Did you do Assignment #1? Did your kids enjoy it? If so, try the next very simple step!
Assignment #2: Read a Book Out Loud
That’s right. It will just take you 10 minutes. It is fun! Just read your children a story out loud. If they aren’t all home, that is okay. If Dad is present and wants to enjoy, so much the better. The age of your children doesn’t matter. Teens like stories just as adults and preschoolers and all ages do.
Read aloud is one of the most joyful parts of homeschooling. Sharing great literature with my children has been the highlight of my homeschool, and has taught us more lessons than years of bookwork. But don’t think about great literature just yet. Think about the picture book you picked up from the library, or a short story without pictures.
If you need a recommendation to get started, read them one of these fun, entertaining chapter books that you won’t want to put down!
Mr. Popper’s Penguins
Summer of the Monkeys
Trumpet of the Swan
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
If you want something meaningful and interesting, that will spur all kinds of spirited discussion, try:
Sign of the Beaver
Carry on, Mr. Bowditch
Naya Nuki
The Secret Garden
Little Britches: Father and I were Ranchers
Concord Cunningham, Scripture Sleuth
And here are some that even teenagers will want to gather round for:
Laddie, A True Blue Story
God’s Smuggler
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Now, teens who have not grown up with this utterly delightful enjoyment of being read aloud to might squirm a little and think you are corny. You can get away with more if you have a younger eager child as a listener. It won’t take long to get teens hooked, though. Story reading is infinitely more exciting, thought provoking, imaginative and satisfying than television or computer games.
I begin my homeschool day with read-aloud every morning. Who would not want to come to school if they are going to hear the next chapter of a great adventure? Or even just a short picture book? After dinner is another good time to read, even just for 10 minutes.
Try it. You will re-discover the delight in reading aloud to your family! This is one of the most enjoyable things we do, and often the highlight of my day.
When you’ve done Assignment #2, you are ready for Homeschooling Assignment #3.
