tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2039160066439602962.post9000877790281754999..comments2024-03-27T13:20:02.905-07:00Comments on The Quotidian Reader: The 4rs -- Reading Good BooksWillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374272000644968446noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2039160066439602962.post-9702550800135832092010-08-09T13:49:55.888-07:002010-08-09T13:49:55.888-07:00Faith,
Thanks for the extra suggestions which rou...Faith,<br /><br />Thanks for the extra suggestions which round this post out. I try to read alongside too. <br /><br />About what to do when the child doesn't like reading or reads slowly. I usually choose just a few core books that I really want them to have read and then have some extras ready for rabbit trails or if the child is a voracious reader. <br /><br />I like study questions, too. They help me know what to emphasize. There are some old books in the Google Library that have study questions built right in.Willahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17374272000644968446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2039160066439602962.post-58694295280561135112010-08-09T07:56:41.318-07:002010-08-09T07:56:41.318-07:00I, myself, love to learn by reading, but what if y...I, myself, love to learn by reading, but what if you have kids who don't love to read or read slowly so that a long list of books is a very daunting task for them?<br /><br />My way around this is to count heavily on read alouds and audio books. I also tend to rely on video resources, educational TV shows that we record, Teaching Co.lectures, Netflix. Because right now I'm dealing with one very reluctant, slow reader, and one not quite reading independently yet (my 11 and 9 yo's), I do like to rely on informal narration or resources that have the questions right there.<br /><br />For ex. for my reluctant 11 yo, I had him read Island of the Blue Dolphins. He took June and the better part of July to get through it, reading one short chapter at a time, but after each chapter I'd have him come and tell me what happened. Since I'm familiar with the book I could tell whether he was really reading it or not. A couple of times I had him go back and reread the chapter simply because he didn't pay enough attention the first time.<br /><br />The other thing I like is having study guides or questions built right into the text. For example when I read the kids Devotional Stories for Little Folks from CHC (which they loved!) it had built in questions at the end of each story. That prompted discussion and made them think about what I had just read them. This is also true of Ignatius Schuster's Bible History which I've been slowly reading aloud to both. The questions at the end of each story really help with comprehension and retention.<br /><br />When my kids hit high school age, I want them to get a really solid foundation in the classics. Therefore I rely on study guides for discussion and I also try read the book right alongside my student (for the most part; I only read parts of the Aeneid this time). I also like to invite other high schoolers to join us. This keeps up motivation to complete the readings in a timely way and also helps with lively discussions. <br /><br />I, too, often feel inadequate because I don't require as much writing as schools do usually. However, I was talking to some moms whose kids do Seton and when I talked about what my son had studied this year and what they had done this year it became clear to me that our own more casual method covered a lot more material at much higher level. However, those kids can probably pump out formulaic essay papers better than my son can do currently.Faithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10169821331076296753noreply@blogger.com