Getting Ready for the Great Books

Read, Read, Read.
Spend absolutely as much time as you are able every day reading to your child. Do not stop just because he can read on his own! Read above his grade level; this will accustom him to the sound of the words, increase his vocabulary, and lengthen attention span. Following the Charlotte Mason narration philosophy, ask your child to tell back parts of the story with as much detail as possible (but start with very small chunks at first!)
But what should you read? Here are some books and lists to guide you:
Books Children Love, Elizabeth Wilson
The Book Tree, Elizabeth McCallum and Jane Scott

And if you are wondering, here are some of the very best books I enjoyed with my children:
The Redwall Series, Brian Jacques
Swallows and Amazons, and others in the series, Arthur Ransome
Anything by E. Nesbit, especially Five Children and It
The Princess and the Goblin, George MacDonald
The Prydain Chronicles, Lloyd Alexander
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien

Note: Although there are notable exceptions, it is probably best to avoid books published after 1960 or so. Books published prior to that date tend to have richer vocabulary and more complex sentence structures.

Streamline your homeschool work load.
When will you get all this reading done? In the time you save by concentrating only on reading (the Bible and good literature), math, writing, and history (and preferably Latin) from K-6 grades. There is really no need for anything else, at least not done formally.

Familiarize your child with the great stories of the past.
If your child meets the stories of Greece, Rome, Norse myths, and most importantly the Bible, he will be well prepared to read about them in depth when he is older. The best books for this include:
Black Ships Before Troy and The Wanderings of Odysseus, Rosemary Sutcliff
In Search of a Homeland, Penelope Lively
Greek Myths, Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire
The Child’s Story Bible, Catherine Vos
The Book of Norse Myths, D’Aulaire
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Roger Lancelyn Green

Memorize poetry and literature excerpts.
Memorization of anything has the power to build intellectual skills, but poetry not only expands vocabulary, it also teaches children that words have music, that word combinations and word play can be beautiful and fun. It’s really never too early to begin. There are many poetry collections to consult for ideas; I highly recommend The Harp and the Laurel Wreath by Laura Berquist.

Regularly review all the poems learned to date. I used to take an index card with the list of each child’s poems with me in the car and have them take turns reciting as we drove around town. When a poem is first learned, it should be recited daily; later you can review it a couple of times a week, then once a week, and so on until all memorization work is reviewed every two weeks or so.

Write something every day.
As soon as your child is able to physically write with ease, have him write something daily – entries in a nature journal, a letter to grandparents, or simply a neat copy of a poem learned or an excerpt from a book. Copy work in particular teaches them what good sentence structure looks like and can gradually acclimate a student to longer sentences.
As the student matures (4th grade or so), I highly recommend the Institute for Excellence in Writing program as an effective way to get a student writing without that pesky worry about what to say. The IEW staff has produced many helpful aids to guide parents through the program and reduce the time spent planning.

Model learning yourself and talk about what you are learning.
I think the greatest factor in a student’s success is an environment steeped in learning anything and everything, one rich with constant discussion and an eagerness to find the answer if it is unknown. There is no easy path; a good education will require you to be there, fully engaged.

Avoid screens.
Don’t use computer-based learning “games” unless absolutely necessary. Don’t let your children play on your phone or a pad while you wait somewhere; engage them in conversation or read to them instead. Avoid reading on a kindle if at all possible until junior high and up, preferably high school, and even then get hard copies of books whenever you can. Technology changes how we learn, and I have discerned a huge disparity in readiness in children brought up on screens versus those engaged with words and conversation.