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audio books?
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Hi! I was just wondering your thoughts on audio books? I am just barely getting the hours that my state requires for my kids. Though, we seem to be schooling all the time! But, I have 3 little boys 6,7, and 2. So, it takes a little longer! I would like to have a little more wiggle room. So, I thought I might include some audio books to increase their time, but not increase MY time! But, I don’t want to do the recommended literature books on audio. I want to read those as a family. So, does anyone know of any other living books that are not on the literature list that a 7 and 6 year old boy would like? Am I on the right track? Any other ideas for increasing my kids hours without increasing mine? I have been researching some different handicrafts, also. They spend a lot of time doing that already, but more can’t hurt. I thought about DVD’s, but I try not to let them watch any tv during the school week. But, I guess I could save some for the weekends. Thanks!
You could start with the bookfinder and then see if those books are available on audio. Have you tried the Jonathan Park cd’s from Vision Forum? Keepers of the Faith has some great craft ideas.
We’ve listened to many audio books in the car as a family. They work really well on long trips. We had an account with audible.com for a while, which was really nice. Even if you don’t subscribe to audible you might want try browsing their collection to see what’s available.
The other thing to think about is what things your children are already doing that can count toward you hourly requirements so you can take a more relaxed approach. Here’s a previous forum topic with some ideas: http://simplycharlottemason.com/scmforum/topic/regulation-school-hours
Here’s a link to another thread bout audiobooks – http://simplycharlottemason.com/scmforum/topic/your-story-hour#post-5855
We use them a lot in our home and our homeschool.
Blessings,
Christie
Thank you everyone for your help! I have looked at the Jonathan Park books before. They look great and I have heard a lot of good things about them. Unfortunately, I can’t spend any money right now. This is my first year homeschooling and I have spent way too much getting us going. So, I am having to rely on my library. They don’t have any Jonathan Park books, audio or hardback. I checked on several of the others that were listed on the other thread and in the bookfinder. They had some of them in print, but not audio. But, I am still grateful for the info. I have some great ideas for read alouds! My library has lots of audio books, but most of it is twaddle! I will keep digging……Also, I checked out the link about school hours. Unfortunately, I have to keep a detailed plan book and log of my hours. (If I understand my state laws correctly.) It says we have to have a log book, a student portfolio, and 1000 hours of school, 600 core. But, I think I could include more than I am including. My sister was telling me to start including things like church. We are starting basketball soon, so that should help. Also, I started including things like building with legos. I haven’t been including those things. That will help my hours. I am going to keep researching some of these audiobook titles and see if I can get some of them through inter-library loans. Also, I may ask the grandparents to get a few for Christmas! Thanks for the help! Jennifer
There are some free audio resources available. I, too have made extensive use of the library and relatives at holidays and b-days.
Lamplighter is now presenting an “audio theatre”, both on certain radio stations nationwide and online for free anytime.They have one completed and they are in the middle of one. Here’s the llink:
http://www.lamplighterpublishing.com/sirmalcolm.html
At the top, is the new one Basket of Flowers; you can listen to the first 2 episodes. You can also find if it’s on a local station at that site.
Also, Librivox ( http://www.librivox.org ) has wonderful free readings of all sorts of great books. I use my regular list of books for the age groups from my SCM list, Ambleside list, and Twaddle free book list and look for those in audio form.
Lastly, is Homeschool RAdioshows. They send a weekly old radio show to your email. The topics range widely covering literature, fables, legends and history. http://www.homeschoolradioshows.com
HTH,
Rachel
wearejenandkev – Are you by chance in Missouri? That sounds similar to the Missouri law. If so, you do not have to submit the records, only keep them. And depending on the ages of your kids, you can count a lot of things as those core subjects – grocery store math, writing a letter, playing grocery store for math or reading/writing if they are also issuing tickets for sales, etc. I was concerned too about the number of hours, but was reassured that if you think outside the box and find the learning opportunities around you that you are already doing to count towards your hours you’ll have plenty. We are counting days this year, but will be counting hours next year. I have been thinking as we go through the day what we would count as hours. I am actually looking forward to that so I can count the reading that we do on Saturday, Bible lesson on Sunday, and musical performance we attend on Saturday that are all only small amounts of time during the day and in my mind don’t count as a full day, but will add up. Also, realize that you might accumulate your hours unevenly. You might get more in one month than another and that’s okay too.
Have you plugged into a local homeschool group? They should have good suggestions of what to include and encouragement as you go. They have dealt with your state’s laws for a long time and should know the ins and outs.
PM me if you are in Missouri and need some help finding a local group.
Crystal
RE: Audiobooks
Most libraries have the classics available as audiobooks – Peter Pan, Charlotte’s Web, Redwall and many others. If your library doesn’t, try inter-library loan, it’s free.
Also, http://www.librivox.org has TONS of free audiobooks for download. These are all older out-of-copyright books, but great none the less. We’ve been listening to Water Babies by Charles Kingsley lately.
HTH,
Christie
Crystal,
Yes, I am in Missouri! I am trying to think outside the box. I have started counting more since I realized that I was not getting enough hours. I just started counting church as Bible. Also, I started counting building with legos/knex/blocks as art time. They are so creative, I thought maybe I could count it there. I think that should be okay. The problems I have is the gray areas. Like, my husband is teaching them drums. He usually has both of them in the room for about 30 minutes. But, they take turn playing. I’ve been counting it as 1/4 hour. But, I am leaning towards counting it as the full 30 minutes because they hear all the instruction he gives to the other child. I am still trying to get it all nailed down! Also, I noticed that I do a lot over the weekend that I haven’t been counting. I am not in “school mode”, so I forgot to write stuff. I am trying to get better. It just seems tiring having to record everything my child does!
Yes, I am in a homeschool group. But, I have noticed that there is a large variance in how people keep record of their hours! I have one friend that keeps no records. She says she has no time and her kids would do great on any standardized test. So, she doesn’t do it. Then, I have another friend that can tell me horror stories of random people being turned in because a neighbor saw their kids playing in the middle of the day. She says to record everything, just in case. So, I am trying to find my way somewhere in the middle!
Thanks for the help and encouragement!
Jennifer
I agree that you need to keep records in case you are asked for them. But you also need to enjoy your time with your kids. You are not always the teacher. We do educational things all day long and I try to not to record every little thing. What has helped though is that I keep my log sheet near the kitchen table. As we do something, I write it down. The days that I forget and wait until the end of the day, I forget some of what we did.
I would definitely count the drum practice as 1/2 for each of them. They would in public school band class. 🙂
And yes, count the weekend. Learning time is not limited to 8-3 M-F. Be watching for performances you attend too. We have a weekly program that we attned on Saturdays. Also remember to count cleaning, cooking, and other chores. The age of your child and your opinion will determine how much of that time is counted. (I would say based on the ages of your boys, count it all.) I have heard that when they are learning a new skill is the time to count it. As they get older, they will naturally have more to count because they will have more “book work.” I also will be counting time spent outside playing. They are learning about nature and public schools call it recess.
The other thing I am going to do next year is to figure out how many hours I need to get each term to meet the requirement. Then I am not stressed about meeting the hours. 1000 hours seems like a lot, but if you break it down, it becomes – 334 hours per term (if you do a 3 term year), 27.5 hours per week, and 5.5 hours per 5 days. And if I remember correctly, you only need to be counting the hours for your oldest this year technically. If you find that after lunch you haven’t met your hours, why don’t you play a game? Almost all games are educational. You can train them to play by themselves together or play at the kitchen table and move your piece for you as you cook dinner. You’ll still be involved, but also able to do your mealtime chores.
So nice to see some others are finding ways to make CM work with the MO regulations.!
The hours are tricky & I don’t like to get too creative…I’ve met some ladies who would count the 15 minute lesson as their hour…but I do try hard to look at all of our activities – all week long – to see which should be counted towards school. Keeping those records up to date gets easier with time (it becomes a habit), so hang in there!
One other thing to remember – the school year in MO is technically from July 1 – June 30, so even if you only officially “school” for 9 or 10 months…are you really taking 2-3 months off? Probably not! You’re most likely still doing reading, church, music, PE, nature walks, etc… I map out my school year as Jul-Jun & that brings me to 5 hours a day at 5 days a week (this gives me around 1300 hours – I’m big on covering us after hearing one too many horror stories about judges deciding the 1000 hours were met but there weren’t quite enough math or science or whatever – I like to have padding). Since we read on the weekends, often do art, music & nature I usually pick up at least another 2-3 hours there as well which means we can usually do around 4.5 hours a day. Might sound like a lot when you want to follow the CM method of short lessons, but I figure I am staying with CM in spirit if not to the letter. State requirements come first. Plus, 4.5 hours/5 days a week, is still a lot better than what my 1st grader would be doing in a public school where they go from 9-4 5 days a week with minimal breaks.
Best wishes!
I don’t have any requirements to meet, but my daughter enjoys audio books.
We’ve downloaded many from Librivox.org. And we also have purchased titles from Audible.com.
Bull Run was a great Civil War book.
We also like these:
Your Story Hour
Adventures in Odyssey
Jim Weiss Stories
Classical Kids (Composers)
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