How far do you read ahead?

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  • December 20, 2019 at 5:33 pm
    CrystalN
    Participant

    I feel like I just started homeschooling I have so many questions! I have been homeschooling now for 10 years, but have relied heavily on boxed curriculum and family studies. So now that my kids are branching off on their own I feel like its new all over again. We have always read most of our books together and the few they read alone were easy enough for me to scan and get the gist of it. Now they are reading more challenging books and I actually need to spend time reading. So how far ahead of your students do you read. I have three I will need to keep ahead of, one is just a 5th grader so that is easy, but my 8th and 10th grader are reading much more challenging books this year. Should I stay 2 weeks ahead? A month? Read everything over the summer? I want the material to be somewhat fresh in my mind, but I also want to be far enough ahead that a day or two off my game wont get me behind them. What do you all do?

    December 20, 2019 at 9:12 pm
    ErinD
    Participant

    I always read way too far ahead. By the time my boys get to the books, I’ve usually forgotten a lot of it. Ideally, I think being 2-4 weeks ahead would be perfect, but I’ve never managed to be able to do that. I’m just glad I read the books at all! 🙂

    December 20, 2019 at 11:11 pm
    sarah2106
    Participant

    I try to read over the summer and as I read I jot down little reminders and notes, mini narrations, for myself so when they get to the book I can remember. It also helps because my older two are 2 years apart in grade so when my second oldest gets to the book read 2 years prior by my oldest I don’t have to reread it, just check my notes. A simple notebook works great!

    I would fall behind if I tried to keep just a few weeks a head, summer is my reading crunch time 🙂

    December 20, 2019 at 11:37 pm
    totheskydear
    Participant

    I’ve always tried to stay a week ahead but then this year I fell waaay behind. I caught up and have been pre-reading during our break (we do school year-round and will start a new year in January). I’m currently 7 weeks into the year. 🙂

    I keep a notebook full of narrations, words to define, scriptures to use as memory verses (pulled from the assigned reading), and ideas for projects or things to display, similar to “The Stuff They Left Behind”. Things like famous pieces of art that tie into what we’re reading, music (for example in one book we read, there was a funeral scene and it mentions Te Deum so I found a YouTube video of it being sung, and put a note to play it next time I have a child read the book). I also write down discussion questions.

    December 21, 2019 at 10:25 am
    CrystalN
    Participant

    I just started a notebook yesterday with my first readings. I wrote a brief narration for each chapter with any discussion points or narration ideas I had. I thought the same thing Sarah, I will have the notes for the next child. I made 4 spiral notebooks, Bible/Worldview, Literature, History, and Joshua (my 5th grader who I assign books all over the board and have no one coming up behind him). I thought if I got one book ahead in each subject for each child that should be ahead enough to stay in front of them without forgetting too much.  Great idea about making notes to pull in other resources. I am getting so excited. I am a little sad I will have to set my own reading aside to keep up, but so worth it.

    December 22, 2019 at 6:54 am
    HollyS
    Participant

    Ideally, I read ahead over the weekend, but it doesn’t always happen.  Sometimes I read in the afternoon, pretty much at the same time as them, but then we have 3 of us all needing the same book, which is a logistical nightmare.  😂

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