5 Reasons Homeschool Families Love

Read-Alouds - and You Will Too

I can still see my dad sitting on the side of my bed reading from the hardback Reader's Digest collection of fairy tales, one of my favorite Christmas gifts. At other cherished moments, my mom read with me at the kitchen table or in the rocking chair wrapped in the afghan crocheted by my grandmother and Aunt Alice. Decades later, those read-alouds are some of my favorite childhood memories.

Now that stay-at-home orders and social distancing have canceled classes, co-ops, and activities, families have some extra time at home. It's a perfect opportunity to read together. Read-alouds make for memorable family time while building relationships, reading skills, and a love for literature all at the same time.

If you are new to homeschooling, read-alouds are a great way to get started.

Here are five benefits of read-alouds that will have you including the activity in your homeschool - whether you are quarantined or not!

1. Literacy Skills

Read-alouds are one of the most effective ways to advance your child’s literacy skills. The best time to start reading to your child is from the very beginning when he or she is a baby, but it's never too late to start.

Creating a daily family reading habit gives your child a boost over his or her peers. If you start at about six months (I started earlier than that!) and read just one book per day to your child, he or she will have been exposed to about 1,600 books by kindergarten.

Start with cloth books for babies – they hold up to chewing, board books and picture books for toddlers, then the library is your oyster! As little hands are ready, involve them in page-turning. Once your child is a toddler, move your finger along underneath the words as you read. This can help to train the eye-tracking to be from left to right. Both help the physical mechanics of reading to become second nature by the time your child is ready to learn to read.

2. Build Extended-Family Relationships and Reading Comprehension

Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. can be included in the actual sit-down-to-snuggle family reading time - what a special way to nurture familial bonds. Social distancing keeping you away from loved ones? An extended family member can help make the reading selections. This can be an avenue for loved ones to share interests, history, and even family stories. The love of both literacy and family will blossom.
Maybe grandpop can send a favorite book to the family from across the country and discusses the story via phone or Zoom. Or when libraries re-open, grandmom takes the kids to the library to choose books, then the kids can share about the story on their next visit. In addition, to the usual family conversation natural to read-alouds, these extended family discussions will help refine reading comprehension and story-telling skills. As a bonus, family reading time becomes associated with special relationships.

3. Competency and Closure: Organic Recognition of Words

You may have seen some of the writing or workshops that Larry Shiller has done on "Lesson Outcomes" and "Competency and Closure". If not, you’ll want to add that to your read/watch list. Closure is when your child is ready to move on from something. ShillerLearning recommends allowing your child to repeat an activity over and over until they have closure on their own terms. Kids are always happy to let us know when they are ready to move onto the next thing.

It’s not just for activities and lessons; the same is true for books! If your child would like you to read the same book to them 300 out of 365 days this year. That's great! (really)

Many years ago as a first-time mom, I thought my child was reading by age one. He could recite entire books word for word, page by page. They were books he loved. Turns out he wasn’t reading, but he had developed a love for reading. Not every child is going to memorize entire books, but in rereading, they will memorize favorite passages.

Eventually rereading leads to recognizing words, often without even consciously trying. It leads to an understanding of what fluent reading should sound like. Add phonics to that and watch them take off.

4. Greater Vocabulary Comprehension

Time spent reading together as a family is a long-term investment in vocabulary exposure. The reading selections in ShillerLearning Language Arts Kits A and B were made with this in mind. Family reading time gives children the chance to ask questions about words they don't understand, which leads to more effective reading. This is important for both beginners and experienced readers.

Vocabulary is an important (sometimes overlooked) pre-reading skill. Children with limited vocabulary have more challenges learning to read. Children need to understand most of the words they are trying to decode in order to comprehend the story. You can see how having been exposed to about 1,600 books before kindergarten comes in handy when developing a rich vocabulary!

Get excited when your child discovers an unknown word. Pause in the reading to see if the meaning can be discerned from context clues. If you have multiple children, and one knows the definition, encourage them to share their understanding of the term. Then, either during or after reading time, look it up in the dictionary. You may wish to keep a list of new words and their definitions for each book.

Literature is one of the best ways for your child to build vocabulary and become proficient in using a broad vocabulary in both speaking and writing.

5. Read-Alouds Are for All Ages

Family reading time does not have to stop once your child is an independent reader or even a teenager! Homeschool parents want to help their children develop a lifelong love of learning and reading. Continuing to read aloud with your children furthers that goal, even once they read independently and yes teenagers.

Try having the kids take turns reading paragraphs or chapters with you.

As your child moves into middle and high school, family reading selections could be on lifestyle, faith, or travel. You will find reading topics that the family can still enjoy reading and discussing together. You can also move into a book club model as the family ages. Pick a book to read independently and meet to read aloud favorite passages, discuss, or do book-related activities.

Family read-aloud time periods may shorten or become less frequent as children come of age, but don’t completely toss it out. You may find it a lifelong way of promoting the love of literacy and family.

Global pandemic aside, we are homeschooling in a fabulous time. We have endless options for homeschool curriculum, homeschool conventions, homeschool co-ops, and classes galore – gym, art, fencing, robotics, science, cooking, ceramics, contortionist (we were about to join one as COVID-19 hit), golf, writing, woodworking, falconry, archery, and list goes on.

The day will come when you return to a normal homeschool schedule. When the whirlwind returns, continue to carve out time for reading together.

Do you have a list of your favorite books for the family? Let us know about it so we can add it to our list.

How Montessori Nomenclature Cards Enhance Your Homeschooling

How Montessori Nomenclature Cards Enhance Your Homeschool Curriculum

Language development is a key part of Montessori education. Learning to read, often quite early, draws many parents to the Montessori method. Nomenclature cards are a wonderful way to make vocabulary words fun for kids. You can develop cards based on spelling words, your monthly school theme, or student interests. They’re also often found as free Montessori printables here, as well as other Montessori sites.

What Are Nomenclature Cards?

Nomenclature cards, also known as 3-part cards, are cards with a picture and a word or phrase underneath the picture. They’re used to help with reading, language development, vocabulary, object identification, matching, and more. Typically first introduced in preschool, nomenclature cards can be used throughout elementary school as well.

These beautiful nomenclature cards are included in our flower and Garden-Themed Activity Pack. Grab your own set of these FREE Montessori printables to get started with your own nomenclature study.  

How Do I Use Nomenclature Cards?

Nomenclature cards are used with the three-period-lesson. Below is an example of how to use these parts of a flower cards. You will need two copies of each set of cards. One copy is referred to as the “whole picture card,” these are cards without a line in between the word & image. Some children may only work with the whole picture cards, children that can read will work with both sets.

• Lay the whole picture card of roots in front of the child. Say, “These are roots”

• Have the child repeat the word “roots"

• Continue with two more cards until you have three cards out

• Point to each card and say the name of the object

• Rearrange the three cards again and repeat with the other two objects

• Point to an object and ask, “What is this?”

If your child is unable to give the name, tell them the name again and ask them to repeat it. Very young children may struggle with this portion of the work, this is ok.

• Repeat the above steps with a unique combination of cards each time

For young children, you may choose to do 2 cards at a time.

• Repeat until the child has closure

• For older children who can read:

After completing the above, get out the second set of nomenclature cards with the cut-out words.

Repeat the above process with the word portion only.

Give the child the separated word and picture cards, allow them to match the word to the proper picture.

Provide an additional set of whole cards so they can self-check their work.

Repeat as needed until the child has closure.

What Nomenclature Cards Are Common in A Montessori Education?

Common lessons in Montessori early childhood education include:

*Parts of an apple

*Parts of a pumpkin

*Life cycle of a frog

*Life cycle of an egg

*Life cycle of a tree

*States

*Countries

Anything you’d like can become a nomenclature card.

Families could make cards of relative’s faces and names, landmarks, and locations in their area, or pets and favorite objects. Teachers sometimes make cards of student’s names and faces. We include nomenclature cards in all of our monthly activity packs to help grow your child’s vocabulary.  

They’re easy to create on your own in a word-processing software or through Canva. Simply find a picture of the item you’re looking for, Wikimedia Commons is a great place to look. Under the picture, write the word or phrase. Typically words are lowercase and Century Gothic font.  

Nomenclature cards are best used with the three-period lesson.   Make sure to check out this video on how to use the three-period lesson.

Learn more tips on incorporating the Montessori method, and materials, with these posts:

How to Use the Montessori Shape Insets to Enhance Handwriting

Teaching Kids to Read with the Montessori Method

Multisensory Math Hacks to Incorporate Into Your Homeschool

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DIY Montessori Materials From Paint Samples

It’s easy for the cost of homeschool supplies to add up fast. Multisensory Education means having lots of hands-on materials. Fortunately, with a little bit of outside the box thinking, you can easily create DIY Montessori materials. You’ll also find great homemade toys for kids can be made from these materials, Paint chip samples are a great way to get started. Most likely you already have some stuck in a drawer from the recent remodel. If not, head to the hardware store or hop on your favorite paint company’s website and request a few. (Sometimes local stores will even put together a little package for you to use for educational purposes).

FREE DIY Montessori Materials & Homemade Toys For Kids With Paint Chip Samples

Gather up your bundle of paint samples to create dozens of beautiful manipulatives, decorations, and projects. Not only will making these give you free supplies, but they’ll also be a great arts & crafts time for your family to work on together. Children take great pride in creating their own learning materials. What child wouldn’t be proud to give a homemade toy to a friend? Take a peek through this list and see what stand out to you- we’ve included ideas for children of all ages.

Color box- This is a classic Montessori Sensorial work. It’s also easy to make as a DIY Montessori Material. Separate the paint samples by color and place in a box. Introduce one color at a time allowing the child to explore shades of that color until they’re ready to move on.

Color matching- Dozens of different options exist for this one depending on the child’s age and ability. A few options include: providing two sets of the exact same color to match, matching household objects to the proper color, or matching items from nature to the right color. Older children can get into the detailed nuance of shade too.

Color Books- This works best with the larger size paint samples. Glue samples back-to-back and use binder rings to create a book. Children can then draw, use stickers or cut out and glue pictures that match each color. Older children can write poems or stories about each color on the pages.

Color tablets- Another classic Montessori work. This requires two sets of the same paint samples with different shades. Cut one card and keep one card whole. Kids can then place the colors in the proper light ---> dark or dark ---> light order, checking their work with the whole card.

Crafts- Once you start to view paint samples as craft supplies- the sky is the limit. Use them for mosaics, scrapbooking, card making, ornaments, homemade games, and more.

Puzzles- Use a larger size paint sample to make a puzzle. Draw a simple design or write a large word on the card. Next, cut into puzzle pieces- only a couple for tiny kids and more for older children. The color gradient helps children to match pieces more easily. This is excellent for kids who have a hard time with puzzles.

Stamping- Get out the stamps and have fun. Children can work open-ended or have stamping tasks- such as stamping words or stamping in a specific order based on the shade of the color.

Punching- What child doesn’t love using the hole punch? Paint samples are a good thickness for children to practice punching and gain hand strength. Try using larger craft size punches in shapes too. Your child may use the punched out items for color matching or crafts.

Cutting practice- These are also perfect for cutting practice. There are lines right on there for cutting already. Or draw a pattern or shape onto the card for the student to cut out. These are especially popular for seasonal shapes and objects.

Mosaic- Put those punched out pieces and cutting skills to good use with a mosaic. This is a great way to use up paint chips after your children are done with other activities. Add in images clipped from magazines or photos to really make it pop! Or add magnets onto the pack and kids can make art on the fridge.

Rainbow- Provide the child with one paint sample of each color. They can create a mosaic rainbow or place the cards in rainbow order.

Make blocks- You’ll need a little extra effort for this one but it’s so worth it. These are well loved as homemade toys for kids. The hardware store can cut the blocks for you. Make sure to measure the size of each paint sample so you’ll have just the right size. There are two options for this. One is to make blocks with each different hue of a color of a different side of the block. The other option is to create blocks of only one hue each so you have an entire set of variating shades of one color.

Color Clipping- Similar to the color tablets, this is designed to help with shade. Take a paint strip with several different shades on it. Cut off a thin strip from one side. Glue or tape on one shade of each onto a clothespin. The child then clips the clothespins onto the proper shade. Colorful binder clips or paper clips can also be used.

Mini Book- The square shaped and large rectangle samples make the best mini books. Use them as book covers with plain paper inside, alternate paint sample and paper, or use with construction paper. A bright, colorful mini book awaits. These are a fun way to make little spelling books, alphabet books, number books or short stories.

Bookmarks- Use the long/skinny samples for bookmarks. Children can decorate them, add ribbon or stickers, and enjoy. These are an easy gift project too.

Schedule Cards- Bring color to your daily schedule. Write one activity per section or use single colored paint chips and write one per card. These also make nice small desk-size schedules for kids to reference all day long.

Math manipulatives- Cut the different shades apart and you’ve got the perfect size math manipulative for little hands. Use in any Montessori-inspired Math project, number matching, or counting.

Spelling- Dozens of options exist for using paint samples for spelling. Here are a few ideas . Write one letter per word on the paint strips, cut them apart, and kids can piece them back together by shade. Write one word on each color. Turn into letter cards. Place spelling lists onto a paint strip.

Word families- This is an additional spelling/ reading idea. Write common word endings such as ing or all on one single color. Use a paint strip of that same shade to write the beginning letters on. Children then match up the beginning letter to the proper word ending. (Such as B+all = ball)

Decoration- Create a cute and colorful classroom and home decorations. Cut samples into letters to spell your child’s name. Cut out different shapes to create a one-of-a-kind art piece. Or make a colorful rainbow in your classroom.

Busy Bag- Put paint samples into a busy bag and see what your child comes up with on their own! If the child is old enough, include scissors, glue, tape, and a hole punch.

Sensory Box- A few samples inside a sensory box add extra color and texture. Add in paint samples that match the current theme of your sensory box. You may which to laminate them or cover them with packing tape to keep stronger for longer.

Like this?  

Take a look at these blogs for more ideas on free or cheap DIY Montessori Materials.

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