RainbowSprinkles Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 I was wondering, if you have a child that is between 3 and 4, what is their attention span during a read-aloud? My son is 3 years and 7 months and he has the hardest time sitting still and being quiet during read-aloud time. Just wondering if this is normal? :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristenR Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 My oldest would sit for read alouds ever since she was really little. My middle daughter-- not so much. It really depends on the child. I wouldn't sweat it at this point. I just try to pick books with subject matters that will appeal to her and keep it short for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plink Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Yup, normal. ;) I don't ask my 3yo to sit still or pay attention during read alouds, but she is required to play quietly and not distract the big kids. Come to think of it, I don't ask my big kids to sit still either. We are always making clay models, coloring, digging in the yard, etc. during our read aloud time. 3yo gets to pick her own picture book that I will read after the big kids book so she doesn't feel left out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 NONE of my kids have sat through long chapter book type read-alouds at age 3... or even 4. I think 5-6 was when they were able to start that. My 3 year old sits for picture books at his level, but that's it. I let him wander when I'm doing a chapter book read-aloud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainbowSprinkles Posted August 10, 2012 Author Share Posted August 10, 2012 Ok, that's reassuring. Thanks! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristenR Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Yup, normal. ;) I don't ask my 3yo to sit still or pay attention during read alouds, but she is required to play quietly and not distract the big kids. Come to think of it, I don't ask my big kids to sit still either. We are always making clay models, coloring, digging in the yard, etc. during our read aloud time. 3yo gets to pick her own picture book that I will read after the big kids book so she doesn't feel left out. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 ODS was sitting for his first chapter book at that age--Charlotte's Web, which we're currently rereading. I was pregnant and DH was doing bedtimes. I thought he was crazy, but he wanted to try it. ODS surprised us both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanikit Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Read alouds for my ODD have never been about sitting still - if there are plenty of pictures she may sit around, chapter books she generally jumps around but I know she is still concentrating as she often asks questions about the stories. We did a few chapter books and longer picture books with her when she three but she was usually busy with something else while I was reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirstenhill Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 DD started listening to chapter books at 4.5, but I didn't try much sooner. DS5 would occasionally listen to chapter books before he turned 5, but didn't reliably have the attention span for it before he turned five. Now that I have two DC with a good attention span for chapter books, I am trying some chapter book read alouds during the day (previously I almost always read chapter books at bedtime to DD when DH was dealing with the boys or they were in bed). DS3 more often than not runs off to play when I start reading or looks at his own books. He is listening sometimes though -- just yesterday even though he appeared to be doing something else nearby, DS3 made a pretty insightful comment on the story I was reading. When it comes to picture books that DS5 and DS3 pick out themselves, they can have a long attention span for multiple books in a row...but the fact that they picked the books out and they have pictures makes a huge difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtnMama Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 My son is 6 and still doesn't sit still while I'm reading. He usually plays with legos or draws pictures. He can answer all of my questions and does great with narrating back what I read, so I don't bug him about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lea_lpz Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 My three year old will sparodically listen in on read-alouds, even though for me read alouds are still basic picture books for k'er. When we do his BFIAR book, he becomes very focused and content to listen to the story. Maybe because he knows we'll be spending 4-6 days on it. Funny, when I first heard about BFIAR / FIAR, I thought, really, read a book 5 days in a row. That's got to be incredibly boring. Now I'm convinced. By the time the book retired and we're ready to move on to a new one, he knows so many details of the book we've read. We just finished Blueberries for Sal, and he loved it! Another favorite of his was Jenny's Surprise Summer. Anyhow, if I were you, which I'm not, so I guess that doesn't much matter, but....I wouldn't worry about him zoning out during read alouds and if I had time, possibly think of doing BFIAR. For us, it takes about 15 minutes and I was able to find all the books through the interlibrary loan system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thundersweet Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 (edited) Well my problem is my dc's (2 1/2) little mouth. I don't expect him to sit for a book but I just wish he was quiet. He is just always talking or making noise. :lol: he doesn't understand what I mean by quiet. Sometimes he puts his little finger up to his mouth and says "shhhhhhh", while he continues to yabber on. Sandy Edited August 11, 2012 by thundersweet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleeplessnights Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 My older 3-year old will sit and listen to read alouds, but only because I do them during lunch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 I'd say it depends on the kid, too! My three year old dd loves to be read to. She interrupts like crazy, but it's usually something to do with the story - pointing out something in the pictures, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewingmama Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 NONE of my kids have sat through long chapter book type read-alouds at age 3... or even 4. I think 5-6 was when they were able to start that. My 3 year old sits for picture books at his level, but that's it. I let him wander when I'm doing a chapter book read-aloud. :iagree: My DD has been listening to chapter books for about a year but I still have to be careful what I choose. My DS (almost 5) is just starting to be interested in sitting for them. My just turned 3 year old -not a hope :lol: He will read picture books forever with me if it contains something that interests him otherwise he wanders off. The only chapter books he has shown interest in so far are the Boxcar children -he asks to read those :001_huh: But otherwise -your 3yo sounds normal :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneLittleWindow Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 I think it's normal. Mine will sit still and listen... but books are just his thing. Ask him to pay attention to anything else for more than 30 seconds and it doesn't go well. So while he'll sit still and listen to chapter books, he won't do crafts, games, or much else for long stretches. He has a cousin who won't... but started to with super short books about trains. He has another friend who refuses to be read to at all. I think they're all just different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 My dd has a freakish attention span for her age, but even she wouldn't sit still for chapter books until she hit four. Picture books we could do at three, but when we tried Charlotte's Web at three and a half, pretty much a total fail. This year though, she's loving the chapter books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Depends on the kid and the day. My current almost-4yo will sit through some readalouds, but it depends on the day. He's actually better at sitting through them at night when he's getting tired than he is during the day when he has plenty of energy. My deal is that he is welcome to listen if he wants, and he (and the older children) may play quietly or draw or color or the like, but he's never required to listen, and if he makes too much noise, I will make him leave the room. I think it helps him to know that he doesn't have to stay if he doesn't want to, but it's a privilege to be allowed to stay. He also sometimes sits next to me and looks at a picture book while I read out loud to the older children. We do a lot of audio books in the car, and he is generally very quiet for those, often with a small toy in his hand, so maybe that's a good way to train your 3yo to listen. I also find that it helps if I read him a book or two beforehand, or otherwise give him some good attention first, or I promise (and then follow up) some time for him afterward if he's polite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbbieJack Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 My three year old LOVES to be read to. I honestly think he would sit all day and let me read to him. He is constantly bringing me books to read to him and spends a good majority of the day laying on the couch in the reading nook looking at books. His favorite two places are the library and the book store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShannonS Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Yup, normal. ;) I don't ask my 3yo to sit still or pay attention during read alouds, but she is required to play quietly and not distract the big kids. Come to think of it, I don't ask my big kids to sit still either. We are always making clay models, coloring, digging in the yard, etc. during our read aloud time. 3yo gets to pick her own picture book that I will read after the big kids book so she doesn't feel left out. :iagree: We also use coloring, gardening and home made playdough during reading time. They may look preoccupied, but they are picking up so much. Just read with emotion and voice. Ask a question from time to time to encourage 'digestion'; not a quiz style question, but an open ended and fun one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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