Do you buy the read aloud supplement?

[Papillon mom]

How do you manage the read alouds? Library? Occasional purchase for the ones you can't find or just go for it and buy them all from mp?
How long per day and any particular order? Thanks.
Amanda

[KF2000]

Amanda,

I hope I can help answer a few of your questions...

The read alouds are already scheduled in a particular order in most of the complete lesson plans. MP has been adding them in over the last couple of years, and I think they have gotten through most of the grades by now, perhaps even all. Tanya could tell you for sure.

They are listed at the bottom of the day, but are not broken up into specific page increments....it's more like a helpful reminder to keep plugging away at it. Threfore, if you do them, great, but if you don't, it's no big loss from the LP's. Many of us are thankful for those reminders because things can get forgotten in the busyness of our days!

For us, we do not purchase the sets. Over the years we have accumulated a very good library within our home, so I do not feel the need to make sure we hit each and every one of the suggested books. However, if you are newer to the homeschooling journey, using their suggestions as a way to start building your library would be a great way to go. Most of our favorites are older books anyway, which are fun for grandparents to hunt for at used book and antique stores!

As for how long it takes...it varies. Tanya has shared with the forum that they shoot for at least 15 minutes at Highlands school (if I am remembering that right!), which is a nice baseline. I find that when we read aloud, we usually get into it and want to keep going....so it usually is more like a half hour...but then, I don't feel the need to absolutely hit it every day...because sometimes it does get missed. I hope in the end it all balances out.

Plus we are doing several grade levels, so I try to rotate which age level I shoot for with each book. So a lot of the read aloud suggestions become what they read on their own. They do not watch tv, or play video games, so they end up having good amounts of time to read to themselves most days. (And it is often enough that I see their heads in books that I don't feel the need to watch the clock on them)

So I guess my best answer is....as with all of the curriculum, make it work for you....be flexible and find your system that keeps everyone enjoying it and learning from it.

AMDG,
Sarah

[Papillon mom]

Ahhh, I see... Still waiting for our order to come so still grasping at how it all works. Thank you!

[rivendellmom]

I buy them quarterly from amazon. I don't know if saves money, but it does split up the cost. I put it in the budget and then have the fun of getting new books throughout the year.

Jen

[Papillon mom]

What a great idea!

[Kami]

Library

We have checked them out from our local library, as well as many of the music selections. For the music I just search for the composer and check out a couple of CDs at a time. I'd love to buy the selections, but we're short on space right now. However, most of the books have been such a hit for my crew that I'm seriously considering purchasing for next year (along with some more bookshelves). When we first transitioned to MP I really didn't even do the Literature and Enrichment. I just had them complete the core. Now we've been doing more of the Lit./Enrich.

Blessings!
Kami