• Parent Entrance
• Student Entrance
• Enroll Now
• Academy Tour
• Course Demonstration
• Computer, Software Requirements
• Home School FAQ
• Christian Affiliate Program
• Online Resources
• Home School News

Homeschooling Resources: Academic Resources

Reading: Share the Joy Constantly
By Mimi Rothschild 

When our daughter finished the fifth grade, her teacher paid me a great compliment. "Your children are two of the best readers that I have ever taught," she said of Jamie, now thirteen, and Lisa, now eleven. "What have you done to make them love books so much?" I am a book-loving nerd (as my children have kindly dubbed me) and was determined that they, too would also know the joy of books and treasure them as I do. I read to them when they were little, of course, but here are some of the other tricks I've used to incorporate reading into their lives.

1. Read to them over breakfast. I started doing this in self-defense. Our son is a morning person, chipper and energetic, while our daughter tends to be slow and grumpy. She makes an irresistible target and the fighting between them could be unbearable. Her operatic screaming at 6:30 in the morning can make your eyebrows fall out. How to cope? By reading aloud - actually by performing. As my kids have quietly munched their Cheerios over the years, I have read all of the Sherlock Holmes stories, The Jungle Book, Out of Africa, and A Christmas Carol, to name a few. I use different voices for the different characters and read with expression. Although Meryl Streep has no competition from me, my performances are captivating enough that I've had one or the other of the children rush off to the bathroom only to leave the door ajar with the admonition, "Keep reading! I can hear you!"
2. Read to them whenever you're waiting. I have been known to read to the kids while at the beach, in restaurants, in airports, and on airplanes. While in public, I read in a whisper, their heads nearly touching mine as they listen. Are they embarrassed? Occasionally, but they've gotten used to that because I am a very embarrassing mother (so they constantly tell me). But they want to hear the ending; they want to solve the mystery. All of us endure waiting. Reading makes it productive.
3. Keep reading aloud even when they are older. One dark and stormy night our television cable went out and so we started a fire in the fireplace, dimmed the lights, and I read "The Monkey's Paw." Even my husband enjoys hearing me read. The children are currently in middle school, but there is something very soothing in having someone tell you a story or read to you, no matter what your age might be.
4. Play books on tape on car trips. We are very fond of car trips in our house, but the trips are more interesting when we listen to books. Traffic isn't as irritating when you have a good story playing and an added bonus is that the children aren't shrieking like howler monkeys in the back seat. Charlotte's Web, Island of the Blue Dolphins, and Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegone stories are some of our favorites. For younger children, Jim Weiss does some excellent tapes of Greek myths, stories of King Arthur, fairy tales, and others. The Harry Potter books as read by Jim Dale are also delightful.
5. Keep children's magazines in the car. We have subscriptions to Muse, Odyssey, Cobblestone, and Dig. All kids enjoy interesting articles about science, nature, and history, but the operative word is interesting. Their schoolbooks tend to be very general with these topics (often deadly dull, in fact), but the magazines offer great photos and up-to-date information on new discoveries. We save many of the old issues and they have been very valuable for the kids to use as sources for reports. By keeping them in the car, the magazines have a captive audience. The little errands we run are not so dull for the children when they can read an article on bog mummies while we pick up the dry cleaning.
6. Have fine quality children's books available at all times. This requires regular visits to the library or your local children's bookstore. I prefer children's bookstores because they tend to have helpful and knowledgeable employees. If you have a second grader who loves dragons, they can find the perfect book for you. Our library and local children's bookstore are frequent stops for me as I run errands, with or without the kids. There is always something interesting available in the house for the kids to read. I also emphasize fine quality in children's literature. I don't want them wasting their valuable reading time on mediocre books. My son was hooked on the Animorphs series for awhile, so I made a deal with him. He could read the series, but he had to alternate with an award-winning book. Check the back covers where the publishers list the awards. There are many issued for children's books and this is an easy way to ensure that the books they read offer more than mere entertainment. The kids also like knowing that the books they read are winners.

________________________________________________________________
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling parent, author, children's rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of almost 3 decades reside with their 8 children in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Rothschild co-founded Learning By Grace, Inc. because "our current system of education has broken its promise..." Learning By Grace, Inc. delivers Internet-based multimedia education to PreK-12 children in the United States and throughout the world.

Rothschild has authored a number of books about education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Daily Education News Blog contains feature stories on alternatives in education.

Share the Joy Constantly: Part II