I have a 11 yr old 7th grader who is an avid reader. She literally devours books. She will pick 5-7 books from the library at a time and have them done in 10 days. While I'm thankful for this quality, it has posed some problems in teaching her. I tend to go back and forth between CM and Classical in my homeschool. They tend to get along well together, so that's just what I do.
Anyway, since she is starting middle school I would like her to "do something more" with her books instead of just devour them. I have tried to slow her down and make her narrate, I have let her read the book and narrate the entire book (that goes better) and I have tried to have her pick an activity to narrate the book (like make a radio show, or drawing pictures, etc). She doesn't like any of these b/c she just wants to "be left alone" to read the book. She DOES comprehend them, she IS getting something from them. I have a high schooler, so I know someday soon my 11 y.o. will need to be able to discuss and interpret a book, not just eat them up on sight!
I keep being tempted to buy a workbook-type, Classical-type literature study and put her through a couple of books doing that. I just envision the tears and frustration with that and it makes me throw my hands up and say ok, fine, not this year.
Does anybody have any words of wisdom for me? SHould I just give her the stack of books and let her have at it? Are there any really great non-workbooky literature curriculums out there to supplement? (She did not like Beautiful Feet) I am also not afraid to tell her she's doing it no matter what b/c it's for her own good-type lecture. I just dont want to squash this love she has for learning. I want to tred lightly if I need to.
Thank you all!