider:

Any of Arnold Ytreeide books including but not limited to Jotham’s Journey, Tabitha’s Travels, and Amon’s Adventure.  These are meant for Christmas and Easter, but they are set in the 1st century and can tie in with both Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece.

Jenny L. Cote’s ‘The Epic Order of the Seven’ Series – I haven’t personally read these but they are books my kids LOVE.  They are Christian historical fiction novels written from the point of view of animal friends.  What’s not to love!

Jenny L. Cote has a passion for God, history and young people and fuses those passions together in her writing.

These four (books 3-6 of the series) specifically tie in with Ancient Rome:

The Prophet, the Shepherd, and the Star – Setting is the time of the birth of Christ.

The Roman, the Twelve and the King – Time travel happens in this story, with the animals traveling to the time of Handel writing “The Messiah” in the 1700’s and also being there for Jesus’s childhood, ministry, passion and resurrection.

The Wind, the Road and the Way – covers the resurrection of Jesus Christ through Paul’s 2nd missionary journey.

The Fire, the Revelation and the Fall – About the events in Acts, and birth of Christianity.  Includes Nero’s reign and Paul’s third missionary journey.

Check out my other history book lists!

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Greece

Middle Ages


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5 Barriers to Reading Aloud and How to BUST through them!

Does the idea of reading aloud together as a family sound appealing, but the reality seems like an impossibility?

In our beginning years of homeschooling, reading aloud was something we did only if we got everything else checked off the list. Kind of like stuffing that last not so important box into a moving truck if there’s enough room.

As we’ve come to recognize the many benefits of reading aloud, it has become the core of our homeschool.

It is now the first box that goes into our truck and we’ve weaved it into the culture of our home.

But sometimes even if there’s a will to incorporate more reading aloud it feels as though there is not a way to make it happen.

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through these links will result in a small commission for me (at no cost to you!) 

Following are five common barriers to reading aloud and how to break through them:

Barriers to Reading Aloud

Barrier #1) Not enough time in the day

Solution: Read 5-10 minutes when you can.  Squeeze it into pockets of the day.  Tag it onto a meal where everyone is already sitting together.

Barrier #2) Boring for kids

This is a common barrier for us because our daughter can speed read and it can be pain-staking for her to have to listen, as reading aloud takes a lot longer than reading independently.

Solution: Entice them… Bake a treat. Light a candle. Draw them in. Take the concept of poetry teatime and read a fun book instead.

Use ridiculously funny voices (this even gets the hubs to listen in!) Pick a humorous book.

Here are a few entertaining read-aloud books our kids enjoyed (these are all series books): Pippi Longstocking , The Great Brain,  Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library. 

 

 

 

For our all-time FAVORITES, check out this post.

Barrier #3) Kids can’t sit still

Solution: Have them color, paint, draw or play with play-dough or thinking putty while you read.  Let them play legos, wedgits, magnatiles, blocks.  My son LOVES Perler Beads.  Allow them to lie upside down if that helps them focus.  You get the picture.

Let them move around. Many people are better able to listen if their body is moving.  I know of such people because I’m married to one, and a parent to another! 

Barrier #4) Little siblings

Solution: Bring out the crayons, play dough, rice bin, beans, stickers, etc.  Invest in some busy bags., or make your own quiet bins.

If you’re ok with a little TV maybe save the TV for read-aloud time.  I know at our house we don’t do much TV time, but it helps if  we do it at the same time each day and then they know it’s just part of the routine.

Or have a few special activities you only pull out for read-aloud.  Maybe a special toy that can keep their interest.

Barrier #5) You are in survival mode.

Maybe you’ve had a recent health change, or you have crippling fatigue (been there).  There could be a new baby, a death in the family, mental health challenges or other life changes.  Any number of things could cause us to be living in survival mode.

Solution: Audiobooks!  Audiobooks don’t need to be saved for “survival mode” but they are definitely your best option if that’s where you find yourself.

Final Read-Aloud tip:

If you find a book dull, put the book away and try something else.  There are so many books to choose from. Don’t waste your energy on a book you or your children don’t enjoy!


 

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6 Easy Mood Busters for Homeschool Families

This post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

Let’s face it.  If you’re a homeschool family, you’re together A LOT.  You get to make tons of amazing memories together, but you also see the less than ideal sides of each other – A LOT.  There are times when the mood in your home will go south (FAR south) and you just want to throw the day away and start fresh.  But that’s not how it works…

In this post, I’ve included some of the ways we combat crabbiness in our own home.  Mind you our kids are 4, 8, 10…  SO, if it’s moody teenagers you’re dealing with, well, I can’t really speak to that.

Read Aloud

It’s amazing to me how reading aloud a good book(whether print or audiobook) can bring everyone together.  Notice I said a GOOD book.  You’ve got to pick one that will draw them in.  For us that good book is currently Farmer Boy on audiobook, read by Cherry Jones.  The whole family enjoys listening to it.

I’ve got a saying that was inspired by a certain movie with Kevin Costner from the 80’s, “If you read it, they will come.” And hopefully snap out of it!

Music

With winter here, (no not technically, but let’s face, temps in the teens and 20’s, um yeah… that’s winter!), I know my own mood is sinking just a bit.  I don’t have that skip in my step that I have when the sun is shining or when I hear the birds singing.

For me, music is always a mood changer.  Lately, our family has been playing Slugs & Bugs around mealtimes and it really can change a climate of fighting and crankiness to one of smiles and laughter.  And with Christmas around the corner, I just have to add, Slugs & Bugs Christmas has been their favorite Christmas album for 8 years!  It’s a winner!

Games

Games can be a mood changer, provided you don’t have anyone in your family that is super competitive.  No one has kids (or spouses) like that, right!?  But seriously, if the mood is tense, playing a game together may be able to cut through the tension.  You can find a few of our favorites in this post.

Poetry Teatime

Bake a treat.  Light a candle.  Set out the tablecloth and just enjoy reading some poetry together.  Never tried Poetry Teatime?  You can learn about it here: Poetry Teatime 101.

Get Outside

This may not be a possibility due to your climate. And I will admit, I thoroughly despise feeling cold.  BUT, it is amazing how therapeutic being outside can be.  I have seen how just going outside can change the moods in my kids pretty drastically, not to mention quickly.

Pray

Sometimes, especially if it’s you with a bad mood, you may just need to remove yourself from a situation and pray.   And if you can’t remove yourself, just pray right where you are. Even if you don’t feel like it. In fact, it’s always best to start with prayer!

I’d love to hear from some of you…  What do you do to combat crabbiness in your  home?  Leave your comment below.

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Weekly Wrap-Up: October 1-5

Activities for kids with sensory issues

Disclaimer: In the name of full transparency, please be aware that this blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

Weekly Wrap-Up: October 1-5

I thought it would be neat to have a weekly post, that included highlights  (and possibly lowlights too…) from our week.  So, here goes!

Rocky Start

This past week had a rocky start with Daniel getting a stomach bug and missing preschool on Monday.  Since Daniel is high maintenance for me, I rely on his school days to get a lot done with the older two.  We still got a fair amount done but not as much as usual.   It may have been for the best as it definitely forced me to slow things down which was good after a weekend of camping.

Overcoming Fears

We still managed to get swimming lessons in on Monday (thanks to my parents coming over to watch Daniel).   Lydia is getting braver each week and wanted to try jumping into the 10 feet deep area.  This was HUGE for our girl.  She was a sight to behold… goggles, nose plug, earplugs and all.  God bless her swim instructor!  🙂

Read Alouds

Reading Aloud is one of the pillars of our Home School.  Unfortunately, sometimes appointments and schedules get in the way of having the time to do this.  Tuesday brought Joe’s 2nd Vision Therapy Evaluation and a lot of time in the car.  We redeemed that car time by starting the Mysterious Benedict Society on audiobook, which is our Read Aloud Revival book club book for October.  MBS is an entertaining book about “Outside the Box” kids on a mission.

Also, just yesterday, we finished “On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness”  by Andrew Peterson.  This was a delightful novel full of action, heart, and hilarious characters with a Chronicles of Narnia/Lord of the Rings feel to it.  This is Peterson’s first novel and it is part 1 of 4 books in the Wingfeather Saga.  Andrew Peterson is an amazing musical artist AND author.  He is a true “creative” (yes, I just made it a noun!) and he reminds me of my own creative child.  We will certainly be reading his other books!

Math Facts Break Through

For math facts, we use Math-It, which I really love.  It’s simple and effective AND my kids aren’t breaking out in tears when practicing their facts.   Joe finally broke 1 minute on his addition math facts this week.  He’s been working on them since February so this was extremely exciting!    We tweaked how he does his facts due to some fine-motor limitations he was running into because of his Dyspraxia.  With that adjustment, I have a feeling he’ll be getting his multiplication facts down before the end of the month.  It is so awesome to see him soar!

Bath Bombs

I’ve been promising the kids for a while that we could make bath bombs.  Every time we see them at a store, they want to buy them and they are PRICEY!  We used a recipe from The Superkids Activity Guide to make bath bombs.  As a side note – Lydia LOVES this book ( I do too, but Lydia has spent hours paging through it).  It’s colorful, well laid out and packed with outside the box  AND useful ideas for kids with various sensory challenges.

The bath bombs are meant to encourage kids who normally hate being bathed to take baths.  Thankfully my kids are all past this (though it wasn’t too long ago we were dealing with this issue!) and we just made them for the fun of it.   We used cupcake shaped molds, which I’ve had for many years, but you could use any type of mold or shape them with your hands. The bath bombs just popped right out of the molds.  The secret ingredient to making them fizzy: Citric Acid, which I learned is found in the canning section at the grocery store.

Activities for kids with sensory issues
Our bath bombs drying in the cupcake molds

And that’s our Weekly Wrap-Up!

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