Reading Aloud and Brain Development

Anyone who is familiar with Beautiful Feet Books knows that we're huge advocates of reading aloud. Reading aloud at all ages is something we believe in strongly and know from our own experiences that reading aloud can have profound effects on children and their families. When the decision is made to commit to reading aloud as a family, some almost magical things happen. New research from Pediatrics confirms that reading aloud to young children is key to developing their ability to tell stories, to use words, to imagine scenarios and much more! You have all probably experienced this as you make the decision to turn to books instead of screens, as your children fall in love with the characters of classic children's stories, and as you look forward each day to the time when you all snuggle up on the couch to read.

As you embark on this new school year, keep in mind that some of the best learning occurs when you're simply reading aloud. "The researchers found differences in brain activation according to how much the children had been read to at home." As the study found:

Children whose parents reported more reading at home and more books in the home showed significantly greater activation of brain areas in a region of the left hemisphere called the parietal-temporal-occipital association cortex. This brain area is “a watershed region, all about multisensory integration, integrating sound and then visual stimulation,” said the lead author, Dr. John S. Hutton, a clinical research fellow at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

Interestingly this very area of the brain is very active when older children are reading to themselves, leading researchers to believe that the early and frequent exposure to reading aloud leads to easier and more developed reading ability later.

So, plan in reading aloud time. It's easy when you choose literature based curriculums! And make sure your children have easy access to beautiful well-written books. Frequent trips to the library, thoughtful purchases for the family library–these are all investments in your children. Of course, reading Going on a Bear Hunt fifteen times before noon can be the epitome of mundane but what you're doing is so important! For more, check out this article on the study.

While intellectual ability is obviously important, we're also going to be talking about reading and emotional development later this week, so stay tuned!

Our new 2015-2016 catalog is now available! If you want to view it right now it's available online here. And if you would like to request a hardcopy, click here.

We would love to hear what you think! Chime in below in the comments section and share your thoughts. Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Pinterest pages.  To learn more about Beautiful Feet Books, click here.

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Homeschool Veterans: Meet Keisha!

Meet Keisha, a homeschooling veteran of over 25 years! I love what she has to say about giving students the time and space they need to overcome challenges. Such an important reminder! Keisha brings a lot of wisdom, gained over two decades of teaching six children! Enjoy our chat!

BFB: What originally drew you to homeschooling?

Keisha: At the time I began homeschooling, I had three children in public school. The oldest was getting set to graduate and the other two were in elementary. One of the elementary students should probably not have began school when he did because in hindsight he was not emotionally ready, though chronologically and academically he was. Each year the gap widened for him and he struggled with his peers. I had heard vaguely of homeschooling and began to explore the possibility of this for him. But then, of course, the other child wanted to as well. 

BFB: How long have you been homeschooling?

Keisha: I've been homeschooling since 1989, we adopted a sibling group of three in 1996 and a singleton adoption in 2003. He is now 11. 

BFB: How did you discover Beautiful Feet Books? Has the philosophy behind BFB influenced how you teach other subjects?

Keisha: A few years into homeschooling, I became acquainted with the Charlotte Mason philosophy but there was no existing curricula then so I would piecemeal what I could but always with the literature-based concept. Once we adopted we found our new family had more challenges that necessitated us working through many issues. So our goal wasn't curricula as much as it had to be about meeting deficits and needs. One of the children had an interest in horses and we found BF offered a study on that topic and used it to meet that interest. Our remaining child, now 11, has had many challenges and he was unable to endure any academic pursuits until about four years ago. We have had to go slow and concentrate on his reading , 'riting, r'ithmetic skills and then each year our goal is to raise the bar for him. By 3rd grade (age 10), I was able to read lots of biographies aloud to him. This past year, grade 4, I finally thought we could do a curriculum and selected one that embraced the CM philosophy and methodology. However a few months into it, I knew it was a wrong choice. The book selections only produced a deer in the headlight look from him and we were getting nowhere with it. Thus began a search on what was out there that would be literature based,  What I didn't realize fully was that the issue also was having him in ancient history with irrelevant books that he couldn't identify with. Hence we found BF again and made the call and ditched what we were doing and jumped in to more appropriate history for

him. I am fast-tracking him with the Early American Primary level so we will be finished soon and I have already ordered our next year guide and am looking forward to implementing it at a more reasonable pace. 

BFB: What has been the greatest joy of homeschooling? The greatest challenge?

Keisha: My greatest joys in homeschooling have been many, but only two out of the six that I've homeschooled began with me at the beginning, so it was unbelievable to see them take off with reading and writing. Probably the greatest challenge has been working with children that had learning issues and trying to decipher what would work for them. 

BFB: What is one thing you wish you had known when you began homeschooling?

Keisha: The one thing I wish I had known at the beginning is that I could give myself permission to not have to feel that it had to all be accomplished in a day. These are our children, fearfully and wonderfully made, and I might say unique as well, they are not cookie cutter vessels that we fill, they have struggles like us, and may need extra time to push through obstacles that arise give them that space and time.

Our new 2015-2016 catalog is now available! If you want to view it right now it's available online here. And if you would like to request a hardcopy, click here.

We would love to hear what you think! Chime in below in the comments section and share your thoughts. Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Pinterest pages.  To learn more about Beautiful Feet Books, click here.

And if you've enjoyed this, please feel free to share using the buttons below!

Reasons To Choose Home Education

Lisa Nielsen, a public school administrator and teacher, has compiled a list entitled "The 12 Most Compelling Reasons to Homeschool Your Child" and you can read it here. The list contains many valid reasons for choosing this educational method for your children and many that I hear about in my conversations with home educators. What was missing from the list, in my opinion, are some of the opportunities to make education less self-centered and more intuitive. And so, to Nielsen's very good list, I would add the following:

1. The ability make education a family affair:
The modern educational system divides students arbitrarily, according to age or talent. The decision to homeschool breaks down these boundaries as education becomes an endeavor undertaken by the entire family. It's much easier to create an atmosphere of learning when parents see education as part of their responsibility. This is different from making sure that children do their homework. When a family homeschools everyone contributing to education. Older siblings can teach younger siblings. Parents learn along side their children. Learning together builds strong relationships as each person sees himself as an integral part of the family, and a contributor to the education of others.


2. The ability to take learning out of the classroom:
When you homeschool, I think that a switch is flipped and you begin to see that education is not something that just happens in a classroom. It's a lifestyle. Think of all that your child learned before she was formally enrolled in school. Even if she began attending preschool, there was an incredible amount of learning that happened before then, major accomplishments like speech! Children learn by observation and doing. When we take these inquisitive minds and send them to a school, telling them that this is where they will learn, we begin to divide learning from living. Of course, many students flourish within a classroom, and many families do a wonderful job of continuing to educate their children outside the classroom. But for those who find classrooms stifling and uninspiring, it can be a short leap from "I hate school" to "I hate learning". Homeschooling does not create artificial boundaries around the learning process.

3. The ability to see outside one's world:
When children are enrolled in schools according to zip code, there is a high likelihood that he or she will be attending school with other children from the same socio-economic circle and racial background. While there is comfort in this, there is also a lot of danger. As our nation becomes more and more segregated by factors such as income, we are losing our ability to empathize with people different from ourselves. While neighborhoods used to be much more integrated in terms of economic class, a startling trend of self-segregation has taken place across the US, resulting in homogenized neighborhoods. It used to be that bankers, doctors, school teachers, auto mechanics, and people working minimum wage jobs could all be found in the same neighborhoods. Now it's rare to live next to someone who is from a decidedly different economic background. This distance has allowed for an increasingly calloused view of the poor and an antagonistic view of the well-off. When you choose to homeschool, you can make a conscious effort to show your children how other people live. Whether that means volunteering in a homeless shelter, visiting the elderly at an affluent retirement home, or giving your time to a cause you believe in, you will be giving your children the ability to understand the world beyond their own neighborhood.

4. The ability to relax:
While school systems are being crushed by constant reforms, increased paperwork demands, and constant evaluations, you have a lot more freedom. Yes, your state may require testing or a submission of lesson plans, but you can set up your own schedule. You can work with your student's own learning style. When you sense that your children are fed up and you're at your wit's end, you can call it a day and go to the pool. While you may feel a lot of pressure, it's so important to remember that your children are constantly learning. It's important to have fun together, to read together, to play together. And when you're homeschooling you have so much more time to do those things.

I would love to hear your thoughts on homeschooling. Why did you decide to make this educational choice? What benefits have you discovered and found surprising? What about drawbacks?

And if you're ordering curriculum for this coming school year, now's the time to do it! Ordering now will ensure that your books are delivered in time to start your school year. And remember, all orders over $200.00 ship for free! Check out our history curriculums and study guides at bfbooks.com.

Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Pinterest pages. And if you've enjoyed this, please feel free to share using the buttons below!