tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11022879.post992473424349848418..comments2024-03-27T03:25:08.267-07:00Comments on Life in the Shoe: On Reading To ChildrenDorcashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07050605764466835485noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11022879.post-30175384650576230002011-11-26T06:57:53.141-08:002011-11-26T06:57:53.141-08:00You and Charlotte Mason sound very alike in your e...You and Charlotte Mason sound very alike in your educational philosophy. I agree 100%, but that said, I am very glad for my husband who still has to calm me down and say "it's okay", when my four and seven year old are on top of the swing set (it's high), or shooting a bb gun, or carving a stick with a pocketknife (the seven year old), or when I have to change multiple sets of clothes every day and shoes are soaked because every puddle HAD to be jumped in to see how high it can splash (the four year old). And I still obsess over my 2nd graders work sheets and try to get him to sit still sometimes. But I am learning. Slowly, but it's coming. Thanks for the reminder.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11022879.post-15589797189005067142011-11-22T22:23:02.115-08:002011-11-22T22:23:02.115-08:00"You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets..."You may have tangible wealth untold;<br />Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.<br />Richer than I you can never be --<br />I had a Mother who read to me." Gillian Strickland<br /><br />What a blessing.Mim Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11022879.post-38084557772709275152011-11-22T12:00:32.246-08:002011-11-22T12:00:32.246-08:00Very insightful article.
I would like to comment ...Very insightful article.<br /><br />I would like to comment about boys playing outside. I do not think we understand its value enough.<br /><br />We had four boys and one girl. They were all read to but they also played outside. They climbed trees; all the boys built a tree house - had more fun building then playing in them. The rigged up other interesting things to play with...they used our entire back yard and built roads, hills with their tucks, tractors and etc. They had fun and still will talk about it. But they grew up and my yard was worked to be nice and smooth...<br />Today these boys are gainfully employed in very different occupations: brick/stone mason, civil engineer, manufacturing expert, sea captain. Very diverse but they were allowed to play with medium that left me gasping at times. <br /><br />Yes, they got dirty but there is always water and soup to be applied at the end of the day. And thank the good LORD for automatic washers! SandraAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11022879.post-22952092153528192112011-11-22T11:06:25.010-08:002011-11-22T11:06:25.010-08:00I completely agree, although I'm still in the ...I completely agree, although I'm still in the midst of parenting my little brood. We read aloud a lot. When my oldest was five I was CONVINCED that she needed to learn to read (b/c all of my homeschooling friends had 5 year olds who could read). Didn't work...she wasn't ready until around 7 1/2, BUT I kept reading to her, lots and lots and lots of books, especially Little House books and other related books b/c that's what she liked. I have definitely not made my boys (7 & 5) do much "school work". My 7 year old reads and writes, then he goes outside and plays in the dirt with his brother. Oh yes they make lots of messes, but people are always saying to me how bright, smart, articulate, etc they are. Let them play and make messes---they won't be little forever.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11022879.post-49877704066234543772011-11-21T16:02:20.500-08:002011-11-21T16:02:20.500-08:00My children have all sprung up (unexpectedly and a...My children have all sprung up (unexpectedly and astoundingly) overnight...I'm sure my 17 year old was 3 years old and curled up beside me listening to stories with rapt attention only yesterday.<br /><br />Whenever we have company under 6, I pull out a favorite book and start reading aloud. In only a few moments, I have a little person wiggling up beside me to listen. <br />Funny thing is, before very long I also have a bunch of teens and preteens hanging over the chair or sprawled at my feet listening in. Nobody can resist a good yarn!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11022879.post-44483006662081290182011-11-21T14:21:53.857-08:002011-11-21T14:21:53.857-08:00Those are some of my best memories with my pre-sch...Those are some of my best memories with my pre-school daughter who is now a teenager. I would read to her for hours on end. We both loved it. I still miss reading to her.Dorcas Bylernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11022879.post-18904015464330077012011-11-21T13:39:32.501-08:002011-11-21T13:39:32.501-08:00Gert, that is a very sad story and far too typical...Gert, that is a very sad story and far too typical from what I hear.<br />I love the stories of both the experienced moms and of you, Rachael, who show the good results of such an upbringing.<br />Hang in there, Sharon and Lazonya. It doesn't have to be so complicated, honest.Dorcashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07050605764466835485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11022879.post-87623962277908502792011-11-21T11:47:10.853-08:002011-11-21T11:47:10.853-08:00OK, I needed that one today. Thanks for the admon...OK, I needed that one today. Thanks for the admonition not to make things so complicated! As mother of a 7 month old and an almost 3 year old, I'm pretty overwhelmed sometimes. Relax, relax, relax.lazonyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14064232955883413705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11022879.post-7217361205335612552011-11-21T11:18:48.752-08:002011-11-21T11:18:48.752-08:00Thanks, Dorcas! I needed to hear this. I'm o...Thanks, Dorcas! I needed to hear this. I'm one of those Mom's of preschoolers who want to get it right. :-) My intuition knows that reading and listening are good, but yeah, the complicated culture makes me obsess a bit over the workbooks. So thanks again for giving me this advice. It's gonna stick with me.Sharonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11022879.post-60306477438869464122011-11-21T09:03:55.905-08:002011-11-21T09:03:55.905-08:00I am so thankful to my mom for reading to me as a ...I am so thankful to my mom for reading to me as a child. I still love to read today, and I think it's mostly due to her early reading to me and to my brother (who also likes to read even today at age 22). I remember in kindergarten being asked where I had gone to preschool, and responding that I hadn't gone, and all of my classmates were so surprised. However, I could already read, and most of them couldn't! Even today, in college, I love to read and am good at school, and many of my peers don't understand it. Well, it's because I love to learn, because my mom taught me in a way that I enjoyed, in the everyday parts of life, like the grocery store or cooking, and she also gave me room to run around outside and make up games and stories and songs and just be a kid without overscheduling my life.<br />~Rachael (a friend of Emily's from Bridgewater)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11022879.post-53383665952253628492011-11-21T06:40:22.164-08:002011-11-21T06:40:22.164-08:00Right on, all around. A fundamental reason why re...Right on, all around. A fundamental reason why reading to children produces stress-free development is that the ability to absorb something is always way ahead of the ability to produce something of the same nature. <br /><br />People don't seem to understand that you can't keep a child from learning to read when he or she is ready, if the foundation has been well laid with abundant exposure to words. The transition from hearing words to decoding text is best made by giving children letter shapes to play with. When he's got a particular letter in his hand, tell him its name. If you're sneaky and smart, you'll actually not say "aye" for the first letter of the alphabet; you'll say "a," making the sound of "a" as in "cat." For all the other letters, you'll also say sounds--not names. Then one day you'll line up the letters and your child will say all the sounds because he loves to do that, and he'll do it faster and faster, and he'll suddenly realize he just said a word he already knows. <br /><br />Our three year old learned to read this way, and he never "did schoolwork" until he was at least six.Mrs. I (Miriam Iwashige)https://www.blogger.com/profile/15120410801208517499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11022879.post-6779820563343895432011-11-21T05:32:31.402-08:002011-11-21T05:32:31.402-08:00Right on! For all the things I will have left undo...Right on! For all the things I will have left undone, reading to the children is my one comfort.I so want to tell people to back off and let their kiddoes be their age and activity level.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11022879.post-932827511156918392011-11-21T05:29:41.045-08:002011-11-21T05:29:41.045-08:00Well said! But of course that is easy for me to sa...Well said! But of course that is easy for me to say, since I love reading aloud, and have read aloud to my children through the years, even into adulthood. But I think you're right that there is too much frenzy to push our preschoolers to be the best, and FIRST, academically, when the most wholesome thing that can shape their lives is to experience healthy day-to-day interaction with parents/siblings.<br />Also loved the QOTD! Mrs. Tiggywinkle is an old favorite of my girls and me! I can still hear the very British voice of the reader on the audio book which introduced us to 'Dear Mrs. Tiggywinkle.'M. Bachernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11022879.post-64301786328851660272011-11-21T04:52:44.242-08:002011-11-21T04:52:44.242-08:00Yes, yes, yes. I had a grandmother tell me via ph...Yes, yes, yes. I had a grandmother tell me via phone that she wanted to have her grandson (whom she was helping to raise) put on medicine for hyperactivity. Her reason? "He is so active." OH? "Yes, he makes noises like trucks and guns and he jumps off the sofa and doesn't want to sit still." So I told her to send him outside to play. "Oh, but then he would get dirty." Duh. [Gert Slabach]Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com