reading out loud

[Kim S.]

We've just started reading longer books out-loud with our boys (ages 4 and 7). It has been a fabulous winter activity, as we hang out by the fireplace to stay warm while we read. We started with Harry Potter - have read the first two books, and will work our way through the series. My younger son begged for me to read Inkheart, so we're starting that today. We also have The Hobbit on our reading list. Some of my childhood favorites that I plan to try with them are The Secret Garden and Mandy. I'd love any thoughts/ideas anyone else has about books.

[LisaRussell]

I came to RU from classical education model, literature is very important to me, I love being able to get inside the mind of a character and experience books and I wanted to share that with my kids. Before we settled upon unschooling, we were (loosely) using a curriculum that focused on learning history and language skills through historical fiction and real books. Now that we don't have assignments or lessons, we still have shelves and shelves filled with the classics, as well as modern favorites, pop-culture literature, science fiction, historical fiction- basically, everything.

We read a LOT. My older kids always have a few books they're reading and I read to my younger ones all the time. We always have a few chapter books we read at bedtime and sometimes when they're eating I"ll read to them. I love books so I share them with my kids, it's so much easier than trying to keep up with a reading list.

There's another literature-based homeschooling method called The Thomas Jefferson Education. They focus on reading, discussing and writing about literature. We read and discuss, but when I don't force the kids to write about it. Sometimes they do, just because they like to write.

I think the value is in "digesting" the books according to your own experiences and understanding and not being assigned specific questions or essays that may not reflect your experience.


We download a lot of books for free - a lot of old books are free
http://library-usage.suite101.com/article.cfm/download_classics

[Margaret Yoder]

Hi Original Poster, It's nice to see someone else has read Mandy! (I assume the one by Julie Edwards? Because I chuckled when I saw that you wanted to read them Mandy and The Secret Garden, It's basically the same book... But I too loved them both.)