Narnia Studies - Once Again!

We have re-started our Narnia Studies.

Over a year ago, my then barely 6 year old saved up his money for the Narnia Unit Study Guide: Further Up and Further In. I'd heard it might be too academic or too dry - several families had used it after using their Little House on the Prairie Study and found that Narnia didn't live up to the same expectation. Since we've not done Little House, I thought we'd be ok.

Well, nope.

My son, though young, could DO all the work; it just wasn't what we anticipated. We thought there would be more activities corresponding to the activities in the book, and while these are certainly present, it just wasn't what "enough" - the activities are GREAT - it's just SO much conversation, rather than doing. Maybe it's because we're doing the books in order (having read them at least 10 times through in publication order already!) and Magician's Nephew is sort of "Eh" on the interest scale. It is interesting in that it is a precursor to the rest of the storyline, but it does by itself hold the same magic as the others stories. (Sorry Mr. Lewis - we still love the story - just not the same way!).

Anyway, we're back at it again with more tools at hand. We have the downloads from Currclick for all of the books (a series of workbook pages with some activities like letter-writing from a character's point of view, etc) and we have the lapbook for Magician's Nephew from In the Hands of a Child (some of their items can also be purchased at Currclick for a lower price *and* I get affiliate kickback if you click on the Currclick link, then order HOAC items from Currclick).

I've already listed out resources ahead of time; so we can spend our library time looking up and reading related books. We're making a list of food as we go and adding those foods to our menu plans; and he's creating a binder with all sorts of goodies. Lots of artwork and timelines!

My son is also putting together a timeline of his own based on his reading - Earth timeline versus Narnia timeline. When we're done we'll check the "official" timeline in our book Companion to Narnia (our cover does not match this one, though we got it from them - it's been updated and revised).

How does this fit with Montessori? The Montessori elementary is a framework with a LOT of meat within it - and it allows so much time and freedom to utilize outside resources as are appropriate to the situation - not every child could or should study Narnia the way we are, so this pertinent for us; other children should study the literature that fits with their families, their culture, their interests. Rich literature should be a part of every child's life - and how that plays out will look different for every family.

We could study Narnia without any of these study guides. We just choose to start with them and adapt. This is also how we are taking "outside requirements" and learning how to adjust to them, something that is a key component of every good Montessori environment: sometimes we have outside requirements to fulfill, and we learn responsibility to fulfill them in a healthy manner, so that we can live within our society.

All this to say - I'm excited :)

Reading Programs We Like

Caveat: I'm a Montessorian (and an AMI keys-based one at that) - so I'm not keen on any reading program in its entirety.

See this blog post over at Montessori Nuggets about learning to read steps for children without severe other issues going on.

Keys of the World will soon be offering a keys-based Montessori guide to reading (i.e. it does not use the pink/blue/green (and now purple?) reading series - which can be used as a supplement if you so choose ;) ).

However, I have found the following resources quite helpful in particular situations:

• Catholic Heritage Curricula - Little Stories for Little Folks
  
  
  
  • Each story focuses on specific skill sets - so little bits at a time. There are word/letter games as well as opportunities for drawing, coloring and vocabulary-building.
  
  
  • If you're not Catholic, they're still great in their step by step, keys-approach to reading. The stories more intrinsic to the Catholic faith that can be modified or removed, assuring you cover the "new" material in another way.
  
  
  • Follow up with their supplemental readers if you like (corresponding with specific levels) as children plateau at the various stages, then Bigger Stories for Little Folks, Devotional Stories for Little Folks, Devotional Stories for Little Folks Too, all of which follow a Catholic homeschooling family through the usual experiences of family life.
  
  
  • Scripture and church life are included.
  
  
  • These are great for learning to read, moving ahead pretty quickly, then going back to "review" but have the child read the earlier levels aloud to ensure pronunciation and practice voice tones, inflections and other read-aloud skills - with words they already know and understand.
  
  
  
  


• Christian Light Publications - Learning to Read and Reading to Learn series
  
  
  
  • Gentle faith-based stories without being preachy in any way; illustrations are of Mennonites; can be used by families of any faith
  
  
  • Includes poetry, stories and Bible passages
  
  
  • Vocabulary sections teach dictionary pronunciation in the earliest levels - a very nice feature, especially from a Montessori perspective
  
  
  • The included light-units are easily modified for use by a Montessori student using these only as a supplement, or can be completed in their entirety (my son did them all! He loved them!)
  
  
  • Heavy emphasis is placed on reading comprehension not just reading skill - also a nice feature from a Montessori perspective - children may be able to read and understand the stories of upper levels with ease, but the light-units encourage the child to really think about what is going on.
  
  
  
  


• My son and I even used the Bob Books (I thought I'd never use them! But I'll admit - Montessori-wise, they use the line drawings, they entice a kindergartner's sense of humor and they are easy for the child to re-create).
  
  
  
  • We modified them a bit and turned them into a reading *activity*.
  
  
  • I photocopied them onto plain paper, and cut the words from the picture.
  
  
  • He would read through the booklet; then take the copies and match up each line of words to the corresponding picture.
  
  
  • This is a very Montessori-like activity done much more inexpensively (we bought the Bob books used)
  
  
  • While it helps with reading comprehension, even adding this activity, does not make the Bob books a complete learning to read series on its own. The child could memorize the shape of the words or have a photographic memory to know the length of the lines on each page. So this is where reading-aloud after some silent reading practice with the booklet comes into play.
  
  
  
  

Would I recommend anything else? No not really. I've used other programs, series, games, curricula, and never been satisfied. They are all too gimmicky or chore-like, inappropriate for the ages intended, and modifications are difficult.

While none of the above are complete-enough in my estimation, they serve a very strong purpose and I can recommend them in their entirety, without qualms; but I do not say they are complete by themselves; they all must be part of a life that includes daily life experiences in reading: recipes, lists, notes from parents and siblings, cards from relatives and friends, street signs, reading for enjoyment, and any other reading that takes place in a typical daily life for that particular child. Combined with the tips at Montessori Nuggets, and a solid keys-based approach to reading, there is no reason a normally developing child should not be reading at a second grade reading level or higher within 2 months of starting to put two sounds together in the same word.

The Oz Chronicles, Volume 2

It has arrived! We found an affordable copy on Alibris, after losing an EBay auction for another reasonably priced one (got it for cheaper than EBay too!) - and my son has been devouring it.

He is practicing geography, 2D art, language, story chronology, narration, plot development, answering what-if questions, creating costumes, re-enacting with Legos, blocks, counting bears, and SO MUCH MORE.
I have to say, I am still not convinced that the Land of Oz stories are on par with Narnia or other such stories, but they are perfect for a little boy who is reading 5-6 grade levels above his age yet still needs something developmentally appropriate, funny, enertaining and that connects to so many other subjects.

Now if I could just read it for myself!

Land of Oz Series

No - I'm not talking about the movie(s). I am talking about the *books*!

According to Wikipedia, there are 40 or so books attributed to the Wizard of Oz Club - a group of writers who added to the original 14 of L Frank Baum.

We have read the first 7 in our household, and I am currently on the hunt for the Volume 2 of the "Oz Chronicles" - a 3-volume set with the 14 original Oz stories (7 each in the first 2 volumes) and other stories by the same author. For the time being, we are really only interested in the original stories - off-shoots don't really do it for me and children can make their own judgments when they are older. We have a few of the first 7 in paperback as well, with illustrations. Our hardcover collection volumes have no illustrations, save the map within the covers, and my 6 year old LOVES them! Why? Because it is a beautiful hard bound, leather-look, gold-trim volume - with gold trim on the pages. How much more special is that???

But I digress. There are many lovely maps of the Land of Oz and I include the one below because it is the color version of that map which is displayed within our beautiful dark green volume 1.

See all the color? Each area of Oz has its own color and the inhabitants within each area are alike in some ways yet as diverse as paper is from china - you can find their respective towns on the map above ;)

We like to keep things faith-based - but frankly, some things are just too much fun! And knowing that others have taken off with the series will only encourage us to use our God-give imaginations to work things out for ourselves - don't we all wish there was a special place we could go? Just to get away from the grayness of life for a while?

There IS a place - that place is heaven. In the meantime, we have Oz ;)