Beverley Paine's Australian Home School Curriculum: Tips for Learning How to Read

Free Entertainment!

© Beverley Paine, 2004

Imagine this; eight-year-old Roger sits quietly, putting LEGO bricks together. April, two-years-older, doodles on the back of a paid bill, and Thomas, just turned four, cuddles sleepily on my lap. I'm reading The Big Friendly Giant by Roald Dahl. It's a funny book with some scary bits. We love the way Roald Dahl uses the words - his are definitely words that need to be heard out loud. They sing-song along and ignite the imagination. We see the story unfold, feel the emotions. The action seems real.

My voice, their imaginations and the magic of a great story teller... A night at home with the best entertainment in the world and it's free! Life couldn't get better than this.

Seek out great 'read alouds'. Some of these may be classics, like Tom Sawyer, Black Beauty, Moby Dick or Heidi . Don't neglect picture or chapter books. You can tell a great read aloud by how it sounds when you read it aloud to yourself in the library or bookstore. Don't be shy. Here's a tip to remember: if you ever have any doubts about whether you will like a book, try the read-aloud test. If the words don't flow, it's going to be rather heavy going and you may find many passages tedious to read, especially if you are reading the book aloud to the children. The best authors always read aloud their manuscript before sending it off to the publisher.

Don't forget non-fiction. Biographies, autobiographies, great historical epics or true stories about explorers, adventurers, inventors, artists and other famous and not so famous people are great ways to bring our wonderful world home to young people and excite them about learning in all the traditional curriculum areas. A good author will inject some vigour and pace into an account in such a way that engages the listener - any listener, not just a fellow adult. Don't underestimate your child's ability to follow a story simply because her reading skills aren't at the books level. Remember you are reading the book, not her!

Children's reading skills lag way behind their comprehension. That's why reading aloud to them is so important.

photo of Beverley and Robin Paine Pioneering members of the home education movement in Australia, Beverley and Robin Paine are passionate advocates of true educational choice for families. They began homeschooling their children in 1986 and three years later started the South Australian Home Based Learners network. Beverley wrote Getting Started with Homeschooling in 1995-97 and since then continues to write books and booklets on home education. She balances spending time helping home educators with working in her garden and renovating her home, as well as continuing to build her collection of writing on a variety of homeschooling subjects. Beverley maintains an extensive collection of websites as well as several Yahoo groups supporting families teaching their children at home. In 2007 Beverley joined the HEA and became a committee member in 2008: she also edits and produce the HEA Newsletter, HEA magazine, Stepping Stones for Home Educators, annual Resource Directory and other HEA publications. If you'd like to keep in touch with what Beverley is up to her in her life, sign up for the Homeschool Australia Newsletter or visit her Homeschool AustraliaFacebook page.