Have you heard the term “Pre-Reading” floating around Charlotte Mason homeschoolers? Well on the surface it’s exactly what it sounds like. You’re reading the books ahead of your children. And it’s not just for Charlotte Mason Homeschoolers but is used a lot by those using her methods.
But it goes much deeper and using pre-reading to prepare yourself for your homeschooling year has so many benefits to help your year go a little smoother.
This was yet another thing I was so sure I wouldn’t be doing, it just seemed to be too time consuming. But the benefits were doing the hard work now when I’m not so flustered. I’ve also found I feel more organized and capable. My written narrations are in my notebook which is perfect for recapping with my children what was read last time.
There are numerous ways to go about pre reading and this year is the first year I’m attempting this feat so we’re jumping into this together!
Here is how I start to Pre-Read
I started by making a pre-reading plan, to map out how much work there was and what books I wanted to pre-read. This helped me set a realistic goal and timeline. Actually my initial plan was to finish all the readings in one book and group my notes with the book and subjects in order. But since we are year round homeschoolers I felt I could have better success at getting things done with doing the readings per term instead and yet still grouping the notes per subject in that term. I really like this way actually as I felt it demands less of my time all at once and we don’t need to delay our start with the new books and a new year.
You can go about pre-reading a few ways, like taking your notes digitally but for me I really like using a notebook.
I wanted to really fully embrace the Charlotte Mason method so I’ve been stepping out of my comfortzone and trusting her suggestions more instead of giving up before I’ve even tried them.
If you’re wondering how simple it can be to start you can use any notebook or type the notes digitally. The supplies I use and really enjoy are:
Moleskin Notebook XL (I prefer it to be dotted)
Ruler
Sticky Tabs (for bookmarking which chapters in the books I’m reading that week)
Sticky Note pad (for questions or information to look up before I put them in my notes)
Ambleside Online Schedule & Books
I’ve found Sticky Tabs have helped me quickly start into the reading and keep track of each week’s reading. I also like to use the ruler to draw lines to help keep my notes neat and organized.
What are in my notes?
In my notes I’ll start with writing down the term,the book and the subject at the top. I’ll record details from the assigned week’s passages under the label concept or caption idea, this will be my own written narration. I try to read a page at a time so I can remember the most details and jot them down.
I find narrating myself helpful to see how much detail I can remember and mark stopping points that would be helpful for my children. I then mark down how many pages the reading is, any dates that would be added to our book of centuries or timelines, words I might need to define, any hard topics to discuss or skip over, narration questions and recap questions. Pulling from these notes is a great way to make Exam week questions for your child as well .
While this will be my first year trying this I’ve already seen the benefits come through with helping further my own mother’s education and feeling more empowered about the books I’m teaching!
I don’t make notes for any book I’m not asking narration from so, some books I give my daughter to read independently I would just pre-read those when I assign her books but more for content rather than anything else.
When do I do this?
I’ve got no distinct time I set aside for pre-reading but just do it whenever I’m able. Quiet time and evenings work well for me so far but I’ve found time here and there. I try at least twice a week and set a goal to have each term’s subject done by a certain time. So while many would might have the whole summer I’m hoping to get term one done before we start the new books. But if I have time I’d like to take it to get ahead to the next term. I try not to make it so I can’t do anything else too, like reading books just for myself. Finding that balance is important to me so I won’t give up and feel boxed in by not being able to do anything else.
Ambleside Online is such a great resource to use and I’m excited to feel better prepared for each lesson!