Printable Reading and Listening Log

Even "the baby" is "reading" now.

Like many families—especially homeschooling families – ours loves books.  I dare say we read (and listen) to books for several hours or more a day. 

Until now, I simply savored our time with print and audiobooks.  I saw no reason to track any of the titles, beyond highlighting some of our favorites here on Training Happy Hearts. 

Now, as we enter into Luke’s first grade year and Nina’s kindergarten one, I feel compelled to log the children’s explorations with books.  Of course, doing so will help me assess the children all year long, as I note their growing skills with listening, narrating (re-telling) and self-decoding books.  It will also come in handy at the end of the year when it comes time to report the children’s progress to our local school department.  More importantly, however, it will help me to track, recognize and reflect upon the children’s strongest areas of interest.

I feel strongly that one of my jobs as Mom is being attuned to where my children’s passions and skills lie now, so that if they consult me about discerning their personal life calls later, I will have sound insights to offer them.

Admittedly, I have not been as good as I would have hoped to be over the past several years at noting the kids’ skills, passions and interests.  Sure, I have done so sometimes here on Training Happy Hearts as well as in my own personal notes, but not with consistency.  One of my goals this year is to do so with greater care.  A step towards doing so is tracking our family reading choices.  For, in our family at least, what we read reflects who we are and how we wan to grow and learn.

 

In case you’d like to do similarly, I am sharing the simple Family Reading Log I made as a printable.  It can be found here and is rather self-explanatory.  Should you want details about how I use it though, just ask and I will share them.  And, please, don’t worry about writing down every read aloud, audiobook and read-to-self book that the family picks up.  Simply log a significant portion of them.

Do you log your reading?  How do you find new titles to enjoy?  What are your favorite reading list links or books?  Do share!

2012-2013 School Planning: Faith and Character, Part Two (Assessment and Documentation)

 The other night, Nina and I skipped out for some “just us girls” time grocery shopping and stopping by a Staples for their Extreme Deal of the Week. 

While we were at Staples, we also took advantage of their binder trade-in deal, where we could recycle old, empty and abused binders in return for receiving $2 off brand new binders. 

The next day, as I thought about the approach our family is taking this year for Faith and Character studies, I considered how we might best document whatever learning the Spirit leads us to enjoy.  In addition, I wondered what tools we might use to assess how each of our Faith and Character Learning Objectives is met throughout the year.

The answer came to me:  notebooks!

Thus, the children and I took a mini-step yesterday in putting together our Faith and Character Notebooks by hole-punching the St. Anne coloring and narrations we had done as a part of our St. Anne Liturgical tea, as well as the Hail Mary coloring pages we did yesterday as a part of our Assumption Day celebrations, and putting them into binders.

On my next trip to Staples, I will be purchasing dividers, so we can make the next mini-step in our Faith and Character Notebook making, which will be setting up the section of the binders as:

• Prayer:  copies of traditional prayers the children have learned and those they are in process of learning; photos and observations related to prayer;  a photo of personal prayer corners we hope to set up; etc.
• The Word:  narrations and drawing of Bible stories; copywork and drawings of Bible verses; etc.
• Living Our Liturgical Year: drawings, coloring pages and narrations about the saints and Liturgical year celebrations and observances; photos of Liturgical Table displays and Liturgical Teas; etc.
• Catechism:  copywork of My First Catechism questions and answers; observations, notes and photos related to the Catechism; etc.
• Sacraments:  photos, observations and notes related to understanding and living the Sacraments
• Character and Virtues/Christian Living:  examples and photos of character an virtues in action

We may also set up a cross-discipline Geography notebook that will include notations of  where saints lived and Bible events took place in it.

In addition, if all aligns right, perhaps this year will be the year that the pocket children’s calendar focusing on both liturgical and natural seasons that I began envisioning – and even creating – years ago finally becomes a reality, but this year in a notebook form which we can take with us wherever we happen to be.

What are your favorite tools and strategies for assessing Faith an Character studies?  Please share!

Note: It would appear that as I have been taking my planning in bits, I have sharing it that way as well.  The other portions of our planning to date can be found by scrolling through School Planning 2012-2013. 


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