Since we’ve been homeschooling, I (Karen) have read a lot of books about the topic. I remember reading once about how art shouldn’t be “taught” or forced upon kids until at least third grade. Instead, you should spend all that time and energy you would otherwise devote to painting and craft projects and read aloud to your kids – A LOT. The idea is that before third grade (or so), children simply do not have enough life exposure to truly create from. After all, art is generally a representation of how we see the world and feel about it. This person’s perspective was that you should read read read read read read read read read lots of good books to your kids and fill their mind with great thoughts and heroic characters and beautiful settings and meaningful concepts. THEN – when you have invested years into fueling your child’s imaginations, THEN you can start focusing more seriously on art.
Now, while I don’t completely agree with this philosophy, I was thrilled to partially adopt it in order to escape from all the mom-guilt I had about not doing loads of arts and crafts with the boys. “Art” these days is simply copious amounts of scissors, paper, tape, cardboard, pens, and glue strewn around the house. Whenever the creative urge hits, they are free to satisfy it almost however they want. I gave up the need to do most of the crafts shortly after reading that article. BUT the part that I DO agree with is the value of reading to your kids as much as possible and as many good books as possible. One of my favorite things is to see and hear the words, plots, characters and settings of our read-alouds come to life in the boys’ play. I love how they make so many connections, too, between the various stories. For example, Matt has been reading the Harry Potter books to the boys while I have been reading fictional accounts of families moving west in the late 1700’s. Today, “Draco Malfoy” was casting spells against the Chickamaugas (Native Americans in one of our books). In the past, the kids made cardboard boats and pretended they were floating down the Orinoco River after reading Henry the Castaway.
I notice that it is always the books we read aloud that make their way into the kids’ play. Reading a book is otherwise a solitary sport. Unless you’re all reading the same book, which isn’t currently feasible for our boys. One thing I’ve learned from homeschooling and want to encourage others to do is to read historical (and other good) books with your kids even when the books are not assigned by the school. Maybe most parents do this already, I don’t know. In my family growing up, once my brother and I could read, I don’t remember much reading aloud. We were just encouraged to read on our own. And I certainly don’t remember my parents reading books to us that weren’t assigned by the school. But, reading these books with the boys has opened up so many great conversations. Not only have we learned a ton (at least I have), but it’s been an invaluable unifying source amongst our kids.
Even though Emerson is only 3, he is well-versed in Harry Potter just by virtue of having listened to Matt read to the big boys (I will add that the illustrated versions are phenomenal and well worth the extra money. The illustrations are so well done and are scattered all throughout the book – think vines crawling up the edges of pages, spiders in the corners…). Emerson eagerly joins in casting spells and declaring that he wants to be called Draco or Ron Weasley. We are currently reading a book for history called “the Buffalo Knife” and recently finished a few other books – “Danger along the Ohio,” “The boy who saved Cleveland,” and “Summer of the Monkeys.” All of the boys listen to me read these aloud at mealtimes or bedtime. Later, I hear them talking about yellow fever or camping along the river or taking their own flatboat out on an adventure.
I see the value of that philosophy of fueling and filling our children’s imaginations with good books. I see the value of reading aloud to your kids even past the point where they are proficient readers themselves. Heck, look at the rise of book-clubs in the last decades! Yes they are often thinly-veiled excuses to hang out with your friends and drink wine, but there’s also something comforting and satisfying knowing that you have all read the same book and experienced the same secret world together.
If you are looking for some good books to read to your kids, here are some that our boys (and us!) have enjoyed and seen come alive in our family. Several are taken from the lists from Five in a Row (a fabulous literature-based elementary curriculum) and Beautiful Feet (a literature-based history curriculum that has radically changed our approach to history).
Does your family have any favorite read-alouds?? Do you still read aloud to your kids even after they can read themselves?
