I marvel that I can think something someone else thought by reading their words. Connecting to truth through books is a privilege. We study Great Lives, Geography, History, Nature, Literature, and Science all through books.
...Seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek out of the best books words of wisdom, seek learning even by study and also by faith; Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing, and establish a house... a house of learning. -Doctrine & Covenants 109: 7-8
"Books are uniquely portable magic." -Stephen King
The books we use are mostly free online at Libraries of Hope. The Well Educated Heart app has an audio library of some these books which is also free. We have used The Good and The Beautiful History and Science Curriculum, but I am deliberating over continuing because of the need for simplicity. Jenny Philips, from The Good and The Beautiful, uses literature to supplement her lesson material and I may continue that part of it. We have some sets of books that act as our readers. These are namely The Book House, The Collier Junior Classics, The Christian Nature Readers and Reading-Literature by Free and Treadwell.
Reading Lesson Overview
Cozy up. We get comfortable, as much as we can. I like light and pillows and this is when my dog gets his cuddle. When I finally decided to write this blog, my sage of a son wanted to make sure I included the thing he likes best about our learning-if the children are quiet, I keep reading. So there it is. When they get fussy over who gets what lego, we put away the books. Besides legos we have handwork options to keep our hands busy.
Review. To reinforce longer term memory storage, we retrieve and repeat. I ask simple questions like: What did we read yesterday? What do you remember about what we read last week? Where were we? I have learned to put books down while the children are fully into them and begging for just one more chapter. As much as I want to indulge them, if I put it down and pick up another book instead, the fire doesn't go out. They are thinking on the books and excited for the next time. This was not an easy lesson for me, but a good one.
Preview. To help with vocabulary and thus aid comprehension, I pre teach the key words. This takes a little bit of preparation, but just a small thing is helpful to build background knowledge. I try to simply define new words and show written form. Later we will write word lists in our notebooks. Sometimes the children will all climb around to see the pictures before we start.
Dig In. I pick books I enjoy, that are well written, and full of truth. Story format is more engaging than information, so books that teach about geography, science and history through storytelling are what I look for to add to my collection. I Read aloud or let my children take turns reading. Next year, I will let them read more. The best tip I have had on how to be good at reading aloud is to slow down. When there is a sense of hurry it just doesn't feel as nice. This is a good moment to model fluent reading and delight. Intentionally, I am not suggesting things to buy, but Book Darts are one thing I am glad I bought. They are thin page markers. We mark a gem, or beautiful word, thought or idea, when we get to them.
Retell. We stop after a paragraph, page or chapter depending on listener's abilities and I ask: What did you notice? What do you want to remember? What happened in the beginning, middle, and end? What main idea or details do you remember? What questions do you have? The children have had to learn not take their turn and not talk over each other. As they retell, I remind them that what they say back will be what they remember. I have learned not to guide them along with probing remarks. As they listen to each other they remember more.
"Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are." -Mason Cooley
I just had to smile over this quote, right? The rest of this post is just an enormous list of my books. The links are for free digital copies. What is your favorite book? If you tell, I may read it and see into your heart. Right now, my favorite book is Mio My Son, by Astrid Lindgren and Lucy Maud Montgomery has taken me to Ingleside for a spring break.
The list that really never ends...
Geography
How to Draw the U.S.A.
Holling Clancy Holling Books
Atlas of the World
100 Wonders of the World
History/Great Lives
Historium
Dictionary of Cultural Literacy
Forgotten Classics Library (all free digitally)
Nature/ Science
Nature Anatomy by Julia Rothman
Handbook of Nature Study by Anna B. Cromstock
Arabella Buckley's books
The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling
Claire Walker Leslie Nature Journaling books
Christian Liberty Nature Readers
The Storybook of Science by Jean Henri Fabre
Field Guides
Literature/ Book Sets
Booklist from The Good and The Beautiful
My Book House
Collier Junior Classics Series Popular Edition and 1962 Edition
Junior Deluxe Editions
100 Dresses
Pippi Longstocking
Mary Poppins
E.B. White's books
Roald Dahl's books
Kate DiCamillo's books
The Penderwicks
Pinnochio
The Girl of the Limberlost
Freckles
The Swallows and the Amazons
Chronicles of Narnia
Pollyanna
James Herriot's Treasury
Little House on the Prairie
The Jungle Book
Heidi
Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare for Children
Best Folktales of the World
The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh
Tow-Truck Pluck
Little Women
Little Princess
Peter Pan
The Secret Garden
Peter Pan
The Wind in the Willows
The Magic Pudding
Ida B
Audio Books
We enjoy a library audio book collection, the free site libra-vox, and while schools are not open, audible has many free books available. I use the Libby app for audio books from my public library.
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