Parents who read aloud to their children contribute more to early language development than any other factor. Quantity and quality of literature plays a significant part in whether you will raise early readers or not. According to reading expert Marilyn Adams (Beginning to Read):

“the most important activity for building the knowledge and skills eventually required for reading is that of reading aloud to children. In this, both the sheer amount of and the choice of reading materials seems to make a difference.”

You want to raise classical scholars. The books your kids will be reading as teenagers and young adults are complex in both content and language: classic histories, classic philosophies, classic political treatises, classic science theories, and classic literature. Pave the way to future reading comprehension and enjoyment with these eight suggestions:

Read as often as possible.

The younger your child is when you begin reading to them the better! Make reading a daily tradition like brushing teeth. Read at bedtime, and read throughout the day whenever the kids ask for a story. Even if the entire day gets sidetracked due to unforeseen obligations or distractions, don’t drop reading from the schedule. Sometimes when I’ve had to take care of emergencies, I’ve just told the kids to read until I can get back to them. Set aside time each day for the kids to read on their own. Young children can “read” story books during naptime (even if all they are doing is looking at pictures and turning the pages), and older kids can read for 30 minutes once they’re in the bed before lights are out. Show them that reading is a priority in your household.

Use real books.

Many homeschool convention vendors sell “readers” which are artificial stories built around phonics lessons. Please don’t use these for your daily reading time! My experience with them is that they are rarely as entertaining and meaningful as “living” books. Use these phonics readers occasionally when you want to reinforce a phonetic sound. When the kids are young, start with colorful hardbound stories then move on to novels. As they get older, have Dad pick a great book to read aloud like a biography of an historical figure or original source documents like The Declaration of Independence. Even if the kids are reading on their own, try to incorporate some oral readings regularly.

Be patient as your child learns the art of listening.

Don’t rush the reading. Take your time so that your child can hear all the sounds and point to all the words. This is an important step in acquiring the language as well as critical thinking. Kids who haven’t developed good listening skills rarely communicate effectively. Answer all their questions, and ask them some questions to train their listening abilities.

Put down a book that is clearly uninteresting.

Only read books that you both enjoy! Nothing is more miserable than slogging through a book that you both find boring. We all like different stories. Sometimes your homeschool friend may recommend a book that just doesn’t appeal to your child. If you find her yawning or unengaged, put that book down and find another one. In fact, let her choose the book that she wants to read.

Vary the length and subject matter.

Don’t be too predictable. If the kids think that every time you sit down to read, they are going to have to endure hours of the same topic, they will begin to dread reading time. Keep them on their toes by doing the unexpected. One day read a story. The next day read a newspaper or magazine article. Then read a longer novel. Once you start the novel, you (and the kids) will likely want to keep going through the chapters until you finish the book, but then vary the content by reading some poems. Read about all of life, not just “academics.

Plan enough time for questions.

If you’ve read my post on Socratic Dialogue, you know that asking questions is the way classical homeschoolers teach. Don’t tell them what the story means until after you’ve asked enough probing questions to determine their level of understanding. Let them try to figure it out. Leave enough time for questions both before and after the reading. Before you get started with the story, look at the book jacket, inside cover, back cover, title page, pictures, and ask the kids to predict what the story is going to be about. Or with an older teen, have them look at the table of contents with you, and let them summarize the author’s thesis. After reading, ask questions, too, about the characters, plot, events, or other meaning.

Express yourself.

Bland, dry reading is tortuous! Imitate the voices of actors who have pleasant reading voices (James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, and Meryl Streep come to mind) by adjusting your pace, pitch, and volume to fit the narrative. For instance let’s say you are reading a scary scene where the character is worried about what’s in the bedroom closet. Slow down and quietly whisper the words leading up to the climactic moment when the closet door is opened and the mystery revealed. Change your tone to match the content. Effective delivery makes all content more memorable.

Lead by example.

You know that our kids are great imitators. They are watching us all hours of the day, and they will naturally do what we do. So if you are not reading on a daily basis, don’t expect to raise kids who love to read. Make sure that they see how important reading is to you. When we go to the library, I get a stack of books, too. Right now, I have 11 library books stacked up on my table three of which I have opened to passages that I’m comparing. When Meredith walked in a few minutes ago and asked me what I was working on, I was able to read a quick section to her and explain what I was learning. Plan little breaks in your day so that you can read for pleasure or for home school preparation. Share interesting things that you are learning from your reading, or let them hear you chuckling over a good passage.

* * * * *

In today’s culture, reading is an integral element of gathering knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Set your children on the road to discovery by reading aloud to them!

Do you know a friend who might enjoy this post? If so, please forward it with my blessings.

Tags: classic, classical scholars, early language development, home school, homeschooler, Literature, read aloud to children, reader, reading

Originally written in 1999 by the mother-daughter team, Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer, The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home (revised in 2004) applies the “Lost Tools of Learning” educational theory of Dorothy Sayers to systematically train the child over a twelve year period. The authors are wildly popular within the classical homeschooling community, and rightly so since they satisfied the desires of the many parents who were not classically educated by providing them with a detailed road map, by grade, for the rigorous content of a classical education.

Learning is organized around 3 main stages in a child’s mental development which hypothetically correlate to the 3 stages of the trivium: grammar, logic, and rhetoric. The grammar stage comprises the early elementary years when the child is absorbing facts and experiences like a sponge. Both oral and written narration is key to this stage. During the logic stage, the maturing youth begins to critically analyze information while the rhetoric stage involves the refinement of personal communication skills through public speaking and writing.

History is the foundational building block in this philosophical method and is segregated into 4 major periods: ancient, medieval, renaissance or revolutions, and modern. The family who follows this method all 12 years will rotate through each period of history 3 times.

Science and literature are coordinated with the period of history being studied. For example, when the student studies ancient history, he also studies life science which is what the people of that age would have known. Astronomy is studied with medieval history, chemistry is studied with revolutions, and physics is tackled with modern history.

Classical literature like Homer’s Iliad is read three times. During the grammar stage, the parent reads an abridged picture book version; during the logic stage, the student reads an abridged version. Finally, the student reads the original classic during the rhetoric stage. This pattern lends coherence; as the student matures, knowledge, understanding, and wisdom widens and deepens. Latin, formal logic, art, and music are also covered in this approach.

According to the authors, there are three major characteristics of this philosophy. Primarily, the “well-trained mind” classical education is language-focused; the conversion of words (symbols) into mental concepts requires different skills from those required for image-focused methods. Secondarily, skills are built over time in that knowledge is gained (grammar stage), logical tools are acquired to analyze such knowledge (logic stage) , and reasonable personal conclusions are expressed (rhetoric stage.) Finally, to the classical student, all knowledge is interrelated as evidenced by the coordination of disciplines like history, science, and literature.

Not only do the authors provide a thorough analysis of the philosophy of classical education but they also provide extensive practical application in resource lists and schedule by stage. Although rigorous and demanding on both parents and students, the challenge is beneficial. One caution, however, for the parent who is just beginning the classical education journey: don’t try to do everything that is recommended in The Well-Trained Mind; instead, use it as a reference tool and tailor the suggestions to your own family situation.

* * * * *

Are you a fan of Susan Wise Bauer’s four volume, Story of the World, history for children? If so, you might want to download a few excerpts of her newest (released March 2007) adult history, The History of the Ancient World, at Susan Wise Bauer’s Blog.

(Plus, I KNOW you would love her blog! This woman is AMAZING!! She and her husband planted a church with her parents, she home schools four kids, and she writes book after book. She is a 1st generation home schooler, so imagine what your own 1st generation “well-trained mind” kids will do when they grow up!)

 

* * * * *

If you are interested in sharing ideas with other homeschool parents who relish the home education philosophy of “the well-trained mind,” consider joining one of the following free Yahoo Discussion Groups. [The following descriptions are provided by each Yahoo group.]

WellTrainedMindDscn (2835 members)

“The participants on this list discuss the book “The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home” (TWTM or WTM) by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer. Although we have a moderator, we do not have any “experts” — we’re all trying to figure out how to apply these principles in our own home, according to our own experiences. This group is open to all homeschoolers who are interested in learning more about classical education methods. Therefore, although religion may be mentioned, it is not to become a point of contention. The focus of the discussion is to remain on-topic, with short friendly side comments allowed. We will discuss one main topic per week, along with whatever items members want to bring to the group (questions, successes, comments).”

WellTrainedMindFamilies (556 members)

“The families on this list discuss the book “The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home” by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer. This group is open to all homeschooling families who are interested in learning more about classical education methods. This list is here to discuss how to implement TWTM into everyday life and all that goes along with it…from legal issues, to book suggestions, to discipline problems, to sleeping issues, to how to teach how to share. We believe homeschooling is 24/7, so for us, basically life is one big school.”

* * * * *

Read more about the home schooling philosophies of John Holt, Charlotte Mason, and Oliver DeMille, and discover that they all encourage love of learning even though different paths are suggested to achieve such a love. Do you need some help verbalizing your own home educational philosophy? My post, “What Is Your Home Education Philosophy?,” offers 10 questions to get you started.

Tags: Classical Education, home education philosophy, home schooling philosophy, Jessie Wise, latin, Literature, Logic, love of learning, narration, Oliver DeMille, Rhetoric, Susan Wise Bauer, The Well-Trained Mind, trivium, unschooling, Writing

When I pulled the kids out of public school in order to teach them at home, I decided (with David’s blessing) to postpone the traditional grade accumulation process until they began to tackle high school content. The primary purpose of report cards is to notify the absent parent of the student’s progress, and I was no longer detached from their education; so, I decided to avoid the extra work until it was absolutely necessary. I was fully in tune with their progress in every area of learning, so there was no need for busy work. Every homeschooling mom will agree with me that we have plenty of work to keep us busy day and night!

 

Fortunately, my state department of education does not require grade reporting; however, if your state requires report cards, you’ll have to comply. Check with the HSLDA or click on the map to discover the legal reporting requirements for your state.

Most employers, colleges, and universities require an official transcript outlining the high school curriculum and grades, so I began to keep track of grades once each child began high school courses. I recommend starting some high school level work during the 7th or 8th year of homeschooling if you think your teen is ready. For instance, in our home, the kids started high school Debate and Latin before the 9th year, so I started accumulating official grades during the middle school years. In the example below, you’ll notice that there is no grade for Algebra 1 because Connor hasn’t started this yet.

 

How you decide to gather grade info is really your personal choice. You can pay for software like Edu-Track, or you can shares forms with other parents on email loops like the Yahoo Group, Homeschool Form Share. My personal favorite tool for accumulating grades is a Microsoft Excel form called Grade Tracker that you can download for free. Here’s a screenshot of my customized summary for Connor:

There are two great reasons to use Grade Tracker: it’s free, and the excel spreadsheet automatically calculates the cumulative GPA! If you’d like to go behind the scenes, I’ve prepared a quick video tutorial to explain how I use Grade Tracker.

Our philosophy of learning has always been “master the material, or do it again” which means that we strive for excellence. Sometimes rework cannot be avoided, and sometimes we just don’t “get it,” but generally, we don’t move on to new material until we have mastered the old material. Fortunately we have the luxury as homeschoolers to set our own pace, and we can stop and work on a particular weak area of knowledge until we master it. We’ve had to do this several times with math which is a good reason to start the kids early on high school level work if you can.

Some courses like Literature or Art History are fairly subjective in nature; David and I generally grade these courses through Socratic Dialogue, narration, or written essays. Objective courses like Latin 1, Laboratory Biology, and Introductory Logic include written examinations which can be graded more precisely.

I try to keep up with the grind of recording high school grades on a weekly basis although I have to admit this task is one of my least favorite chores of homeschooling! Usually by Friday afternoon, I am ready to start entering information about the course content and the related grade into the spreadsheet. Over the years, I have kept all of the kids’ work; at the end of the year, I pull out all the best examples and create a portfolio (really more like a scrapbook) and put the rest in a labeled box which I store in the attic. In some respect the annual portfolio serves as proof of each child’s homeschooling “grade” or progress that year until they get to high school when I then begin to keep official grades.

* * * * *

Are you keeping grades yet? Please take a minute to share your methods in the comments section below.

Tags: Algebra, Biology, Debate, education, grade tracker, grades, high school, Home School Legal Defense Association, home schooling, homeschooling, homeschooling mom, HSLDA, Introductory Logic, latin, Literature, Microsoft Excel, report cards, Transcript