Rethinking our school- read aloud revival fans

[bethben]

I am rethinking our school a bit. I've been listening to the read aloud revival podcasts and have been wondering if I could pare down school to reading good quality books and poetry/ Bible memorization. I would keep up with the basics - language arts and math.

 

I guess I don't know what I'd do with history or science and my big concern for me is that I'm a little "flakey". I tend to drop good ideas within months and do much better with a planned out curriculum. Sonlight at his point has been my fall back.

 

Anybody do something similar?

[Jennay]

I think that if you use SL, that is basically a read-aloud revival already. Go with the schedule during the school year and read lots of extra read-alouds not on the schedule during the summer.

[Outdoorsy Type]

I would drop LA before Science. I like using a whiteboard and writing my favorite sentence from our reading. Identify parts of speech, talk about the strong verbs or imagery used. Write it as copy work in a notebook. That's my 8yo's LA for the year.

[purplejackmama]

I'm doing a lot of soul searching about our school.

 

Podcasts like the RAR have really amped up our read aloud time. I'm so thankful for the encouragement and it has renewed my desire to read good books.

 

The other inspiration I've recently found is from Julie Bogart. Her periscope about the 55 things she didn't do was fascinating to me. I stress all the time about getting the right curriculum and "doing enough" and this scope was the opposite of that. I'm rambling, but I wanted to share this with you. She never used a science curriculum with any of her 6 kids. Just some food for thought.

[momee]

Reading about Charlotte Mason always does this to me.  I know AO is more than "just" reading books but I tend to gravitate toward my "dream idea" of homeschooling when the workbooks are piling up and the fire and the couch beckon  me to grab kids and cuddle up with popcorn and hot chocolate.

 

Believe it or not, SWB's WTM also makes me think school can be much simpler and as long as we read lots of good books with a few basics, my kids will be incredibly well educated.

 

Maybe you would benefit by rereading some core helps that inspired you to begin schooling and make sure you're still on track?  I've done this, multiple times.  We've swung from WTM to TOG to SL and are now, pretty much in the MP camp.  Lots of workbooks but a great schedule with lots of free time so far to read anything we want.  She's still young though.  The olders - well, they don't seem to have the luxury of so many options.

[bethben]

I think my swing back to the read aloud simplify school is in part to the two youngest.  My now 15 year old found it very hard to sit still when he was younger.  Add in a couple of younger siblings and a 4 year gap and I needed him to work more independently.  Now I have my last two who can sit still and listen to books and are only 2 1/2 years apart so I can do a lot together with them.  These two are also very imaginative together and separately.  My 11 year old is also pretty introverted.  He can do well in a group, but really would just rather be doing his own thing.  I want to give him a love of learning because I too was that child and have found books to be my "outlet".  I've always gravitated toward Charlotte Mason, but life got in the way and now I'm coming back to it.  

[momee]

I get that.  Kids keep us hopping because they are so different in what each one needs.  Whatever you decide, I pray you find a groove.  If nothing else, reading advent books is one thing I'm definitely putting some workbooks aside for in the next few weeks. 

 

Time flies and they aren't this age forever.  (Said a mom who greatly misses her oldest now out of the house in the big, big world)

[Julie of KY]

I tried to pawn off some of the teaching of my younger kids to audiobooks and/or video driven teaching this year to free up some of my time. It hasn't been good for retention of material. I've gone back to needing to teach history and science by read-alouds - reading anything and discussing it as we go.