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Why is reading the core of our
curriculum?
We believe that so much of what we call “Language Arts” is much easier learned in the context of actual language. Not only will your children learn all the separate components of language, but they will also see how real words operate in real-life writing. In
our family, we use “real” books (in addition to only worksheets) to reinforce
much of what we are teaching. We also use some worksheets, especially for the invaluable skills that all
children must master and are best learned through repeated drill.
We use worksheets occasionally to drill the following areas:
So
while we believe that memorization and drill is important, the majority of our
emphasis will be on showing you, the Mom, how to use the books your children are
already reading to teach the skills of language arts. We believe you can
use purchased textbooks from major curriculum suppliers to good advantage;
however, if learning is to be lifelong, you'll need to work to develop that love
in your children. What kinds of books do we need?
To
avoid having you purchase more books than your budget can afford, we want to
encourage you to build your own personal family library, as you have the money,
the space, and the desire. For our
family, when we tell people that we homeschool, we find that they often drop off
boxes and bags full of books on our doorstep.
Extended family is usually thrilled to purchase books for our home
library. I love to look through
various homeschooling catalogs, and I’m continually adding new books to my
“wish list.” Of course, I
always have the option of borrowing books from other families or the public
library. My biggest dilemma is
finding room for all the books we have! However,
when I’ve debated buying a packaged, literature-based curriculum, I never seem
to have those “necessary” resources on my shelves!
So I’m faced with having to buy even more books and make even more room
for book storage – of course, all the while, spending money I really don’t
have. So
our goal has been to let you choose the books you want to use for
your family. We encourage you to
look at curriculum companies for suggestions, since they often do a fabulous job
choosing and describing books. Below
you’ll find a possible list of sources for good books, although we’re sure
it just touches the tip of the ice burg of available books.
We
welcome you to send any additional suggestions you have to us at anne@annesschoolplace.com.
In the future, we will post suggestions on our website.
Please
choose books from each of these categories to be read daily to, with, and by
your children:
We
encourage you to read aloud each day to your children, from the time they are
very small to at least 5th or 6th grade – and longer, if
you have time and everyone continues to love the time together.
Independent
reading by your children should begin as soon as they can read.
For younger children, give them very easy books since they are still in
the “decoding” stage of reading. By
third or fourth grade, depending on the children, you’ll notice that they can
begin to read for information and retain almost all of what they read. Continue to require independent reading daily all the way
through the end of high school. Sometimes
they should read aloud to you, using good pronunciation and expression, but much
of this reading will be done quietly, maybe on their bed or curled up on the
couch. We have developed a form on which you can record all the books that you read as a family. You are free to print or photocopy this form as often as you’d like, for your own family’s personal use.
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Having trouble juggling it all? Anne's book may be just what you need. Questions about homeschooling? We'd love to
help! You can contact us here.
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