Using Living Literature to Transform Your Homeschool

Description

If I had to name one thing and one thing only that has been my best homeschool tool, without hesitation it would be using living literature.

Of course there have been other wonderful tools that have helped us to have a successful homeschool, but living books have been a constant companion from the very beginning to the very end for each of my children. 

Why? Oh, so many reasons. Here are just a few…

• Books have drawn us together as a family.
• We have experienced history and science through books. Yes, I said experienced because a good book welcomes you in as part of the story.
• Living books have been our teachers in ways that most textbooks never quite got right.
• And, many of our favorites still resonate with us today because, when written well, a book should stick with you – and perhaps even help to shape who you are a little bit.

Living literature has made its way into every single subject we’ve ever studied – even math! Many times over the years, I have set aside a tough assignment and let a picture book step in to rescue a confused brain. Other times, a book was substituted for discipline or a lecture because it could get to the heart of a character issue with much better precision than me.

Picture books, board books, informational books, early readers, chapter books, and novels – you can find great books everywhere! But, beware. Twaddle is waiting around every corner and it would love to replace the goodness of living books with meaningless words that don’t stimulate your child’s heart, soul, or mind.

Don’t worry. Recognizing living literature versus twaddle is something I will help you learn to do during this masterclass! I’ll also help you learn about trusted resources for books for all ages and subjects so that you don’t spend hours and hours finding the best living books out there.

I didn’t start out in life as a lover of books. In fact, as a student myself, I did as much as I could to avoid reading anything that was ever assigned to me. It wasn’t until I first discovered the incredible power of books during my first year of teaching that I became hooked. I tell you that because I hear from parents all the time who say they don’t care for reading very much. And the thought of reading aloud is horrifying. Not only will I have a couple of tips for you, I think that once you discover what a really, really good book is like, you might just come around to a love of books like I did.

Oh, I do hope you’ll join me for this masterclass! I can’t wait to share the goodness of living literature with you and to give you lots of ideas for including as much or as little as you want in your homeschool. 

The masterclass will be helpful for any homeschooling family – whether you have tots or high schoolers or anything in between. We’ll discuss:

• Why living literature matters
• How to recognize living literature vs. twaddle
• Where to find good books for all ages and subjects
• How to find time (and enjoyment) for read-alouds 
• How to encourage kids to read living books on their own
• Where to fit instructional living books into the homeschool day
• How to use living books to fill the gap when there’s an educational or character struggle

Approximately 1 hour of lecture + 30 minutes Q&A time 

BONUS: Everyone who takes part in the class is invited to a special Facebook group where you can find me and other helpful folks to ask any lingering questions after the masterclass.