by Brea
Hi everyone! I'm new here, so I wanted to quickly introduce myself. I'm Brea (pronounced Brie, like the cheese), and I'm 25. I've got three kids: Sam is 5, Evie is 4, and David is 18 months old. We live almost in the country, and have chickens and grow lots of our own food. And, obviously, we homeschool!! I'm here to give some hacks for younger kids. Honestly, I'm completely flying by the seat of my pants with this whole homeschool thing, so I'll just be here to give some tips for what's worked for us so far. I also have a board of advisers, also known as the women from my church, who give me the best advice and ideas I could ever ask for. Most everyone in our church homeschools, and has older children, so they really help me with the stuff they've already been through. I've lived in Texas my whole life, and say things like "fixin' to" and "the Walmart" and think anyone who lived anywhere else is a little crazy. (But I'm very polite in my Southern ways,so I would never actually say that … would I?) Click on my name above to check out the everyday craziness of our life through my blog.
Ok, so that's me. And here's my hack for you moms just starting out, and kind of wondering where to start: read to your kids!! I know, I know. We've all heard it said over and over. But it's true. I'm a huge fan of Charlotte Mason, and if you haven't read The Charlotte Mason Companion, I highly recommend it. It's great! Miss Mason believed that your kids, especially up to about fourth grade, can learn everything they need to from 'living books;' books written by an author who loved the subject, books that aren't dry and boring and just a textbook. There are so many out there. Become friends with your local librarian- they are filled with knowledge, and love to help people when asked.
And don't be afraid to read a little above your children's level. I'm not saying to go out and buy Tolstoy just yet, but kids just soak up knowledge! We're in the middle of the third book in the Chronicles of Narnia, and my kids just beg me to read more everyday. Your kids will learn new vocabulary, their grammar will improve, and their attention span will develop beyond The Cat and The Hat (not knocking Dr Seuss, whom I utterly love!). And let me elaborate a little on the attention span theory. When we read, my kids can't do anything else. No jumping around, no coloring, no talking, no nose-picking, no singing. Even David, at 18 months, has to sit calmly on my lap and listen. It takes a while to work up to this, but it really does pay off in the long run.
If you're new to chapter books with your younger kids, there are some wonderful ones out there! (And I'm hoping people will chime in with more suggestions in the comments.) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is great, with great morals. The chapters are really short, and this has been our new bedtime book, so it's not uncommon for us to read 3 or 4 chapters in one sitting. Actually, Roald Dahl has many wonderful books. EB White's books are fantastic, too, like Charlotte's Web, The Trumpet of the Swan, and Stuart Little. I remember loving Mrs Piggle-Wiggle when I was younger, and I'm sure your kids will, too.
Ask your kids to narrate back what you've just read to them, and you're helping them to develop critical thinking skills. Also, it's really funny sometimes. And they'll pick up more than you'd expect, and retain little pieces of the story that will surprise you!
So go out there! Ask your kids what they're interested in. Make friends with your librarian. Don't be afraid to read just because you think you're not a strong reader; this is a fairly common fear. Start slowly. Trust me, your kids won't remember if you stuttered over a word or two, but they will remember spending time with you, and the wonderful adventures you take them on through great books, and you'll be giving the wonderful gift of loving books!!
Readers, any other read aloud suggestions? What's worked for you?
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Hi, Brea! My husband and I both love to read, and I hope our children do as well. (So far, we have one daughter…and she is turning 1 this month!) I will have to check out "The Charlotte Mason Companion." When you started talking toward the end about chapter books, the first two that came to my mind were "Charlotte's Web" and "The Trumpet of the Swan." I looooooved those books and cannot wait to read them to my kids! I also was young when The American Girls books started. My mother and I would read those at the time. (Now there appears to be a whole empire of that stuff…I was amazed when a friend with older daughters just showed it to me. Anyways…) I liked those becuase they had historical/educational tidbits in them. I also found it encouraging that you teach your children to be still during "storytime." Thanks, Brea!
What a wonderful post! Thank you for joining in!
Don't forget Mr. Poppers Penguins for some good laughs.
Brea, I totally agree with you on the reading thing. I was not homeschooled (probably because there would've been fisticuffs every day!), but my parents read to us from birth! In fact, I learned to read at a VERY early age.
We love to read to our homeschooled son. We are reading a great book called "Wintering Well" by Lea Wait. It's a great book for boys and for girls.
We also like to read the Little House books, and the Magic Treehouse books. A few years ago, we discovered the book by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson; "Peter and the Starcatchers". SO GOOD! It's about how Peter Pan came to be. Just a couple of weeks ago, we discovered another book by the two authors, probably a sequel, but we're not sure: "Peter and the Secret of Rundoon". We're going to take it camping with us in July, and read it by the campfire. I can't wait!
Oh, and we are regular library patrons, because we LOVE to read!
We still enjoy reading aloud, and 2 of mine are 13 and 14. I wish that we had started earlier, like you are. I like reading a lot of historical fiction to my kids. It makes history more enjoyable for them. Super Fudge by Judy Blume was one of our favorite (and funniest) books to read aloud.
i really like jim trelease's "the read-aloud handbook". it has great lists of books divided by age-level and ability. i always turn to it when we are looking for the next book to read. i also ask the librarians a lot. i'll tell them what we've read and they always have a suggestion for what to read next! great post.
I posted about the same thing this week. My kids are only 3 and 5 years old, but we have been reading them full-length novels for about two years now.
They loved the EB White books you mentioned above, as well as the Little House series. Their favorite (by leaps and bounds) has been Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting.
Everything you said is so true. I am a homeschool mom who loves to read to my kiddos. They learn so much. You can never start too early. Reading a loud time is major enjoyment in our house. BTW, I am Charlotte Mason Texan homeschooler to 5 boys.
http://tonsofsons.wordpress.com/
Great ideas, I heard once that you should read to your kids books above their grade level, they should read books on their grade level by themselves, and they should read books below their grade level out loud.
Blessings~
Toni
Hi Brea,
I have children similar in age to yours. I don't homeschool at this stage but am considering it for the future.
About reading, my 5-year-old daughter loves the Winnie the Pooh stories by A.A. Milne. We both find them very funny. She also enjoys listening to A.A. Milne's poetry and other poems.
One of the best things we can do for our children's attention spans is LIMIT TV (or eliminate it!)
My 4 1/2 yr old has been loving read-alouds lately. His favorites so far have been Charlotte's Web and The Mouse and the Motorcycle.
I'm so glad to see all these great suggestions here!
Great book suggestions.
We (3 yo & 20 mo) love too Little House, Milly-Molly-Mandy, Wizard of Oz, and 'classic' children's stories like Grimm, Aesop, Andersen. All-of-a-kind Family, Paddington Bear, Boxcar Children, In Grandma's Attic and Peter Pan are on our to-read list.