Episode 67: Homeschool Hack - Audio Books
Audio books are a door to organic parenting moments, allow your children to be enriched independently, and can give you a much needed break. Experienced homeschoolers love audio books, and it’s one of our favorite homeschool hacks! In our Coop Q & A, we answer the question, “I’ve decided to homeschool…now what?”
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Show Notes
*some of our recommendations may include affiliate links, which means when you order them from Amazon, we will receive a small commission.
Scoop on the Coop
Mandi had COVID and was quarantined away from her children for 10 days. Never fear, Mandi’s husband is here! Mandi’s spouse worked from home for 7 work/school days and homeschooled their children! When your spouse already has established learning experiences as a routine (Latin lessons, read-alouds, educational games, music practice), it’s not as difficult to keep your children active during challenging times. Also, check out our useful suggestion of having a sick bin prepared for moments like these.
Jessica completed her dance education class! And, Nutcracker was a success! Now Jessica is excited to really focus the rest of December on the advent, baking, and seasonal learning experiences and life skills. This is such a special time of year.
Audio Books
Benefits of Audio Books:
Develops listening and language skills
Allows students to read above reading level
Promotes healthy brain development
As a read aloud, it’s a shared experience for whole family
And we discuss many more benefits
Check out Sarah MacKenzie’s Read Aloud Family for more about the shared audio book benefits and book lists.
When to Use Audio Books
We discuss the main reasons homeschoolers utilize audio books which include ways to do the following:
When you are tired
In the Car (Check out podcast episode 19 for more about Car Schooling.)
Individually
For more in-depth lists and ideas about how we use audio books in our home, check out our Homeschool blog post, “How We Audio Book.”
How to Get Audio Books
Library: There are various apps available for you if you have a library card
Audible: Monthly fee, but a number of books are free and available
CD’s: We keep a CD player in our children’s rooms. It’s on their wall and easy for a four-year old to control (linked here). Our favorite audio reader, Jim Weiss, has his stories available for sale at Well-Trained Mind. For a list of audio books/stories organized by age level for his audio books/stories available here.
Our Recommendations
Mandi Recommends
Multiple Ages: If you have children of various ages, pick audio books that all ages can enjoy and learn from, including you! Two examples include:
Wonder by RJ Palacio - This book is for all ages starting at age 7, with a moral of kindness. A 5th grader as the main character who has a different face that others struggle with accepting. The dialogue allows for many bridges to deep parenting conversations regarding those who are different than ourselves.
Wish by Barbara O'Connor - all ages, child in crisis, experiencing functional family & love for the first time, with plenty of opportunities to parent your child through growing compassion for those who live a more challenging life.
Read-Aloud Family Journal: Join the 100 Book Read-Aloud Family Challenge (link here) and record each audio book with title, date, and your child’s impressions.
Cross Reference: You can find good audio books by looking at various lists and see who overlaps with the book choices. That will clue you into if a book is worth you and your child’s time.
Jessie Recommends
Make yourself a booklist: Make a list for books for you to listen to and fill your cup, books for your kids to listen to independently, and a list of books that benefit your input and organic parenting to listen to together.
Pre-read: If you are not sure about the book’s level of maturity or word choice, pre-read the book yourself - using the audio book! Pre-reading will clue you into when you want to utilize parenting moments, or deepen their understanding of the story, or if you want to ditch the book altogether.
Young Children: Toddlers can listen too. They can be in the room with you as you have audio books playing. They may not get the scary parts as actually scary, and will connect to the parts that speak to them.
Coop Q & A
I’ve decided to homeschool. What do I do now?
First you figure out how to register your child that you are homeschooling (notify the school district, unenroll and file a PSA, etc. - depends on the state). Check out our Homeschool Hub to see what your state requires.
Next, this is the fun part! You can download our Homeschool Starter Pack, Volume 1 and Volume 2. This will kickstart your homeschool life with growing your confidence and joy in homeschooling your child. It’s a simple, short workbook to give you our expertise and tools to walk you through steps 1-5 (Volume 1) and steps 6-10 (Volume 2) to help you create the homeschool life that meets your goals.
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