School Books

Yesterday both Leah and Sam started new Cores in Sonlight.  We did not finish their Cores last year (Sam-Core A, and Leah-Core C), so we began this school year by finishing up those Cores.

Now, Leah is in Core D, and Sam is in Core B.  Fun!  It is always exciting to begin a new Core.  New books to put in our basket in the den, and new pages to insert in my master Sonlight Binder.  Beginning new Cores yesterday and continuing on Day 2 today, has brought a little bit of excitement to our school days.

Core B is year one of two of world history.  Core D is year one of two of American history.  With Sam being my 5th child, some of the books we will read in Core B, I will be reading aloud for the 5th time!  But not all of the Core B books, because when my first three children were elementary aged, I used KONOS unit studies instead of Sonlight.  However, many of the books we read for KONOS are also Sonlight books, so I frequently encounter books that I have read aloud 2-4 times already!

For most of the books, that's ok--I have read aloud so many books that I forget the details of each of them.  But every now and then a book is scheduled that I don't think I can read aloud one more time.  So, thankfully, I have discovered Audible.com.  I can download the book on my iPhone, and then play it over the speakers in my car.  How great is that?  We listen to many audio books while we are going around town.  You would be surprised at how many minutes you spend in your car and how quickly you can listen to a long book.

Currently our read alouds (not counting the history/geography readings) are:
Homer Price
Walk the World's Rim
Pedro's Journal

Some fantastic ones that are scheduled for these Cores include:
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
The Year of Miss Agnes
Mr. Popper's Penguins
Understood Betsy
Mountain Born
Johnny Tremain
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Moccasin Trail (I think that 's in Core D--if not, we will read it anyway!)

And I still plan to squeeze in another reading of The Phantom Tollbooth.

We are still reading The Secret Garden at bedtime, but we have only 5 more chapters to finish.  The first read aloud book in Core B is Charlotte's Web, but we listened to that on audio last month.  Yesterday we just finished Adam of the Road on audio.  I love that book, but it is one that I could not bear to read aloud again!  I think I have already read it out loud twice, and I will still need to read it to both Leah and Sam. Well, not read it out loud myself--I can use Audible. com again!

Yes.  I spend many hours each day reading aloud to my children.  Yes.  Even my high-school students will join in and listen when they can.  And yes.  Reading aloud to my children is my favorite part of homeschooling.

When Olivia was packing for college, she asked if she could take some our "school books" to college with her.  Of course I said yes, and then I added except for the ones that I will reading aloud this year.  She said thank you!  She chose several books that were her favorites, and then she chose a few more because she said she had such fond memories of my reading them aloud to her.  That made me smile.  (and tear up).  And then I told her that she could take any book she wanted, and that if she wanted one that I needed for school this year--take it anyway!  I would order an additional copy!

History and great stories both have come alive by the many hours that I have spent reading aloud to my children.  The most important reading I do each day with my them is our Bible reading, and the history, poetry, and stories included in God's Word are more real to all of us because of the time we have spent reading and discussing the Bible together.

Reading aloud = happy homeschooling to me!