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Connections
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| Posted: July 01 2011 at 12:09pm | IP Logged
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I would love to hear your arguments in favor of slow reading.
Anyone have evidence- anecdotal or performance related- about this method working well in your home?
Thanks for taking the time to share.
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Connections
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| Posted: July 14 2011 at 4:23pm | IP Logged
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OK- perhaps I scared you off with the word, "evidence." Sorry.
I am looking for reasons in favor of slow reading- based on personal experience.
Anyone?
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Grace&Chaos
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| Posted: July 14 2011 at 7:32pm | IP Logged
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Do you mean say picking a book and reading it aloud for x amount of time? Or slow independent reading by a child?
I'll admit I'm in favor of both. I have a voracious reader that could sit with a book and finish it in a few days. For her, I've picked a few books that are scheduled reads for only once a week and then require oral narrations. This helps her slow down. I know she enjoys them just as much as her very quick reads, but the difference I've noticed is that it opens an element of wanting to know more about something she just read. It sends her off into more thinking and researching.
Her quick reads she enjoys but can easily put them aside and catalog them. I try to let her do this with more just for fun and/or series type books.
As for read alouds, I love spreading them. Sometimes we can't wait and I'll maybe skip a day or two. This is really a great way to build comprehension and retention. Before we start our next reading session I might ask for a recap before moving forward (I don't grind in any way, just casual) They usually are eager to tell me what happened.
Hope that helps a little  .
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Grace in Loving Chaos
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Connections
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| Posted: July 14 2011 at 8:12pm | IP Logged
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Grace&Chaos wrote:
but the difference I've noticed is that it opens an element of wanting to know more about something she just read. It sends her off into more thinking and researching.
This is really a great way to build comprehension and retention. |
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Yes! This is exactly what I am looking for. What benefits have you seen from structuring your child's reading (or listening to read alouds) so that they read from a book a little at a time over many days (or even weeks).
Thanks!
I would love to hear more!
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Mackfam
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| Posted: July 18 2011 at 11:22am | IP Logged
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Connections wrote:
What benefits have you seen from structuring your child's reading (or listening to read alouds) so that they read from a book a little at a time over many days (or even weeks).
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Hi Tracey.
We take two different approaches here:
Independent Reading
My children are voracious readers and they set the pace of the books they read independently. I have noticed that they each have a different style - one child reads VERY FAST, and then re-reads the book again and again for pleasure, another child reads at a slower overall pace, but enjoys reading for long stretches of time.
For lessons
I set the pace, and it is a slow pace. I do this so a child has time to savor what they read. Often, I am asking a child to read from a meaty source, and reading quickly would dull their ability to take in the ideas offered on those pages. An example would be Winston Churchill's History of the English Speaking Peoples. My high schooler reads just a few pages, once a week, over the year....and this book is not even completed in one year!!!! We're reading Churchill over 3 years!!! We don't have to rush and this allows time for my daughter to take in and digest the thoughts presented. Churchill offers an interesting context of history - his perspective is very worthwhile reading, but any more than a few pages at a time would result in total glazing over!!!! A slow reading pace allows for SAVORING!
If you think of the many books offered to your child as a buffet of ideas I think you'll easily see why a moderate savoring of the rich ideas allows time for a child to digest. A gluttonous consumption (racing through many books) results in a bloated feeling of excess that is neither satisfying, nor does it yield a child that has digested much of anything. The child just looks forward to the tummy ache being over.
Many people have emailed/asked me about Churchill's History as a selection and I've found it to be an excellent example of the need for savoring/slow reading, but this applies whether a child is in 4th grade or 10th grade - rich and meaty books are savored and read slowly so that indigestion doesn't result! When people write me about Churchill, they're concerned because their child's response is lack of enthusiasm, and one of overwhelmed indigestion. It's a very meaty and rich book, and would be WAY TOO MUCH to read if read too fast. It would be like setting out 25 ribeye steaks in front of you. Delicious? Yes! Meaty? You bet! Can you eat it all in one sitting? NO WAY!!! You savor and take it one bite at a time - enjoying every bit of the delicious feast! When I asked my daughter what she thought of Churchill (after she read 1/3 of the book in one year), I wondered what her honest response would be. I was truly curious since I had received so many emails of concern about the book. She responded that it was an enjoyable book. Her favorite? No, but she really enjoyed the context he provided for history overall. I was very encouraged! She was able to enjoy the depth and richness of Winston Churchill because she sat down to the feast one bite at a time.
Hope that gives you a sense of why slow reading across a wide and generous feast of books allows for savoring ideas, Tracey. 
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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Connections
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| Posted: July 19 2011 at 12:13pm | IP Logged
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Savoring. I love the idea. It fits in very well with my desire for "less is more" living.
However, I find it very intimidating to select fewer books to go through slowly. What if I choose badly? What about all of the things we are missing?
I know we are always making choices and missing things but for some reason selecting living books to plan for an entire term, year or several years has the tendency to make me freeze up.
What criteria do you use to choose these books to savor? Do you tend to find books that are suited to your individual student (i.e. they would probably choose the book on their own) or do you use these books to stretch the student into reading books that they might otherwise avoid? Do you plan things so that each of your children will read the same books in future years or do you select books from year to year based on each individual child?
And how do you avoid freaking out once you have selected the books? How do you avoid wanting to continually add in new books when you come across them? How do you avoid rethinking your choices all of the time?
I know there is a lot packed into this question. But I get very nervous about the responsibility of selecting the books to read slowly.
Thanks.
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jawgee
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| Posted: July 19 2011 at 4:23pm | IP Logged
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Connections wrote:
Savoring. I love the idea. It fits in very well with my desire for "less is more" living.
However, I find it very intimidating to select fewer books to go through slowly. What if I choose badly? What about all of the things we are missing?
I know we are always making choices and missing things but for some reason selecting living books to plan for an entire term, year or several years has the tendency to make me freeze up.
What criteria do you use to choose these books to savor? Do you tend to find books that are suited to your individual student (i.e. they would probably choose the book on their own) or do you use these books to stretch the student into reading books that they might otherwise avoid? Do you plan things so that each of your children will read the same books in future years or do you select books from year to year based on each individual child?
And how do you avoid freaking out once you have selected the books? How do you avoid wanting to continually add in new books when you come across them? How do you avoid rethinking your choices all of the time?
I know there is a lot packed into this question. But I get very nervous about the responsibility of selecting the books to read slowly.
Thanks.
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Great, great questions. I'll be anxiously watching for a response. I love the idea of CM and "living books", but I am so worried that I'll miss something important. 
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ekbell
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Our slow reading books tend to be non-fiction or the more challenging classics. They are books recommended as 'spines' for specific subjects or for spiritual reading, books chosen to read aloud (as those are automatically read at a slower pace) often longer or challenging ones (for example older books with unfamiliar word usuage or ones written in an atypical style such as the allegory -King of the Golden City-). Generally they are books I've seen recommended in more then one place (my way of reassuring myself I haven't chosen badly).
I tend to select the books for slower reading simply because I have final say over the books for formal study and the only area where I make decisions about other people's reading pace is as part of formal study.
However I will not insist in continuing past a reasonable trial period with a hated book and I do consult my older children during the selection process. Sometimes I simply draw up a short list for them to choose from.
As for that ever present worry about 'missing out' I deal with that by strewing the house with optional books for independent reading and telling myself that even if the children don't pick them up now to read- they at least know that those books exist and may well read them later.
The books do tend to be repeated over the years unless hated by a particular child simply because it's simpler that way (and we love certain books). It also goes with my main Motto 'Don't fix what isn't broken' or in other words if the children are learning and haven't expressed a desire to to use something different then I should resist the new and shiny material.
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Mackfam
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| Posted: July 20 2011 at 3:32pm | IP Logged
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Connections wrote:
| I find it very intimidating to select fewer books to go through slowly. What if I choose badly? What about all of the things we are missing? |
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Those what-ifs can be crippling, friends!! Be careful of them! They can be helpful in any CONSIDERED education - considering as many angles (books in this case) as possible can be helpful and may uncover a treasure or formerly unknown potential. What-ifs can also be paralyzing and lend to constant second guessing. At a certain point, we go with what we've got knowing we've considered what we can with the best tools we have. We've made prayerful decisions and we entrust all the good and the bad to Divine Mercy and run with it!
You/We ARE GOING TO MISS THINGS! We're going to miss good books. There are going to be treasures discovered mid-year....mid-educational experience....mid-grandchildren...and we're going to recognize them for what they are - treasures missed. Here's where some trust comes in to play. We need to trust each other and ourselves to make the best decisions possible at the time we're called on to make them. I've seen in my own life how God plants just the right book in our path at exactly the right time, so I trust Him to introduce me to ideas, I work very hard to be open, and I make sure I'm being as responsible a steward as I can be with our resources. And then I let it go and trust. God takes care of all the holes I've left for Him.
Ok. Getting off my soapbox.
Connections wrote:
I know we are always making choices and missing things but for some reason selecting living books to plan for an entire term, year or several years has the tendency to make me freeze up.
What criteria do you use to choose these books to savor? |
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Are they living? Whole? Un-abridged? Is this written by one or two authors with a distinct passion for the subject? Could I envision myself introducing my child to this author if the author were present in my living room and were going to quote/read aloud from his/her book? Is the writing literary quality (preferred) or more casual? Another consideration for me are illustrations - I'm extraordinarily picky about illustrators, and have a list of illustrators I prefer! Ask yourself if this book ignores or negates the value of relationship. If yes, it isn't a living book. That's not to say that I don't make room for some non-living books in our days (Usborne books come to mind....my oldest son loves them), but I do keep in mind that these books will not be able to be narrated, so they need to not form the backbone of a subject.
Like ekbell, I may or may not be familiar with a book, or able to preview it and sometimes I take a chance. I only do this if I see it recommended and reviewed by a number of people whose reviews I trust. I come here for that. 
Connections wrote:
| Do you tend to find books that are suited to your individual student (i.e. they would probably choose the book on their own) or do you use these books to stretch the student into reading books that they might otherwise avoid? |
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Neither, although sometimes I acknowledge that a book will probably stretch a particular student. I look for books that will convey a set of ideas on a particular topic with PASSION. I've never gone wrong with this guideline because it keeps choices liberal (wide and generous) while ensuring that reading material is rich and engaging. An author who writes from his passion is naturally engaging! I do keep reading abilities and maturity in mind as I'm looking for books written with passion.
Connections wrote:
| Do you plan things so that each of your children will read the same books in future years or do you select books from year to year based on each individual child? |
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Again, since I'm selecting living books based on a topic and have found books which convey ideas with passion, I find that these books stretch across ages, across children, across needs. (This is another hallmark of a living book - if you can see your 4th grader and your 10th grader enjoying the same book, you are probably looking at a living book.) There have been very few books selected in our home that are not used again. In fact, I'm very fortunate in that I inherited a large living book library from my mother (which she used to educate my brother and sister). The books she chose for them were based on the same criteria I offered you, and none of my children were alive at the time they were chosen (and therefore not remotely considered at the time of the book purchase), yet my children are plowing through this great library we inherited....because it is living and does not go out of style, nor does it fail to speak. Many of these are what I would consider *the good books*. My mom used to tell me that you introduce your children to the good books so that they can one day read THE GREAT BOOKS. And that could be an essential point that is worth NOT missing!
We can't fill them up with every.single.book out there that is of value. We CAN expose them to a variety of literary thought, noble ideas, rich imagery through living books which they SAVOR. We can foster and insist upon good habits so that our children become self-educators and then they can continue their education from the foundation we have worked to set in place for them...and their education continues for life. Thinking of it in this way, I need not tell myself that this may be the only time this child could ever encounter a book (set of books). A lifetime of education is necessarily literate, and the child may, at any time, be introduced to the books I may not have introduced him/her to. They are one-day books now, not missed books, and this is a reassuring thought for me. They are also a door which opens to the Great Books, whose thoughts spring from great minds like Aquinas, Augustine, Thomas A Kempis, Leonardo da Vinci and others. (Your goal may not necessarily be to go on to the Great Books, but I think there is great value in a liberal education which allows a person to speak across wide and generous subject matter with ease and knowledge.)
Connections wrote:
And how do you avoid freaking out once you have selected the books?
How do you avoid rethinking your choices all of the time? |
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I promise not to get back on my soapbox on this, Tracey.  Trust. Do your homework, but be proportional about it, not obsessive. Look at some good booklists (there are many out there, and 4Real is burgeoning with fantastic booklists) and whittle your list down based on your family criteria (do you have some of the books on your shelf already? do you have a fantastic library system? are you able to purchase some of the recommended titles used inexpensively? on ebook? do you have room to store paper books?) Once you have selected appropriate books, trust that this is good enough for this year. I like to do this in the context of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, offering our year with the gifts offered at Mass, and afterward I ask Father to give us a blessing for our year. I like to think it anchors our year, the choices I've (prayerfully) made, and the fruits of the year to the Sacrifice of Our Lord, Who transforms everything in Himself. He can transform this year, too. How can I question too much once I've done that? I can learn from mistakes, because it's certain I'm going to make some, and I can grow in and cooperate with grace, but I've just given it ALL to Him, Who makes all things new. Time to live it!
Connections wrote:
| How do you avoid wanting to continually add in new books when you come across them? |
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Ah! Now this one isn't so easy for me! I do come across treasures mid-year (and the following answer pre-supposes that I have already considered and come to the conclusion that the book before me is, in fact, a treasure). I've learned to consider it an opportunity to (1) grow the home library or (2) grow my ability to detach. I consider if I am able to add the book to our home library (since I don't have access to a good library) in a way that is within our budget, and if so, I get it and invariably someone reads it either because it looks intriguing, or another younger child may encounter it one day on their booklist. If I can't add the book, I'll probably add it to my wishlists (I keep SEVERAL Amazon wishlists....an embarrassing number really ...and the purpose of them is to help me remember books. I keep the wishlists divided by category/subject and at times for different ages. It's a place to drop book ideas if I'm not purchasing.)
Connections wrote:
| I get very nervous about the responsibility of selecting the books to read slowly. |
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I know. It can be daunting. There are so many GOOD books, and so many great booklist resources. We must exercise prudence and care in choosing.
CM says:
Charlotte Mason wrote:
| Never waste time on a valueless book. |
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(Vol 3, p. 360)
....and why in the world would you when there are just so many to choose from with such value and richness?!
Do your best. Consider the child. Entrust your year to the Blessed Trinity. And have peace! We are to live joyfully....so live out the books you've selected with all joy (this is not giddiness or excessive touchy-feely-happy-emotions). Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit and Father Hardon says that Joy is the "feeling aroused by the expectation of possession of some good." Isn't it a lovely thought to think how that applies to our home education, enriched with living books carefully and judiciously selected? We are certainly in the "possession of some good"! So, live your booklist choices out joyfully and learn from mistakes. Try again the next year. That's my take anyway! Hope something in here is a help, Tracey.
__________________
Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Slow Reading
