Reading

There are many choices faced by students today. There is more reading material today than ever before. And learning to read the different types of material available is important to. It is not enough to just know how to read. I know, you thought that once you had a reader you were in the clear, but not so!

Knowing the characteristics of different types of reading materials not only makes it easier for your child to read, but also makes them better able to write different types of material. Let me give you an example. You don’t read poetry in the same way you might read a graphic novel. In the graphic novel you don’t have to be concerned about meter, or rhythm or rhyme. However, you will need to know that graphic novels are generally read from top to bottom, and left to right. If you don’t follow those “rules” it becomes hard to follow the story or know who spoke first in a frame.

Oddly enough, the whole point of this is that reading, any form, and any style of reading is good for your child. It doesn’t have to be a text book, or an autobiography for your child to gain knowledge or to read of an experience that she might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience.

Comparative religion, what are all those holidays about anyway?

You do not have to be homeschooling for religious purposes to recognize the fact that the time between Halloween and New Year is full of holidays spanning a large number of religions. Some parents will totally ignore those holidays that do not coincide with their own beliefs. Other parents don’t just ignore the other holidays, but will even attempt to discredit those holidays.

There are a number of families that will use this holiday season to present to their children the richness of diversity that exists in our world. Remember that it is not necessary to believe in the religion for which the holidays are important. Teaching our children that there are other beliefs, and comparing those beliefs to your own family beliefs, helps our children make their own decisions about what they believe.

You might even be able to use the holidays to launch a couple of lessons in history related to the time and place where the holidays originated. Maybe add these history lessons to your timeline, or reconnect to family traditions that might have been lost to time. If nothing else, you might even discover new traditions that you might want to include in your own family.