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bay witch musings

~ thoughts on parenting, paganism, science, books, witchcraft, nature, feminism, unitarian universalism, herbalism, cooking, conservation, crafting, the state of humanity, and life by the sea

bay witch musings

Tag Archives: raising a reader

The 2014 Read Aloud Project

28 Saturday Dec 2013

Posted by thalassa in books, children, family, parenting

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

books, raising a reader, read aloud project

A child’s reading level doesn’t catch up to his listening level until eighth grade. You can and should be reading seventh-grade books to fifth-grade kids. They’ll get excited about the plot and this will be a motivation to keep reading. A fifth-grader can enjoy a more complicated plot than she can read herself, and reading aloud is really going to hook her, because when you get to chapter books, you’re getting into the real meat of print – there is really complicated, serious stuff going on that kids are ready to hear and understand, even if they can’t read at that level yet.  (source)

I’m pretty sure that most parents know why you should read with your kids, even once they are older (and heck, why we, as parents, should be reading too!).  Books change your brain.  And they change your life!  What we read matters, what we read to our kids matter.  It matters that we foster their critical thinking ability, their creativity, and their knowledge about themselves and the world around them.  It matters that we teach them to think about what they read and what that means in the context of their lives.  It matters that we expand their horizons and open their eyes, that we grow their hearts and set free their consciousness.  

So, we read together.  I stole this idea from another mom and blogger last year, and we are making a new list for the start of this year.

This Year’s Books:

The Hobbit (J. R. R. Tolkien)–The Hubby will be out of town for work through at least September, so he’s been reading this one to the kids via Skype (we actually use Google video chat…but we still call it Skype, which makes me wonder if skyping is going to be the next band-aid or kleenex)

The Series of Unfortunate Events books 3-13 (Lemony Snicket)–Chickadee loves the movie, and we’ve read books 1 and 2.  The plan this year is to finish the series, or at least make a big fat dent in it.  10 books sounds like a lot to add, but really, they are super quick to read.

Meet Kirsten, Kirsten Learns a Lesson, Kirsten’s Surprise, Kirsten Saves the Day, Happy Birthday, Kirsten!, Changes for Kirsten (American Girl Books)–So, I have a love-hate relationship with these books.  I love the fact that they introduce different time periods through the lives of ordinary girls, for other little girls to identify with…I hate the fact that they portray the idea that they are historical but (if they do address them at all) they gloss over some very basic unpleasant realities of history (particularly for women and girls and minorities, and in relation to economics and politics and social expectations and every day life and…I could keep going).  With that being said, I had three of these books as a kid, when I was Chickadee’s age and I loved them, so its something for us to share (like reading the Little House books last year or reading the Anne books in a few years).  I consider this a teachable lesson–how do books about history “change” history as we understand it, and where should we look for more accurate information.  I also like it because Kirsten is an immigrant from the same area that The Hubby’s ancestors are from, immigrating to the same place that his ancestors ended up.  And the subject of immigration, and how our ancestors got here and what that means for us today in how we treat others that come to this country looking for a better life, is yet another, HUGE, teachable moment.

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson–I’ve actually never read this, but The Hubby loved this as a kid.

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg–This is probably one of the most fun ideas in a children’s book ever–who the heck wouldn’t want run away to live in a museum?

The Story of Dr. Dolittle and The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle by Hugh Lofting–This is another series that I loved as a kid.  Amazon Kindle has the first two available for free (they are pre-1928, public domain books).  I think a lot of people don’t realize there are actually 12 books in the series, though the last 10 can be a bit harder to find.

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how to read aloud to kids

24 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by thalassa in books, children, education, family, parenting

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

raising a reader, read aloud project, reading stories, reading with kids

The STORY Method

You may not have known, but its apparently not enough to just read to your children at bed time.

Really. There’s actually a technique to it…

I’m pretty fond of this, since its pretty close to what we naturally do anyhow when we read a story.  But…I’m amused that it has its own acronym!

Start with the title

  • Identify the title, the author, and (if there is one) the illustrator (explain what these roles are if needed)
  • Point out the cover and the title page
  • Ask kids to predict what the story might be about by the title and the cover art

Tell the story

Act out the story using different voices for different characters, inflection and enunciation, etc.  Be dramatic and make it fun.  Point out key words.  Encourage the kids to follow along with you.  If there are repetitive terms or words, point them out, and develop a cue so they can chime in and help tell the story.

Offer information

Every few pages, stop and look at the illustrations.  Have the kids describe in their own words what is going on.  Further explain difficult concepts and ideas.

Review and Discuss

Ask comprehension questions.  Have children retell the story using the illustrations as a guide.  Discuss the characters and their motivations, the underlying message of the story, etc.  Discuss if they have ever felt like the character  or what they think it would be like to be in a similar situation, etc.

Your child’s turn

  • Draw a picture from the story
  • Make a collage about something in the story (the location, a character, etc)
  • Write a sequel or a prequel to the story
  • Retell the story as a song or pantomime
  • Create and share a new story with the same carachters
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None is as free as one born on the wave, Born on the wave to the song of the sea; None can be brave until they are free, Free of all, but the call of the sea.

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About me

*Just an FYI: If you are wondering why there's not been a new post recently, new posts have been a bit slowed down by the new job...*

I am a (occasionally doting) wife, a damn proud momma of two adorable and brilliant children, a veteran of the United States Navy, beach addict, (American) Civil War reenactor and Victorian natural history aficionado, lover of steampunk, canoeing fanatic, science professional (and amateur in my preferred field), graduate student, and semi-erratic blogger.

If you have found this blog, you have also figured out that we are a Pagan family.  More aptly, I would describe my theological belief as a pragmatic sort of pantheism with a polytheistic practice and my religion as Unitarian Universalist Pagan.  I practice a bioregional witchery and herbalism (foraging ftw!), mainly working with domestic and elemental magics, and I have a thing for sea deities. For the most part, my blog covers a bit of all of these things, with a bit of randomness tossed in from time to time.

I enjoy playing with my kids, chillin with the hubster, swimming, being nerdy, the great outdoors, NCIS re-runs, chai tea--iced or hot, yoga, trashy romance novels, singing off key, kitchen experiments (of the culinary and non types), surfing the internet and painting.  I also like long walks on the beach and NPR's Science Friday and Neil deGrasse Tyson.  I love to read, sleep in on the weekend, and make the Halloween costumes for my kids every year. I am passionate about watershed ecology and local conservation efforts and vehemently anti-disposable plastics. But most of all...I'm just trying to take extravagant pleasure in the act of being alive.

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