How to Cultivate Read-Aloud Time

So you want to read aloud to your kids more...  You understand how important that can be...

Where, oh where do you start with growing those precious times of reading aloud to your kids?

Here are 5 ways to cultivate your read-aloud times!

1. Keep it Short, Do it Regularly
The key to making a habit of reading aloud to your kids is ROUTINE, ROUTINE, ROUTINE!  If your kids are young, or you haven't done very much read aloud, you'll also want to keep those time periods short as you get started. 

Plan times into your day for just sitting down and reading. In our home we start the day on the couch and end the day reading to them in bed!    This is a great place to start.  From there you can add reading for longer periods as they grow to enjoy those special times!  During these hot summer months, we enjoy sitting around in our damp swimsuits, under the fan with a good book!

2. Plan Strategically for Books that Stretch Them
For books that might be a bit of a stretch for my boys, I'll read during lunch or at bedtime.  Lunch time reading has been especially beneficial as we've transitioned into reading more 'informational' books that don't have a story involved.  With tummies being filled, they were happy to listen  and ask questions.  The downer with this is that I end up scrambling for time later to wolf down some food.   So obviously, we don't do this all the time.  Chapter books at bedtime work beautifully because they are always looking for any excuse to stay up just a bit later and my younger one's don't mind the lack of pictures as much.  We love to hear 'just one more chapter, please!'

3. Go With Your Child's Interest
Picking books that your pique your child's interest is a great way to nurture the desire to read and be read to.  This is very important with a reluctant reader/listener when you are wanting to boost your read aloud time.  Does your child like horses?  Find some stories centered around horses.  Do your active little boys like battles?  Find some engaging picture books about knights or the revolutionary war.  Meet them where they are at and pull them into the beauty of reading.

4. Choose Well-Written, Beautifully Illustrated Read-Aloud Books
Never underestimate the power of a good picture book.  When I find one with beautiful illustrations and a captivating story line, we will enjoy it over and over again.  Picture books are not just for the really young.  A good picture book will delight any age.  While my kids enjoy the Froggy books, I can only handle them in {very} small doses.  The kids find that those kinds of books 'need' to be returned to the library quickly while the more interesting or creatively illustrated books tend to stick around much longer.  I'm always game for a Tomie dePaola book (like the one's I've mentioned here, here and here) or Robert McCloskey (written about here and here).  In the next couple of weeks I'll be sharing lists of my favorite authors/illustrators and some of our very favorite books!  In the meantime, I've enjoyed the book suggestions in Honey for a Child's Heart and at Simply Charlotte Mason (picture books or by grade level) if you are hankering for some good suggestions right now.


5. Pull in Books Relating to What You are Learning About
Much of our read aloud time is centered around interesting fiction books that relate to what we are learning about!  You can do this no matter what curriculum or educational approach you use and it really goes a long way in not only creating interest in reading, but increases interest in the subject at hand too!  If you check out my books-kids category, you'll find many examples where we've done just that!


How does read-aloud time work in your home?  Would you add anything to this list?  I enjoyed reading some of your ideas on the benefits of reading aloud and I'd love to hear your thoughts on the 'how to' of this as well.

This little series on reading unofficially started with sharing about some of the little sweet rewards of reading and reliving some small portion of the story. Next we discussed some of the many benefits of read-aloud time.  I love talking books!  For the two or three weeks we'll be talking more about cultivating a love of reading for our children!

The Apple and the Arrow

Does this disturb any of you????  In our quest to learn about courage, we took a dive into Switzerland's quest for independence and the story of William Tell.  And yes, the kids became William Tell while taking aim at the baby doll.  Thankfully, they agreed to let the doll stand in for Tell's son instead of a brother as originally desired.  Their aim -even at point blank, was pretty lacking.  (Isn't the felt crown-turned belt amusing?)

Good books that delight the imagination are true gems.  In this instance, we found a keeper. The Apple and the Arrow captivated my three boys from the get-go.  The fact the I looked forward to the next chapter as eagerly as my boys did made them quite happy as we sped our way through this book.  I love books that are rich in vocabulary and descriptive.  In an age where many newer books have stunted beginners vocabulary, it is a delight to find an older book like this one. 

We talked about the feelings evoked from Rossini's William Tell Overture, looked up pictures of Switzerland and daydreamed about going there someday (well, at least I did anyways).

Afterwards, we went outside and had one boy put an apple on his head, while the rest of us counted out 60 paces to get a feel for how scary it was for William Tell to take the stand against the tyrant leader and risk his son's life. 

It was a beautiful opportunity to discuss our working definition of courage.

COURAGE

Doing what is right, even if it is dangerous and even if I am afraid.

We marveled at William Tell's courage.  We marvelled at his son's courage.  And the boys eagerly practiced manifesting such courage for the rest of the day.  {Imagine 3 boys carefully taking aim at apples, tied up and being rowed across the lake in the lazy boy and hightailing it high up the stairs, I mean the Alps.  Greta is turning out to be quite the napper...}

As a mother of 3 future men, I couldn't be more thankful for the opportunity to explore this area of character with them over the last month.

And of course, with apples on the mind, we made some yummy apple/granola sandwiches!  My boys are obsessed with making lunch ALL-BY-THEMSELVES and this lunch was a huge hit.  Aside from me having to core and slice the apples, they were able to assemble their own sandwiches.  We ended up preferring our apple sandwiches open-faced.

It's days like this when I just give a contented sigh and thank God for the opportunity to explore, discover, play and learn alongside my children!

Facing the Giant...

I'm back!  Rested, relaxed and with renewed focus.  Sometimes, it is so helpful to refocus and take a break from the norm.  But I'm thankful to return and I have so much that I'm eager to write about...

I set out to battle my personal giant - 'the black hole that is the internet', as my sister aptly describes it.  I enjoyed going computer-free for three days a week and plan to continue this habit for the month of March.    

The boys don't have issues with screen time, because I am ever so vigilant to limit it for them.  {Funny how I can be so good about setting limits for them and let slide the same limitations for myself...} Instead, in our focus on the character trait of COURAGE, we literally came face to face with Goliath.

Adding a hands-on element to our lessons goes a long way to solidify learning and increase retention.  How many times do children hear the story of David and Goliath?  I'd venture to guess it is pretty frequent.  As we read the Biblical account this time, I decided to help make it a little more 'real' for them.  So I challenged them to make a life-size drawing of Goliath.  We were all in awe at his size when it was made toweringly visible.  Seriously, he's big, really big.  Albeit, our version was on the skinny side.  As wonderful as a roll of butcher paper is, I guess it does still have limitations.

I try as often as possible to give minimal directions and back-off to see where they will go with it.  They learn so much more when they have to figure things out for themselves.

Armed with a roll of butcher paper and the knowledge of Goliath's gargantuan 9 feet of height the boys grabbed daddy's tape measure to get started.

The {almost} four year old is convinced that he will need armor for this upcoming battle...  hmmm, maybe we should re-read the story again. :)

Mommy did have to step in to hold a discussion on body proportions as their initial estimates were six feet of legs with three feet remaining for torso and head.  They adjusted this a bit before drawing their outline.

Afterwards, we set out to paint 5 little stones for their 'David' role playing that was to come.  We are grateful for non-toxic paint as the {nearly} four year old swiped a painted, stale marshmallow while I wasn't looking.  One was enough and he didn't attempt any more.

We recited this poem to correspond to the colors of our 'stones.'

 

Five Little Stones by Ronda Duvall

Red, Blue, Yellow, Orange, and Green,
These five little stones remind me of many things.

Red means stop and pray for courage.
With God on my side never be discouraged.

Blue means it's okay to feel sad.
But, with the right amount of courage, I don't need to get
mad.

Yellow reminds me to slow down and pray.
Thank God for His blessings every day.

Orange, this stone is very bright.
God is with me, there's no need to feel fright.

Green means for me to get up and go,
God shows me that He loves me so.

Slingshot and {marshmallow} stones in hand, they stepped up to the challenge of taking him on.  We have a new-found respect for David and the courage that God gave him to face this giant. Sadly, our marshmallow stones did not stand up well to the rigors of being squeezed in our traditional slingshot.  Large pom poms stepped in as default 'stones'.  {While I like to think of myself as a 'fun' mom, I draw the line at anything that could damage windows, lamps, etc...}

This handy little verse card seen below can be found on Danielle's Place.

God is bigger in our eyes now and there is a calm assurance that He will fill us with courage to do incredible things!

Labor Day Learning Fun

{whistle while you work}

I hope you all are having a fabulous Labor Day weekend.  My boys are so very excited to have their daddy home for an extra day this weekend...  As we enjoy time together as a family, we also plan to take some time to learn about the origins of Labor Day and commemorate the day a bit.  All of life is full of learning opportunities, isn't it?!?!?

The older I get, the more I see that I am becoming more and more like my mother.  Speaking of my mother, this very creative woman has put together a fabulous resource for having some fun while turning our attention to what Labor Day is all about.

{Huge sigh of relief}  Because my creative juices ebb and flow pretty erratically over here at this point in the pregnancy.  I just keep telling myself 4(ish) more weeks. 

 So today, she is 'guest posting' and sharing her fabulous ideas for the whole family from the littlest to the grandparents!  ENJOY!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Background:
Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. Labor Day first began in the 1880s as a day off for the hardworking men and women of America.

Today Labor Day continues to celebrate the efforts of the working person though over the years, it has evolved from a purely labor union celebration into a general last fling of summer.  Labor Day grew out of a celebration and parade in honor of the working class by the Knights of Labor in 1882 in New York. The Knights passed a resolution to hold all future parades in September which was selected to reject any identification with May Day, when the Socialists and Communists commemorated the working man.

The Bible has some good things to say about work and labor:      

• Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Eph. 4:28
• Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper. Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time. Proverbs 13:4
• The laborer is worthy of his wages. Luke 10:7

And our countries leaders have said some great things as well:

• A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned -- this is the sum of good government.- Thomas Jefferson
• Work is not a curse, it is the prerogative of intelligence, the only means to manhood, and the measure of civilization. -Calvin Coolidge

So what to do on labor day – especially with your family and friends:

1. Whistle While You Work - Your chores will get done faster if you whistle, chant or sing!  Workers in the fields used to set up a steady rhythm and sing about what their jobs entailed to make the time go faster.  You can sing one of the following songs or make up your own about the chores you are doing.  For instance you can sing about dusting, picking up the (various) toys, making your bed, etc. Make three or four verses that you repeat over and over.  Since I am not musical I pick a familiar tune such as The Farmer in the Dell, and write my own lyrics.  Here are some classics:
• Pick a Bale of Cotton
• I’ve been working on the Railroad
• Whistle while you Work 
2. Career Dress Up Day – Ask the children what they would like to be when they grow up.  Let them dress up and pretend to do that.  I would like to do this as a Labor Day party next year!  But you can do it spontaneously this year.
3. Thank you to a Worker – Write (or draw) a card to send to someone whose work you particularly appreciate – maybe a policeman, or a fireman, your doctor, the grocery store clerk or butcher, or the garbage collector (aren’t all kids fascinated with that job?)
4. Labor Games – Play charades or Pictionary with these printable “occupation” cards. There are easy ones of the kids, and some harder ones for the teens and adults.  With a little work you could set up taboo cards if you prefer.
5. Read a Book
• The Little Engine That Could (ages 2-8) by Watty Piper
• Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel (ages 3-8) by Virginia Lee Burton
• Busy, Busy Town (ages 3-8) by Richard Scarry
• What Do People Do All DayWhat do People do all day (ages 3-8) by Richard Scarry
• The Berenstain Bears on the Job (ages 3-8) by Stan and Jan Berenstain
• The Bobbin Girl (ages 5-11) by Emily Arnold McCully
• Amos Fortune, Free Man (ages 9 and up) by Elizabeth Yates
• The Good of Affluence: Seeking God in a Culture of Wealth (adults, nonfiction) by John R. Schneider
6. Have a Discussion – Pick one or more of these questions
• Is work good? Why or why not?
• Which is more important, free trade or fair trade? Why?
• Is all work of equal value to society? Why or why not?
• (For the kids) What do you hope to do when you grow up? Why? What steps can you take now to help you achieve your goals?
• (For the adults) What do you like most about your current job? What do you like least? If you could change careers, would you? Why or why not?
• (For the Grandparents) How has the work force changed in our country during your lifetime?
• In the US child labor is largely a thing of the past. In other parts of the world, children are still considered a vital part of the work force. Do you think this is good or bad? Why? At what age do you believe children should be allowed to work? What kinds of jobs do you think are appropriate for children?  For teens?
7. Watch a Movie (First three are fun, last two pretty sobering)
• The Incredibles (All Ages) Mr. Incredible is a hard working man providing for his family. (I know this is a stretch, but I wanted to list one movie for the little ones. :-)
• Newsies (All Ages)  A favorite of our family.  My SIL mentioned that the movie makes business the bad guy and unions the good guys.  Yeah, but I still like the movie.
• The Pajama Game (Teens and up)  Fun with Doris Day and the unions!
• Tucker - The Man and His Dream (Older kids and up)
• On the Waterfront (Teens and up)
• The Grapes of Wrath (Teens and up)

Colene Lewis

wife, mother, speaker, curriculum writer (KONOS Russia curriculum) and currently working for The Alliance Defense Fund.

Homeschooling --> Family Learning

~ ~ Blogger had some issues over the last few days and erased any changes or posts uploaded during that time.  I apologize for those of you who have subscribed to this blog for the repeat post... ~ ~

One of my favorite perks of homeschooling is that learning becomes a family adventure!

I remember as a girl my mom getting giddy about understanding something we were studying in a fresh way. She would always tell people that she loved homeschooling because of the great education she was getting.

As an adult, who received a fabulous education growing up, I can still vouch for that. While there is certainly a lot of me imparting instruction and training to them, much of it is a joint learning venture. And as I've learned with even the giving instruction and discipling process, there are still lessons for me.

Nothing quite brought this home recently like our study of the military a few months ago. I grew up in a home of three little girls. When it came time to study the military, we had no interest. I'm kicking myself now, especially since my Opa and his father were both career Army and my dad's father served briefly in the Navy. But no, that didn't appeal to little girls...

Times have changed and with three little boys, there were great whoops of excitement when this topic was introduced. We did boot camp, drills, awoke to reveille. They marched, learned how to make their beds military style, thanks to my hubby, an expert bedmaker.  I'd probably be discharged for poor bed-making skills alone...  One of their favorite parts was learning to properly salute from my Opa.

We learned details about how the military is structured and its various branches. I finally have a fairly good understanding of ranking now. Although the boys were too young for some of the information, I still found myself reading some of the 'older' kids books and gleaning information that I could then pass on to them. This was most definitely a JOINT venture.

The end of our unit perfectly coincided with an airshow that happens only every two years at Luke Air Force Base. {providence} We were all primed and ready...

The boys sat in the cockpit of a helicopter...

...and I genuinely marvelled at the controls!

The boys and I were all giddy and could tell the difference between an Apache and a Black Hawk helicopter. My husband has an amazing knowledge of military aircraft. He was able to fill us in on even more during this particular adventure!

Little guys practiced their salutes!

We talked to air force pilots...

And of course watched the show...

Oh the joys of homeschooling!!!

It provides the time, opportunity and adventure of on-going learning - as a family!

So what have YOU discovered lately in your learning adventures?

Winners Announced and Kings Crowned...

We emerged briefly from the middle ages to select some winners for our giveaway!!!  The boys were quite excited about it (although disappointed that they couldn't enter to win the pencils) and wanted to help, so I reverted to the 'old fashioned' way of writing down each name on a slip of paper and letting the two bigger boys select the winners.

The winner of the coloring book and Lyra pencils is: Stephanie

The winner of the coloring book is: Mountain Mama

CONGRATS!

We've been delving into the world of kings, queens - both of Bible times, the middle ages and the present.

Today we had two coronations.  I'm actually surprised that there wasn't a request for a third, but my little guy just assumed that as long as he had a crown, he'd skip the formalities...

After watching the footage from Queen Elizabeth's coronation on you tube, we set out to have our own coronation.  The boys found a suitable thrown and laid out a path leading up to it with our playsilks.  Using our Wikki Stix we encircled a baseball and converted into our orb.  Classy looking, I know!

We then proceeded with our mimicking the elements from the Coronation that stood out to them. 

The crown was mounted on a royal pillow, there was a {speedy} grand entrance and the king was presented with the Sceptor of the Cross (representing justice and authority) and the Sceptor of the Dove, also referred to as the Rod of Equity and Mercy.  I was pretty giddy after finding two gold crowns and a scepter at a garage sale this weekend while I was out walking!!!

The short Archbishop finally managed to crown the king. 

It was a very serious affair.

Until the official formalities were finished. 

Then there was much celebration and thankfully sharing of 'authority'.

As always, it is fun to watch their imaginations take hold of new things!  We'll be parked in the middle ages for a couple more weeks...