Homeschooling Ideas That Work :: What We Listened to in the Car and at Home

Whether you homeschool or not, I think you will be encouraged by this post.  I am going to share some of the stories/series/ tapes/CDs etc that we listened to over the years.  Whether or not you homeschool, I know you spend a bunch of time driving and sometimes it is nice to have stuff to listen to in the car.  It is a great time for learning.  I also used these during the day when the boys needed a break or I needed a break.It is also been shown in research that reading comprehension goes up when a child learns to listen to a story and hears the structure of a story as they are told or read aloud.Even when it is just Craig and I, we will listen to books on tape or podcasts.  So, read on for some Sursees and don't forget, if you know a mom with children who might be encouraged by this information, would you please pass it on to them?  They will appreciate the Sursee.

 Jim Weiss is a wonderful storyteller.

These audio cds are wonderful.  Weiss is a story teller and listening to him will transport you to another time and place.   We listened to these a bunch and the kids really enjoyed his style.  Using just his voice to tell the story, the adventure sprang to life.  He tells all kinds of historical stories, stories from the classics and mythology, and biblical stories believing,

"a story well told would ignite a love of learning in a listener."

Love that!  I also loved his goal:

"Our goal then, as now, was to instill in children the lifelong love of great literature by telling the stories on a child's level without altering the authors' intent."

Listening together as a family also gives your family a common vocabulary and fun shared experience, as well as, a literacy in the great books and classics.  You will also give your kids a desire and curiosity to read the whole book someday.

I used these as Sursees in the kids' Easter baskets or in their stockings or for a birthday gift.  I would also  wrap one up before we went on a long car trip.  Here is the link to Greathall Productions.

Use the Library as a resource.

Before we went on a long car trip, I would make  a trip to the public library and check out some books on tape or CDs.  When the boys were little, the book came along with the cassette tape,  so they could read along and turn the page when the reader did.  I also made a few of these for the boys that they could listen to during their rest time.  These recordings would be a neat thing to ask grandparents or older siblings to do for younger children.

The library would also have unabridged versions of the classics  to listen to on a looong road trip for when the kids got older. We have fond memories of listening to The Lord Of the Rings or a Lemony Snicket book on our trips.  Now there is Audible where you can download a book through the service and listen.  Awesome!

The church library is also a valuable resource.  Ours was always well-stocked with tapes and later CDs.  Make friends with the librarian and ask them to order things that you have found online.  They like to hear about new ideas for the library.

We also found the Focus on the Family radio dramas were very well done.

One of osur favorite was The Chronicles of Narnia series.   Craig and I also liked the Father Gilbert series and the CS Lewis at War series found at the same place.

Sing and Learn is a great resource for all kinds of fun.

I love this website- Sing and Learn.  They were a resource that I found when I was homeschooling, but all of you are going to want to go over and peruse this site.  I especially love this series about the life of great composers .

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They come as CDs to listen to and also DVDs to watch.  Great stuff.

One of our favorite sections of the website was the science section;  we would listen to these from Lyrical Life and Earth Science for fun, but learning was happening.  They also come with a coloring book.  We played these when the boys were a little older elementary age.

Diana Waring sang historical songs and had a series that let you listen to history.

I had one or two of these with historical songs when we were studying different time periods.

These would be nice if you were studying this time period in history or your child was interested in this time period.  I am all for letting kids explore something they think is cool or interesting.

We also listened to GT and the Halo Express for scripture memory.

I am so happy to say these cds  are still out there.  When the boys were little they were just in cassette tape form.  They are delightful stories with scripture tied to catchy tunes; these songs  are still floating around in my head.  So happy that they are still available for my someday grandkids.  I still have scripture memorized from these.

Just William is another hands down favorite of ours.

These CDS are maybe for a little older…2nd grade and up.   You will so love these and their British humor.  William will become a favorite of your family.

Ok, that was long. I hope this encourages you to use that driving around time or that long vacation by car time to learn and listen.  Remember you can share your resources with other families which is what I did.  You can buy one and have a friend buy another and then trade

 Why don't you share in the comments a book or series or audio that you love listening to with your family.  You will give everyone a little Sursee when you share.