Read aloud to my elementary-aged children? They can read by themselves now, so what’s the point?!
Good question. Let’s look at why, what, how, and when. Here we go!
Why read to kids who can already read?
Reading aloud to kids builds their vocabulary.
Not to get too teacher-y here, but kids have a listening comprehension level that’s higher than their reading comprehension level.
So, they can listen to a story they’re not necessarily ready to read yet.
This exposes them to new vocabulary in the context of a story…which builds their comprehension, too.
And a strong vocabulary has been shown to have benefits throughout the school years.
{It’s a good thing.}
Reading aloud also lets them hear stories they’re ready for without the frustration of the reading aspect.
Even if there were no educational benefits to reading aloud to your kids, it makes for great quality time together.
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This is something you can do 1 on 1…or with all the siblings together…depending on what works for your family right now.
Don’t feel locked into always doing things a certain way, either. Maybe you usually read to your kids individually, but you’ve found a book that you want to experience together…then do that!
Even if it’s a one-time experience, it just adds to the positive memories you’re stacking up during their childhood.
What do I read to my kids?
The classics are classics for a reason…but don’t feel pressured to stick with those or to read them if you or your kids don’t enjoy them.
For us, we enjoyed Junie B. Jones and Dr. Seuss. Really deep stuff. My kids are teenagers, and they start laughing even now if someone mentions their dad reading Fox in Socks.
For upper elementary (5th grade+), Gary Paulsen and Walt Morey (Canyon Winter and Gentle Ben) have some books that work well for reading aloud because of the adventure and just an overall great story line.
Something else we experienced was when one of our kids wanted to read a book that I wasn’t so sure about…content-wise. Happens more and more as they get older.
Read alouds are a great solution to this dilemma. Since you’re reading it together, you can discuss decisions and mistakes the characters make and you’re available to answer questions your kids may have about certain situations. They get to “read” the book they want, and you get to ensure that you can couch these ideas into the context of your own beliefs.
How do I read aloud to my kids?
Enjoy the story with your kids. Don’t be afraid to pause and talk about what happened, or re-read a section if it’s confusing or really funny.
Give accents to certain characters if you want, but don’t NOT read to your kids because you think you can’t be entertaining enough. The story will take care of that.
And speaking of entertaining, give your kids the option to opt-out! [bctt tweet=”Part of the enjoyment of reading is being in control of what you read. ” username=”kennedyfamfive”]
When I suggested a book to my kids that they weren’t crazy about (because the title sounded boring, they thought it was too long, or the front cover didn’t interest them)…I would suggest that we just read the first few pages (or first chapter). Then, they could decide if we continue or not….it’s a great chance to give your kids that control.
Often at young ages, everything is decided for them. This is a super simple way to give them decision-making practice…and there’s no right or wrong.
But if you tell them it’s up to them, don’t give them a guilt trip if they decide not to continue it!! (I’m yelling only because I’m the queen of the guilt trip…which is not a good thing.)
Additional Resources
It has lots of books for kids up to 12 years old. Some of them have a “Read-to-Me” feature that highlights the words as it reads to your child, and some of them are just normal audiobooks. So the app is great for you to use together or for your child to use on his or her own time.
You get the Read FREE for 30 days!” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow noopener”>my link, it’s only $4.99 per month! Woot-woot!!
Personally, our favorite place to get audiobooks is the old-fashioned library. Gasp! Haha, yes, they still have them! And they often have a really great selection for kids and families to enjoy–for free–until you forget to return them. Library fines are no joke, speaking as an expert on the subject, unfortunately.
My problem is TIME!
I hear ya. Been there. Done that.
With three kids each two years apart, working a full-time job 30+ miles from home at different points when they were this age, I can sooooo relate.
Mind if I make a few suggestions?
Maybe something here will work…or will spark ideas of your own.
- Don’t feel pressured to read for 30 minutes every day or something like that. (I would struggle to do that now, and my schedule’s much more free than yours probably is!) How about setting a timer for 6 minutes at bedtime? Let your child set the timer, and you can both be disappointed when the timer goes off…but it sets anticipation for the next time you get to read together. If your kids are like mine, they will remind you tomorrow night!
- Maybe you’re morning people, or your schedule’s just better in the morning…I really have no concept of this, but here we go… 🙂 You could set a time for all to be ready by and if they are, then you will read to them for a few minutes or until the actual time you need to leave the house for the day.
- Maybe this is a great opportunity for grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors, care givers, etc. to build relationships with your kids. While it’s a neat thing to happen with parent and child, there are many other important people in your kids’ lives who could do just as good a job with this reading aloud stuff. And hey, some of them might really appreciate the suggestion of reading with their little loved one.
- Maybe there’s truly no time during the week for reading out loud to your kids. Seriously. What if you make this your new Saturday morning thing (before soccer and birthday parties)? Or, what if this becomes part of your Sunday evening weekly screen-free family fun time…you know, the one you’ve talked about doing but haven’t started yet?
- Maybe weekends are harder than the week? How about putting it on the calendar as a to-do during vacation or holiday? Pick out a book with your kids, get them to anticipate how exciting or funny the story will be, and plan to read it while you drive to your next vacation or while you’re there…and then, do it! What a unique family memory that could be. Snuggles and laughter sounds perfect to me.
I hope something here has given you hope for making time to read to your kids. It prompts conversations you might never had otherwise, builds their vocabulary, and tells them that they are a priority in your life.
If you try out Epic!, let me know what you think of it. I’d love to hear from you!