When you were a kid, did you learn more from textbooks or from reading books just for fun? I definitely learned a lot more from historical fiction than from any history textbook!
Trying to recreate public school at home, right down to the textbooks, is something new homeschoolers often do (especially those pulling students out of school). But, by using living books in your homeschool, coupled with family-style learning, it can be so much more FUN and rewarding. Plus, when you use living books in your homeschool, your students are apt to retain more once the year ends.
What is a Living Book?
Living books are reading material that pull you into a subject and get you emotionally involved with the characters (a la chapter books), so it’s easier to remember the events and facts. These books literally bring the event(s) they are talking about to life with storylines and imagination! When is the last time a textbook made you feel alive and invested in what was being studied? Probably never.
Living Books….
Allow the reader to visit another era and experience the culture or history. During the ‘Rona, one of the books we read together was Fever 1793. We like to take our read-alouds and turn them into learning units, like this one, to reinforce concepts learned in the story.
TIP: If you’re using read-alouds as a base for school, it’s helpful to read multiple books about the same event. Having different perspectives helps students to learn critical thinking skills.
Put the reader into the book. This allows your children to experience different cultures and places that they may not otherwise see. The more detailed the descriptions, the more vividly your child will relate, and it is through learning about and relating to other cultures that we break down barriers.
TIP: Cultural literacy is learning about other perspectives, including across genders, world regions, and historic eras. It is helpful if you have some background knowledge to incorporate the protagonist’s perspective — so if you are going to read a book set during the Civil War, do a bit of research on the Civil War before reading the novel. It will help bring the story to life!
Benefits of Family-Style Reading
Reading together as a family helps to encourage a lifelong love of reading and literature. Whether you begin when your child is a newborn or as a teen, there are so many positive effects!
Note to parent: If you do not start reading aloud until your child is a teen, there will be a transitional time as they become accustomed. Do not give up!
Tips for Using Living Books as Read-Alouds
1. Do the voices
Sure, you might feel goofy at first, but nothing gets children engaged in a story faster than having a different voice for each character! Through the years, we’ve had many a good laugh as mom tried to pull off several accents, with varying degrees of success. But you know what? They remember the stories!
2. Let them be active
Legos, play-do, and coloring books are great quiet activities to keep hands occupied while ears are listening. It never hurts to pause and ask a few questions, but you’ll probably find that they are more engaged than you think.
3. Read from many genres
Mix it up, with historical fiction from multiple eras, contemporary fiction, and the occasional non-fiction.
4. Keep a home library
Yard sales, Facebook groups, and consignment stores are a great place to scout used books. Even if your child is a toddler, when you find a classic piece for a few years down the road, go ahead and snag it. A good home library will encompass many different topics and genres, including both fiction and non-fiction books.
5. Read every day
Whether you read for five minutes or an hour, set aside some time each and every day to read. We get it…busy days mean shorter reading times. But it’s too easy to get out of the habit, so make it a priority! If necessary, use an audiobook to do the reading in the car.
6. Pass the book
If your children are old enough, take turns reading. Keep it age-level appropriate and for short lengths of time. When my children started reading aloud with the family, they read one paragraph at a time, then a page, and then a full chapter.
7. Read at level AND below level
As an adult, do you only read collegiate-level and above books? Neither do I. Sometimes it’s nice to settle in with a fun book, regardless of the target age range. For struggling readers, this can help them feel more successful, too, as they build those skills.
8. Use picture books.
In the non-fiction realm, picture books are an excellent way to help illustrate and explain difficult concepts… I’m looking at you, science! But also understand that not every book needs pictures. Not having pictures in a book allows children to stretch their imaginations and come up with those mental images.
Choosing Quality Books
As with everything in life, there is yin and yang. When choosing living books for read-alouds, or as a base for studies, keep in mind that not all books are “good” books. “Good” books…
Have realistic characters. They are flawed. They live in the real world. But they often learn to overcome their flaws during the story.
Teach a moral lesson. Whether through acceptance or overcoming, the protagonist learns some sort of character lesson in the story.
Are engaging. These are not dry reads, but intriguing plots full of details that will keep the reader hooked and involved.
“Bad” books…
Are not real world. In these books, everything is awesome. Or horrible. There are no real-life events. Or they are overly moralistic.
Are poorly written. With poor grammar and speech (we’re not talking about the use of dialects, which can add to the authenticity), these books do more harm than good for your student’s mastery of language arts.
Have poor characters. They are boring, self-absorbed, and do not learn anything through the story.
Using Living Books to Study Core Subjects
Sparks Academy
The language arts classes at Sparks Academy utilize five to six novels each year to teach history, geography, character, and literary concepts. Each of the four levels builds upon the last, until students are ready to write in any form requested of them – whether at a career or college! There are four levels offered currently, including High School 1, High School 2, High School 3, and Level 7. (The last one is for 7th/8th/9th grade, depending on your student’s skills.) This is an online co-op, with weekly student interaction in the private classroom forum. Learn more here.
Homeschooling is a big job! If you’re trying to be mom, wife, housekeeper, chauffeur, and teacher…you’re going to tucker out quickly. Homeschool planning can help you start off on the right foot!
Remember this, you can be flexible and creative with your schedule. There are as many different ways to homeschool as there are homeschooling families. Also, your home is not a school, and you don’t have to re-create school, so don’t be afraid to do what works for you!
You’ve heard the phrase, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” Some folks may think they don’t need a planner (I’m guessing these folks are under 40), and truthfully, failing to plan may not be quite that bad, but it does mean forgetting important things. Maybe you’re a tech person, or maybe you prefer pen and ink, but find a planning method that works for you!
Start by outlining the year. Make a note in each month of birthdays, holidays, vacations, and any planned time off. This could include upcoming moves, pregnancy due dates, or other big events. After noting these, make sure you have the minimum number of required school days for your state (usually 180).
While you’re planning, include some field trips. If you like routine, maybe plan a specific day each month (eg, third Friday), or you can just wing it! Also be sure to leave some blank spaces – days for catching up, following bunny trails, and for those #LifeHappens moments.
Homeschool Planning: Choosing a Groove
Now that you have an idea of what your calendar year looks like, decide what rhythm you want the school year to have.
Do you want to follow a traditional school schedule, mimicking the public school calendar of August through June, with similar breaks? This might be a good option if your children have cousins or friends that they want to see on school breaks.
Do you want to school year-round, spreading out the work at a relaxed pace and taking time off regularly?
Do you want to have a four-day school week, leaving one day each week free for field trips, appointments, and playdates? This can be a good option if you need to schedule regular appointments, as you’ll know you always have this day of the week free.
When you’re making your plan for the year, you’ll want to put in scheduled appointments and schedule out the first few weeks of school work, but don’t plan too far in advance. Why? Because life happens. You might need to adjust the class work load, adding more or relaxing it, depending on your student’s progress. No need for you to waste time planning every single day of school when it will change.
Each month, reevaluate where your student is and plan out schoolwork for the next month around the appointments, field trips, and blank spaces. Oh ya. And write in pencil. Because things change. When it comes to planning, we follow the Robinson’s advice with curriculum lessons and just, “Keep Moving Forward.”
For older students – in middle and high school – it’s never too early to help them start their own planning as well. This teaches personal responsibility and time management. Check out the Five Best Planners for Teens to find an option perfect for your teen.
Depending on the age of your student, you’ll need to plan a little more or a little less. In general, the younger the child, the laxer you can be.
Birth to Age 3
This age is about learning through play. Life skills, motor skills, and language development are the primary goals.
Preschool and Kindergarten
While children should still be focusing on learning through play, there can be a slight switch to academic goals. Learning letters, numbers, sounds, how to print their name are the primary goals.
Elementary School
There is still some learning through play, but more focus on academic goals. This is the time to decide what type of curriculum you want to use – classical, traditional, unit studies, Charlotte Mason, etc – and be sure to cover reading, writing, and arithmetic, as well as introductory science and social studies. Follow your student’s interests and curiosities!
This is when students really begin to buckle down in academics, becoming more intentional about learning. Classes become more difficult, electives are added into the day, and students begin to think about career options for down the road. Students become more independent and start taking more responsibility for their learning at this age, too.
High School
Start with the end in sight. Have an idea of what your child might like to do after graduation, and plan courses around this. Classes are divided into core subjects (science, math, language arts, history) and elective classes. Don’t forget to plan for standardized testing if college is a possibility. Internships, hands-on projects, and volunteer hours should all be recorded, too.
You may not consider meal planning part of homeschooling planning, but it’s really important! Without having a plan in place for dinner, it’s suddenly five o’clock and you have nothing thawed out. This leads to a lot of take out, going out to eat, and stressed, hungry family members.
Consider your weekly schedule when meal planning. If Tuesdays are a full, busy day with evening activities, plan a freezer meal. Or make a large meal on Monday and serve the leftovers the next day. Save those time-consuming family favorites for days that are more flexible.
You have everything in place to have a wonderful homeschool year! But don’t forget to attend to yourself, too. Homeschool moms are notorious for wearing twenty hats at once! We go and go and go and go until we just can’t do it anymore…it’s called burnout.
