Welcome to The Educating Parent Beverley Paine's archive of articles about homeschooling and unschooling written over a period of 30 plus years

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Introduction to
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My Life Mirrored in Stories

© Beverley Paine, 2004

We all love a good story and the reason is that somewhere, in each and every story, we see a part of ourselves. Stories tell us about families and communities, how we get along and don't get along, what we desire, what we hate, how we manage to cope and live every day. Even stories with animal characters are about people.

When we connect what we read to our own lives we help children learn to love and appreciate reading: we bring the world in the text closer to them and make it belong to them. We put them in the centre of the text, no matter what it is they are reading. This helps them to relate to the story or content and help them make sense of, and how they fit into, the world.

By doing this we build their comprehension skills. We compare and contrast what they already know to what they are reading. To do this we ask questions, or explore ideas, or make comments about how the story or text affects us. I often pause and make a reflective comment on how new knowledge has changed or challenged my world view or beliefs. I will stop and laugh, or say how sad I'm feeling. show I'm moved by the story. Or I may express wonder and awe, and reveal how my old knowledge was biased, out of date, perhaps didn't even make sense. In this way I show that I am active reader and an active learner. But I also show that the story is pertinent to my life. It affects me, changes me. That is the power of the written word.

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The information on this website is of a general nature only and is not intended as personal or professional advice. This site merges and incorporates 'Homeschool Australia' and 'Unschool Australia'.

The opinions and articles included on this website are not necessarily those of Beverley Paine, The Educating Parent and April Jermey Always Learning Books, nor do they endorse or recommend products listed in contributed articles, pages, or advertisements on pages within this website.

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