Talk to me about read alouds

[dsbrack]

I'm looking to transition our read aloud time from solely simple, picture books to some chapter books.  I have tried a few times in the past without much success.  I have two wiggly, active boys ages 7 and 3 and they just do not have the attention span to even make it through a chapter at a time.  I have made it through the first 2 chapters of The Mouse and the Motorcycle but I can tell they just don't enjoy it the same way they do picture books.  Any advice on how to help them enjoy non-picture books more?  How can I help them build attention span so that we can enjoy the classic chapter books as a family?  Thanks!

[FairProspects]

The 3 y.o. is awfully young for chapter book read alouds. I didn't even try it with my boys until they were age 4. Could you read aloud chapter books to your 7 y.o. at bedtime or naptime for your youngers? That is what I did for the first couple of years. I would start with something that has shorter chapters and lots of action/adventure and then try working your way up for your 7 y.o., adding in the 3 y.o. when he gets to be age 4-5. Both my boys loved the Tales from the Odyssey series around 5-7. Maybe try that? Another suggestion would be Owls in the Family, which is hilarious and has short chapters.

 

Also, do you let them do anything with their hands while you read? Coloring, drawing parts of the story, thinking putty, and Legos all work here to keep active hands busy while brains are still engaged in listening. Do you stop to engage with them and ask questions as you read? What is Ralph doing here? Why is he doing that? What do you think will happen next? etc.? We end up stopping to talk about context and character motivation quite a bit and I think it helps add to the comprehension of the story for my boys. One time we even stopped and looked up how telephone systems used to work with wires and operators so they could better understand the story and why the phone calls got disconnected. :lol:

 

Just keep at it. You will build their attention span and listening skills over time. It does work to slowly increase time and language difficulty. My boys can sit through very long, dense works now with enjoyment and engagement. Good luck!

[EmseB]

One thing that worked for my kids was introducing audio books at night and/or in the car.  Obviously this would depend on your bedtime routine, but it got my kids listening to longer stories when there were no other options.

 

That said, I had a very idealized view of read alouds...that my 3 and 4 year old would love long read alouds with me.  It just wasn't my experience.   At 5 and 7 my kids are just now getting to the point where they will willingly sit and actually listen to a longer chapter book.

[Btervet]

I found using picture books with a lot of words per page were very helpful in making the transition. We mostly used Dr. Seuss books like 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins or Horton Hears a Who. There are still pictures, but the length matches a chapter in a chapter book (in fact, these are often longer than one chapter of a chapter book). Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, and the related books, were very good transitions as well. 

 

Eventually we started real chapter books with Winnie the Pooh, and My Father's Dragon, which both have very short chapters and some pictures.

 

I would also read aloud when he was eating (which takes him forever), since he was stuck at the table anyway, he loved it.

[Momof3]

I started reading chapter books to ds when he was 3yo - during nap time. He is very much auditory, though - so it was no problem. He *loved* listening to me read. 

 

Dd4 and ds2 are more visual & hands-on (respectively). I let ds2 look at picture books on his bed while the older ones listen. He's just now starting to listen on occasion. He actually picked up some things from The Chronicles of Narnia this summer and surprised me. :) Every once in a while, he'll ask, "Mommy, does this book have Peter? Does it have Susan?" etc. :)

 

I would advise focusing on the interests of your 7yo. Try to find something that will interest him, and (if you can) do it while he's a captive audience in bed. Kids are *very* motivated to stay attentive if the alternative is to sleep. :) Maybe let the 3yo play quietly or look at books in bed until he's ready to listen in, too. 

[Momof3]

Oh, and my kids are in bed when I read. (Except for dd4, who's visiting in the boys' room, so she's on the floor.) They ask to sit next to me, but it doesn't work. So I make them stay put in bed. 

 

And we didn't gradually work our way into longer books. I think the important thing is find something that interests them. There are some *really* good chapter books out there. Our most successful chapter-books-as-read-alouds have been those that I absolutely *love* myself, and couldn't wait to introduce them to! :)

 

(We did The Mouse & the Motorcycle, and it wasn't our biggest success story.) :)

 

Some of our favorites:

Charlotte's Web

The Wheel on the School

The Narnia books

Thornton Burgess's Animal books

The Tale of Despereaux

the first 3 Little House books

The Whipping Boy

[HS Mom in NC]

1. Make sure the room has quiet activities for the kids to do while they're being read aloud to. I think this is critical to having a successful read aloud experience for children ages 3-about 7. I say that as a family  who reads aloud about a total of 2 hours broken up into 1-3 sittings a day 5 days a week from the time they're 3 or 4 until they go to college.

Gymnastics mat, exercise ball, coloring, Perlor (sp?) beads, construction toys they don't need help with, crafts they can do on their own, toy cars, eating a snack, etc.  They can do things and be active as long as it doesn't drown out the reading or book recording. Don't expect silence and stillness. There's a balance to be maintained though.  You also have to make sure they keep any volume or movement down to a very bare minimum-enough to not interfere with the reading.  They aren't allowed to talk beyond asking necessary questions about the read aloud or discussing the book with the parent reading, but some movement is OK like tumbling on the mat or bouncing on the ball. Those things will make some noise and that's OK. IF they carried away, we tell them to reign it in.

 

2. Don't read boring books! Read great literature.  Start with something incredibly engaging for young children like The Chronicles of Narnia or the Little Britches series or Charlotte's Web.

3. You may have to divide and conquer some of it sometimes.   My older two are soo much older than my youngest that there's no way the youngest could get anything out of Neil Stevenson's Anathem or Jane Austin or Lord of the Rings or other read alouds for high school aged kids. We had 2 different read alouds going when we were homeschooling 3.

 

My youngest was adopted from S. Korea and had a very tough transition year which involved a lot of clinging and crying.  My husband read aloud to the older girls while I was doing something with the baby.  I know others with lots of littles that read aloud to bigs during naptime for littles. Littles can be around as long as they're not interfering with the read aloud, then later mom and or dad can read aloud something geared to the littles. If you're completely desperate and your little one is a bundle of noise I suggest having something of quality for the 3 year old to watch if you allow TV and movies.

 

4.  Don't give up on excellent picture books before elementary school is over.  They are wonderfully well written, more complicated picture books that are perfectly appropriate for children who aren't teens yet.  The Activity Book that goes with SOTW has lists and lists of them (among many other things) that directly relate to each chapter of the world history covered in SOTW.  Excellent illustrations are really fun, easy, interesting way to introduce even older kids to different styles of art too. Honey for a Child's Heart has lists of books (including picture books) for kids in the preschool through the end of elementary age.http://www.amazon.com/Honey-Childs-Heart-Gladys-Hunt/dp/0310242460/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418964053&sr=8-1&keywords=honey+for+a+child%27s+heart+by+gladys+hunt

[Coco_Clark]

You have some great suggestions already.  I think the key for me was a transition from very long picture books to very short chapter books (with a few pictures).  

Whinnie the Poo is the ultimate first chapter book with the caveat that the kids that have been raised on British literature. Frog and Toad and ect.  There are pictures on every page, and every chapter tells its own complete story.  But I've found children that arent used to that sort of language think its a huge yawn.  

 

The My Father's Dragon trilogy are another excellent first chapter book.  The chapters are shorter than many picture books and there is a picture on almost every page.  

Mr Poppers Penguins and Fortunately the Milk are also very short and full of pictures.  I think Roald Dahl's books (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach) and EB White (Trumpet of the Swan, Charlotte's Web) are a nice gradual step up from that point.  And then you can get into your Narnias, Little House, Pinnochio, pretty much any childrens chapter book.  

 

For the record my kids think The Mouse and the Motorcycle was a real snoozer.  I honestly think its written to older children.  



 

[Tanikit]

My children are also 7 and 3. I have separate reading time for both of them, but have instituted a combined read-aloud too. It had to start slowly with the 3 year old - I used some early readers (Aussie Bites had a few that were simple and enjoyable to start with) and then some of the shorter easier Dick King Smith books. I also read two of the My Father's Dragon trilogy to them and got through The Mouse and the Motorcycle with them - the 7 year old enjoyed it more though, but I read it to them out on the lawn where they could move around or at the lunch table when they were eating. And I do not expect the 3 year old to pay attention the whole time - I may ask her a question or even ask her older sister a question about the book (usually a personal question like: what would you have done if...) to draw her back in, but even if she just hears part of it that is fine. I also sometimes read to them when they play with lego.

 

I make sure however that the 3 year old gets plenty of picture books too - some with longer stories that would be the equivalent of more than a chapter of another book. It may work better for your boys to have a picture book story time and then a separate chapter book time in the same day - setting expectations and having a routine has worked well with mine.

 

If you want to read classics I would stick to Grimms Fairy Tales or Hans Christian Anderson for now if you want them listening together. The 7 year old should be old enough to hear some longer classics, but expecting a 3 year old to would be too much. It is a good idea to read these now too as it builds the language required for some of the later classics. You might need to pre-read them first as some of them are a bit weird or violent or obsessed with death or cover topics so far removed from your child's experience that the whole story may need a lot of explaining.

 

 

[fourisenough]

Check out Sarah Mackenzie's blog, Amongst Lovely Things. In particular, her Read Aloud Revival podcasts may give you some ideas & inspiration!

[Miss Tick]

With that age split I have two separate read-aloud times. However, if you don't want that, I second Btervet's suggestion if wordy picture books, then transition to short chapter books with lots of pictures - Ivy & Bean, Dodsworth, a Cynthia Rylant series, Nate the Great, Frog and Toad, Arnold Lobel books, Underpants on my Head, etc. Short, humorous chapters with high picture content. You may find you can read the whole book in one sitting.

[sweetpea3829]

3 is kind of young for chapter book read alouds...but...no reason the 7 yr old wouldn't enjoy it.

 

I use audiobooks as much as possible...and I put them on during breakfast and lunch.  We often listen to one or two chapters at a time.  They are occupied, because they are eating...so they are less wiggly.  And, because its an audiobook, the story keeps playing if I have to correct somebody.  

[Chelli]

When I read to all of my kids during lunch time, I start with my 4 year old's book (a picture book). When he's finished he can get up and leave and doesn't have to listen to his older sisters' books. Next I read my 7 year old's book (usually a chapter book, but sometimes a more advanced picture book). She is free to leave once her book is finished. My 11 year old has a chapter (maybe two depending on length) read from her book. Sometimes the younger two hang around to hear all of the books and sometimes they leave after their book is read.

 

Here are the chapter books from my kindergarten read aloud list (the very first chapter books to be introduced):

•  Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne 
• Wagon Wheels by Barbara Brenner
• Cam Jansen Mystery series by David Adler  
• My Father’s Dragon trilogy by Ruth S. Gannett 
• The Stories Julian Tells series by Ann Cameron  
• Two Times the Fun by Beverly Cleary 
• The Dragonling by Jackie French Koller 
• Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White 
• The Water Horse by Dick King-Smith 
• A Mouse Called Wolf by Dick King-Smith 
• Uncle Wiggly’s Storybook by Howard Garis 
• The Classic Tales of Brer Rabbit by Joel Chandler Harris 
• The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary 
• Runaway Ralph by Beverly Cleary 
• Ralph S. Mouse by Beverly Cleary 
• Ramona series  by Beverly Cleary
• Stuart Little by E. B. White
• Tumtum and Nutmeg: Adventures Beyond Nutmouse Hall by Emily Bearn 
• Tumtum and Nutmeg: The Rose Cottage Tales by Emily Bearn 
• The Milly-Molly-Mandy Storybook by Joyce Lankester Brisley

[dsbrack]

Thank you all for the replies!  I definitely need to get out something for them to do while we are reading.  I think that could really help.  Neither of them really like to color but they both enjoy legos, beads, and the like.  I'll add that in. 

 

I don't really require my 3yo to sit and listen to chapter books.  However, he doesn't like being by himself, doesn't take a nap anymore, and loves to talk so he ends up jumping around all over us and chatting away the whole time I'm trying to read - very distracting for the 7yo and frustrating for me!  Maybe bedtime would be a better alternative than after lunch for us although that would take some personal adjustment as I am just plain worn out by the end of the day.  Hmm . . . I'll do some more thinking about that. 

 

Thank you for all the wonderful read aloud suggestions.  We did have success getting through Charlotte's Web with enjoyment.  Everything else I've picked up has been a flop though so I think I'm going to back track to longer picture books and short, chapter books and work my way up.  This is an awesome community and I really appreciate all the advice!

[konglish]

You've gotten great suggestions.  My very rambunctious 4 y.o. boy will listen perfectly quietly to audiobooks in the car or during rest time.  He will also listen attentively during a meal.  I thought the My Father's Dragon series were the perfect first chapter books.  I also thought Mouse and the Motorcycle was a snoozer!

[MeAndTheBoys]

These are awesome because they have VERY short chapters.  I have read them to my boys at 4 or 5.

 

B

 

 

Thornton Burgess's Animal books

\

 

[MotherGoose]

Start with audiobooks in the car (captive audience).

[bakpak]

I started reading chapter books (Charlotte's Web, Little House) to my 2.5-yr-old at meals. It worked great as a transition. She still asks me to read sometimes at mealtimes and I try to oblige if we're not running late. It's a great time to keep a child's hands busy, bottom seated, happy, and engaged in the story.  I heard a friend say she could only read to her active son while he was playing in the bathtub. You'll probably find you'll just need a trick like that for this transition period, then it will be easier to do it at other times. My friend has been reading to her children outdoors while they play for years. You wouldn't believe the number of books they've gone through. And she didn't think her youngest daughter was listening in much, but would be surprised by the questions sometimes, or reminders: "Mommy, why aren't you reading?" 

[diaperjoys]

Ditto on reading during mealtime. It keeps the kids engaged, and the meal time as well as the story time tends to go smoother.

[dsbrack]

Good advice about meal times.  We do listen to audiobooks in the car but so far, they have been simple picture books.  My 7yo likes to have the book in front of him.  I mentioned having a story going in the background while he was designing some of his games and he thought that would be fun so we are going to try that as well.  Thanks everyone for the awesome suggestions.  I'm sure between bedtime, mealtimes, bath time, and play time, we can accomplish some read alouds this year.  I was stuck thinking of this as "school" that needed to happen quietly on the couch but you all have cured me of that!  Thanks!