Posts Tagged home school
A Last Home School Hurrah
Posted by Diane in Various Essays for Homeschool Parents on May 25th, 2010
For all of you wonderful moms who are so busy with the daily rigors of homeschooling, here’s a little peek at the future that is sure to encourage you. Written by my good friend, Pennie Gelwicks, who just graduated from The King’s College in Manhattan…(you might want to go get the kleenex now)…enjoy!
* * * * *
A bright, hot New York City summer is commencing without me, and it’s okay. I’ll be there soon enough. I graduated from college in New York a little over two weeks ago. Right now, I’m in the Midwest for a few weeks, jumping in on a myriad of family events and celebrations, and enjoying the AC while I can (we have none in my apartment). Last week, it was a wedding in Cleveland with my boyfriend, this week, my brother graduated from high school, and next week is the Indy 500. The next week, my sister returns from doing medical work in Togo, then we’re going to Virginia Beach for my brother to compete in nationals for speech and debate. I’ll take a bus up the coast back to NYC in time for my internship to start.
Yesterday was my brother Roger’s open house graduation party. The most conservative estimate is that there were about 150 people there. We still have fruit, corn chips, and three Cost-co size bags of pita chips left over. Celebrating milestones and witnessing ceremony are two of my favorite pastimes, also, pita chips and hummus are generally what I live on. It’s been a good three weekends.
It was a bittersweet time for my family because Roger is our youngest, so we all feel like we’re graduating from the world of homeschooling- and believe me, it is a whole world. As much as I like to poke fun sometimes at the quirks and hang-ups of the homeschooling subculture, I willingly affirm that after this week, I’m so proud to have been homeschooled.
Roger’s open house wasn’t just the typical collection of relatives in the house and cluster of peers in attendance, though both were there. It was a parade of entire families who are friends with my entire family, adults who have invested enormously in Roger either through our homeschooling cooperative, church, AWANA, or 4-H. Most of them also invested in me in the same ways- several commented that they’d been to all three open houses for us kids. One family we are close to volunteered to do set-up and keep abreast of all the food through the whole party so we could focus on mingling with everyone.
Earlier this week, I went to a homeschool production of “Fiddler on the Roof,” which, I must say, was just as high-quality as any high school play I’ve ever seen. I caught up with three old friends there watching the play- one has started her own photography business, another is doing ministry in Colorado, one is in pre-med at Vanderbilt. The audience was teeming with small children, and every last one was quiet and attentive through the entire performance.
Also this week, I went to a homeschool graduation ceremony for a homeschool co-op with 5 graduates. I made it for the tail end, just in time to hear one of the dads talk about his twin sons from the stage as he handed them their diplomas. He spoke of how both boys were interested first and foremost in being servants of Christ, in being men who love the Bible and live a life of faith. He spoke about his sons’ strong character and maturity. I remembered these twins from when Roger played in a basketball league with them years ago. Another graduate was from our 4-H club. Another had been a friend from AWANA.
The cooperative was called Iron Sharpens Iron, drawing from Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” An appropriate name, for in my homeschooling experience, such sharpening is allowed to happen over the long haul and through many different avenues. I don’t agree with everyone about everything, to be sure, and some think I’m a little crazy for living in New York City. We all agree that being countercultural is hard, and I can only pray that one day my children could have a community this vibrant and enriching as they pursue an uncommon life of faith no matter where we live.
* * * * *
So don’t give up, Mom! Look what awaits you at the end of the homeschooling journey. If you are interested in The King’s College, Pennie highly recommends it, and I understand that about 1/3 of the student population is former homeschool students.
Big News: Mary Pride & home-school.com!
Posted by Diane in Various Essays for Homeschool Parents on March 24th, 2010
I have been so busy over the last few months that I haven’t had time to announce some exciting news!
Yours truly, Diane Lockman, is now a regular contributor to one of the most popular homeschooling magazines:
Last autumn Mary Pride, Homeschool World editor and author of the three-volume homeschooling series entitled The Big Book of Home Learning, invited me to become her classical method columnist. My first article appeared in Practical Homeschooling issue # 91 in which I introduced the idea of an authentic classical home education with a particular emphasis on mastering the three skills of the classical trivium.
In the most recent issue, PH # 92, I answer the burning question for those of you with high school age kids: once you’ve taught the trivium, what next? For those of you who are patiently waiting for the sequel to Trivium Mastery, my most recent PH article covers (1) the Christian Paideia as Jesus modeled it in one-on-one teaching with His disciples, (2) the Western Canon as it illustrates the cumulative influence of past classics upon future classics, and (3) customization of your high school homeschool curriculum to meet the needs of your family and the needs of college admissions officers.
The subscription price for Practical Homeschooling magazine is quite reasonable, and Mary Pride will include a bonus brochure in which she shares her own success stories for graduating nine kids from the Pride home school. Hope you enjoy!
If You Want a Better Listener, Try Oral Narration
Posted by Diane in How to Teach Homeschool Skill 1: READING on November 18th, 2009
Have you ever thought that reading a book in your home school is like having a conversation? The author creates an imaginary universe with characters, plot, and themes while the audience is responsible for interpreting and understanding the meaning of the story. Often an author provides a narrator within the book to serve like a museum docent who points out the interesting events and people along the way. I’m sure that as a parent who reads aloud to your home school children, you also provide an additional layer of understanding by narrating the content as you go along. While the two-fold combination of a narrator within the story and a narrator outside the story (you) is extremely valuable to enriching the child’s comprehension, the growing child also needs a personal opportunity to grapple with the text. Oral narration is just the tool for such a task.
Oral narration is essentially the process of “telling back” what has been heard, read, seen, or learned. You read a few pages of a story, then you stop and ask your child to tell you what just happened. If your child is reluctant or can’t seem to find the words, you can coax some understanding by suggesting something that did NOT happen. This shocking revelation from you is sure to grab your child’s attention, and the outraged (if not smug) child will suddenly remember all the little details.
One of the beautiful benefits of oral narration is improved listening skills. Even as adults, we sometimes find ourselves zoning out during long lectures or even during silent reading. If you knew that you were going to have to give a brief synopsis of what you had just heard or read, you would finely focus your attention in a way that classifies and connects information so that you could confidently summarize what you just learned. A little child will do the same thing if he knows that mom is going to ask him questions at periodic intervals during the read aloud time.
Personally, I have trouble recounting something that I have just heard or read if I don’t narrate my understanding to someone. For instance, I can scan the newspaper for interesting articles, and five minutes later, I have no recollection of what I just read. (I could blame my age, but I know that’s not the only cause of my memory lapses.) However, if I read an article or listen to the news with the intention of sharing what I learned with my husband or kids, then I notice my attention is intentionally focused on finding the keywords, the topic sentences, and the summary statements. I even visually outline what I want to say before I open my mouth to make sure I don’t lose my train of thought. Once I start talking, I realize my weak areas of understanding, and if my husband asks me questions (his perverse joy), I am able to clarify even fuller understanding or lack thereof. This process of oral narration serves me well because it results in increased comprehension and long-term retention. Your home school child and teen will benefit, too, from this essential element of classical homeschooling.
* * * * *
Have you noticed the new envelope icon under my signature at the bottom of this post? Yes, you can now easily email this post to a friend! Why not send this to someone right now who could benefit from some homeschool teaching tips?
How to Guarantee Independent Reading
Posted by Diane in How to Teach Homeschool Skill 1: READING on November 4th, 2009
After several sacrificial years of systematic home school reading and phonics instruction, you expect a specific outcome: independent reading. Yes, every busy home school mom (especially those with lots of children) will honestly admit that she dreams of the fateful day when her child can read a book “on his own.” Independent reading is truly a major milestone that culminates after years of teaching the home school child how to read. But what do you do if you have a child who knows how to read independently but chooses to spend his free time engaged in other activities? Or perhaps you schedule independent reading time during the home school day but regularly hear the whiny plaintive cry, “there’s nothing to read.” How can you motivate your kids to read books without whining or complaining?
1. Give your child the power of choice.
One of the primary goals of an authentic classical Christian education is raising an independent thinker who has all the skills and tools for making wise decisions. Lay the foundation for this goal now by giving your early elementary age homeschooler the freedom to choose his own books. Get him his own library card, and make a commitment to go there once a week. Let him pick whatever books he wants (even if they seem silly to you — like Captain Underpants — he’ll eventually grow out of such humor), and let him check out as many books as your library allows. When budgeting your monthly expenses, always leave a little money for buying books, and never refuse to purchase a book that he wants at the book store or neighborhood garage sale. Building his own personal library is critical for establishing good independent reading habits. My kids frequently pick up a favorite book from their own library for a second, third, or even fourth reading.
2. Identify his thematic and literary preferences.
Involve him in taking an inventory of the books that he has read and truly enjoyed. Sit down with him, and brainstorm a list of books that he has read. Create a column for pros and cons; use these columns to list the things that he did and didn’t like about the books. For instance, maybe your daughter didn’t enjoy the animal battles in Brian Jacques’ youth classic, The Long Patrol, so put warfare in the negative column. But maybe she really enjoyed the conversations between the animals; if so, put personification in the positive column. Right away this chart has helped to clarify the fact that you should help your daughter find ‘happy ending’ animal books with minimal conflict. Perform this inventory for 10-15 books so that you and your child begin to see patterns. Create a rating system, and let your child assign so many stars to each book just like the journalist gives 1-5 stars in favorable and unfavorable book reviews.
Don’t assume that just because you loved a book at that age your child will love it, too. We are all individuals with preferences, and what you might find appealing to read may be extremely boring to your child. Pay close attention to his likes, and guide him toward books in the library or book store that reflect his past pleasurable reading experiences.
3. Reserve free reading time during the day.
We all live hectic lives, and unfortunately this is not only true for us as adults but also for our children. We schedule sports, fine arts, playtime, entertainment, home school co-op classes, and even worship into our busy ‘run here-run there’ days and nights. Often, the first thing to fall off the schedule is free time for independent reading. Please don’t make this mistake! You will reap the consequences down the road with a dependent, uninterested teenager who hates to read if you don’t make reading a daily, enjoyable ritual. You must allow time for practice. Mastery never emerges overnight, but reading skills gradually improve the more we use them. Practice, practice, practice!
David and I intentionally decided as parents to reward independent reading by giving our kids the option of reading at night in bed before the lights went out. If the child chose not to read then the lights went out immediately, but if the child opted to read independently, their bedtime was extended for 15-30 minutes depending on their age. This simple decision has been instrumental in creating a love for reading in our household. What child wants to turn the lights out? An additional benefit is the relaxed sleepiness that reading induces making nighty-night a pleasant expectation.
4. Model the behavior you want to see in your child.
I know that you know this, but your kids will pattern their behavior after the behavior that you model. In this case, that means that if you want to raise a child who enjoys reading, your kids need to see you and your spouse doing your own independent reading every day. You can certainly read the newspaper before they get out of bed, and of course, you are allowed to read your favorite novel in your own bed after the kids go to sleep, but make sure that during the day the kids see you reading. If all they see you do is watch television, then guess how they will choose to spend their free time as adults? Wind down at night with a good book; turn off the TV, and invite the whole family to grab a book and a comfortable position for reading on their own. One easy way to get your homeschooling husband and dad involved is to give him an illustrated classic for reading aloud to the entire family.
* * * * *
Motivating your child to find pleasure in independent reading is a challenge that you can achieve. All you really have to do is let him make his own book choices, identify his reading preferences, make time for practice, and model the behavior you want to see. Pretty soon you’ll begin to see improved reading fluency, expanded vocabulary, and contextual knowledge which will contribute to his reading confidence and pleasure. I guarantee it!
Punctuate Your Reading with Meaning
Posted by Diane in How to Teach Homeschool Skill 1: READING on July 16th, 2009
The other day I was in the children’s section of the local library pulling example books for a homeschooling workshop that I was giving at our state convention on the benefits of reading aloud. As I advanced further and further into the shelving, I began to hear a sweet little voice confidantly reading aloud. Every now and then she heroically pushed her way through an unfamiliar word, but by and large, she successfully managed the written word. I peeked around the corner and discovered not one little child reading to her mom, but several little kids gathered on the floor with picture books carelessly scattered. The simultaneous voices of children (one reading to her mom, another reading to a friend, and a mom reading to her son) cheered my heart and brought a knowing smile to my face. My spirit swelled, “ah, thank you, Lord, for books and the simple pleasures of reading aloud!”
Where did this precious little girl learn to read with such feeling and emotion? Surely her parents or siblings have consistently demonstrated the skill of inflection because she couldn’t have been more than six or seven years old, yet she tackled that picture book with as much sensitivity as a little child can muster. To inflect an object is to bend or curve it. Words can be inflected as well. All you have to do is change the pitch or tone of your voice. But this is not as simple as it sounds.
In fact, reading with feeling is a difficult task that takes lots of practice. At first, all a beginning reader can do is decode the pronunciation. Next comes comprehension. Eventually the child learns how to glance ahead so that he can decide what kind of emotion to put into his voice. Here are three ideas for teaching your homeschool kids how to express themselves when reading aloud.
What Does the Punctuation Mark Mean?
Don’t wait until your homeschooler is officially studying English grammar to teach the meaning of punctuation marks. As you read aloud with your child, use your finger to show them that each sentence ends with a special mark that is not a letter like the ABCs, and sometimes these funny marks show up at the beginning or middle of sentences when someone talks or when a series of things are being listed. Tell him that each punctuation mark has a special purpose that requires a certain vocal response. Demonstrate these common punctuation marks when you are reading aloud to your homeschool children:
Period – come to a complete stop (take a breath after the period to force yourself to stop)
The puppy played with the sock. [stop and breathe]
Comma – pause when reading
Noel, [1 second pause] please put your dirty clothes in the laundry room.
Question Mark – bring your voice pitch up at the end
Can I please have a chocolate chip cookie? [cookie should be higher than can]
Exclamation Point – verbally punch the thought with excitement or alarm
Tommy left his bicycle in the street! [add some tension to your voice]
Quotation Mark – talk as if you were the character
Granny said, “my old feet are aching after all that walking at the garage sale.” [trembling voice]
Parenthesis – lower your volume like you’re telling a secret or go back to your own voice as narrator
The crowd cheered with excitement (Dad wouldn’t mind if I took a quick peek). [whisper]
Practice punctuation responses every time you read aloud. In fact, this is a great exercise to do every time you ask your child to read until he gets the hang of it.
How Does the Punctuation Mark Sound?
Now that your homeschooler knows what the most common punctuation marks mean, practice making these sounds out loud without words! Yes, you read that correctly…without words! Substitute your favorite sounds for the words, and read the “sentence” out loud using the proper inflection for the mark like this:
Da da da da da. [stop and take a breath] Da da da da da? [bring your voice up at the end of the sentence] Da da daddaa. [stop and take a breath]. Da da dadada! [increase your volume and act surprised] Da da da, [pause for 1 second] da da da da da. [stop and take a breath] Da da da, “da da dadaaada.” [talk with the character's voice then stop and take a breath] Da da da da (da da da). [lower your voice like you're telling a secret then stop and take a breath]
You can type out a conversation with your favorite nonsense sounds to practice this skill, and eventually, your reading child will be able to look at a written text and substitute “blah blah blah” for the words and see only the punctuation marks.
How Would Your Emotion Change the Meaning?
Even little kids understand the idea of emotion. Children experience feelings just like grown-ups, so give them a list of emotions and have them read simple sentences as if they were feeling a certain emotion. For example, take the following sentence and read it five times using a different emotion each time:
The dog ate my last brownie.
Read it as if you are: shocked, distressed, amused, afraid, and outraged. Now choose a basic sentence and give your child some options as to what feelings she wants to express, then have her read the sentence out loud. You can do this with singular words, too, like “hey, well, and no.”
Learning how to read with appropriate expression can really add depth and meaning to the written text. Start teaching punctuation and inflection today, and your young reader will eventually delight and entertain his or her audience by creating lasting images and bringing home school books to life.
* * * * *
Have you signed up for my free homeschooling parent workshop called “Classical Home Education 101” yet? Several home school moms have been working their way through the tutorial, and the feedback that I am receiving is very good. Many of them have completed the questionnaire, the roadmaps to mastery, and some are already working on their customized strategic semester plan for this fall! All you have to do is subscribe to in the right sidebar, or send me an email if you are already a subscriber, and I’ll send you the password.
