Major Question....Need Insight on "how" to h'school...

[sheryl]

I've always h'schooled my dd. She is finishing up 5th grade....that makes 6 years of h'schooling. As you know, with each passing grade the subject content becomes more advanced and lengthier so to speak.

 

This question pertains to science and history. Do you read all of the material outloud with your dc present? Do you and your dc read independent of one another.

 

I'm finding it increasingly more and more difficult, time-wise, to read "ALL" of the pages, EVERY CHAPTER, etc. If I don't I will not be able to dialog with my dd. If I don't she'll end up knowing more than I do about those subjects....:glare: does that matter? If I don't then year by year I'll grow further and further away from having "answers".

 

What do you all do? Help!!

Sheryl <><

[Chris in VA]

As long as mine would learn how to find the answers, I did not mind letting someone else (the book, the TC tape, the tutor, the co-op, the online class) be the "expert."

And yes, my son knows far more than I do about the plot and characters of several books I didn't want to read but thought it important for him to read.

I brought my life experience to the Great Conversation, and helped him learn to Converse. He brought his Great Book experience to the Conversation, and added his limited, tho personal and important, life experience, and we went from there.

 

ETA: I should have said this was for high school. ITA with LL down below--try to discuss as much as you can with 5/6th--but you can ask some general questions, you just won't know the appropriate answers if you don't read the material.

In 4th grade, I read to dd. I'll continue in 5th and 6th, probably assigning more and more of the "sections" of the spine to her. I do not read every thing I assign her to read as far as historical fiction goes, tho--But that may change for a while, until she reaches high school, where most if not all of the books I assign will have plenty of guides for me to use (that contain the answers...lol).

Edited May 8, 2010 by Chris in VA

[LibraryLover]

I think discussion is most important at this age. If a parent can't do it, it might be worthwhile to outsource.

[Liz CA]

I think discussion is most important at this age. If a parent can't do it, it might be worthwhile to outsource.

 

I did not read everything but I read quite a few things and discussed those with him. Sometimesm he enjoyed filling me in and telling me what he thought about the plot, style of writing, etc.

In science, I was just always very interested in everything myself, especially in the experiments. We enjoyed that together.

Math was a combined venture until about Algebra II, when he started doing it much more independently. I did not think there was anything wrong with it. I enjoy my son telling me about things I don't know - there are now quite a few subjects he can tell me a lot about. I also ask him about stuff in his "area of expertise."

[LibraryLover]

I did not read everything but I read quite a few things and discussed those with him. Sometimesm he enjoyed filling me in and telling me what he thought about the plot, style of writing, etc.

In science, I was just always very interested in everything myself, especially in the experiments. We enjoyed that together.

Math was a combined venture until about Algebra II, when he started doing it much more independently. I did not think there was anything wrong with it. I enjoy my son telling me about things I don't know - there are now quite a few subjects he can tell me a lot about. I also ask him about stuff in his "area of expertise."

 

 

I know my kids have enjoyed discussing certan topics with others. It doesn't have to be mom or dad. I also question advanced high school work done in a vaccum . I think older teens need to be engaged. Dh and I agree that many areas deserve opportunity for dicussion of ideas. Even maths.

[lllll]

..

[Wildiris]

You are not alone. I've struggled with the same issue, and I've found that comprehension and discussion are better if we read together. The time spent doing the read aloud together is less than having DD~12 (Still in middle school) redo because she could not recall a major piece of information when reading alone.

 

My DD already knows more about some subjects; however, I am thinking that I need to move more toward a presentation of the text and its ideas and hope that she will read the text and get something out of it. I did find when I required DD to outline and summarize history chapters her comprehension improved.

 

Since the science text we use is meant for older student I do read with DD, but she is usually light-years ahead of me and stops to explain the simple concepts that stump me.