How to Plan to Read All These Good Books???

[datimasa]

I have got lots of good books I want my children to read: real books and kindle books. Plus, tons I don't own yet but can get from the library and/or buy them. I have looked at all the major book lists (1000 great books, AO, Sonlight, maybe some others) but I cant figure out how to come up with a plan to make sure they get read  :crying: Which are the ones that are most important? What order? I tend to be a person who gets bogged down in the details (frustrated perfectionist  :blushing: ) and if I can't plan it out perfectly it's not as likely to get done. I need a plan! I think it's why Sonlight appeals to me but there would be so many other books that I want read that they don't even include. and then I'm back to square one with those books.

 

I have 5 girls 17, 13, 5, 2, and 6 months. I was not as diligent with reading aloud with my older ones and want to do different with my littles. My oldest read/s a lot and we listened to a lot of audios but my 13yo was slower to start reading and didn't like it for a long time. Now she does and I feel like there is so much she has missed out on.

 

Any advice, help, or just tell me what to do??  :D Maybe it's simpler than I'm thinking and I am just OVER thinking it? I admire women who seem so confident in making all these plans and schedules.

[Farrar]

I think you just have to let it go to some extent. Just keep reading aloud, keep strewing good books. Require them to read a few. If you have all these lists you want to draw from, then read a book, finish it, read another. Lather, rinse, repeat.

 

You will end up leaving some out. There will be a book that is a "classic" that your kids hate. Or that you realize they'll hate. And you'll realize life is too short and too full of books they'll love to read the ones they hate, at least for too long. There will be some you don't get to. It's okay. There are classic books you've never read, right? There are classic books literature experts have never gotten around to. Really, it's okay.

[Jackie]

I keep a fiction list in an Excel spreadsheet. I add to it when I learn of a new book that catches my attention for some reason. The list includes title, author, reading level, and interest level (the latter two pulled from the Scholastic Book Wizard when possible). From that list, at the beginning of this school year (kindy for my daughter), I sorted out for kindy interest level and decided which ones I wanted to buy and added those to the Amazon wish list. The rest I printed out and keep near my computer and once every few weeks I max out my library reserves online just working through the list. Well, that list, plus books I want for history and science.

 

When she is older, I'm sure I'll need to do more picking and choosing. For now the majority of the books are picture books and fairly quick reads, so we go through a lot of books.

[maize]

I think you just have to let it go to some extent. Just keep reading aloud, keep strewing good books. Require them to read a few. If you have all these lists you want to draw from, then read a book, finish it, read another. Lather, rinse, repeat.

 

You will end up leaving some out. There will be a book that is a "classic" that your kids hate. Or that you realize they'll hate. And you'll realize life is too short and too full of books they'll love to read the ones they hate, at least for too long. There will be some you don't get to. It's okay. There are classic books you've never read, right? There are classic books literature experts have never gotten around to. Really, it's okay.

 

 

I agree 100%. There are simply more good books in the world than any one person is going to read during twelve or so years of schooling. Really there are more worthwhile books than one person will read in a lifetime. The lists are wonderful for ideas, but don't turn reading good books into a task or check list to be crossed off. 

[maize]

Thinking a bit more: a child who reads or listens to 100-200 really good books during there growing up years will have a rich literary background from which to build on their entire lives. A real bookworm will read more, but while books are an important part of education they are not the only important part and some children will naturally gravitate towards other interests.

[purduemeche]

What history program do you use?  We are a TOG family and that includes many of the Great Books as a part of the curriculum.

 

The other good option is to sign up for Audible and listen to them in the car.  I just downloaded 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Time Machine for 0.99 each.

[Maela]

I have got lots of good books I want my children to read: real books and kindle books. Plus, tons I don't own yet but can get from the library and/or buy them. I have looked at all the major book lists (1000 great books, AO, Sonlight, maybe some others) but I cant figure out how to come up with a plan to make sure they get read :crying: Which are the ones that are most important? What order? I tend to be a person who gets bogged down in the details (frustrated perfectionist :blushing: ) and if I can't plan it out perfectly it's not as likely to get done. I need a plan! I think it's why Sonlight appeals to me but there would be so many other books that I want read that they don't even include. and then I'm back to square one with those books.

 

I have 5 girls 17, 13, 5, 2, and 6 months. I was not as diligent with reading aloud with my older ones and want to do different with my littles. My oldest read/s a lot and we listened to a lot of audios but my 13yo was slower to start reading and didn't like it for a long time. Now she does and I feel like there is so much she has missed out on.

 

Any advice, help, or just tell me what to do?? :D Maybe it's simpler than I'm thinking and I am just OVER thinking it? I admire women who seem so confident in making all these plans and schedules.

I have the same problem! Right now I am doing the same as a pp - constantly working on a long list of books I'd like my kids to read someday. It's a spreadsheet with title, author, and AR reading level (not that we pay too much attention to that, but sometimes it's helpful). It's a long list already, and I know I have much more to add! Every time I see a good booklist, I save it to eventually add to my spreadsheet. It can be overwhelming. I know we're going to miss some. I just decided to jump in and start moving down the list (abandoning books that they do not enjoy).

[datimasa]

I think I didn't explain myself very well :) I know we can't read them all, but I would love to hear how you organize and figure out what to read and when. As a side note, I don't really like how the different book lists have different grade levels, it makes it harder for my brain to know where to categorize them ;) 

 

Maybe if someone has a reading/literature program they like, you could throw that in too. :)

 

purduemeche, we mainly just read through MOH right now, but I would like to use VP self paced as soon as I can afford it.

[Desert Strawberry]

I choose a list for the year, start at the top and check them off as we go. Most of our books come from the library. If the library doesn't have it, I let that one go. 

 

We have reading time built into our day. My beginning reader must read one book or one chapter minimum per day during school time while I work with other kids. My oldest reads at least one hour before bed each night. We have family story time all together every day before nap. One picture book, one chapter of an older kids book. 

 

Any time someone is grumpy, tired, whiney, bored, or otherwise in need of direction, I send them to their room to read.

 

We bring books with us when we go somewhere. Audio books are great for the car. I carry my Kindle and read to them in waiting rooms, at restaurants, anywhere we are stuck being quiet. 

 

No one can read all of the books, but adding them where you can is enriching and wonderful.

[EndOfOrdinary]

One of the things we have done in our house is to take the various stacks and separate them into three categories: school, literature, candy.  School books are things like Herodotus, Livy, Epic of Gilgamesh, Moby Dick, Huckleberry Fin, the general classics that are go to school books.  Literature are the wonderful stories you just cannot imagine growing up without reading - Princess and the Goblin, the Little Princess, Peter Pan, Penderwicks, Little House, Anne of Green Gables.  Candy are the delicious, fun, totally quick books that kids can just eat up!  This list shifts a bit, Little House would be candy for my son now, but weren't when he was in 2nd and 3rd grade.  Peter Pan is right up there as well.  Velveteen Rabbit, Rascal, My Side of the Mountain, StarGirl are all candy books. 

 

We have one school book, one literature read aloud, and a small stack of independent reading candy books going at all times.  The school book we really discuss and it takes us a bit.  The literature read aloud is normally before bed, but we will snuggle up on rainy days and read it too.  We talk about it, but we do not dissect it.  The candy books my son reads independently and will talk about here and there when he gets to a really good or wonderful part.

[Hunter]

Ezrabean, gave me one of the most helpful tips ever. She said that instead of trying to pick the books I wanted to read/keep most, to start with discarding the books I liked least. So if you have a long list, cross off the 10 that are easiest to cross off. Then cross off 10 more. And then 10 more. 

 

When your list is more manageable, start looking for some balance or some integration with your main curriculum.

 

Age/grade levels are hard. Everyone has a different opinion. Try to get a general idea of what YOU think is appropriate at an age/grade. Then look to see where some familiar books are listed on each curriculum list. If the books are 2 grades below or 2 grades ahead of your idea, then write 2- or 2+ at the top of that list and add or subtract grades accordingly. Do you know what I mean?

 

Also, be aware that some lists have scheduled books according to CONTENT, not difficulty, so do not judge age by those lists. Often the books are wildly inappropriately listed.

 

 

[Hunter]

Another trick I learned was to check out the length of the audio book version, to get an idea of how long it will take to read the book. I decide how many hours a week I want to devote to read alouds. If I see that 2 equally liked books are wildly different in length, I usually pick the shorter one. For example the unabridged Swiss Family Robinson is almost 13 hours long. That moves it much further down the list, than if it wasn't so long.

[MerryAtHope]

We have always used Sonlight, so I read most of those. Many are award-winners, so you can hardly go wrong. In the early years,  I did some cores over 2 years, and I mixed in favorite books from childhood that I wanted to read, sequels and so on. Even when we went to a core per year for a few years, we read year round--weekends, summer break etc..., so we still had time to work in some extra books. I chose ones that gave me great pleasure from childhood, or that I thought would be meaningful or fun, or that came highly recommended and appealed to me (not every highly recommended book will appeal to everyone). 

 

As we've moved into highschool I've gone more eclectic and done more picking and choosing. 

 

You can't do all of the books, but you can do a lot of great ones. You've looked at wonderful resources, so now...just choose some. Try them out, and see what you like.

 

BTW, it's not too late to read aloud to your 13 yo. You can have special books just for her, or get some audio books (my kids listen to audios over and over). I still read aloud to my 15 and 17 yo's. We're reading through Jane Eyre right now. 

 

Choose great books and enjoy them. 

[Tanikit]

I have a long list of books to read to my children - I do not plan for the year though. I just choose one when I am finished the next - if the one that has just been finished was a more slow book or a classic or had more difficult vocabulary in it, then I will choose a shorter more modern book next. And then I tick books off my list and add a few more books (no, a lot more). My choices are based on what I like to read and what my children would enjoy hearing - so because my children are both girls we tend to read fewer of the classics with male main characters - and that is fine. There are enough classics to go around.

[Guest sqykkhickinb]

I add to it when I learn of a new book that catches my attention for some reason.

[Hunter]

I've come to the conclusion that any book we don't read with a child/student is a book that they will have the opportunity to read with someone else in the future. Instead of there being too many books, I'm thankful there are so many opportunities to keep reading as a child, as a mom/instructor, and again as a grandparent. Children have at least 2 more chances to experience each level of books.

 

Which books do YOU like? Which ones do you look forward to reading? It's okay for the instructor to sometimes choose the books that they LIKE. This is YOUR life, too. I think brick and mortar teachers give themselves SO much more permission to have a teaching style and to teach with their strengths and preferences. Our society so strongly views moms as non-people that often homeschool moms carry that over into their instructing, and overly focus on the child's learning style and desires at her expense. Younger homeschool moms see this behavior modeled by older homeschool moms and think they should emulate it. Not!

 

When you are excited, you teach better. Look at the list. Do any make you feel EXCITED to read?

[mrsduenes06]

I've come to the conclusion that any book we don't read with a child/student is a book that they will have the opportunity to read with someone else in the future. Instead of there being too many books, I'm thankful there are so many opportunities to keep reading as a child, as a mom/instructor, and again as a grandparent. Children have at least 2 more chances to experience each level of books.

 

Which books do YOU like? Which ones do you look forward to reading? It's okay for the instructor to sometimes choose the books that they LIKE. This is YOUR life, too. I think brick and mortar teachers give themselves SO much more permission to have a teaching style and to teach with their strengths and preferences. Our society so strongly views moms as non-people that often homeschool moms carry that over into their instructing, and overly focus on the child's learning style and desires at her expense. Younger homeschool moms see this behavior modeled by older homeschool moms and think they should emulate it. Not!

 

When you are excited, you teach better. Look at the list. Do any make you feel EXCITED to read?

 

This. I am 40 years old, and am glad that I still have good books left to read.  I really can't imagine being 17 and feeling like you'd read all the good books in the world there are to read anyway.  While I think it's good to try to plan so that you can do the most you can with the time you have with your children, you also have to remember that you are raising readers, and once you set them loose, they will continue to read and grow.  I think giving them a taste for good literature and an ability to read it is just as important as the content of the literature itself.

 

I appreciate the thoughts on teaching to your own style as well.  A key question I ask now is not just if it would be great to do xyz curriculum, but if it actually works for both my kids and I in the season of life that we are in at the time.  I just have young ones right now - my oldest is 7, but my youngest is 3 months old, and right now I need things that are pre-planned and ready to go for the fundamentals, and less scheduled for the other subjects.

[warneral]

We listen to some of them in the car. Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, Peter Pan, Black Beauty, are just a small sampling of great audiobooks we have listened to. We also read aloud, and I assign books. It is amazing how many books one can listen to, just from day to day driving

[CAmomof4]

Luckily there are so many great HS resources with countless booklists!  What I do (and I am an obsessive list-maker), is just choose my favorite resource as a starting point.  My favorite literature list is VP, so I start with VP's grade-level recommendations.  I order all of that, and loosely plan it out through the coming year.  My DD7 is an avid reader, so I know we will need more.  I then add in a second resource, and because I am lazy, it usually goes something like, hmm let's pull out the SL catalog and see which ones they have that VP doesn't!  Then I order those.  Or MP.  I like AO's list too - I try to incorporate those in summertime.  :-)

 

I have only recently given up on the idea that we will do a fully satisfying, entirely rigorous, regimen of Great Books study, complete with all accompanying lit guides and activities.  That would take 40 years.  And you would still only get 1/3 of it done!

 

I have been trying out what many on these boards recommend, which is to just have a literature shelf/basket, and DC can just choose what they want from said place.  As long as you keep it stocked with good options, you don't have to worry, they will eventually get to them!

[Rosie_0801]

I think I didn't explain myself very well :) I know we can't read them all, but I would love to hear how you organize and figure out what to read and when. 

 

We have three main categories of read aloud.

 

1. Literature (currently Lang's Fairy Tales)

2. Religion (currently Roman myths)

3. Random stuff I either want to read, always meant to read or want to pre read so I know whether to toss them out before she can read them herself. (Currently Enid Blyton)

 

 

The literature category is taken from the WTM and I don't feel any need to venture further than that because it's not like I can fit in all that and our religion reading in anyway. I pick whatever seems important, interesting, or I feel dumb for not having read myself. I leave out anything I don't fancy at all.

 

This year, for religion, we're reading about ancient religions (Egypt, Greece and Rome) then will move on to a bit of Chinese Folk religions and Shinto. Being Australian, we take the occasional detour into Aboriginal tales when I pick up a new book.

 

The random stuff category is a great pile mostly comprised of my kiddie books. Actually, two great piles. I read in whatever order I feel like. I also download a lot from Librivox, whatever seems good, since we're in the car a lot.

 

Basically, I pretty much please myself. My dd has a language disorder so doesn't expect to understand everything. She is just as happy listening to Pride and Prejudice as Winnie the Pooh.

 

When it comes to choosing which of the three books on the go to read at a specific time, it depends how tired I am. If I'm full of beans and raring to go, I'll read one fairy tale, the religion book until I get tired, then the fluff until I'm too tired for that too. I hate the fairy tales so they are the first to go when I'm not full of beans. :p

[kubiac]

I used to collect reading lists. I used to believe that I would get to some magical plateau that looked like The End. Maybe after Joyce and Dostoyevsky or something, I would have achieved mastery of the Great Books. Discovering as an adult that there is no Checklist of the Truth, just reading that inspires me as well as reflects who I am right now, was tremendously liberating and educating in its own right.

 

There is no list.

 

Share the books you loved as a child, and then seek developmentally appropriate material for each of your children. The time together and the shared language is where the power is, not in the completion of some externally generated reading doctrine.

 

Best to you and yours, and happy (HAPPY!) reading.

[Korrale]

Time wise audiobooks are a savior. We get many audiobooks digitally from our library and use an app that allows us to play audio books in double time. Yes, some books need time and consideration to digest. But my son and I both have developed a tendency to listen to many, not all, books faster. To be honest I myself could never tolerate audio books until I discovered that I could speed them up. Now I listen to several a week.

The beauty of audiobooks is that one can use them in the car, when going for a walk/run, while doing chores, or just before falling asleep. They don't replace traditional reading but they help us cover more content.

[lea1]

Time wise audiobooks are a savior. We get many audiobooks digitally from our library and use an app that allows us to play audio books in double time. Yes, some books need time and consideration to digest. But my son and I both have developed a tendency to listen to many, not all, books faster. To be honest I myself could never tolerate audio books until I discovered that I could speed them up. Now I listen to several a week.

The beauty of audiobooks is that one can use them in the car, when going for a walk/run, while doing chores, or just before falling asleep. They don't replace traditional reading but they help us cover more content.

 

What app do you use that allows you to speed it up?  I have never heard of this but it sounds very useful.

[Korrale]

What app do you use that allows you to speed it up? I have never heard of this but it sounds very useful.

I use the overdrive app. I have it on our iPad. And I get audiobooks from the library with this for free. It speeds up with good quality and without making the voices sound chipmunk-like. There are other ways to speed up audiobooks but I don't know how.