A Simple Walk
March 12, 2010 by Dana
The sky begins to lighten, though the sun has not yet breached the horizon. I look out the window toward the chicken coop, wonder how much they care about having their coop opened up when there’s still snow on the ground, think about sinking back into the comforter and enjoying the warmth.
Mattias is standing in his playpen, watching me. When I look at him, he smiles and begins to bounce. I pick him up and he kicks his legs in excitement.
Of course you can come, Big Guy. You like helping mommy with the chickens, don’t you?
He squeals in delight as I dress him. I could be finished with the chicken chores by the time he is ready to go out.
In comes Elianna, sleep still in her eyes as she inquires,
Mommy? I tum, too?
Of course you can come, sweetheart.
I could be finished with the chicken chores by the time she is ready to go out.
Finally, we are at the door, putting on shoes. The sky is considerably lighter as I hear Nisa shout from her bed.
Wait for me!
She calls, and we wait. She’s ready quick enough, but we can’t find her shoes. I could be finished twice more by the time we find them.
The morning air is chilly, the children silent. We make our way to the coop. Hunter trots in front, sometimes sniffing, sometimes barking. He knows where we are heading and he scouts the path, following scents along either side of the path, circling the coop twice, letting me know all is safe by sitting on the step by the coop door.
I put the baby in a toy car and hesitate for a moment. The great old tree in our field almost looks like it has been set on fire by the sunrise, and the whole property seems to glow in the morning light. The children are standing by the fence, looking at a puddle and waiting for the chickens to come out. Hunter is just waiting to see what we do next.
I go in, greeted by four chickens who think the best way to be fed is to dart under my feet while I walk. I move the concrete block guarding their door to the run. The chickens, realizing I don’t have food, walk down their ramp to enjoy the morning air.
My daughters squeal their good mornings. “Chickalee! Chickalee!” calls the two year old, excitedly. “Good morning, Dora!” shouts Nisa. The chickens run to the fence, peering at the children, wondering if maybe they brought the food. We stand, and we watch. There is a peculiar joy in caring for animals.
I wait until their interest wanes before we make it back to the house to start breakfast. Of course, we could be finished eating, if only the children hadn’t come along.
But this is what education is. A simple walk, an invitation to come along side, to join in my day. Some parts are formal, as I give assignments, correct mistakes and write new concepts on the marker board.
But the real lessons, the ones that mold who my children will one day become, those lessons occur in the simple tasks of the every day. They cannot be written into a lesson plan, nor measured with a quiz.
And ye shall teach them your children, talking of them, when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. –Deuteronomy 11:19
It is an easy enough concept for me to remember in the morning, before we have anywhere to be or anything to do. But as the day progresses and the schedule tightens, my priorities shift. My goal becomes completion rather than education. I want the meal cooked, the lessons finished, the house cleaned. The more stressed I am, the more the children are in the way.
Because I forget that this is exactly where I put them. Not “in the way” exactly. More “along the way,” where they can watch, and learn and grow.
Dana is homeschooling her five children while moving to the country. You can follow her plans and adventures while seeking to live life more abundantly at Roscommon Acres.
1 Corinthians 13 for Homeschool Moms
March 10, 2010 by Misty
If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and teach my children Latin conjugations, Chinese and Portuguese, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal, and no matter what I say, they will not hear me.
If I have the gift of prophecy, and know my children’s bents and God’s plan for their lives, and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and am the keeper of the teacher’s editions and solutions manuals, and if I have all faith, so as to move mountains, and even keep up with my giant piles of laundry and dishes, but do not have love, I am nothing, even if all the people at church think I’m Supermom.
And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and my formal dining room gets turned into a schoolroom and our family vacations look more like educational fieldtrips, and if I surrender my body to be burned, never having time to get my nails done, put makeup on or even take a bath, but do not have love, it profits me nothing, because all my family cares about is the expression on my face, anyway.
Love is patient with the child who still can’t get double-digit subtraction with borrowing, and kind to the one who hasn’t turned in his research paper. It is not jealous of moms with more, fewer, neater, more self-directed, better-behaved or smarter children. Love does not brag about homemade bread, book lists, or scholarships and is not arrogant about her lifestyle or curriculum choices. It does not act unbecomingly or correct the children in front of their friends. It does not seek its own, trying to squeeze in alone time when someone still needs help; it is not provoked when interrupted for the nineteenth time by a child, the phone, the doorbell or the dog; does not take into account a wrong suffered, even when no one compliments the dinner that took hours to make or the house that took so long to clean.
Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness or pointing out everyone else’s flaws, but rejoices with the truth and with every small step her children take in becoming more like Jesus, knowing it’s only by the grace of God when that occurs.
Love bears all things even while running on no sleep; believes all things, especially God’s promise to indwell and empower her; hopes all things, such as that she’ll actually complete the English curriculum this year and the kids will eventually graduate; endures all things, even questioning from strangers, worried relatives, and most of all, herself.
Love never fails. And neither will she. As long as she never, never, never gives up.
Misty Krasawski is the overly-blessed mom of eight children whom she homeschools in sunshine-y Florida. She has been clinging ferociously to the hand of her Lord since she was knee-high to a grasshopper, homeschooling for the past thirteen years, and has eighteen more years ahead of her with the children who are glad she will have done most of her experimenting on those who went before. Her wonderful husband Rob has much treasure laid up for him in heaven for having been called to such a daunting task. After the house goes to sleep she can sometimes be found gathering her thoughts at http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MistyKrasawski.
Using Open-endedness to Foster Creativity
One of the main reasons we decided to teach our children preschool at home was so that we could foster boost and bolster their creativity. According to research I’ve come across, children are losing much of their creative potential by the time they exit kindergarten. Can it be that, with many schools now focusing on product over process, creativity is losing its importance and becoming less of a sought out asset?
We are striving to provide a creativity-rich home and learning environment for our kids. Creativity means letting go of restrictions and opening up possibilities. Open-ended projects and activities are among some of the best you can do to help stretch and preserve your child’s creativity.
Here are a couple of ideas of how to incorporate creativity into two areas, art and storytime, all using the “open-ended” technique:
- Family photo art. Take a random snapshot and tape it to the center of a page, then ask your child to continue the scene onto the surrounding paper “frame.” The completion can be realistic or surrealistic. That’s where creativity comes in!
- Magazine clipping completion art. Spread out before your kids a selection of objects clipped from a magazine….ranging from people to animals to inanimate objects. Let them choose one or more and glue them to a blank sheet of paper, then ask them to create the rest of the picture….using likely/real or imaginary scenery. Have them tell you a short story about their completed scene.
- Invest in open-ended art books, and have them in plain view for easy and frequent access. Our family favorites are the Scribbles and Doodles books by Taro Gomi (http://www.chroniclebooks.com/tarogomi/), and the Rosie Flo books by Roz Streeten (http://www.rosieflo.co.uk/chronicle.htm). Keep a box of colored pencils nearby and watch your kids’ creativity blossom!
- Enact around-the-table-storytelling. We do this sometimes at the dinner table. One person begins a story (a different person each time), making up and telling the first 2-3 sentences of a tale. Go in a circle, each person adding 2-3 more sentences to the story. See how crazy and complicated the story grows as you go!
- Story starters. For budding writers, story starters are among the best at helping reluctant minds branch out. If your child isn’t quite able to always think up storylines and plots on his/her own, consider giving story prompts. There are several terrific story prompt books at teacher resource stores, as well prompts from various websites online. (KinderKorner has a great list: http://www.kinderkorner.com/starters.html) Another fun and slightly more surreal book to spark written or spoken creative stories is Chris Van Allsburg’s The Mysteries of Harris Burdick (http://www.chrisvanallsburg.com/harrisburdick.html).
Have fun!
Meg is a devoted wife to her husband, Ken, of 9 years, and mom and homeschooling teacher to her two children, five-year-old son “G” and three-year-old daughter “R.” When she’s not writing or creating something, Meg loves to cook for, host and entertain friends and family. She also enjoys reading, the outdoors, eclectic music, yoga, and studying history. You can read all about her adventures (and misadventures) at her blog, Muses of Megret and read her educational product reviews at Muse Reviews.
Wonderfully Made: The Young Home Schooler’s Mind
March 8, 2010 by Guest
There is a beautiful design to the minds of our children. Every square inch of them has been intricately woven by the hands of God. Just like Psalm 127 says,
“For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made… my frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth” (NASB).
Does that amaze you? Down to the very depths of their being, our children bear the fingerprints of God in a unique way. There are no cookie-cutter children, just as there are no cookie-cutter adults. While there are general ages and ranges in which children reach developmental milestones, no child is exactly like another. As home-schoolers, we cannot afford to miss this.
Children are “designed” to reach certain developmental milestones at different ages. For example, every parent would tell you that trying to potty-train a nine month would be a lost cause. They do not have the physical or developmental ability to do so. However, wait two or three years and you’re much more likely to succeed. Why? The child has developed the cognitive and physical abilities to succeed at potty-training.
The same applies to a child’s ability to grasp educational concepts. In our country, many would say that children should begin reading by the age of five. Often if it takes a child longer to begin reading then questions about learning problems arise. However, if you looked inside the brain of a child, specifically boys, you would find that they may not be developmentally ready to read until the age of eight or nine.
No matter how much we try to teach, encourage, plead or demand that our child learn a certain concept, if he or she is not developmentally ready then we are fighting a losing battle. We will only end up frustrating our child and seriously damaging their confidence, ultimately hindering later attempts to teach the same concept. If we wait until our child is ready to learn, even putting a concept off for several weeks, then we may be much more likely to help our child succeed. As home schooling parents, we need to be sensitive to this truth which, at times, can take a great deal of patience, I know! Trust me, though, the benefits will be well worth the wait.
The developing brain of a young child is astonishing. So much is accomplished and solidified in their minds during those early years. A hallmark in the cognitive development of a young child is the absence of abstract thinking. This means that while young children can understand the alphabet, numbers in sequence or musical notes, they often have great difficulty understanding ideas such as love, justice or honor. Perhaps, you’re now asking “So, what does this have to do with me, a home schooling parent?”
Well, actually a lot! You see, as home-schoolers we have the blessed opportunity to teach and train our children with their specific learning styles and developmental abilities in mind. For the young child this means presenting concepts in a concrete manner. Eventually your child will be able to think and reason abstractly, but early on they need concrete teaching that gradually moves to the abstract.
For example, in teaching addition begin by using every day tasks such as cleaning up toys, going to the grocery store or sorting laundry. Your conversation could go something like this: “Daniel, I have two white shirts in this basket and I need those other two over there. If you put them in this basket, how many shirts would we have?” Your child then uses his body to respond which gives him a great “hands-on” experience. He is also seeing that math is used in the real world everyday. It gives him a purpose for learning. Continue using math in everyday activities until he seems more confident. Then you can begin a more formal lesson while still using manipulatives such as blocks or counters. As he masters the ability to show you what two plus two or four plus one looks like with blocks, write the mathematical statements out each time he answers correctly. Eventually he will no longer need the manipulatives and he will understand what each part of the mathematical statement represents because of all the concrete learning that preceded it.
As a home schooling mom of four I have seen this work over and over. I even use concrete learning activities with my eleven year old when she seems to be struggling with a particular concept. Using concrete activities in teaching applies to all subjects. This is the beauty in home schooling…we can teach writing by making grocery lists or writing letters, we can teach history by creating native American drums or teach science in the creek that runs through our back yard!
Each of our children are developing uniquely, reaching their developmental milestones at different times. It is the beauty of how God created them. If we can embrace this and teach in a way where they have a purpose for learning we will surely bless and enrich their lives.
JJ lives in Nashville, TN. with her husband, Dan, and their four children. They have been homeschooling for two years and have a passion for encouraging other families.
Keeping Up with the Accelerated Reader
March 5, 2010 by HeatherW
If you’ve ever had an accelerated reader in your home, then you know it is a challenge to keep up with what they read and to keep them in books. They read everything and anything they can get their hands on and as a parent you are constantly on the search for a good read for your child.
In my experience, there are three things that present the most difficult hurdle when you have a student who reads voraciously.
First is finding books that are emotionally appropriate for their reading level. Just because a student can read what kids in high school are reading when he is 6, doesn’t mean he should. Worse than reading books that are no longer challenging, is reading books that are inappropriate for kids of a younger age.
The second is pre-reading fast enough to find out if a book is off the mark for your child or not. At our house, my husband is the pre-reader. Unencumbered with the daily tasks of homeschooling and being a fast reader makes him a prime candidate for this job. If I see a book or series of books that I think might be appropriate, I bring it home and set him to work. In one evening he’ll be able to tell whether or not our son should try the book. He’s read a lot of good books over the years and it gives my son the incentive to read it. Once his dad has read it, then he knows that he can share what’s going on in that good book with him. We’ve seen some wonderful conversations over the years that have begun because of a book they’ve shared together.
If you don’t have a good system in place for pre-reading, then there are other ways to be more certain about a book choice. One is to ask around. Ask family, friends, and online homeschooling forum buddies about a book. Chances are someone has some experience with it and can tell you about the book.
Another way is to get your hands on some books about books. My favorites include The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease , Honey for a Child’s Heart and Honey for a Teen’s Heart by Gladys Hunt. These authors have specialized in sharing good books with their audience. The Read Aloud Handbook is all about reading good books to your children even as they get older, which is another topic all to itself, but in it there is a bibliography of good books.
As my oldest son enters the adolescent world and has been at this reading thing quite a long time, my focus has turned to books for older kids. Gladys Hunt has come to my rescue with a book written about good books for teens and how to use them to communicate with your teen. Reading is a good way to connect with your children and it will continue to be true as they enter their teens. I’m hopeful that since we have a well established culture in our home of discussing books, it will continue to be an outlet for our kids as they get older. Another good source is The Kid’s Book Club Book by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp. This book not only has a good reading list, but it shares how to organize and carry out a book club for various age groups of kids.
The last thing that I find to be a challenge with an accelerated reader is that as they grow, they get more discerning. This is actually true of any reader that has been exposed to good books whether or not they are ahead of the reading game. I have observed over the years as my son has read a lot of good books, he has little tolerance for books which are not. As Gladys Hunt says in Honey for a Teen’s Heart, “Excellence has a way of eliminating inferior products.” In practical terms, this means that finding a good book gets a little harder especially since they read so quickly! That’s all the more reason to find a good source of information on books.
Finally, I’d like to point out that typically we think of early readers as being “accelerated” readers. They head out of the starting gate at a full run and keep a steady pace. Keeping them in good supply of appropriately challenging books is a key to nurturing the early start. In addition, you can have accelerated readers that begin reading more on a typical schedule for emerging readers. Once they catch on, they begin to read everything in sight. Just because they didn’t start super early doesn’t mean they haven’t caught up to the fast pace of reading books and don’t have the capability to read more difficult books.
At our house, nurturing our good readers means having a print rich environment and making sure that trips to the library are a priority. We have so many books home from the library at our house sometimes we wonder if there are enough still on the shelves for others! I’m sure this is a familiar scene in the homes of most homeschoolers. Keeping track of which books come home and encouraging the good stuff is the task at hand. I encourage you to find the resources you need to help your kids make good decisions about books. If you should happen to make a poor judgment, all is not lost. Sometimes those less than discerning moments give us opportunities to have good discussions with our kids.
Enjoy the journey with your accelerated reader. Chances are they will take you to places you’ve not been before through their adventures with books and it gives you as the parent a special role as adventure guide.
Heather Woodie is a homeschooling mom of four kids ages 10, 8, 6, 3 and wife to a handsome chemical engineer for 13 years. Before raising a family, she taught middle school science and has a masters degree in curriculum and instruction secondary education. Now teaching at home means the chance to provide the extraordinary for her children. Between family and homeschooling time, she is working as volunteer staff for MOPS International as an Area Coordinator for NY State. She’s been homeschooling four years and you can read about those adventures on her blog, Blog She Wrote.
Homeschooling is Not the Hub
March 4, 2010 by Debra
I am a huge goal maker. My birthday comes on the heels of New Year’s Eve and so I spend several quiet winter nights reflecting on the past and projecting on the new year. This year as I journaled my thoughts I knew something needed to change… in me.
Honestly, I am at the edge of determining whether or not to continue this homeschooling journey. It’s simply not going the way I want it to go, not producing what I want it to produce. I am weary and worn and so are my boys. I know that I can’t continue doing the same thing and expect a different result. Albert Einstein called that “insanity.”
So, things must change.
An illustration gave me a shove in the right direction. If you imagine your life as a wheel with a hub and spokes, what would you say is at your hub? I nailed it right from the beginning: homeschooling has become my hub. It’s what I write and blog about, it’s how I define what I do when people ask. It snuck in there and became my center from which everything else springs.
Let me tell you this: there is simply no strength in homeschooling and certainly not a sufficient amount to hold up every other aspect of life.
No wonder I feel like I’m collapsing.
I know that my hub needs to be my faith in Christ. I’ve grown up in the church. I’ve been through seminary. I’m married to a pastor for goodness sake. I feel stupid to have forgotten that. But I did. Homeschooling is only a spoke in my life, just like writing, ministering and mothering. I cannot make a decision about our future of homeschooling with a skewed center. So, I’m looking forward to putting things right again this season and to get back to balanced thinking.
If things aren’t going well for you then map out your own “wheel.” Honestly, what is at your hub? What spins your life wheel and where does your power come from? If it only comes from you then you may find yourself questioning the rest of your year as well. Move that incapable center off to the spokes and get on to driving the rest of your year with grace and truth.
Debra Anderson has three sons ages 10 and younger. Her passions are education, mentoring, her husband, writing, church ministry and missional living — not in that order. She has her seminary Masters degree in Christian Education and is married to her true-companion pastor-husband in their home of Denver, CO. In spite of moves between four different states, she has always home educated their boys — even on the hard days. She maintains a blog at www.emergent-homeschool.blogspot.com.
How to Painlessly Add More Books to Your Reading Schedule
February 28, 2010 by Jimmie
“So many books… so little time” is a common refrain among bibliophile homeschoolers. Laundry has to be folded, meals have to be cooked, and errands must be run. As much as we love reading aloud to our children, homemaking often keeps us from doing it as often as we would like. And we are not the only ones who are busy! Our children attend music lessons, help with household chores, and need time outdoors for free play.
Despite our busy lives, I’ve discovered a secret for injecting more books into our schedule – audio books.
Whether downloaded for free, borrowed from the library, or purchased at a retail store or website, audio books are a super way to “read” more books with your children. We store our audio CDs on the shelves along with our books for constant access. Our family rule is that you must ask permission to watch a movie, but listening to audio books is okay anytime. I love that my daughter reaches for an audio book when she’s bored instead of watching television or playing video games.
My daughter’s favorite time to listen to audio books is while she cleans up her room. The story engages her mind and helps her forget the drudgery of her task. I love that she’s hearing good fiction or classic biographies while I’m busy with my own work elsewhere in the house.
Of course, we listen to audio books together as well. That’s the best situation because we can discuss what we’ve heard and share the memories of the book together, even weeks later.
Here are some great times to sneak in more books with audio books:
- During meal preparation and clean up
- While drawing or crafting
- As you assemble a model
- When sick in bed
- During a trip in the car
- As you wait for an event or a doctor’s appointment (use headphones)
- While folding laundry
An average juvenile fiction novel at Audible.com is around 3 hours of listening time. So if you listened to an audio book only half an hour each day, you could easily add fifty titles to your yearly reading list.
Will you choose audio books for fun or for academics? That’s up to you. You can certainly choose historical fiction to match your history curriculum. Or you may want to choose some literary classics that aren’t scheduled in your language arts curriculum. Look at some of those great books lists that you never seem to get around to reading, and choose some titles to listen to on your computer or MP3 player.
Do you use audio books? What time works best for listening? And do you have some suggested titles that were big hits with your family? Please share them in the comments.
Jimmie is a former public school teacher turned homeschooling stay-at-home-mom. A sense of humor, faith, and creativity keep her “pressing on” in her unique situation — living and traveling abroad with an only child in a bilingual environment. Visit her blog at Jimmie’s Collage.
Reading Aloud to Boys
February 28, 2010 by Debra
When my first son was born, some family friends sent us a gift celebrating his arrival. These two women, both classroom teachers, blessed us with My Very First Mother Goose by Iona Opie and Rosemary Wells and the Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. They were both read over and over with my first son, my second and now with my third. Of all my resources, this gift shaped my parenting more than any other.
We began reading aloud to our children long before we ever dreamed we’d homeschool them. It simply became – and is – how we parent.
Photo Credit: Heidi, Mt Hope Academy
There are a ton of great reasons to read aloud to your children. We read aloud in our home, not just because we’re “doing school,” but because we want to spend quality time with our boys, to introduce them to worlds and people they may never have an opportunity to experience, and to shape their minds and worldviews.
Simply stated, we have a genuine agenda.
First, I read aloud to my boys for the quality time it creates. When we experience books together we walk together into a setting, interact with a character, or sort through a conflict in an objective way that creates family understanding. We find out things about one another (“What would you do if you were in this position?”), we share the same fears (“Is Aslan really dead?”), and we hope, laugh and “see” the world differently. As my boys get older our natural interests intersect a little less. Reading with them helps present new touch points through which we can share life.
Modeling the reading process is next on my agenda. My middle son is a reluctant reader and very likely dyslexic. He needs to hear how the language sounds so he can store words away in his head. He needs to hear the rhythm of sentences and what you should do when you encounter periods, commas and parentheses. He needs to hear me stop and ask rhetorical questions about the plot. And he needs to hear me stumble on words and go back and sound them out just like I’m teaching him to do.
Thirdly, as a unit-study teacher I always try to find read-alouds that tie in with what we’re currently thinking about. For example, we’ll be doing a unit on the ocean soon so I’m looking forward to pulling out Call it Courage by Armstrong Perry. We’re also planning an animal unit this year and I’m thinking about trying to read Rascal by Sterling North without crying. For my boys these books will both flesh-out our study topic and fulfill their love of adventure, action and information.
The fourth item on my agenda is to familiarize my boys to matters they may never experience: The Dustbowl, Hurricane Mitch, the fall of the Berlin wall. I don’t try to shelter them from unsettling characters or situations. These things merely become talking points for us as we move through the book. I present them with books that will broaden their views of how this shaken world works and we talk about what they might do to bring some good into it.
Relational modeling ranks high on my agenda as well. Because they don’t have sisters, I am interested in exposing my boys to female protagonists thereby giving them a little insight into the mind of a woman. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi ranked high for my oldest son this year and a few years ago, both of my older boys enjoyed the Sarah, Plain and Tall Series. Similarly, because one of my sons is a little socially aloof, books introduce him to questionable social choices (such as in The Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald) and let him vicariously maneuver through them. Ultimately, because I’m human and I don’t know how to show them every facet of what love looks like, I find stories that can unpack this word a little more. For instance, The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson was a great example of love through self-sacrifice that touched us all.
While I don’t go searching for books strictly for their moral lessons, every book will have them. Sometimes I stop reading and say, “That’s interesting. Why do you think he suffered/overcame?” But many times I simply read through the chapter without stopping just to let it simmer in my boys’ heads for a bit. This allows the boys to connect the dots themselves. If they come up with an idea or develop a conviction on their own then it is far more likely to stick with them than if I always tell them the decisions they should make. The characters will either lead them to the right conclusion or they will see the consequences of poor choices played out in the story. We’ve never been at a loss for moral discussion starters… discussions often started by my boys.
Finally, I read aloud to my boys because it is “easy work” for them. If we don’t do anything else during the day, we read aloud and not just for the academic benefits of language acquisition skills, comprehension, science facts or social studies timelines. The skills of thinking, feeling, listening and coming to a new understanding are what will take them through life and reading aloud will do all of these things for their hearts and minds.
Photo Credit: Melissa, A Familiar Path
My sons are 10, almost 8 and 3 and a half. Because my audience is solely male I have to admit I have skipped some great books that cater to female readers. But, in contrast we have read some great stories that I…being female…never would have picked up on my own.
Here is a short list of some of our favorites.
Our Very Favorite Read Alouds
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
From the Mixed of Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg
Bandit’s Moon by Sid Fleishman
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
Pedro’s Journal by Pam Conrad
Poetry by Shel Silverstein
Our Favorite Read Alouds in a Series
Heroes Biographies by YWAM Publishing
The Wall Series by Robert Elmer
Detective Zack by Jerry D. Thomas
The Time Warp Trio by Jon Scieszka
The Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osborne
The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
Favorite Read Alouds for a Discerning Boy
Swiss Family Robinson by Johann D. Wyss
Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Twenty One Balloons by William Pene du Bois
Debra Anderson has three sons ages 10 and younger. Her passions are education, mentoring, her husband, writing, church ministry and missional living — not in that order. She has her seminary Masters degree in Christian Education and is married to her true-companion pastor-husband in their home of Denver, CO. In spite of moves between four different states, she has always home educated their boys — even on the hard days. She maintains a blog at www.emergent-homeschool.blogspot.com.
Help for Struggling, Reluctant Readers
February 28, 2010 by Guest
As a child, I never liked to read. When I mention this to someone today, I can anticipate the reaction. Their mouth drops open in disbelief, followed by a gasp. “You’re kidding!” often follows. That’s probably because I’m also the author of a number of action-adventures and mysteries especially written for other boys who may be facing similar difficulties.
Photo Credit: Marsha, Other Such Happenings
Even as an adult, reading for enjoyment continues to be a problem for me. I find it ironic because my father has published over 70 books. Several of these were children’s books, and I never read any of them. I grew up in a family of seven children. We had avid readers, nominal readers, and me. Still, I managed to finish high school and graduated from College with a degree in psychology. But I have always been more interested in, or stimulated by, things visual. I do read in order to gather information, but not for pleasure.
I used to think that a reluctant reader was simply someone who hadn’t found the right book yet. But the causes may go deeper than that. The word reluctant is defined as opposed in mind, unwilling, disinclined, struggling, or resisting.
At the outset, it’s important to understand our terms. Parents must be certain that, if facing a struggling, reluctant reader, there aren’t any problems with vision, neurological issues, or other medical conditions that might hamper reading. These should be diagnosed by professionals, but here are some things to look for.
Difficulty with vision is a big one. The transposing of letters or numbers may indicate a vision problem. You might notice that your child sees 14 when the actual number on the page is 41. The same can happen with small words. Does the child use a finger to keep his place on the page? I always did this as a child. Does he have a short attention span, or hold the book too close to his eyes?
Does he have good posture while reading, or does he move his head from side to side during reading, rather than moving his eyes? This may indicate binocular trouble because both eyes aren’t working together. Again, I suffer from this. One of my eyes sees distant objects better, while the other sees closer items with more clarity. A child with this problem may slouch in the chair, or turn his head to one side in order to favor the eye that can see the book best.
In addition to vision, a child may suffer from ADD (attention deficit disorder), ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), dyslexia, or other learning disabilities. It’s only my opinion, but I think many of the hyperactivity problems, found more often in boys today, could be greatly mitigated by allowing them to run off much of that energy for an hour outside, or in some other physical activity.
Photo Credit: Marsha, Other Such Happenings
Based on my own background, I expected that reading difficulties came from what I had experienced. Readers would struggle because they were intimidated by large blocks of words on a page. Or they were likely to be more visual than linear, as I am. My research took me through nearly two hundred children’s books. I found that some were just silly. Others seemed too unrealistic, while quite a few were simply slow and boring. I wanted exciting, realistic, and very visual things to be happening.
Recently a study was released which noted that nearly 80 percent of children 6 and under, read or are read to in an average day. But it went on to say that children spend an average of 49 minutes with books in that same average day, compared with 2 hours and 22 minutes sitting in front of a television or computer screen.
My research into reading difficulties began about eight years ago. I truly wanted to understand why it was that I grew up as a reluctant reader. I found some interesting patterns in several of the books I selected for research. In many cases they defied a person like me to get into them. The style was boring, the dialog was sometimes sparse, or when it was used, seemed too adult. As I looked around for books written especially for boys 8 – 13, I found The Hardy Boys, and a few others.
An attractive book to a reluctant reader is one that is larger in size than most. The type in these books is also larger, with lots of white space, on high quality, bright, white paper, inviting even the most reluctant reader to come in, kick his shoes off, and stay for awhile.
My work with reluctant readers often allows me to speak in schools. One of the first questions I like to ask is, “Is there anyone here who doesn’t like to read?” A few hands go up, and then others follow. There may be two or three girls who raise their hands, but predominately it’s the boys who respond.
Next I ask, “Why?”
“Books are boring,” one will say. Another suggests, “They’re too slow and nothing happens,” or, “I’d rather do other things.”
“Like what?” I’ll ask.
The answers always include watching television, playing video games, and spending time on the computer. This is interesting since research by others arrives at the same conclusions.
For the purposes of exploring reluctant or struggling readers, let’s say that you’ve had your child tested, and we can rule out vision or medical problems. What is your next step toward getting him interested in reading?
This suggestion may seem odd at first, but parents, teachers, and librarians are reporting that they’ve found success by starting with audio books. In some cases, this is used while also holding a copy of the same book. A child is able to both see and hear the words at the same time, and practice following along.
Don’t be afraid to select a book that is below grade level. You may also want to experiment with comic books, or graphic novels. The most important objective is to find something he’s interested in and wants to read about. This could include the sports page in your local newspaper, or magazines like Sports Illustrated for Kids, Ranger Rick, Highlights, and others.
Some have found success by using electronic readers like Kindle. Your child is already comfortable with a computer, or video games. The e-reader allows him to change the font, make it larger, change colors, and even look up words in some cases.
It’s easy for parents to forget the power they have over their children’s behavior. If your child avoids reading in every way possible – choosing video games, or the computer over reading, you might set those activities aside as rewards. You can say, “After you’ve read for thirty minutes, or an hour,” for example, “then you may spend time doing those other things.”
- Read aloud with your child, and make sure he sees you model that reading is important in your life. This has added influence if the dad is involved.
- Get rid of distractions. Again, in my case, I find it difficult to concentrate if there are other noises around. This is compounded if there are lyrics in a song on the radio, or stereo, voices coming from the TV, or from nearby conversations. Set up a quiet, comfortable reading place. Above all, make reading fun.
- Have your child try reading to a dog, a cat, a doll, or some other stuffed animal. In this way, children aren’t intimidated or judged by an adult. At the same time, you can monitor their progress. Also look for high interest, low vocabulary books called Hi-Lo.
Not only is it important for books to be constructed in order to be more user friendly for struggling readers, there should be lots of humor, dialog, and heart-pounding action and adventure, plus chapters ending with a cliffhanger.
Anytime I’m asked if reading is really all that important, I give several reasons why it is, and add that readers are the leaders others follow.
Copyright October 2009 Knowonder Magazine. Republished with permission. Visit Max Anderson’s Books for Boys blog and his website for books to jumpstart your child’s imagination.
Max Elliot Anderson grew up as a struggling, reluctant reader. Using his extensive experience in the production of motion pictures, videos, and television commercials, he brings the same visual excitement and heart-pounding action to his adventure and mystery stories, written especially for tween boys. Both boys and girls have reported that reading one of his books is like being in an exciting movie.
Getting Your Reluctant Reader to Love Reading
February 28, 2010 by Leslie
As a homeschooling mom I have been asked one question more than any other. No, it is not how I teach socialization. The question is, “How did you teach your children to read?”
Although this question is frequently asked, I always find myself blushing and replying, “I never taught my children to read.”
Now, you might wonder why people ask me about reading. The fact is that around each of my children’s third birthday they have become fluent readers. What typically has inspired parents to ask me this question is hearing one of my children reading at a young age. Are you wondering why I am a bit embarrassed to respond?
Photo Credit: Heidi, Mt Hope Academy
Here is another fact. Not only have I never taught my children to read, I have not even taught phonics. How does one begin to answer the question when she hasn’t taught them to read? What has occurred with each of my children is they suddenly begin reading. I have no proof as to why they all began reading fluently at a similarly young age, but what I do have proof of is why they have become readers; I read. I don’t mean I read blogs or curriculum or magazines from time to time. I read everything! You are your child’s best and most important example.
From the time my children were infants I have spent much time in bookstores and libraries with them. I always presented the idea as a field trip of sorts. Our local bookstores and library are on a first name basis with my family. After 18 years, this is still a favorite outing for my children and one must see location on every vacation is the local library. In addition to this, I have been reading aloud to my children since before birth. So, imagine my surprise when one of my children, who is a fluent reader, began complaining about reading. BLAM! I had a reluctant reader. Of course like any typical homeschooling mom, I believed there had to be a fix. I researched dozens of ideas and methods to help me. I became so focused on finding a “cure” that I overlooked the beautiful truth God had presented to me.
The first part of the truth is that there are two basic types of readers: Functional and Genuine.
- A Functional Reader is one who reads for a required purpose. This reader does not go out of her way to read extra information. She reads exactly what is assigned, and no more. If she is asked to write a research paper and the requirement is a minimum of three books for the bibliography, she reads three books. Note that a Functional Reader may be more of a scanner than a detailed reader. A Functional Reader often complains or finds drudgery in the task of reading. Another sign of a Functional Reader is the repeated intention of starting a book, but not finishing it.
- A Genuine Reader is one who reads for the joy of reading. This reader is voracious. Typically a Genuine Reader prefers the feeling of a magazine, report, or book in hand. She can be found reading tucked away in quiet places without being asked to read. She will read any written text; often out loud. (This can be annoying to those around a Genuine Reader as she repeatedly reads mundane things like ingredient lists and advertisements.)
You may be surprised to know that a reluctant reader can be either one of these. Reading personality does not define a person, but it is a key in helping a reluctant reader find his “eyes,” so to speak. Just because one is a reluctant reader does not mean that she does not read for enjoyment. However, she may not be reading what you consider to be the “right” reading material. For example, you may have a child who moans and groans each time you ask her to read a story aloud to you, but voluntarily reads instructions to games or projects. This person may be a “baby” Genuine Reader. This means that she will read on her own for enjoyment, but has a different choice of reading material than you would typically choose for her.
Now, if only there was a large red “Easy” button to turn your child on to reading, right? The first thing is to determine the reading personality of your child. With a reluctant reader you only need to discover whether your child will groan less over reading instructions on a worksheet or reading a story. Once you have determined her reading personality, now it’s time to do a little inner reflection. Spend time in prayer asking God to reveal your personal educational goals for your child. This seems so simple, but it is overlooked more often than not. It is so simple that it is a topic that was not covered during my training as a teacher. Some of my educational goals vary from child to child according to their God given gifts and personality. For example, my oldest child is an intensely auditory learner. He truly loves books, but struggles to finish a physical book. However, he finishes a multitude of books by listening to them. My youngest child is deeply oriented to visual and tactile learning and thrives when reading text and holding the actual book. What God revealed to me was that my personal goal for my children was to have a lifelong love for reading, regardless of what or how they read.
Once you have determined your child’s reading personality and your personal goals for your child’s reading it is time to implement ideas that will create a hunger for the written word. The second part of the truth God imparted on me was that I needed to meet my child right where he was. I had to accept that God made him absolutely perfect. It was my job to continue to help him manifest himself into the person God planned for him to be without all of my preconceived ideas and desired thrown into the mix. If this is where you begin to stumble and become frustrated with your reluctant reader, help is on the way. This is where the FUN begins! Begin by changing your thought process of teaching your child to read as an educational task to one of having FUN with your child. All children enjoy stories. They may have a preference to different genres of stories, but that is normal for people of all ages. For example, I have always enjoyed a spectacular fictional story over an instructional story. Many of my friends share the opposite preference. Developing a love for reading with your child starts when you stop forcing your child to read your way.
Take time to try different ideas for reading with your child. One very easy strategy is to read aloud to your child using your finger put at each word as it is read. Do not just stop doing this with picture books. Continue this while reading chapter books to your children. Relieving the pressure for them to read on their own will allow them to experience the exciting aspect of reading. When you read aloud use good inflection, diction, accents, and voices. Even a visual learner will be drawn into the story in this way. Instead of having a reluctant reader, who shows signs of becoming a Genuine Reader, read a biography search out a book that describes the life of a person in story format. This is often referred to as a living book. Most reluctant readers will delve into a topic without hesitation when the topic is presented in story format. Continue to do this with your reluctant reader in short segments. Conversely, if your reluctant reader shows signs of being a Functional Reader, a biography may be a better choice than a living story. This will begin to eliminate their fear or rebellious spirit of you trying to “trick” them into reading. You are doing this because it is FUN! You will notice that your reluctant reader begins enjoying the exclusive time with you once the work aspect of reading is removed from the task.
Allow your child to pick the topics or books that you will read to or with them. The important aspect is that they begin to enjoy reading, not that the books read are highly desirable in the educational world. I have made my way through some of the most horribly written stories with my children; so much so that I have to remember why I am reading the story to them. You are trying to spark a desire to read. Keep reminding yourself of that. I begrudgingly read through all of the Captain Underpants books with one of my children. I really had to motivate myself for reading time while we were reading through that series. Keep your mindset on how much more relaxing it is to have your reluctant reader ask if you can finish that funny story about the kid who lived during the Revolution than to have to bark orders and threaten her to read a book that contains all the most accurate and detailed facts and is on every educator’s must read list.
As your reluctant reader begins to look forward to reading time, ask her to read one sentence per page. This presents them with a non threatening perspective on reading. One sentence is not too big a task for anyone. My reluctant reader started requesting to read exclamatory words only. In order to get him reading more I searched out books that had lots of exclamatory sentences. He so enjoyed, and still does, reading those sentences. As time progresses have your child read a bit more. If you have several children who read have them take turns reading sentences or pages. Not only is this great if you have more than one reluctant reader, but it really gives you the opportunity to work on strengthening the skills of all your children. Your children who struggle with listening will become better listeners. Those who struggle with the physical task of reading words will become stronger in that area as well. Before you know it, reading is no longer drudgery for anyone.
One other fabulous tactic to grabbing your reluctant reader’s attention is to allow her to do another activity while she is reading aloud. You can have coloring sheets that she can work on while she is listening, have her draw pictures of what is going on in the story, or do an unrelated activity. Perhaps you have a child who enjoys hand sewing; have her work on a sewing project while she is listening to the story. If you have a child who likes building with blocks, allow her to build while she is listening. Again, you are taking the stress and preconceived negative aspects the reluctant reader has in her head and changing them to positives.
Here are a few other ideas for making reading fun for a reluctant reader. Have her close her eyes while reading. Afterwards ask her to draw a favorite character. Get Dad involved. Have your husband ask her about the story or character using open ended questions. Once you have a good understanding of a character make up a silly adventure about the character. Take a break from reading a page and ask questions in a conversational format with her such as, “Why do you think Frog is so kind to his friend Toad?” or “What do you think about a kid trying to become President?” Have her write one to three sentences to summarize an entire story. Integrate the characters or story topic into other schooling. For example, try making up math problems that incorporate characters or parts of a story you are reading.
As you continue on your journey to help your reluctant reader develop her reading personality and desire to read, you will find that she chooses to read on her own more. Don’t just use one idea from this article; use them all. Be sure to alternate activities. As you begin to see which type of activities your child is inspired by, you will find more creative ways of presenting them. One thing to keep in mind is that it won’t matter when she is an adult if she read Jane Austen’s, Pride and Prejudice if in adulthood she finds reading a drag or her memories are those of you hounding, yelling, and pushing her to read it. The reward is a child who is self motivated to read throughout the rest of her life.
Leslie Valeska is the wife of Thomas and homeschooling mother of four children who reside in SW Florida. Her family operates Fresh Gear Solutions, LLC and enjoys RVing. She is the founder and director of Simple Journey Ministries which was established to encourage, inspire, and support women on their journey to Godly womanhood. Leslie is also employed as a vintage seamstress by Vintage Vixen.
