Advantage of "reading only"

[Pam L in Mid Tenn]

Several months back I posted to get opinions of ONLY reading for certain courses. Lots of illness was very overwhelming to me and I just wanted to assign reading for a while.

 

Now,I normally do not put much stock into ANY standardized tests. BUT........ my then 6th grade son and then 9th grade boy both scored "about average" in the areas that I told them to "just read."

 

My 6th grader did A LOT of "just reading".... ok MOSTLY "just reading" and he scored average or about average in almost every single area covered on the test..... EVEN the math!!!!! And he mainly did review work the whole year!!!!!

 

My 9th grader scored well in several areas that were "just read" assignments. He did not do much written work at all.... just barely enough for me to have some grades to average. Still he did fine on the test. And I think his retention of Apologia Phys Sci is better at the end of the year when I skipped the study guides and tests!!

 

I was planning an "easy" year with assignments for this year. Now, I'm planning on a heavier reading load, writing papers and essays, and doing very little end of chapter questions, vocab quizzes and tests.

:D

[PollyOR]

Thanks for sharing, Pam. This is the plan here with most of dd's subjects. The kiddo just doesn't have the energy to do much more. Something is better than nothing. :)

[johnandtinagilbert]

That's encouraging. Thank you for sharing. I was thinking of having my bosy "audit" physical science (done at a logic stage level) and now you have convinced me to just do it with no regrets. Thank you.

[Tiramisu]

Dd14 was very overwhelmed this year, her first year of high school. After trying more of a real books approach to history with multiple readings and seeing it didin't work, we switched to SWB's History of the Ancient World to streamline and keep it simple. We added in some Teaching Company lectures, but basically she just read. I gave her one test each semester because I had to. Last year she said she liked history, but now, after this one year of reading history, she says she wants to be a history teacher.

 

Ironically, this is the subject I felt the most a failure as a teacher/planner. I thought I completely ruined a year of high school history and made compromises--not about the choice of book but in how we used in and what we didn't supplement with. Afterwards, though, she likes history more than ever and has opinions on what she wants to do and how. To me, these are all signs that she's become engaged and interested in learning. At least in history, "reading only" has been an unexpected success.

 

Of course, in my weaker moments, I wonder if she would have got more out of a history program that was more structured and had more assignments. But, when I think about it, I think she probably got more out of history than she got out of her other subjects that required more. Hopefully, the interest that was sparked by "reading only" will be lasting.

[distancia]

In Dec 2009 my D age 17 became ill with liver failure and we removed her from ps and began home education. I tried to continue her hs curriculum. It did not work and I had to start dropping classes. In late January she developed mono and more classes were dropped. Then she caught typhoid in March, and at that point she was reduced to English (reading and grammar) and 1/2 hour of math a day. With math she read and watched online videos.

 

The good part is that she did so much reading over this time period that she was able to take two CLEP exams when she began to recover and have energy, in May. She gained 2 college credits (6 hours) and she has persevered with the math; she will be going for that CLEP test in August.

 

We did learn a great deal from that experience: D does much better with fewer classes of greater intensity. The typical h/s schedule of 7 or 8 classes a day was too fragmented and less productive. She prefers 3 or 4 classes a day.

 

My feeling is, whatever works. That is the beauty of home schooling!

Edited July 10, 2010 by distancia

[Colleen in NS]

My 6th grader did A LOT of "just reading".... ok MOSTLY "just reading" and he scored average or about average in almost every single area covered on the test..... EVEN the math!!!!! And he mainly did review work the whole year!!!!!

 

My 9th grader scored well in several areas that were "just read" assignments. He did not do much written work at all.... just barely enough for me to have some grades to average. Still he did fine on the test. And I think his retention of Apologia Phys Sci is better at the end of the year when I skipped the study guides and tests!!

 

I was planning an "easy" year with assignments for this year. Now, I'm planning on a heavier reading load, writing papers and essays, and doing very little end of chapter questions, vocab quizzes and tests.

:D

 

but basically she just read. I gave her one test each semester because I had to. Last year she said she liked history, but now, after this one year of reading history, she says she wants to be a history teacher.

 

Ironically, this is the subject I felt the most a failure as a teacher/planner. I thought I completely ruined a year of high school history and made compromises--not about the choice of book but in how we used in and what we didn't supplement with. Afterwards, though, she likes history more than ever and has opinions on what she wants to do and how. To me, these are all signs that she's become engaged and interested in learning. At least in history, "reading only" has been an unexpected success.

 

Of course, in my weaker moments, I wonder if she would have got more out of a history program that was more structured and had more assignments. But, when I think about it, I think she probably got more out of history than she got out of her other subjects that required more. Hopefully, the interest that was sparked by "reading only" will be lasting.

 

These testimonies are so encouraging to me. Thank you for sharing.

 

Colleen (who is currently contemplating how to make things simpler around here)

[Rhondabee]

Thanks, Pam, for sharing your thoughts today.

 

My next year's curriculum isn't "reading only" necessarily but it isn't my "Ideal" and I am not super-adrenaline-pumped excited about next year. I haven't even looked at it, to be honest. (And I am beginning to realize how much I depended on that adrenaline rush of summer planning - no amount of coffee seems to compensate - LOL!)

 

I'm still inputting all my mom-planned reading assignments for last-year's history, actually, and I am in awe of everything that we read! And chiding myself that we didn't write enough. And that I didn't think I could handle planning another year myself (I know given my circumstances, I couldn't). So, I needed this today. I needed to hear that it's okay to not "do the best". Or even to do *my* best.

 

(sigh)

 

Back to doing "what I can" ~

[Rhondabee]

(There should be a quote from Colleen inserted here - obviously I need another cup of coffee - see my other post!)

 

Completely Off-topic - Hey, you greatly simplified your siggy while I've just un-simplified mine all-out! LOL

 

How are you, friend?

 

Guess by now you've figured out the way to get DH to help is to get so sick he has to, right?

 

(wink, wink!)

Edited July 11, 2010 by Rhondabee

[PollyOR]

Dd14 was very overwhelmed this year, her first year of high school. ...Last year she said she liked history, but now, after this one year of reading history, she says she wants to be a history teacher.

:)

 

We did learn a great deal from that experience: D does much better with fewer classes of greater intensity. The typical h/s schedule of 7 or 8 classes a day was too fragmented and less productive. She prefers 3 or 4 classes a day.

 

My feeling is, whatever works. That is the beauty of home schooling!

 

Wow! Your daughter went through so much. I hope she has recovered well. Thanks for sharing what you learned through the experience.

[mcconnellboys]

I have found that both my older and younger son retain better when they're doing more reading on their own. And I think it was Charlotte Mason who extolled the virtues of just leaving kids alone with a good book.....

[Colleen in NS]

I needed to hear that it's okay to not "do the best". Or even to do *my* best.

 

:iagree:

 

Completely Off-topic - Hey, you greatly simplified your siggy while I've just un-simplified mine all-out! LOL

 

How are you, friend?

 

Guess by now you've figured out the way to get DH to help is to get so sick he has to, right?

 

(wink, wink!)

 

LOL, you noticed the change! I'm tired, that's how I am. You know how sometimes you have to step back from something and let your eyes go a little fuzzy, so you can see a bigger picture? That's what I'm doing right now as far as school planning. I was going to start the new year last week, but I just didn't have the gusto to tackle it yet. I have big general plan, but still needed to hammer out some details. And yet still need to chisel out some of those details, lol! I'm getting too bogged down, and need to let my eyes fuzz for a little longer. So, I got rid of all those details in my signature, lol. I think some things/changes will become a little more apparent to me this week, and then I can finish my weekly study plan for everything, and start. With hopefully a life-giving study plan, instead of what was becoming a treadmill. So that's why this thread was encouraging to me. We'll still do things on top of reading, but reading is why I started homeschooling!

[Rhondabee]

:I was going to start the new year last week, but I just didn't have the gusto to tackle it yet.

 

...

 

We'll still do things on top of reading, but reading is why I started homeschooling!

 

I saw (on another thread) that someone was starting "the new school year" on July 4th (and they were American - not Canadian - LOL!). I thought, "Good grief, we haven't even finished Math from the *old* school year, yet!!!!" :lol:

 

(Of course, I just realized today that we were still doing Geometry at Christmas, and switched back to Algebra in January. Yikes! I guess we're doing pretty good considering!)

 

My sons online classes won't start until September, and even though the public schools will start the first week in August, I think we will wait. Maybe not all the way til September - but, maybe so.

 

...

 

And, I agree.