Just started Pride & Prejudice as a read aloud...

[shanvan]

I wonder if I should be worried? I think we are up to Ch7--maybe 8. Ds thinks Mr. Darcy is his hero. Dd loves him too. They think it's great that he is absolutely blunt and just says what he thinks even if it is rude. Ds says "He's amazing, he's just like me. He decides what he thinks immediately......and then he has to change his mind." So true......but I had no idea Ds knew this about himself.:glare:

 

Now I just hope he isn't encouraged to behave like Darcy in public. :lol:

 

It's been a few years since I've read through the book and I'm enjoying it tremendously and noticing things I don't remember noticing before. What's really interesting is seeing my underlinings and notes from years ago.

 

We've been having some good discussions. We recently met another homeschooling family we like a lot. But they are very reserved and it's not easy to tell just how much the feelings are mutual--though they have invited us to their home and we email and participate in local activities together. Ds was complaining about how quiet they are just the other day. (I'll admit, their initial reserve and quietness first gave me the impression that they were snobbish--which I don't believe now.) So, the discussion tonight about whether or not Jane should show more interest in Bingley was interesting and we got into talking about friendships and whether or not it's possible for someone to lose interest in you as a friend if you do not show how much you enjoy their company or if you are too reserved. Ds said yes. Dd said no, because she adores the girls from the family we've recently met and she knew that's what we were really talking about!

 

Just one interesting conversation sparked by the book. I had planned on reading only a portion aloud to give them a feel for the book and then assigning them their TOG reading. We're having such a good time with it, I may end up reading the whole thing out loud. That'll really mess with my schedule. :tongue_smilie:

 

I think reading it out loud with discussion is making it more interesting. I was worried Ds would see it as a girly book. Discussions are preventing that. I also am not thrilled that TOG assigns Dd an abridged version. She definitely can't read the real thing by herself, but as a read aloud it would be doable and I can avoid her reading the abridgment.

 

Just wanted to share what fun we are having. Feel free to comment, weigh in on whether being reserved is good or bad, how you feel about abridged books for younger kids, your own experiences discussing literature, literary heros your kids perhaps should not imitate, finding that your 'schedule' of learning is suddenly being interrupted by good discussions, teen boys who are a pain in the ____ and insist they are not, but then tell you they are when they see a character in a book exhibiting the same poor behavior....etc.

[Lovedtodeath]

So cool. Thanks for sharing!

[meggie]

I think it's great you are having so many fun discussions. I truly love that book.

 

I wouldn't worry about your son being like Darcy. Remember that Darcy gets his comeuppance and learns to change. That will probably make another great discussion with your son on why it's not always good to be so blunt and why not everyone likes it. Darcy's character arch is a great one and by following along, maybe your son will learn a thing or two.

 

And this book is so hilarious, there's no way I'd EVER let my children read an abridged version.

[PeterPan]

You go girl! That's awesome!! You're making me wish we were reading it aloud!! :D

[Barb_]

That's funny! This is the book I chose for our first read aloud this fall as well. My oldest if 15 and had never read it, so I thought my younger daughters would get a kick out of sitting in. My younger was born in 01 and the middle in 99, so pretty close to the ages of your kids. It's going swimmingly. I wasn't sure if Mia was going to be too young to appreciate the more adult concerns in the story, but they all love the book. However, I'm doing To Kill a Mockingbird concurrently with just the youngers as an independent read on the off days and they are enjoying that more. Who doesn't adore scout?

[shanvan]

I think it's great you are having so many fun discussions. I truly love that book.

 

I wouldn't worry about your son being like Darcy. Remember that Darcy gets his comeuppance and learns to change. That will probably make another great discussion with your son on why it's not always good to be so blunt and why not everyone likes it. Darcy's character arch is a great one and by following along, maybe your son will learn a thing or two.

 

Oh, I know he's going to learn, for sure. I just haven't shared that little secret with him yet. He's seen some of the movie (not the BBC version which we will watch later this year), so he may know some of the plot already. I'm not asking him b/c I don't want to call up images of the movie.

And this book is so hilarious, there's no way I'd EVER let my children read an abridged version.

 

I know! When I saw it on Dd's assignment list I was :confused:. Then I just thought I'd go ahead with it b/c she could share in some of the fun and yet Ds and I wouldn't be slowed down with TOG assignments (I know that's a horrible reason). But, I think I'm going with my gut and sticking with it as a read aloud. I'm thankful that this fall we are home at night, for the most part, and able to be consistent about reading out loud before bed.

[meggie]

I know! When I saw it on Dd's assignment list I was :confused:. Then I just thought I'd go ahead with it b/c she could share in some of the fun and yet Ds and I wouldn't be slowed down with TOG assignments (I know that's a horrible reason). But, I think I'm going with my gut and sticking with it as a read aloud. I'm thankful that this fall we are home at night, for the most part, and able to be consistent about reading out loud before bed.

 

Someone on FB mentioned that today was Colin Firth's birthday. I've been having a hard time not pulling the movie out to watch some of it. *swoon*

[shanvan]

You go girl! That's awesome!! You're making me wish we were reading it aloud!! :D

 

You can still change your mind (She types as she devises a secret plan to make all other WTM'ers as off schedule as her and her Dc will be after adding in another read aloud---where's the evil smiley?).

[Georgiana Daniels]

Sounds like a blast!

 

You're whetting my appetite for the day I get there with my kids. I savor great discussions, and my kids might be the only ones I can discuss great books with in person on a regular basis.

[warneral]

Oh what fun :)

[PeterPan]

You can still change your mind (She types as she devises a secret plan to make all other WTM'ers as off schedule as her and her Dc will be after adding in another read aloud---where's the evil smiley?).

 

I know, you're killing me!!! :lol: My version has such TINY print, I've spent the last hour trying to avoid the thought that I really need an ebook version. Cuz then I couldn't decide if it should be on the ipad or if I should be wanting the new Kindle Paperwhite (which I do). And then if I want that, it delays until October which is just WAY too long cuz you're going to be DONE by then and I can't keep up... :auto:

 

So you read this before bed? Not during your school day? I have not read aloud to her before bed in SO LONG. I'm actually much more of a night owl than a morning/day time person. Maybe if I read aloud at night I wouldn't fall asleep, hehe... It's why I finally gave up reading to dd, because I was always falling asleep. But I could surprise her and try tomorrow. But it has to be a version with larger print, that's for sure. :D

 

BTW, when is P&P set? 18th century by chance? That would be really helpful in my cause of convincing dd, but I'm guessing it's not. :lol:

(She's all about the 18th century these days.)

[mrsrevmeg]

Last year my oldest had to read this. We got the movie from Netflix. I did not make the younger two watch it, but they did. They enjoyed it immensely. My middle son will still do his "Mrs. Bennett impersonation" every now and then. Benjamin is thinking about reading for fun. I guess when we get back to Year 3 of TOG he can read Persuasion or something instead.

[shanvan]

I know, you're killing me!!! :lol: My version has such TINY print, I've spent the last hour trying to avoid the thought that I really need an ebook version. Cuz then I couldn't decide if it should be on the ipad or if I should be wanting the new Kindle Paperwhite (which I do). And then if I want that, it delays until October which is just WAY too long cuz you're going to be DONE by then and I can't keep up... :auto:

 

You don't have to keep up! Anyway, we are going to watch the entire BBC production after we finish, so that will add to the time we spend on it.

 

So you read this before bed? Not during your school day? I have not read aloud to her before bed in SO LONG. I'm actually much more of a night owl than a morning/day time person. Maybe if I read aloud at night I wouldn't fall asleep, hehe... It's why I finally gave up reading to dd, because I was always falling asleep. But I could surprise her and try tomorrow. But it has to be a version with larger print, that's for sure. :D

 

Ds is reading along on his Kindle for bigger print. I'm struggling along with my old college paperback b/c of all the notes from years of reading and rereading.

 

Yup. We are back to reading before bed. I was going to do some extra during school day today, but we got stuck on history and then the piano teacher showed up. It's been at least a year since we could be consistent with night time read alouds, which I always loved. I am just so thankful that dog classes have changed to daytime and I've stopped going to Curves sincemy location closed and Dd's dog gives me plenty of exercise.

 

BTW, when is P&P set? 18th century by chance? That would be really helpful in my cause of convincing dd, but I'm guessing it's not. :lol:

(She's all about the 18th century these days.)

 

Kind of 18th century, though towards the end, I think. (Can you tell I haven't read my TOG notes yet?:tongue_smilie:) That makes it even more tempting doesn't it?

[PeterPan]

Hmm, there's the BBC version http://www.amazon.com/Pride-and-Prejudice-Episode-1/dp/B000K7MMP4/ref=sr_1_3?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1347335041&sr=1-3&keywords=pride+and+prejudice+bbc and the Colin Firth version and the Greer Garson version and of course you really have to watch them ALL and compare... :lol:

 

Seriously, Jane Austen is what I put in the car for the long trips to and from speech. Dh won't do it when he drives us, so I only get it when I go by myself. Such a nice way to pass the time. You can "listen" to a dvd. Since our trip to speech is 2 1/2 hours each way, I can get in the A&E version of Sense & Sensibility *twice* in a trip. :D

 

The BBC one I linked is slower, as in it might bore some people. Good to crochet with. I really like their Emma and have watched it quite a bit. Emma is very thought-provoking btw, lots of good themes there. They've made some newer ones too, but I'm so resistant to change I struggle with them. I like these older BBC ones because the people are ugly. Makes me feel right at home, hehe, like it's so realistic, not extra-beautiful Hollywood-ized. :biggrinjester:

 

BTW, amazon said 19th century for Jane Austen. We're doing 18th now, Louis the this or that and all that. I may try it after we're done with 18th and use the 19th century as my excuse. :)

 

BTBTW (double btw?), I ended up deciding to use the BJU world history as our spine and be done with it. It's such a simple choice for me. I opened it up, read and outlined, have the whole chapter under my grasp, had her read, filled in the outline together, and now she's doing her rabbit trails. Easy peasy for me, all the christian viewpoint I wanted. I'm finally content. After all this time of lusting after TOG, I'm finally CONTENT. Hard to believe, eh? :)

Edited September 11, 2012 by OhElizabeth

[happyhomemaker25]

I wonder if I should be worried? I think we are up to Ch7--maybe 8. Ds thinks Mr. Darcy is his hero. Dd loves him too. They think it's great that he is absolutely blunt and just says what he thinks even if it is rude. Ds says "He's amazing, he's just like me. He decides what he thinks immediately......and then he has to change his mind." So true......but I had no idea Ds knew this about himself.:glare:

 

Now I just hope he isn't encouraged to behave like Darcy in public. :lol:

 

It's been a few years since I've read through the book and I'm enjoying it tremendously and noticing things I don't remember noticing before. What's really interesting is seeing my underlinings and notes from years ago.

 

We've been having some good discussions. We recently met another homeschooling family we like a lot. But they are very reserved and it's not easy to tell just how much the feelings are mutual--though they have invited us to their home and we email and participate in local activities together. Ds was complaining about how quiet they are just the other day. (I'll admit, their initial reserve and quietness first gave me the impression that they were snobbish--which I don't believe now.) So, the discussion tonight about whether or not Jane should show more interest in Bingley was interesting and we got into talking about friendships and whether or not it's possible for someone to lose interest in you as a friend if you do not show how much you enjoy their company or if you are too reserved. Ds said yes. Dd said no, because she adores the girls from the family we've recently met and she knew that's what we were really talking about!

 

Just one interesting conversation sparked by the book. I had planned on reading only a portion aloud to give them a feel for the book and then assigning them their TOG reading. We're having such a good time with it, I may end up reading the whole thing out loud. That'll really mess with my schedule. :tongue_smilie:

 

I think reading it out loud with discussion is making it more interesting. I was worried Ds would see it as a girly book. Discussions are preventing that. I also am not thrilled that TOG assigns Dd an abridged version. She definitely can't read the real thing by herself, but as a read aloud it would be doable and I can avoid her reading the abridgment.

 

Just wanted to share what fun we are having. Feel free to comment, weigh in on whether being reserved is good or bad, how you feel about abridged books for younger kids, your own experiences discussing literature, literary heros your kids perhaps should not imitate, finding that your 'schedule' of learning is suddenly being interrupted by good discussions, teen boys who are a pain in the ____ and insist they are not, but then tell you they are when they see a character in a book exhibiting the same poor behavior....etc.

 

LOL, my middle girl was upset with Elizabeth Bennett for not accepting Mr. Darcy's first proposal. I was like, "Did you hear the proposal?" :001_huh: She thought it was a perfectly acceptable proposal! :tongue_smilie:

[shanvan]

Hmm, there's the BBC version http://www.amazon.com/Pride-and-Prejudice-Episode-1/dp/B000K7MMP4/ref=sr_1_3?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1347335041&sr=1-3&keywords=pride+and+prejudice+bbc and the Colin Firth version and the Greer Garson version and of course you really have to watch them ALL and compare... :lol:

 

Seriously, Jane Austen is what I put in the car for the long trips to and from speech. Dh won't do it when he drives us, so I only get it when I go by myself. Such a nice way to pass the time. You can "listen" to a dvd. Since our trip to speech is 2 1/2 hours each way, I can get in the A&E version of Sense & Sensibility *twice* in a trip. :D

 

The BBC one I linked is slower, as in it might bore some people. Good to crochet with. I really like their Emma and have watched it quite a bit. Emma is very thought-provoking btw, lots of good themes there. They've made some newer ones too, but I'm so resistant to change I struggle with them. I like these older BBC ones because the people are ugly. Makes me feel right at home, hehe, like it's so realistic, not extra-beautiful Hollywood-ized. :biggrinjester:

 

BTW, amazon said 19th century for Jane Austen. We're doing 18th now, Louis the this or that and all that. I may try it after we're done with 18th and use the 19th century as my excuse. :)

 

BTBTW (double btw?), I ended up deciding to use the BJU world history as our spine and be done with it. It's such a simple choice for me. I opened it up, read and outlined, have the whole chapter under my grasp, had her read, filled in the outline together, and now she's doing her rabbit trails. Easy peasy for me, all the christian viewpoint I wanted. I'm finally content. After all this time of lusting after TOG, I'm finally CONTENT. Hard to believe, eh? :)

 

Now that was not nice telling me how easy the BJU is! You are making me miss those simple BJU days. I tried to talk Ds into it but he wanted his TOG. The jury's out on whether or not I am content.:tongue_smilie: This is Ds's first week. We'll see how content he is now that he has to accomplish the R level readings each week.

 

I had all kinds of plans for car rides this year, but it turns out we aren't having many that are long enough to do much.

 

I looked and you're right, P&P is early nineteenth century, even though the original First Impressions was written in the late 18th. And now I'm going to need to get a list of Jane Austen movies and their versions so I have something to do this winter!

[shanvan]

LOL, my middle girl was upset with Elizabeth Bennett for not accepting Mr. Darcy's first proposal. I was like, "Did you hear the proposal?" :001_huh: She thought it was a perfectly acceptable proposal! :tongue_smilie:

 

You know, as teenager, I remember, I didn't see anything wrong with it either. My Dc already can't stand Mrs. Bennet, so Darcy's comments about her family probably won't phase them. They'll probably say he's justified. I think we're going to end up having quite a few conversations about what should and shouldn't be said out loud.

 

Last night they pointed out a dog breeder friend of mine saying how blunt she is and sometimes inappropriate. "But we all like her," they said, "because we always know exactly what she thinks and never have to guess where we stand with her." They left out the fact that she has helped us many times and has been a huge encourager. She never held herself aloof as Darcy did.

[elegantlion]

Oh no! You're making me want to do this as a RA for ds. I am NOT a fan of P&P (ducking). Part of it was timing when I read it, part of it just doesn't appeal to me. But I might read it with ds just to have those kinds of conversations. I can so see him saying the same thing.

 

BTW, have you seen the new Captain Morgan commercials? I swear they picked an actress who looks like Keira Knightly on purpose to play between the P&P propriety and the pirate domain.

[Jackie in AR]

We're reading P&P right now as our first literature book of the year (TOG Y3). My class consists of 3 17-year-old boys (two are my sons) and my dd 15. We are having so much fun! Tonight our bonus student is going to come over and we're watching hours 2 and 3 of the BBC version.

[momschicklets]

Had to chime in because I am also reading this book out loud to my twin 10th graders as it is our first literature piece for TOG Year 3. We actually started it in the summer so we could enjoy it slowly. Our discussions have been just a hoot! We love the characters, and my son, who didn't think he'd enjoy such a "girly book" ;) is really getting into it.

 

Both of my kids love Darcy and they laugh at his superiority complex. I'm fine with that...I think it means the character has become real to them and they enjoy how the story is developing.

 

Great way to begin our year!

[curlylocks]

We're also using TOG Y3...but I didn't think to do this as a Read-Aloud. :( (I bought Once on this Island but we haven't even started it yet.)

[shanvan]

Had to chime in because I am also reading this book out loud to my twin 10th graders as it is our first literature piece for TOG Year 3. We actually started it in the summer so we could enjoy it slowly. Our discussions have been just a hoot! We love the characters, and my son, who didn't think he'd enjoy such a "girly book" ;) is really getting into it.

 

Both of my kids love Darcy and they laugh at his superiority complex. I'm fine with that...I think it means the character has become real to them and they enjoy how the story is developing.

 

Great way to begin our year!

 

I wish we had started in the summer, but as I mentioned reading the whole thing aloud was not in my plans. So much for plans!

 

My Ds laughs at Darcy too, but he also seems to think Darcy's, shall we say personality quirks, are completely acceptable. Then that sparked a discussion about how well you can really judge a person's heart by their visible behavior, how much of a spectrum of behavior should be considered polite---as in Jane's argument that Darcy behaves perfectly well around those people he already knows.

[shanvan]

We're also using TOG Y3...but I didn't think to do this as a Read-Aloud. :( (I bought Once on this Island but we haven't even started it yet.)

 

Well, I wasn't thrilled with the recommended read aloud for this unit anyway. It's fine, just not my cuppa. I'm definitely all about customizing TOG to suit my own inclinations (and occasionally Dc's). Looks like P&P has turned into our read aloud. If it weren't for younger Dd's abridged assignment, I probably wouldn't have considered it either, and that would have been a shame. Somehow I don't think the scripted discussions in TOG are going to be the same as those we are having as we read. And, this is why I started homeschooling in the first place. It's really a breath of fresh air to be back to reading aloud.

 

One of my frustrations as Ds got older was giving up all that learning and discussing together. Even the TOG discussions at the end of the week aren't quite the same thing b/c they aren't personalized to our lives and experiences. Yes, we could do that anyway (though I don't know how we'd fit it in since discussions are already long), but I don't think we'd do as well as we are reading through it together. Too many passages would get ignored, and that spark of "Oh, that makes me think of this person, or when this or that happened," or, "I really don't like her" and all the discussions that follow just wouldn't be there by the time we got around to our assigned meeting time. Still, I realize we aren't going to be able to do this with every book in the TOG year plan. Even doing it with P&P is going to require me to adjust assignments somewhat.

[Jenny in Florida]

Sigh.

 

I have Austen on my list for next year, but I'd much rather be reading Pride and Prejudice than our current read alouds: Uncle Tungsten (for chemistry) and Utopia (for English).

 

It's been fascinating and exciting for me as I've seen how much opportunity for connections and discussions reading aloud with my son provides.

[curlylocks]

... I'm definitely all about customizing TOG to suit my own inclinations (and occasionally Dc's).

 

I wish I could relax and learn to do this... ;)

 

 

Looks like P&P has turned into our read aloud. If it weren't for younger Dd's abridged assignment, I probably wouldn't have considered it either, and that would have been a shame. Somehow I don't think the scripted discussions in TOG are going to be the same as those we are having as we read. And, this is why I started homeschooling in the first place. It's really a breath of fresh air to be back to reading aloud.

 

 

"Abridged assignment"? Are you referring to P&P or the UG assignment? (I already owned an unabridged copy of P&P so I didn't purchase the recommended version from Bookshelf Central.)

[shanvan]

 

I wish I could relax and learn to do this... ;)

 

 

 

"Abridged assignment"? Are you referring to P&P or the UG assignment? (I already owned an unabridged copy of P&P so I didn't purchase the recommended version from Bookshelf Central.)

 

Yes, I believe it was the UG assignment, which is mostly the level I have her in. I'm not a fan of abridged works usually, but I was going to let this one go for the sake of us all being able to discuss the work. After starting it out loud the other night, I just couldn't imagine going through with that UG assignment.

 

As far as I know the rhetoric book assigned is not abridged, but we aren't using the version sold by Bookshelf Central. I just own way too many copies to invest in yet another one.

[curlylocks]

Yes, I believe it was the UG assignment, which is mostly the level I have her in. I'm not a fan of abridged works usually, but I was going to let this one go for the sake of us all being able to discuss the work. After starting it out loud the other night, I just couldn't imagine going through with that UG assignment.

 

As far as I know the rhetoric book assigned is not abridged, but we aren't using the version sold by Bookshelf Central. I just own way too many copies to invest in yet another one.

 

Hmmm...in my yellow pages, the UG Lit Assignment is "Diary of an Early American Boy" (which my son had already read as part of SL Science) and the D Lit Assignment is "Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier". (which sounded really "dry" to me)

 

I hear ya about not buying another copy of something you already own. ;)

[shanvan]

Hmmm...in my yellow pages, the UG Lit Assignment is "Diary of an Early American Boy" (which my son had already read as part of SL Science) and the D Lit Assignment is "Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier". (which sounded really "dry" to me)

 

I hear ya about not buying another copy of something you already own. ;)

 

Yes, it did look dry, which is probably why I decided to use the alternate. I wanted d level for this week. I just checked my year plan and that's where it was listed. I made reading assignment lists for Dc, and haven't looked at the reading assignments in the year plan for a while, so I forgot it was an alternate selection.