I'm a home school mom. I know I don't talk about home schooling much on my blog, but it has been part of my weekday routine for 8 years now. In between math and English, I do some cleaning, some cooking, and some blogging. When the kids have a day off from school, I have a day off from teaching, and lots of projects and cleaning happen on those days-not much cooking though. I try to stay away from that as much as possible! (hehehe)
This isn't a "home school" blog though and this post isn't really about my home school life. To be honest, I don't think I'd be very good at blogging about home schooling. Actually, I know I'd be pretty terrible at it. I'm sure one day, I'll share with you all how we decided to home school, but today I just want to talk about vocabulary and books. I read a really interesting post yesterday from Amy at Raising Mighty Arrows. She's a home school blogger and talks about why she doesn't "teach" vocabulary! What??? That's just rebellious talk right there- I thought! Or is it? In her post, she talks about teaching vocabulary through books. Ok, though I'm not completely getting rid of our vocabulary lessons tomorrow, I understand her point and can even get on board with it to a degree.
I'm a former high school English teacher. Did I ever tell you that? I don't think I've mentioned it before. Anyway, here in Lewisville Academy (like that?), I give great emphasis to reading and writing...and vocabulary. My kids have grammar books, reading/literature books, writing books, and spelling/vocabulary books. All this combined is just one subject-English. They are 4th-7th grade and everyone reads, reads, reads! So do they have an extensive vocabulary? Their testing scores show they are far, far above their grade levels. Proud mama, here! But I can't take all the credit. I have to say it absolutely does have a lot to do with all those books they read.
We go to the library weekly and my girls are involved in a monthly book club, which is awesome. Our group of jr. highers each read an assigned book and then meet to share their book project. They write essays, creative stories, or compose poetry & songs and add their artistic flare whenever possible, which is almost always. They've read Beowulf, Canterbury Tales, and Hamlet, just to name a few. I didn't get into some of those until I was in college! I'm rather pleased.
But you know what's great about our little lit club, the kids love it! They love to read the books...really. I think it has to do with the fact that I read to them almost daily when they were young, and I always encouraged them (maybe strongly encouraged them) to read.
We started our reading routine the way most kids start. My kids read and loved every Disney and Dr. Suess book they could get their hands on, dirty, little hands I miss! We'd sit on the sofa and I'd read in my best character voices. Mr. Lewisville is actually the king of voices, but I'd try my best to appease them. Soon enough, the kids were reading (because they memorized the books) to me. In those days, we got involved with a delivery book club and every month they'd get their new books. Today, my kids have outgrown these books, but guess what? We still have them. They want to keep them for their kids and I'm pretty sure it's because I still have some of those classic Disney books from when I was a kid!
Today, for all my lovely readers, I want to introduce you to a great delivery book club for your munchkins or your grandmunchkins.
Here are the details of this monthly book club:
• Get started with 4 Disney books for just $.99 each, plus a free Disney activity book
• Build a library of Disney classics & Pixar hits
• High-quality, hard cover editions
• Receive 3 new books each month
• Convenience of home delivery for less than $5 per book
• Control your membership online
- Adjust your shipping interval
- View account history
- Preview upcoming packages
• No purchase commitment
• Risk free - Cancel anytime
• 100% satisfaction guarantee
• A+ BBB Rating
This is exactly how we started. The kids had their books and mom and dad had their own "big" books. So the kids' love for reading stemmed from our love for reading and perhaps our example. We have a pretty extensive library with book shelves everywhere, including the garage! If you want to plant a love for reading in your own kids, read to them at an early age, have a special chair or place where you read, and make it party of your daily routine, like reading "together" right after you have lunch or as soon as they wake from their nap. This was always our special time.
Today, my kids are still reading the Disney books, just not the colorfully illustrated kind. The girls, on top of their book club reading, are enjoying a new Disney series called Kingdom Keepers. A new book is coming out next month and they can't wait to get their hands, bigger and cleaner hands now, on it.
It's never to late to get started. Even if your kids are older, start a reading routine with them now. When I taught high school I heard all the hems and haws when I announced which books I expected my students to read. With weekly quizzes, most of them read the assigned chapters, and by the end of the year, there wasn't one complaint when we started a new book. Today, some of my students still talk about how much they like Uncle Tom's Cabin or To Kill a Mockingbird. That's music to an English teacher's ear!
READ! Then READ some more. And when you're done READING, READ again!
This post contains my affiliate link. This does not influence or change my opinion
This isn't a "home school" blog though and this post isn't really about my home school life. To be honest, I don't think I'd be very good at blogging about home schooling. Actually, I know I'd be pretty terrible at it. I'm sure one day, I'll share with you all how we decided to home school, but today I just want to talk about vocabulary and books. I read a really interesting post yesterday from Amy at Raising Mighty Arrows. She's a home school blogger and talks about why she doesn't "teach" vocabulary! What??? That's just rebellious talk right there- I thought! Or is it? In her post, she talks about teaching vocabulary through books. Ok, though I'm not completely getting rid of our vocabulary lessons tomorrow, I understand her point and can even get on board with it to a degree.
I'm a former high school English teacher. Did I ever tell you that? I don't think I've mentioned it before. Anyway, here in Lewisville Academy (like that?), I give great emphasis to reading and writing...and vocabulary. My kids have grammar books, reading/literature books, writing books, and spelling/vocabulary books. All this combined is just one subject-English. They are 4th-7th grade and everyone reads, reads, reads! So do they have an extensive vocabulary? Their testing scores show they are far, far above their grade levels. Proud mama, here! But I can't take all the credit. I have to say it absolutely does have a lot to do with all those books they read.
We go to the library weekly and my girls are involved in a monthly book club, which is awesome. Our group of jr. highers each read an assigned book and then meet to share their book project. They write essays, creative stories, or compose poetry & songs and add their artistic flare whenever possible, which is almost always. They've read Beowulf, Canterbury Tales, and Hamlet, just to name a few. I didn't get into some of those until I was in college! I'm rather pleased.
But you know what's great about our little lit club, the kids love it! They love to read the books...really. I think it has to do with the fact that I read to them almost daily when they were young, and I always encouraged them (maybe strongly encouraged them) to read.
We started our reading routine the way most kids start. My kids read and loved every Disney and Dr. Suess book they could get their hands on, dirty, little hands I miss! We'd sit on the sofa and I'd read in my best character voices. Mr. Lewisville is actually the king of voices, but I'd try my best to appease them. Soon enough, the kids were reading (because they memorized the books) to me. In those days, we got involved with a delivery book club and every month they'd get their new books. Today, my kids have outgrown these books, but guess what? We still have them. They want to keep them for their kids and I'm pretty sure it's because I still have some of those classic Disney books from when I was a kid!
Today, for all my lovely readers, I want to introduce you to a great delivery book club for your munchkins or your grandmunchkins.
 |
| Click for more info |
Here are the details of this monthly book club:
• Get started with 4 Disney books for just $.99 each, plus a free Disney activity book
• Build a library of Disney classics & Pixar hits
• High-quality, hard cover editions
• Receive 3 new books each month
• Convenience of home delivery for less than $5 per book
• Control your membership online
- Adjust your shipping interval
- View account history
- Preview upcoming packages
• No purchase commitment
• Risk free - Cancel anytime
• 100% satisfaction guarantee
• A+ BBB Rating
This is exactly how we started. The kids had their books and mom and dad had their own "big" books. So the kids' love for reading stemmed from our love for reading and perhaps our example. We have a pretty extensive library with book shelves everywhere, including the garage! If you want to plant a love for reading in your own kids, read to them at an early age, have a special chair or place where you read, and make it party of your daily routine, like reading "together" right after you have lunch or as soon as they wake from their nap. This was always our special time.
 |
| Who wouldn't love to read here! {Source? I tried} |
Today, my kids are still reading the Disney books, just not the colorfully illustrated kind. The girls, on top of their book club reading, are enjoying a new Disney series called Kingdom Keepers. A new book is coming out next month and they can't wait to get their hands, bigger and cleaner hands now, on it.
It's never to late to get started. Even if your kids are older, start a reading routine with them now. When I taught high school I heard all the hems and haws when I announced which books I expected my students to read. With weekly quizzes, most of them read the assigned chapters, and by the end of the year, there wasn't one complaint when we started a new book. Today, some of my students still talk about how much they like Uncle Tom's Cabin or To Kill a Mockingbird. That's music to an English teacher's ear!
READ! Then READ some more. And when you're done READING, READ again!
This post contains my affiliate link. This does not influence or change my opinion
Blessings,
Lisa
Blessings,
Lisa
I link all my projects with some wonderful blogs. To visit them, go to
the {Link Party Love} page found at the top of this page on the {Home}
bar.
Also linking to:
Between Naps on the Porch
Savvy Southern Style
No Minimalist Here
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Saved by Love Creations
Miss Mustard Seed
Funky Junk Interiors
Coastal Charm
Restore Interiors
Tip Junkie
Also linking to:
Between Naps on the Porch
Savvy Southern Style
No Minimalist Here
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Saved by Love Creations
Miss Mustard Seed
Funky Junk Interiors
Coastal Charm
Restore Interiors
Tip Junkie
I am so glad my kids, especially my son, love to read. It is definitely a fun way to enhance your vocabulary! Sounds like you are doing an amazing job with your home schooling. I was just thinking to myself that I don't think (well, I know) I couldn't do it and then chuckled to myself because I drop them off at school to go sub at school! Still, it's completely different. So, bravo!!
ReplyDeleteYou are so right...it's never too late to start.
ReplyDeleteI encourage everyone to have 'family read aloud time' no matter the age of your children...if they are home - read together!
Start with "short and sweet" books and build up to the classics.
I post a monthly list of family read alouds:
http://www.wisdomrootslibrary.com/2013/01/12-months-of-books-series-february-read.html
Thanks for the great post! My twins are 2-1/2 and they love to "read". They have some books memorized because we have read them so much. I think we spend most of our days reading instead of playing with all the toys (which is great!). I found an article that said that kids tend to like to read better when they can see the books. That photo above with the books on display...our toy room has similar shelving. We used rain gutters and have three of them. I swap out books monthly or bi-monthly to have a new "set". They can easily go up, find the one they want, and take it out. (It's also easy for clean-up...they can do it themselves!)
ReplyDeleteThanks again for the encouragement. We had lots of books growing up, but not a lot was done with them (I think they were purchased for display purposes only) so it's encouraging to hear that perhaps the work I'm doing to hopefully get my kids to love reading will pay off! :~)
Theresa, the work you're doing will pay off! My kids remember sitting on the sofa and reading together. It was our time together and they asked for it personally. Twins are a handful, but they will be blessed with their mommy time.
DeleteIt's funny the way you right about homeschooling. I homeschool as well, but I rarely blog about it. I can never really think of what to write about or how to write about it. I blog plenty, just few and far between of homeschooling. My kids visit the library often and both love to read as well and as a speech-language pathologist, it sure is good for them!
ReplyDeleteHave a great night.
I would love it you would share this at my link party. http://www.realcoake.blogspot.com/2013/02/real-family-fun-3.html
Take care,
KC
Thanks, KC. I visited and am following on GFC.
DeleteThanks so much for linking up!
DeleteHave a great rest of your weekend.
KC
Good information, thanks so much for sharing! I love that my son enjoys reading and i think it is so important to encourage it.
ReplyDelete-Marie
http://www.bloominghomestead.com/2013/02/crafty-tuesday-22513.html
I love this post. I am a homeschool mom too, but both kids have graduated (and son is about to graduate from college!) I never "taught" vocabulary, but both of my kids have huge vocabularies. My daughter LOVES to read--son doesn't. I tell my son that his vocabulary is so big because I am a blabbermouth. Ha Seriously, though, I think one reason is because I read to them both so much. Love your blog. Found you at Simple and Sweet Fridays. New follower!
ReplyDeleteThanks for following, Pam! I love hearing about home school moms who have graduated their kids. That's a huge accomplishment.
DeleteBlessings,
Lisa
I agree - learning vocabulary is natural if you're reading a lot! Good reminder. I love how your kids take advantage of the book clubs at the library ... Smart!!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I am a middle school English teacher and one of my first writing assignments each semester is for students to describe their history as readers, including their earliest memories of being read to and learning to read. Avid readers almost always note being read to by parents/grandparents and those people taking time to help them learn to read. I am sure you observed this as a high school English teacher as well, and it sounds like you are teaching your children the value of being readers in a way they will never tire of!
ReplyDeleteReading is the door to a whole 'nother world -- including vocabulary. Loved those days of a son tucked under each arm and reading aloud during "rest time" -- that afternoon period after they gave up naps at age two! -- and before bed. Thanks so much for sharing on Busy Monday!
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ReplyDeleteMy kids got into reading when I read them books aloud that were engaging. It was a special time and it got them hooked into reading. Thank you for joining Home Sweet Home!
ReplyDeleteSherry
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