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Greetings!

Deborah Wuehler and family

Yes, you can teach Literature! This is probably one of the easiest and most rewarding teaching assignments. But what is Literature and how do you teach it?

Merriam-Webster's definition: Literature (3 a (1): writings in prose or verse; especially: writings having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest.

What we should implement from that definition is that the literature we choose or allow our children to choose should be excellent in form or expression and in agreement with our own Biblical and family values. There is a lot of junk out there, so I always carefully monitor what the children are reading to make sure it is excellent. I also have the children analyze the literature for the worldview that is presented, or we talk about what views are presented as we read aloud.

You can build a desire in your child for excellent literature by making sure you expose them to it even when they are very young. If they are not old enough to read it themselves with comfort, then you read aloud or obtain the audio version. You don't want to wait until they are old enough to read it for themselves, but get it in as early as possible. Choose literature geared toward your older children and even the younger ones will pick up the meanings of words in context, and they will also increase their vocabulary.

There are a myriad of product reviews on Literature Curriculum here.

And, above all else, don't forget to read the Bible aloud to the kids and while you're at it, stop and talk about it. The history, classic stories, poetry, and wisdom included here far outweigh any other classic. This is the best learning for life. It is the breath of God in written form, and where the breath of God is, there is life for you, for your children, and for your homeschool. It is the very basis of keeping your children Home Where They Belong.

~Deborah

TOS Senior Editor

SeniorEditor@TheHomeschoolMagazine.com  

P.S. Does your life and homeschooling leave you feeling like you have hurdles to jump that are just too high for you right about now? February's Editorial, Overcoming Hurdles, should help you jump just a little higher and overcome those hurdles. Video also included. 

Diana Waring

Relational Homeschooling

www.DianaWaring.com 

Dear Friends,

Some of you know what I'm talking about . . .

Anyway, the thing is, when I was in high school my love of reading did not translate into a love of literature. I distinctly remember thinking that "literature" was yawn-inducing, mind-numbingly boring.

It wasn't until I was teaching my own children that I realized what had happened. You see, during my own teenage years, the way literature was presented was something like this:

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens was a very important piece of English literature. In this novel, Dickens gives a depiction of life during the Reign of Terror, beginning with the famous line, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." . . . etc., etc., etc.

And then we would have a few excerpted pages to read and discuss, and then answer superficial questions. For me, all the delight, all the energy, all the pizzazz was sucked right out of the book by forcing it into this regimented, formalized, and academic approach.

What a shock! As a homeschool mom, I was startled to read these literature books, so boring to my teenage self, and find that they were captivating, fascinating, and of the can't-put-it-down variety!!

So, in answer to today's topic, I would enthusiastically and heartily agree that you CAN teach literature--if you observe some common-sense guidelines along the way.

First of all, don't ask your children to read something that is not interesting to them. Before you misunderstand, let me hasten to add that if you think your child would find it interesting if given half a chance, then perhaps it would be best for you to read the book aloud. If you add inflections and even commentary, your children might become so fascinated by the book that they beg to read it on their own.

Second, don't require your children to read something that is far beyond their reading level. If it is slightly beyond their current level, and they are eager to try, then do it as an experiment.  If the book becomes discouragingly hard, then step in and either read it aloud or set it aside for next month or next year.

Third, there will be books that others think are in the "must read" category, but that does not mean it is your child's "must read" category. There are stories in literature that I personally have no desire to read, even as an adult. Just as we don't all have the same taste in music or food, so we don't all have the same taste in literature. If it helps, I hereby give you permission to not read every book everyone says you have to read!

Remember, stay relational!

Diana

P.S. Don't forget to sign up for the newsletter! I'd love to share my gift with you!!  

Raising Real Men

www.RaisingRealMen.com

Hal & Melanie Young

Melanie remembers too well when she worried if she'd be able to teach literature to our children: "I had assigned The Iliad to our oldest and knew I'd have to read it myself so we could discuss it. I dreaded it horribly. My degree was in the hard sciences and though I loved to read, I thought it would be hard to read or boring. Boy, was I wrong. It was as gripping as a good novel."

We learned an important lesson that year: Great Books are considered great books because they're, well, great! Seriously, these things have stood the test of time. They are good stuff! Read good literature yourself and you will hardly be able to keep from teaching it to your children.

We also finally figured out what Cliff's Notes are for. No, they aren't for lazy students who want to avoid reading the book! Instead, they are meant to be read alongside a book to help you with the literary analysis. What's even better are literary guides from Christian sources, such as Total Language Plus or Progeny Press, or books like Peter Leithart's Brightest Heaven of Invention or Heroes of the City of Man.

Although it helps to have a basic knowledge of terms like theme, setting, characterization, and things like that, the most important thing about studying literature with your children is to just talk about it. Fifteen minutes on a search engine will teach you the terms, but deep discussion is irreplaceable. Ask, "What is the author trying to teach you or convince you of?" and "How did he do that?" Compare the worldview in the work with the Biblical standard. Point out when the author makes you sympathize with a bad guy or a sinful decision--that's really more dangerous than books with offensive elements because it can change your thinking without you realizing it.

Don't be like we used to be and let the "Great Books" intimidate you. Once you open them . . . you'll fall in love!

It pays off, too. This weekend one of our sons attended a college scholarship competition. In the interview process they asked him "What is your favorite movie and why?" and other questions to probe their personal philosophies. He later told us how grateful he was that he'd grown up thinking about literature and films in that way; it didn't faze him at all. Whew!

Yours in the battle,

Hal & Melanie

P.S. An easy and fun start to Great Books is our Hero Tales from American History audiobooks. Written by Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Cabot Lodge to teach character to children through hero stories, we not only made it an audiobook so younger children could enjoy it, too--we added sound effects! History is much better with cannonfire!

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