It's a new year! Time to set fresh goals and rev ourselves up to spend hours and hours reading aloud to our kids. Are you ready?
January tends to be a rough month for many of us (and in February, that overwhelming feeling of burnout often gets worse). Even though it's way too cold here to be playing outside, I'm still finding it difficult to read aloud as often as I should.
January tends to be a rough month for many of us (and in February, that overwhelming feeling of burnout often gets worse). Even though it's way too cold here to be playing outside, I'm still finding it difficult to read aloud as often as I should.
I'm printing off a new form for February and I'm re-committing to visually tracking my minutes. I've become lazy about keeping track of how much time I'm reading-aloud, and as a result I'm reading aloud less and less. Here's to a new year, new goals, and lots and lots of reading aloud!
As a little incentive to get our new year kicked in the right direction, I've got a giveaway attached to this month's revival. Anyone who participates in the discussion will automatically be entered to win my very favorite booklist: Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt. If you don't already have this on your shelf, you need it. If you do? Gift it to someone else. Just hang out with us in the comments and you'll be entered. I'll announce the winner on Friday, February 1st.
Here are my questions for you this month:
1. What are your read-aloud goals for 2013?
2. Which topics would you like to discuss at our upcoming Read-Aloud Revivals?
3. Name one book you definitely want to read-aloud this year.
2. Which topics would you like to discuss at our upcoming Read-Aloud Revivals?
3. Name one book you definitely want to read-aloud this year.
Go at it in the comments. The combox is threaded, so you can reply to anyone. Make sure you check back to see if someone has a question or comment for you. I'll answer the questions in the combox, too. This is a place for community and conversation- come back and be a part of it!
Don't forget, you can find links to all of our past Revivals at the main page. If you missed a discussion, go back and check in- we've got great ideas for where to find audio books, our favorite booklists, and how to keep little folks busy and happy during read-aloud time. The comment boxes are a treasure trove!
Oh, and our February Revival is set for the last Saturday of the month (February 23rd) . Go here to get the Read-Aloud Revival form if you'd like to track your minutes. There are no requirements to participate, of course. Just bring yourself, your desire to read-aloud to your kids, and a thing or two to say in the comments.
I'm glad you're here!
Oh, and our February Revival is set for the last Saturday of the month (February 23rd) . Go here to get the Read-Aloud Revival form if you'd like to track your minutes. There are no requirements to participate, of course. Just bring yourself, your desire to read-aloud to your kids, and a thing or two to say in the comments.
I'm glad you're here!
I have older kids and only read aloud to the 12 yo. Even with her read alouds are less of a focus than they used to be - what with lots more outside commitments and lots of independent reading. Still I'd like to read aloud 5 days a week even if just for 30 minutes a day and to include some more challenging classics. I'd love to discuss reading aloud with older kids - both ideas and titles. The one book we'll definitely read-aloud this year is Carry on Mr Bowditch but first we'll do Shakespeare's Twelfth Night - a story version or two (I'm personally fond of Leon Garfield's versions) and possibly the Bard himself - prior to a live performance in mid- February.
ReplyDeleteMy goal is not that complicated. I just want to make sure I read aloud to each of the boys every weekday either in group or individually. I think I need to have a set time every day and I need to put it on my daily to-do list else I find other things that are more engaging and busy-ing that I'd rather do. Sad, I know. I have a hard time sitting during the day but if I wait until evening, then they don't get to bed when they should or we cut into prayer time which is even more important. Nap time would be perfect. But I get selfish and use that time for chores that I want to do.
ReplyDeletePerhaps a good discussion would be learning how to let the other tasks wait in order to prioritize reading. I'm not sure there's much to say about it, except that I need to be encouraged to do it :)
Definitely want to finish the Mistmantle Chronicles with John Paul. And find something that stirs Michael's heart.
I used to read aloud at bedtime, but now I'm so tired I find that almost impossible. Instead, we're doing it right off the bat in the morning, and (ideally, though I admit this one gets shunted to the side more often than not) again in the afternoon, after rest time. Maybe that would work for you, too?
DeleteLet's see, what would stir Michael's heart? He's the one with the Irish bent, right? :)
Nope, that's John Paul, though Michael has been following in his pseudo-Irish dancing ways. Michael is more into farming and loves colors. I should revisit the Little House books with him, maybe.
DeleteReading in the morning would be good if I could get my type A, must-get-chores-done self out of the way :)
Skip right to Farmer Boy! He will LOVE it. The audio (narrated by Cherry Jones) is fabulous.
DeleteI second that. My girls refused to read Farmer Boy and we couldn't get into it as a read aloud. I bought the audio book and they absolutely love it, often choosing it over all the other Little House audios.
DeleteI have a similar goal to the previous poster. I just want to master GETTING TO IT each day that Daddy is at work. I find it difficult to fit it all in ~ exercise, meals, chores, the 4Rs, nature, etc. I often find us at lunch and clean up with the only thing left on our list is our "read aloud" and by then I am just worn out and ready for Quiet Time, so it will get pushed off. I do read our morning Bible stuff and often other "subjects" during our school day, but just the regular chapter book that we are trying to get though often gets pushed off, making it take forever to get through a book. So, I guess my goal is to read from our "current read aloud" each day Daddy is at work. Period. No matter what. Good discussions for you would include how to fit in. How to set aside the right time for it. When do most people accomplish it? What do their children do while they are reading? One book I'd like to read this year is A Little Princess. :) Thanks for the opportunity to win Honey for a Child's Heart. I've always wanted that one, but it is NOT one on my shelves yet. :)
ReplyDeleteWe were having a hard time getting to it each day, too, until I moved it to "first thing." Now we do 30 minutes right when we roll out of bed. My kids might eat breakfast (or my oldest daughter might make muffins for breakfast) while I read. Others snuggle under blankets and wake up. The baby crawls over everyone and wreaks general havoc. :) This Revival contains a printable with ideas for what kids can do while we read aloud. Maybe you'll find some ideas there that will work for you?
DeleteSarah, Thanks for restarting the discussion. We have moved our read-aloud time to "first thing" (after breakfast, make bed and brush teeth) at 8:30. No one is involved in any other projects or assignments yet (including me!) and it has been almost an hour every day. I am so grateful for the effect of this small change.
ReplyDeleteOur latest struggle, though, is our evening "family" read-aloud with Daddy-- it's time to revisit some old fav's (currently: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) for our youngest, and Mr. Oldie-Pants (my 12 year old) has "already read it." Ideas, anyone?
We loved Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt. How old are your other kids? That one can be a little intense for under-8's. My kids also recently liked My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George and Frindle by Andrew Clements. (Wow- those three suggestions are all over the genre spectrum!) :)
DeleteP.S. I gave you the Sunshine award. Thanks for bringing Sunshine into my January! http://momco3.wordpress.com/2013/01/25/sunshine-blog-award/
ReplyDeleteThank you! :)
DeleteI listened to that podcast of Andrew Pudewa's that you posted last time and I must say it was eye opening. I have read aloud to my children but I didn't really understand the importance of it linguistically. So thank you for that. I picked up some books on CD from the library this week so we are going to start incorporating that too. I'll have to go back to your archives to see which ones are best.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that SUCH a great podcast? :) Here's a link for anyone else who hasn't listened yet. :)
DeleteOur read-aloud goals for 2013 are the same as last year. I have Daddy read aloud to my oldest (8) during the evening, while I read aloud to my 6 and 5 year olds (while the 3 and 1 year old play). I have built-in read aloud times (does this count?) in our curriculum...I read aloud the history lesson, a saint of the day, a tale from books such as norse myths or fairy tale books. And we have read-aloud time once per week from a book based in other countries (last year it was "The Family Under the Bridge"; currently it's "The Wheel on the School"; "Red Sails of Capri" will soon follow.) I guess because my oldest is still fairly young, we do a lot of reading aloud during the day as part of our school work. However, I'm sure that will change as the kids gets older. I guess my long-term goal is to ALWAYS have Daddy read aloud to at least one of the kids each night. Luckily, he enjoys it, so this is easily accomplished.
ReplyDeleteMy husband recently finished "The Hobbit" with my 8 year old. My son loved it (actually wanted daddy to read it again), but also wants to be read "The Lord of the Rings" now. I'm wondering if it's a bit much for an 8 year old? But, I guess if he WANTS to, we could at least try it. As for a book I definitely want to read this year, I can't think of one. "The Hobbit" was one that I definitely wanted to read, but that was technically last year. ;)
Thanks for the chance to win the book! I don't have that one, but I'm sure I'd enjoy it.
Hope you're feeling as well as you can, Sarah. :)
Oh my goodness- YES, reading aloud for schoolwork counts! It sounds like you do tons of it and that is awesome. We do all of our history and almost all of science through read-alouds, too.
DeleteI like that you read from a variety of sources throughout the week.
I find this challenge difficult since my children "go" to school. But I am trying to afterschool them as much as possible. I won`t be able to do it everyday, but I`ll give it my best:) Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHmmm... before bed, perhaps? Might that work? Or a special read-aloud hour on the weekend days?
DeleteMy goal is to keep our read aloud book in a central location. It often migrates around the house, we lose track of where it is, and start another. So, sometimes, we have 3 or 4 or more going at once. I think this is hard for the younger ones... So, my goal is to stick with one book, keep it in a special place, and finish it before we move on to another.
ReplyDeleteI love Honey for a Child's Heart! I just finished reading it again. It had been awhile since there is a 6 year gap between my two children and I don't own it. Honey For a Teen's Heart is wonderful too. Maybe even better since the encouragement is maybe needed more at that age.
ReplyDeleteI don't think this has already been addressed, but my problem is what to read when I have a 13 yo and a 7 yo. While the 13 yo isn't too picky, she is 13! And the 7 yo is maybe a bit "behind" on her comprehension.
I read Jim Trelease's Read Aloud Handbook years ago and it inspired me to read aloud to my children at all ages- even older children. I usually do read to all three of my boys (9yo, 12yo, 14yo) at once, but often I choose a book knowing it would appeal most to just one of them. Although, they all love to be read aloud to. I have not set any reading goals for the year yet, but I know I am more diligent about reading aloud when I do. We will definitely read "The Hobbit" aloud this year. We read the first book of the "Lord of the Rings" series and loved it, but I am not sure I am up to read more of those aloud- we may go for audio books.
ReplyDeleteThe Hobbit is my definitely-going-to-get-to book this year, too. :)
DeleteHere are my answers to the questions this month:
ReplyDelete1. I'm sure my goals will change as the year progresses, but here at the start, I'd like to read aloud for at least 5 hours each week. Ideally, I think this would be more like 10, but I'm trying to be realistic! :)
2. I'd like to discuss picture book read-alouds. As my kids have gotten older, I've started neglecting picture books in a big bad way. I would really like to get back to reading them regularly.
3. I absolutely want to get to *The Hobbit*. Just trying to decide if I should read it aloud or if we should got the audio book route. Any suggestions?
My 2 cents on the Hobbit:
DeleteGo with an audiobook. I tried to read this aloud at Christmas this year, and while I am a pretty expressive reader, I think this book really benefits from a professional. My 9 year old finally just took and read it himself because I just couldn't draw his younger brothers in at all. I think it just needs a little more dramatization to really pull them in. It's a bit of a tough story.
Dani
We do our reading every morning, first thing. Currently, we're doing Devotional Stories for Little Folks, Too, and Olivia's Little Way. (My dd's are third grade and under.)
ReplyDeleteMy main goal this year is to continue through the summer--we always get derailed by the beautiful weather and before I know it, summer is over and we did very little reading. --Diane
The Olivia books are my oldest daughter's favorite books ever. :)
DeleteMaybe this summer you can move some read-aloud time outside? With a picnic lunch, or something? Or while they scribble with sidewalk chalk?
Oh my - not even sure if I want to put in writing what I would like to get done as far as reading.... but; here goes:
ReplyDeleteGet back to reading aloud! We used to read before bed and it did help with the routine, now with scouts and outside Portuguese school, before bed reading doesn't happen. I am hoping with this major cold snap here on the east coast, we will be forced to sit together and read. Maybe start an afternoon snack/read aloud time. I am going to go out on a limb and try to track at least 3 hours each week (which doesn't sound like a lot, but it is 3 hours more than we are doing now!)
I am also looking to add more books on tape for the car. The littles have always enjoyed listening in the car (and a bonus: my mother-in-law loves to hear stories in the car) and I need to make sure I get some from the library and then listen to them! (planning is excellent here: follow-through, not so much)
We do have a bit of reading to do with our science and history programs, but I really want to get the read aloud in the plan. We all read a great deal, now I would like to get back to reading together.
thank you for getting me to think about this most important and fun activity.
blessings on your new additions-to-be
Karen
I think that no matter where you are, adding MORE read-alouds can be a daunting proposition, so yes- I understand completely when you say that 3 hours might be tricky. I do find that if we have a set time to do it daily, it happens more often. It's that whole habit thing. :)
DeleteOn our busy weeks when we do a lot of running around, we do most of our read-aloud time by audio book in the car. My sweet hubby has started to take over all the extra-curricular running-around to give me a pregnancy break (hooray!), so now we aren't doing so much. I'm going to have to figure out how to incorporate more audio books in the house. :)
Thanks for reviving the Read-A-Loud! I would love to read Honey for a Child's Heart. It's on my list ;) While we are talking about Read Alouds...thank you SO much for listing A Nest for Celeste on your booklist. We are reading and LOVING it right now. What a gem! My goal this year is to really incorporate as much reading as we can all tolerate, lol! Big switch from last year when we did mostly workbooks. We are reading lots for history, novels, classics and all kinds of interesting books. I really want to read the Little House series this year and The Chronicles of Narnia series too.
ReplyDelete1) My goal is to read at 1:30pm to the littles before naptime, then around 2pm to the older crew. I have a young boisterous crowd so no set minutes, just read! (Also, listen to more audiobooks in the van)
ReplyDelete2) hmm, topics...maybe some fav resources on book/activity combos?
3) We will be reading Ben & Me and doing activities that I have in a teacher's guide. (I would love to hear about more tried & true teacher's guides! Activities can bring the books to life!)
RECOMMENDATION: We had just listened to a set "Encyclopedia Brown" stories in the van, and the kids LOVED them! The stories are short so we could get one done on the way to town. They loved trying to figure out the mysteries!
:o) Becky, from (near) Portland, Oregon
My kids love mysteries! I'll have to check out the Encyclopedia Brown audio you talked about. Who was the narrator?
DeleteHi Sarah--I'm not sure of the narrator, we just picked up the CDs from the library. I will do some sleuthing and see if I can figure it out! ;o) --Becky
DeleteOk, I looked on the library website and the CDs we listened to are narrated by Greg Steinbruner. Not sure if that means anything to you. I liked how he read: he paused after each sentence, which at first was a little annoying but once I got used to it, I really liked it! It gave us time to have all the details really sink in. I have started reading aloud that way (I am normally a more quick, animated reader) and I think that it helps the kids understand a more factual, or nonfiction, book better. --Becky
DeleteI'm so encouraged by this challenge. I don't love to read myself but I'm working on it. So I've set a goal for myself of 2 books per month. Then on top of that my goal is 1 chapter a day, everyday to each of my kids. My girls, 6 & 5 love Laura Ingalls so we will read through that series until they are ready to move on. I would also love to read them Chronicles of Narnia. My 3 year old gets lots of picture books daily and we're adding baby #4 in March so I want to be able to meet my goals.
ReplyDelete1) My read aloud goal for this year is to start introducing chapter book read alouds to my Kindergartener. Right now I focus all of the chapter books on my third grader.
ReplyDelete2) Topics I would like to see...ways to integrate read alouds with other subjects and becoming physically better at reading out loud.
3)I definitely want to read The Narnia series this year. I have a color illustrated version of the books that I picked up for a song and I'm dying to use them.
I'm a new reader to your blog and this post is SO timely for us! Reading aloud has not been my strongest suit as a mom and for our home school. Picture books have always been hard for me, but now that my older girls are in 2nd and 3rd grade I feel like we can enjoy a lot of wonderful literature together!
ReplyDeleteMy goal is to just keep the momentum we have right now going and just keep reading! Now that the older two are proficient readers, I enjoy sitting around with my own book and reading quietly together, but the reading aloud is so important too. I just don't want to let that fall by the wayside.
As far as goals, I'd like to read the Chronicles of Narnia with them. Also, my 8 year old has been asking about Shakespeare, so I'm interested to see if I can find something that is age appropriate. She's very interested in theater and acting, and has seen several Shakespearean plays, so I'd love to run with that.
Welcome! :) I've heard great things about the Usborne Illustrated Stories from Shakespeare book. I have it in my Amazon cart, but haven't purchased it quite yet.
DeleteBeautiful Stories From Shakespeare by Edith Nesbit is great for your age range. After that, Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb. :)
DeleteI have been reading out loud a lot lately, and loving it. My son and I just finished reading Follow my Leader....I can't recommend it enough! It's about a little boy who goes blind, gets a seeing eye dog, and deals with learning to get around and forgiveness. We also read Listening to Crickets, the Rachel Carson story, also very good. Next week we're moving on to D'Aulaire's Norse Myths.
ReplyDeleteWe have let read alouds go out the window lately so my goal is to get back on track and try and stay consistent this year. I also need to investigate more audio books online as our library is so limited.
ReplyDeleteTopics to discuss....not sure. Just thankful that you are keeping me aware of how much reading we are (or are not!) doing. Maybe some read alouds associated with subjects such as science and history. Or compiling a list of everyones favourites, picture books included.
I am hoping to read some Charles Dickens this year and I want to read the 3 books in the Mysterious Benedict Society series. I have read one and it was fabulous.
I was motivated by the podcast you recommended. We have started an audio book in addition to my reading aloud and I want to get back to memorizing poetry with my kids.
ReplyDelete1) Goals- to read to my littles more during the day. We have 8 children (15-3 months) and I read to all of them at night- in two seperate waves. But I don't read as much as I'd like to with my littles. And to start longer chapter books with my 7 and 5 year old.
2.) Future topics- book recommendations for older boys would be very helpful- I have difficulty guiding them to good books- no troubles with the girls except I have too many recommnedations for them at times:)
3.) Books to read- Hitty to my girls and some Dickens with my bigs.
Oh, one more thing- I have a book recommendation for you Sarah (and any read-aloud moms) it's called The Reading Promise: my father and the books we shared. It's about a father and daughter who made a promise to read aloud every night for x amount of nights- the promise extended. This father read to his daughter EVERY night from the time she was in elementary school until she left for college. I really enjoyed it- rather inspiring and there is a listing of books they read at the back of the book.
DeleteHi Sarah :) My general goal is any kind of increase in read alouds here. I think I will follow your lead and start using a chart. I have to second the request for a good list for older boys (9+)My boys are 8 and 10 currently. We read Time Cat for one of our choices last year (except I skipped the chapter on witchcraft) and the boys really got into that one :) Our next installment is Greek Myths from Usbourne. It's very well done and enjoyable for me, too!
ReplyDeleteHi there, I have been following your blog for a little over a year and love all the encouraging ideas. I have 5 kids ages 10 to 2 months (so I'm also following your Bare Bones Homeschooling conversation ;-). I've been a bit better about reading aloud as part of school. Right now I read a "religious book" of the kids choosing in the morning. This can be anything from a chapter of The King of the Golden City to a page long saint biography to a picture book like the Princess and the Kiss. Then we do a read aloud from a chapter book in the afternoon. This usually is based on a topic we are studying (this year American history). We just finished Ben and Me. We have also read several Carol Marsh mysteries. I would like to include more audio books. We do have several audio tape from story teller Jim Weiss (LOVE THEM!!!). DO those count??
ReplyDeleteMy goals for this year:
Listen to the Andrew Pudewa podcast.
Keep tract of daily reading times.
Read Honey for a Child's Heart.
Read more picture books (especially with my 2yr old and my first grader).
Add some more classical titles.
Include more audio books.
Thanks so much
Diana N
I have The King of the Golden City, but we haven't started it yet. What do you think of it?
DeleteMy oldest daughter loved Carol Marsh mysteries! :)
And definitely listen to the podcast- it's worth your time, I promise!
1) Fill out the form for Feb-Dec. I did not in January. We read less. Case closed.
ReplyDelete2) EASY activities to extend your reading aloud (for those times when you need quick, but fun, school), narration (not really related/required, but I bet many of us do it), atmosphere might be fun to talk about
3) Well it was The Wizard of Oz, and we just finished that one. Maybe Farmer Boy. The library has Frindle and The Phantom Tollbooth might be fun.
Farmer Boy is my boys' favorite Little House book. We have it burned onto discs that we keep in the car and we pop it in when we're between library audio books...so we listen to it probably 3 times a year... and nobody ever seems to tire of it. Except for maybe my husband. Anyway, all that to say you should definitely try to get to it this year :)
DeleteDani
1. Me too.
Delete2. Got it.
3. We loved The Wizard of Oz here, too. Also Frindle and Farmer Boy- haven't tried Phantom Tollbooth yet ourselves, but I want to.
I have five kids from almost 8 to 1 year old, so most of our reading aloud is from "school assignments" (history, science, etc.). By the time I've finished that, I'm not as good about picking up our "fun" book. :) My oldest two do listen to a LOT of audiobooks and while I feel somewhat "guilty" that I'm letting someone else read to them they do get several hours in! Besides, there are some awesome narrators that I can't compete with! ha!
ReplyDeleteHere's my answers to your questions:
1. I'm not sure I have any "specific" goals this year, except to get to our "fun" read-aloud book by setting a time each day and sticking with it! :)
2. How about specific theme-related picture book recommendations (like Civil War, different animals, science topics, titles about/from different countries, etc.)? Or ideas for expanding read-alouds like FIAR does?
3. Probably the Narnia series or the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books.
Thanks for the giveaway offer!
Hi Sarah! First of all, congrats on the twins on the way! How exciting! We have three kiddos in our family; a five-year-old girl, a three-year-old girl, and a nine-month-old boy. I think my biggest goal for this year is to read to my kids from a chapter book every weekday before lunch. I've wanted to do that for a while and I've had trouble making it happen. Regarding discussion topics, I'm always on the lookout for great book suggestions. And a book I definitely want us to read aloud this year? Hmmm... The Wind in the Willows, maybe?
ReplyDeleteI love talking about read alouds. This is the favourite part of homeschooling,imo. We read first thing in the morning as a family then I read to each child separately and that is scheduled into our learning time. I do individual reading so that I can read age appropriate books. With the family read aloud, so far, we have been alternating between book for the oldest and book for the youngest(10) I don't know if I like that as the youngest is listening to books that may be a bit too old for her but this is what we are doing now. I guess maybe a goal will be how to solve this. We are now reading Bedknobs and Broomsticks for our family read aloud, The Hobbit to the two youngers and Les Miserables to my oldest (13).
ReplyDeleteJulia
I think reading to each child independently is a fabulous idea! I'm not sure I could swing it time-wise, though...
DeleteAlso, alternating books between your youngest and oldest is great. Andrew Pudewa says it's GREAT for kids to hear linguistic patterns over and above their comprehension level, so I think if you do that half the time for your younger, and then read at a lower level (which your older son will probably still enjoy), that's a great compromise. :)
Just wanted to say a quick thank you for this, Sarah. I don't have a lot of time to comment, but your read-along posts have helped to keep me motivated with reading aloud to my kiddos. We've always been big fans of reading aloud together all 13 years that we've been homeschooling, but I've found it more challenging this year with my two littles and lack of sleep to read as much as we used to. I am encorporating books on tape as well which is a good thing. But I want to be a part of all the fun and relationship building that reading together brings too! :-) I try to find books that appeal to a wide range of ages, so that we can all enjoy them together whenever possible. One of our favorites is, "The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic : by Professor Barnabas Quill, Historian of the Island at the Center of Everything" by Jennifer Trafton and we all really enjoyed it from my teens down to my (then)six year old. You should give it a try if you haven't already!
ReplyDelete1. My goal is to read at least SOMEthing aloud to each our 4 1/2 year old son and our 2 1/2 year old daughter every day. I'm not sure about numbers 2 and 3.
ReplyDeleteThanks to you and your awesomeness, we read "Mr. Popper's Penguins" to our 4 1/2 year old this month. (When I saw the recommendation on one of these posts, I remembered it from when I was little!)We are now reading "Charlotte's Web". Both of these have gone over better than "Little House in the Big Woods", which we will continue; but I think maybe it gets a little too detailed and descriptive for our son? Thank-you so, so much for this "treasure trove"!! God bless! :)
The Little House books are good on audio, in the car. I have trouble reading them aloud myself, though the audio versions are family favorites for long car rides!
DeleteGlad you are joining us. :)
Unfortunately, as my children get older I find that I read to them less. It seems as though once they were reading fluently on their own....they were on their own. I know that my son is read to less than when my daughters were his age. He isn't familiar with some of our favorite picture books because we were reading "school related" books when he was a toddler. So, at 5 1/2, instead of reading picture books to him....he hears about the French and Indian war. LOL. So on top of making read-aloud time routine (outside of our school day) with the help of your log, I would like to read age appropriate books to my son and to start reading to my infant. As for discussion, I would like suggestions of how to find appropriate selections for my daughters. I was not a reader at their age and they are reading above grade level, so I have difficulty finding books to suggest to them. I'm not particularly fond of the content in some of the newer books on the shelves either and do not have the time to preview. I would like to read the Little House collection as a family.
ReplyDeleteMy days seems so full now, but I guess it is just about planning.....
Joelle
I hear you on the difficulty of finding appropriate titles. My oldest reads faster than I could ever hope to keep up with. This is where reliable booklists come in! I'd trust anything in the Gladys Hunt book I'm giving away on this post. Also, check out the recommendations on the November Revival. I wouldn't necessarily trust Jim Trelease's recommendations hands-down, but you could safely let your daughters read anything Elizabeth Foss recommends or from the IEW list.
DeleteWe adore read-alouds at our house, even with the kids getting a little older, so my main goal is to stay consistent in doing the reading! We're working through the monthly book lists in A Picture Perfect Childhood, and are really enjoying it. I also have a GIANT list of what I consider to be "good" books that I would like to share with my kids. I'd like to see discussed the value of using picture books with tweens and teenagers... they are not just for little kids! And a book I would love to read aloud this year? I don't think I can limit that to one! We're starting to "do Shakespeare" with Bruce Coville's books, so I'd like to get through those, and then we really want to read The Invention of Hugo Cabret!
ReplyDeleteOur goals include: 1. working up to chapter books, 2. more consistency with poetry, 3. memorizing poetry, 4. more consistency with Bible stories, and 5. more than just before naps and bedtime reading.
ReplyDeleteIt might be nice to discuss how to choose books (levels, interest, appropriateness).
I'd like us to read Charlotte's Web this year.
-Kristyn
Such encouraging comments from everyone! I'd like to bump up our reading aloud time. Right now I read to my children (ages 15-8) for about 1 hour per day of the various things we read. Incorporating some audio books would be good for us and I would like to read more and be consistent with reading throughout the summer months.
ReplyDelete1. My read aloud goals for 2013 are many, but included in them is reading things for my youngest (2 1/2) not just for the older two (5 and 7) I realized recently that my youngest has not heard nearly as many of the classics and fun books geared more toward his age and interests as his older sibs did b/c I have been reading so much aloud for his sibs -- and their current Egypt interest!
ReplyDelete2. This might seem odd, but since my kdis are not readers themselves yet, I too often count read aloud time as "reading lesson" time, or so it appears, since the kids prefer me to read than for them to struggle through learning to decode. So, I guess for me, balancing read aloud with learning to read is important.
3. Just one? How about the HUGE basket we just took out from the library on Egypt... and the list of FIAR books... and... Oh, too many. I need to discipline and do. :)
I hear you about neglecting to read as much to the littles because you're busy reading to the bigs. I've started making sure my 2 and 4 year old get their own separate story time during our midmorning school break and again after lunch. At bedtime, my husband has started reading aloud with the bigs while I take the littles, which is proving to be a great solution, as I think it's nice for the big ones to have that time with dad, and a special book that they won't allow me to read aloud to them because it's dad's book...
DeleteDani
Great ideas. Thank you.
DeleteIt's coming up on February, which is always my hardest month way up here in AK--I'm always ready for winter to be moving on by then! But it's a great excuse to make everyone a cup of hot cocoa and snuggle in for some good reading. We are participating in our library's IditaPage challenge--trying to beat a rival library to 1,000,000 pages, and my goal for February is to contribute 1,000 read-aloud pages to the library's goal. For the resto of 2013?
ReplyDelete1. My goal for the year is to read aloud at least 1 Newberry Award Winner each month. I'd like to draw from different genre, branching out from some of our familiar and comfortable books we go to again and again.
2. Upcoming topics? I guess I'd like to talk about books that appeal to a broad age range. What do you read aloud to the whole family that appeals equally to the 4, 6, and 9 year olds?
3. Misty of Chincoteague. My boys have never allowed me to read this delightful story to them, because the title seems too "girly" to them. I'm thinking of covering the book with brown paper and starting the mystery story without telling them the title...
Dani
I love your #1 goal! What a great way to make sure you are reading from a variety of works.
DeleteTell us if you do that with the Misty book. I'd love to hear about it! :)
Goals:
ReplyDelete1. Read aloud daily... no matter how little
2. Finish all the books we are currently reading together...don't fizzle out. Wisdom and the Millers, Hero Tales Vol. 2, Story of the World, Among the Farmyard People, and The Hobbit.
Topics:
always love more book lists and web links to resources. I love Alphabet Glue and get good picture book ideas from her. All Through the Ages is a great resource I own that gives you book lists for all the time periods of history and breaks it down for young ones, elementary, middle and high school and whole family. I love seasonal book-list inspiration! Readings for Spring, gardening, Easter, etc?
Would love to finish the Little House series. We got bogged down in Farmer Boy and never finished the rest of the books.