I hope people here can give me some advice. We have been hs for a couple of months and I'm leaving my curriculum behind. The reading pace of Moving Beyond the page doesn't really hold my daughters interest. She is a voracious reader but I worry about comprehension and grammar. Everything I read seems to be about teaching kids to read. What do you do after that? By the way, we follow a much more eclectic route than unschooling. She prefers more traditional schoolwork that shows her she is doing well.

Thanks, Pam

Past the teaching to read part...that's where we're at. This year (4th grade) is focused on looking for vibrant phrases and 'feel like you're there' descriptions/comprehension. In other words, we're learning to appreciate good writing in order to learn how to write well. Last year was more about parts of writing and anticipating what comes next in the story.

Our read aloud list includes everything from newer kid novels to the classics. It's easy, it's fun, and it's interest driven. :D

What about simply taking her to the library and letting her select books to read? If you read the books as well, you can then have discussions about the books together. You can have her write up book reports if she wants something more tangible.

It shouldn't be too hard to find a 3rd or 4th grade grammar workbook if she enjoys working with that kind of thing. I'm suggesting 4th grade because it sounds like she may be bored with 3rd grade stuff and find the 4th grade curriculum more challenging.

Or you can have her do writing (creative writing, book reports, research reports for science and/or social studies), then correct her spelling and grammar, and teach language arts that way.

We are mostly reading a variety of books and having discussions. We select them together, but are generally award winners and classic. She reads a ton of popular stuff on her own, I want to introduce her to some quality stuff. (I don't force her to finish a book though--if it isn't interesting to her, we will move on) I am also having her write a couple book reports and/or book reviews to help with writing skills. We also have a book called Daybook. It is a reading text and so far I am liking it. It isn't about learning to read, but about pulling information out from what you read, and making connections with the text. It is a little hokey--but we just do a unit/month and it only takes a day or two to do the unit. But, I think it will give her skills to use in the future. I might buy a workbook about main ideas/supporting ideas too--just to make sure she "gets it".

I am going to look at finding preprinted "Book group guides" for some books so that our discussions can go outside our own thought process. We are also thinking of starting a book group. We have only been hs for a couple months too. It is amazing how much our approach has evolved in just the two months.

Amy

Would Charlotte Mason style narration appeal to her?

Maybe check out reading selections at www.amblesideonline.org and www.oldfashionededucation