When I was homeschooled, my mom would have me do book reports for school. I know I didn’t care for writing them at the time but looking back, I can see the various benefits. Book reports force the student to read the material carefully and to think about what they are reading. It also is hugely beneficial in that it gives plenty of writing practice.

Sally, my oldest daughter, loves to read. She does not do so well at necessarily relating back to me what she reading. To remedy this, the memory of my own mother giving me book reports to complete will turn into me asking my own daughter to begin the book report journey.

I have searched around and around to see what help is available in teaching my children how to correctly write a book report. Hopefully the following links will be as useful to you as they are to me.

How to Write a Book Report, part of Purdue’s Online Writing Lab, OWL – Before I go any further, all kudos for this link goes to my friend, Joy, at FiveJs. I asked her if she had any helpful links and this was her answer. This link provides enough information that you could get any writing student started in book reports at their level. Check this one out first.

Beginner’s Book Report Template – I only recommend this for beginning readers/writers. This is a basic sheet that asks the child to fill in some information on the book (Title/Author/Illustrator, as well as what genre the book would best fit), two questions about the book (What is the Story About? and Who is Your Favorite Character and Why?), and has an area to draw the student’s favorite part in the book at the bottom.

Donna Young’s Book Reports section – This includes the basics of a book report and what it should include (found near the bottom), book forms, and logs for the younger set.

Book Report Ideas for Primary Age – This one includes something I have never heard of: Art-Based Book Reports. In my way of thinking, this is actually quite brilliant. Before your young children become writers, they can still retain what they hear as you read-aloud to them using these artistic prompts. There are also Writing-Based Book Reports at the bottom.

Book Report Forms and Reading Log Printables – While this link does not provide the “how-to’s” of book reports, it does give some great printables that you can just print off and give to your kiddos who are learning the basics. I highly recommend these.

Hope these help!

Photo credit: nkzs

I do not like to admit this, especially because ALL homeschool moms seem to love to do this, but {deep breath}. . . I would rather do dishes than read aloud to my children. This makes me seem unloving, barbaric and not cool, but it is the plain and simple truth.

In spite of this, I chose Tapestry of Grace as our homeschool curriculum, which happens to be a curriculum that involves lots of reading aloud. And because I like the curriculum more than I dislike the reading aloud, when it comes time to wrestle down the two year old and ask the others to sit down and listen which inevitably ends up with the two-year-old trying to climb on top of the mantel and the other three fighting because so-and-so is touching their leg and the baby decides to explode out of her diaper as soon as I start reading read aloud to them, I can either do it miserably or I can think of ways to make it a lot more interesting for all of us.

So instead of going to the kitchen and making things dirty on purpose so that I won’t have to read aloud, I came up with a few ways that makes reading time better for Mommy and kiddos alike. These six ways are in no particular order and you may find that some won’t work for your family. That is okay. If you have trouble reading to your kids, then look for other ways that will fit your family dynamic.

• Turn off the TV. I am not talking about while you are reading (because I am certain you know that already). Rather, turn off the TV 99% of the time. When kids get used to flashy pictures, happy music and never-ending scenes of adventure, the books tend to seem. . .  well, boring. That is not what we want. If we want to open up the world of wonder that is reading, then we need to eliminate the junk-entertainment and feed them the whole food of book reading.
• Pick stories the kids are familiar with. My kids love to watch Peter Pan. (I know I said not to watch tv. I know, I know.) When they found out that it started as a book, they begged to hear Mommy read it. They enjoyed it because they knew about it first. There was no trying to figure out in their minds what was going on because they kinda-sorta knew the story line. If your kids are not used to being read aloud, this is especially helpful for them to get introduced to the notion.
• Enhance the reading. Try to do different voices for each character. Make your voice excited at a particularly happy part. Turn serious when someone in the story has done something wrong. Do not read the story in a monotone manner. We do not want to bore them but get them to see that books really are fun and a good way to be entertained.
• Don’t read too long. This one is just so very important. If your kids are young, do not try and read Moby Dick to them in one sitting. It just will not work. Everyone will end up cranky and beside the fact that that book is over their heads, they will not get as much out of it if they are having to digest too much at once. My general rule is no more than a chapter, or around 10-15 pages.
• Act the stories out after every chapter. After you read a chapter or your 10-15 pages or whatever you have set as your maximum pages read, have the kiddos act out what they heard. Do not expect them to put on a major theatrical play but let them show you what they heard. And trust me, they will love this.
• Let them run around outside first if they are too hyper. If my children are bouncing off the walls right before I want to read to them about the Assyrians, that is not a good time to read. Because I get in my have-to-get-this-done-now mode, I try to plop them on the couch and read while unsuccessfully policing their antsy behavior. (I am not saying that children should not be taught to sit still. I am only speaking helping them out a bit right before reading.) My simple solution is to let them get their wiggles out first by either playing outside for a little while or doing a game of Simon Says that involves lots of jumping.
• Let them see you read. Why would your children want to hear you read if they do not see Mommy reading? They like to mimic us and this is the same in the area of reading. Do not do all your reading online or after they are in bed. It can be as simple as them just seeing you read the Bible throughout the day.

What are your struggles with reading aloud? Do your kids love it? Do YOU love it?

This is the time of year when you will find many posts about homeschooling. Bloggers are sharing their plans for the upcoming school year and getting excited about the newness of this next year of home education. New books and school supplies fill most homeschooling moms and their children with readiness to embark on another year of learning.

Technically we school year round. Our family does not follow any public school schedule. We keep it loosey-goosey in order to make time for new babies, illnesses, holidays and the like. Summertime is way too hot in Texas for the kids to be outside and so they are stuck indoors. Thus we do the bulk of our education in the summer and like to take breaks when the weather is better for outdoor play.

Still, because it is interesting to read what others will be using in their homeschool, I thought I’d share what we are utilizing in the Wisdom Begun household. We don’t put our children into grades, but if someone were asking I would say that I was homeschooling a 2nd grader, Kindergartner, and two preK kids. This is just to give people a better idea as to where my children are academically. Truth be told, my oldest excels in some subjects and so she is well above 2nd grade level and she is just at second grade level in others. Same for my other children. We teach subjects according to their comprehension and ability.

Core

Tapestry of Grace, Year 1

I have to admit that we gave up Tapestry of Grace this summer because I was overwhelmed with their Digital Edition. Give me paper in my hand any day. I thought that Mystery of History would better fit our family’s needs and would provide the education that my husband and I decided was best for our children.

In the end we are switching back to Tapestry of Grace and will be purchasing it in print format. While Mystery of History is a neat program it was not meaty enough for what we were trying to achieve. My children also meshed better with Tapestry of Grace and were much more excited about “doing school” when we were using it.

To be honest, we are only very loosely following Tapestry of Grace at this point because we are less about rigidly doing a curriculum and more about using these early years as a segue into more intense studies. Playing, character training, and fun learning are key. By reading the books for the Lower Grammar level and doing the suggested activities Mrs. Somerville provides we are able to begin learning as a family and will be familiar with Tapestry of Grace by the time they are older and fully using this curriculum.

*For more reasons while using Tapestry of Grace with little ones is a good idea, you can read my http://wisdombegun.com/2009/06/04/tapestry-of-grace-and-young-children-part-two-2/.*

Math

Still unsure at this point. We are finishing up Horizons Math with my oldest but she didn’t really mesh well. I am looking into Math U See for her. My Kindergartner will be using BJU K5 because it is very colorful and heavy on manipulatives and that is how she learns. The younger children will learn by counting things out with mommy.

Science

I will not be using a formal curriculum for this. Instead, we will meld together field trips, hands on experiments, books from the library, lapbooking, and nature journaling to broaden their understanding of what God has created.

Latin

My oldest is using Prima Latina for this. So far she really enjoys it and I appreciate the DVDs that go along with it.

Language Arts

We will continue All About Spelling, Level 2. As far as grammar, I am wanting to keep it very simple and just give my oldest an introduction. I am looking First Language Lessons but I may just point things out as she reads. Of course we will continue just plain reading. Boxcar Children books are her current favorites. For Handwriting she will continue using the Copybooks from Memoria Press.

Art and Music

Just like with science, we will just learn these two as we go about our days. We listen to classical music and do lots of coloring and I feel that is enough at this point.

Bible

We are not using a curriculum or book for this. Instead we do daily Family Worship that Daddy leads; also I read straight from the Scriptures to them often and we work a lot on practical applications – character training and discipline – every day.

Thank you for taking the time to read what we are using in school this year! What are you planning on using your own homes? Leave a comment letting me know what works for you!

If you enjoyed this post, you will want to read: Homeschool: PreK Edition – Education and Homeschool: PreK Edition – Training.

Books photo courtesy of svilen001

While I shared this information with you over a year and a half ago, I thought it would be wise to bring it up again. In case you missed it the first time here is a little information about a site that may help those of you who are frugal homeschoolers. I have not ordered from them personally and am writing this post as part of the TOS Homeschool Crew.

I love books. I love to buy books. I love it when the books I want to buy are cheap. Many of the homeschool curricula out there require living books. While these types of books make learning much more enjoyable for all involved, the cost sure adds up. The gals who own Homeschool Library Builder strive to help homeschooling – and non-homeschooling – families build up their book shelves without having to shell out an arm and a leg for it.

This site is especially useful for those who use a literature-based curriculum or for those who want to provide quality books for their children but do not know where to start. This site offers for purchase used and new books that are marked down to be more affordable. You can find books according to category, curriculum, age, or country/region.

Make sure to go check it out!