I Like the Idea of Reading Aloud, But Don't Seem to Get to It

[JumpyTheFrog]

I like the idea of reading to my kids for 1-2 hours per day but don't seem to get to it. I think I like the idea better than actually doing it. I just get tired of it after about twenty minutes. Has anyone else had this problem and overcome it?

[mysticmomma]

Me too.

[violamama]

I often feel like I should be doing something more productive. There, I said it, and on a classical site to boot!

 

So, I set a timer for 30 minutes on the days I think it will feel like a chore. My kids are young enough that that's our limit for it to remain fun, anyway. The timer + comfy spot + coffee nearby= I will get it done.

[No More Perfect]

I, too, am the same way. Love the idea but after a few minutes of it, I am sick of it. No ideas for you, just commiseration. :-)

 

 

ETA: fix spelling

[No More Perfect]

Just realized, one thing I do is switch off reading with my 10 year old who is a strong reader. We sometimes take turns and this helps with the reading quite a bit. Not sure if you have a child old enough to do that with, but just an idea.

[Arcadia]

My hubby does the read aloud. Here is how he does it. He gets our boys to sit around and make themselves comfortable. Than he start reading and pause now and then to ask questions before he continues. He can do that for more than an hour :) Hubby has a lovely reading voice too and sometimes read in a sing song voice.

[kristinannie]

This is what I have done for this same problem:

 

We read one read-aloud with breakfast (this is usually our devotional read-aloud).

 

We read one read-aloud with lunch (this is usually our "fun" book)

 

We read one book with Daddy in the evenings usually during dessert (usually our Thornton Burgess books because my husband loves those)

 

I do a picture book before nap and at bedtime

 

We will read a little during the school day (history, science, fairy tales), but this isn't consistent

 

 

 

My kids seem to really like this. In fact, this week there was a day when I didn't eat lunch with the kids and they made my husband read the lunch book. I like the pegging of reading with different times of day and the habit of reading. It also gives my voice some time to recover and gives my kids a break between readings. On days when I don't feel like reading, we will substitute one or more of the readings with a selection from Audible. We also listen to Audible and Jim Weiss recordings in the car.

[Julie Smith]

When I'm reading and don't want to I make targets for myself. "I just have to get to page __ or chapter ___". I like having a goal in mind of when I may stop.

[Hunter]

I do a lot of reading aloud, but don't read that much fiction aloud. I'm really passionate about covering the content subjects, so I'm anxious to fit in the read aloud time.

 

I purchase and download a lot of audio books for fiction, and I like to doodle and knit while listening along with a a student or send them off to listen alone.

[JudoMom]

The more I read aloud, the more I can read aloud. Last year, I read aloud for 2+ hours for school, and then another chapter of our family read aloud at bedtime. We also listen to audio books just about anytime we're in the van.

 

But when we first started (about 6 or so years ago), I could barely make it through a chapter at night. I slowly built up the reading muscles.

 

The shared stories are wonderful and an encouragement to keep going. So is the fact my boys love it when I read to them now.

[HS Mom in NC]

Few of us who do 2 hours of read a loud per day are doing it in one or two large chunks of time. There's the first thing in the morning read aloud, the right after lunch read aloud, and the bedtime read aloud. Those can be the same book or they can be a few books. Most people don't start out with a longer segment of time (30-40 min.) they often start out with 10-20 minute segments.

 

Also, be very careful to only choose the best, most engaging books you can find. Don't read boring books-life's too short. Not all classics are worth the time and modern classics should not be neglected.

 

If you have a hard time seeing it as important then be very careful to make it relevant to something you're studying for an academic subject or for character development so it contributes to your goals.

 

Have a stash of great audiobooks for your kids to listen to on their own so you can have a break during the day.

[Julie Smith]

I have also mastered the ability to think about totally different things that what I am reading.

 

I can actually read several pages and have no idea what they said. I suppose I mastered this talent when the boys where much younger and I would read the same thing again, and again, and again.

[k8c]

I get physically tired when I read aloud after about ten minutes. I cannot stop yawning! I think it probably has to do with how I take air in when I am reading and speaking, but it makes it difficult to read longer selections. However, most of the content reading is short enough it isn't a problem. The issues come with fiction. I also am HORRIBLE at doing voices. My husband is incredible, and so is DD5, and I just don't do characters at all. I am sure my reading is dry and boring. So, we have started listening to audiobooks together during "rest time" for an hour and we cuddle on the couch.

 

Someone mentioned audible - do you end up spending a fortune? How does it work, you pay your monthly fee and then pay for any extras not included in the 1 or 2 a month package? Do you get any sort of discounts, or pay full price? Are you actually purchasing the audio copies of the books (so you could listen to them again and again), or is it like renting a movie on amazon and you only get it for the one time/time period of a month?

[Julie Smith]

I get physically tired when I read aloud after about ten minutes. I cannot stop yawning! I think it probably has to do with how I take air in when I am reading and speaking, but it makes it difficult to read longer selections. However, most of the content reading is short enough it isn't a problem. The issues come with fiction. I also am HORRIBLE at doing voices. My husband is incredible, and so is DD5, and I just don't do characters at all. I am sure my reading is dry and boring. So, we have started listening to audiobooks together during "rest time" for an hour and we cuddle on the couch.

Someone mentioned audible - do you end up spending a fortune? How does it work, you pay your monthly fee and then pay for any extras not included in the 1 or 2 a month package? Do you get any sort of discounts, or pay full price? Are you actually purchasing the audio copies of the books (so you could listen to them again and again), or is it like renting a movie on amazon and you only get it for the one time/time period of a month?

 

Eldest says that my reading outloud is no longer impressive, cause it is just the way it sounds in his head. Supposedly his head is just like me. Neither of us do voices. Mind you his daddy does, so his reading out aloud is in higher demand.

 

But what I lack in quality I make up for in quantity. ... And speed.

[beaners]

My problem is interruptions, so I switch off the computer and my phone when I'm reading. I make sure I've just put out all the animals and changed all the diapers and sent everyone to use the bathroom.

 

My other problem is that when we start reading later in the evening, we have to consider staying up really, really late. It's fun to stay up reading late a few times here and there, but I can't be tucking the last child in at 11 every night with my baby waking so much. I need a little bit of quiet time for my own reading, and a glass of wine instead of a cup of milk on the end table.

[Made Unfit]

I had to giggle at both of your posts, Julie, because I can identify! It reminds me of when the kids were little and I'd sing them lullabies at bedtime - on those nights when I was keen for the day to just end, the kids would comment on how fast I was singing... which kind of defeats the purpose of lullabies...

 

Anyway, to the OP, I love lots of reading but we always do it in smallish chunks and mix it up: seat work, reading on the couch, hands-on, more reading, fitness breaks etc.

[Aurelia]

I had to start scheduling them to get them done, other than the bedtime story, which I guess you could call scheduled, too. I usually try to have at least one audio book going in addition to reading aloud, so on days I don't want to or can't read (allergy season wreaks havoc on my voice), Ariel can still get her story time.

[Mrs. A]

If we're reading something I love too I can go on for a long time. We just finished The Princess and the Goblin and it was hard to put that down each night. But mostly our reading aloud happens in short chunks throughout the day and the things that we read are many and varied.

[elegantlion]

We start our day with a read-aloud. It's still one of ds's favorite parts of school. My voice varies in the amount of time I can read aloud. I think it's more fun the older they get. The books are more interesting, the discussions more in depth. I know some outgrow the being read to, but I'm glad ds hasn't.

[Ellie]

I loved reading aloud to my dc, but...1-2 hours a day?? Nope. Not gonna happen.

 

I read aloud to my dc from a good book right after lunch, one chapter a day, every day that we were home. Not at bedtime (I wanted all of us to be awake and alert, and, well, we had been together all.day.long.for.crying.out.loud). Not at random other times during the day. That one-chapter-a-day still allowed us to finish all of the Chronicles of Narnia, all of Mrs. Pigglewiggle, all of Little House, all of Mary Poppins, the Wizard of Oz, the Secret Garden, the Little Princess, Heidi, Understood Betsy, the Little White Horse, the Chestry Oak, and more.

[ocelotmom]

I don't do more than about 20 minutes at a time. Right now we're reading Miracles on Maple Hill, and the chapters are sooooo freaking long! I need to remember to look at chapter length when selecting books, and leave the long chapter books for them to read independently :p

 

It's definitely improved with practice, though. When I first started reading aloud, I had a lot less fluency and stamina.

 

My problem is interruptions, so I switch off the computer and my phone when I'm reading. I make sure I've just put out all the animals and changed all the diapers and sent everyone to use the bathroom.

That's my problem, too. I actually stopped read-alouds for a while because the big kids weren't being attentive and the toddler was constantly throwing fits.

[EmilyK]

I get physically tired when I read aloud after about ten minutes. I cannot stop yawning! I think it probably has to do with how I take air in when I am reading and speaking, but it makes it difficult to read longer selections. However, most of the content reading is short enough it isn't a problem. The issues come with fiction. I also am HORRIBLE at doing voices. My husband is incredible, and so is DD5, and I just don't do characters at all. I am sure my reading is dry and boring. So, we have started listening to audiobooks together during "rest time" for an hour and we cuddle on the couch.

 

Someone mentioned audible - do you end up spending a fortune? How does it work, you pay your monthly fee and then pay for any extras not included in the 1 or 2 a month package? Do you get any sort of discounts, or pay full price? Are you actually purchasing the audio copies of the books (so you could listen to them again and again), or is it like renting a movie on amazon and you only get it for the one time/time period of a month?

 

To answer your questions about Audible -- you don't have to spend a lot, though I have bought a fair amount. They have lots of sales and there are threads here about how to get classics for free or 99 cents. I don't think I have bought anything for full price since there are so many sales, and I try to use my credits for something really expensive.

 

When we started this parenting journey, we used to listen to most audios via CD or tape players in the bedrooms or kitchen, and to a lesser extent in the car. I was always leery of downloading mp3s in case I didn't back up the computer, etc., and we didn't listen much on a computer. We didn't have a laptop then, and this was before the rise of the idevices.

 

Our Audible subscription has really changed how we use audio. You own the digital copy, not rent for a period. You can download it again and again, so I'm not worried about which computer it is on and whether I have backed it up. We listen through the Audible app on our ipad and iphone and ipod touch. The kids always have something with them when they want to listen, and as long as you are somewhere with wifi, you can download a different book you own in your account. We're much less tied to remembering to bring discs and something to play them on when we visit relatives or have long car rides. We're getting in a lot more meaty books on audio, despite listening to less at bedtime.

 

Kudos to the folks who read a lot to their kids. I have done tons of picture books over the years, and do love reading to my kids, but for a lengthy session I like to listen to an audio snuggling with my kids rather than struggling to stay awake reading aloud.

[Mommy22alyns]

DH reads to the girls before bedtime. We read aloud content subjects and I do a school assigned read aloud during the day so we're still reading classics. Maybe 1.5 hours per day? It does add up. There are just so many great books out there!

[Chris in VA]

For me, the key was enjoying the book we read. Sometimes we couldn't wait to get back to the story, and I would read several times a day. Then, rather suddenly, my dd decided she didn't want me to read to her anymore. I think she felt she could read the books to herself so much faster, and grew impatient.

When she went back to public school, however, her sixth grade teacher read to the class, and did remembered how much she loved it!

[CarolinaHomeschooler]

Like others have mentioned, let audiobooks take some of the load off of you. The voice actors are amazing and the good ones can really bring stories to life. I'm going to copy a post I wrote in another thread:

 

Before you purchase through Audible, check to see if your local or state library subscribes to the OverDrive service. OverDrive provides ebooks (in formats compatible with Kindle, Nook, etc.) as well as digital (mp3) downloads to many, many libraries. You don't have to have a Kindle or Nook (or iPod, or whatever) to listen to digital audiobooks. My favorite device is a SansaClip+ (small, inexpensive, faster download than for iPods, and clips to your clothes so you can do other things while listening).

 

If your library has OverDrive, they'll have instructions on their website about how it works. If it doesn't, ask them to subscribe, and consider getting an out-of-state library card at the Free Library of Philadelphia for $35 per year. If you and your children listen to a lot of audiobooks (or read a lot of ebooks), you'll recoup the $35 fee very quickly.

 

If you live in or near Washington DC, or go on my group trip, you can get a card to DC's digital library (audiobooks and ebooks) for $20 (for out-of-district, you have to go in person to sign up for it, free if you live in DC). They actually didn't charge me for mine, and I've had it for years. Between my local library, DC membership, and the Free Library of PA, I have a large selection of free audiobooks and ebooks to choose from.

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

Warmly,

Dianna

[kiwik]

My children just aren't that keen on audiobooks. They love me reading to them and my youngest can mostly listen to the same stuff as the older. I read them two chapters or two books each at night. Sometimes that means four chapters from the same book (I count a very long chapter as two sometimes and I occasionally veto a long book if I am very tired or sick). I will read random books at other times if they ask as well.

[boscopup]

We've had to work up to reading aloud. I don't know how much I read aloud each day... probably an hour and a half maybe? Two years ago, I couldn't have done it though. I had a toddler at that point, and life was chaos. Now that the toddler is almost 4 (next week!), I am able to do a lot more reading aloud.

 

I read a couple chapters of the Bible plus a chapter of our history read-aloud (Sonlight) at breakfast. I eat before the kids come down (they're not allowed to come down until 7am).

I read Sonlight P4/5 to my K'er (and the 3 year old if he sticks around) after lunch.

I read history at some point to my 3rd grader (whatever the Sonlight "history" book is that week).

I read a chapter of a fun book at bedtime - the 3 year old usually falls asleep during this, but the other two stay awake and listen. Right now, we're going through the Chronicles of Narnia books. Reading helps wind the boys down, and they go to sleep quicker. If I don't read, they're often bouncing off the walls - quite literally. :tongue_smilie:

 

This is soooooo much more than I could do 2 years ago, and now it seems easy to do all this. So yes, work up to it. Set small goals, and base the goals on content read, not time spent. One chapter is not too bad usually (unless they're really long chapters). I will sometimes read 2 chapters of our bedtime book if we're all wanting to keep going. :) But I know my voice can definitely handle one chapter at a time.

[Hunter]

Is anyone else reading a lot of non-fiction aloud?

 

Bibles and holy books

Biographies: novel length as well as short workbooks and anthology excerpts about musicians and mathematicians and scientists

Textbooks that are not done, but just read

The textbooks that students are going to complete

Encyclopedia articles

Children's books from the library about history and science

Childrens books about math and grammar

Children's books about Sports, dance and health topics

The newspaper and magazines

Content from a website.

Yesterday's Classics and Heritage History ebooks

 

And of course What Your _ Grader Needs to Know :lol:

 

I can easily spend 2 hours a day reading aloud and never pick up a piece of fiction. I've read aloud more than 4-6 hours in a day and never picked up a piece of fiction. When I read fiction aloud, it's often in between the non-fiction as a treat and to pace the more difficult non-fiction, and even I'm looking forward to it. It's like taking a walk between sprints.

 

I don't know how to NOT read aloud :confused1: I guess it's different when reading a lot of fiction? Or completing a lot of textbooks/workbooks for content subjects?

[mamabear2three]

I love reading chapter books aloud - picture books are my struggle. I read books that I love, still - like the Little House series - we got close to an hour or two at a time when we were deep in those books. When I first started, I made it a regular schedule - at lunch I always get the book out and then we read until either lunch is finished or until DD is tired of listening.

 

We try to read shorter picture books at bedtime and I'm always tired and I hate it! I've made it a habit so it gets done, but I'd much rather not read at bedtime at all! :001_unsure:

[JumpyTheFrog]

I loved reading aloud to my dc, but...1-2 hours a day?? Nope. Not gonna happen.

 

Really? I was sure that many of you were reading for hours every day. How much time does it take to do the read alouds from a lit based program? I'd like to read history, science, Bible stories, living math books and literature to my kids. Maybe it doesn't take as long as I thought?

 

I think I need to try Boscopup's idea and start small. Baby steps, right?

 

 

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Really? I was sure that many of you were reading for hours every day. How much time does it take to do the read alouds from a lit based program? I'd like to read history, science, Bible stories, living math books and literature to my kids. Maybe it doesn't take as long as I thought?

 

I think I need to try Boscopup's idea and start small. Baby steps, right?

 

I think some people do, and some of us don't. Sometimes it feels like a dirty little secret for homeschoolers--I loathe reading aloud. I have always hated reading aloud and being read to aloud. If we're doing a book I'm enjoying, reading it aloud feels like torture because I'm a faster reader than I am a read-alouder. Of course, if I'm trying to do a book I've already read, then it's boring too! Plus, having to think about the voices I do, having to focus to try to not make mistakes in my reading, the strain in my throat--all of those things take me out of the book I'm reading, mentally, and I feel like I can't get lost in it, so it always seems like a chore. And unlike the others, I read aloud for years and never worked up to hours a day.

 

45 minutes seems to be my maximum tolerance. After that, I feel like I've read a good, satisfying amount of the book (or books). I also feel better about being more selective about what I'll read aloud. For example, I stopped The Secret Garden halfway through because I was tripping and stomping all over that Yorkshire accent! Both girls were happy to finish it off themselves. I also won't read things like The Magic Treehouse or The Magic Schoolbus, because they're just so choppy, and those Magic Schoolbus books have those little square of info and dialogue bubbles everywhere. It took me awhile, but I finally decided that in order to continue reading aloud, I had to advocate for my needs a bit.

 

That said, I haven't done readalouds in a loooong time, and because we're making a short-term (and possibly long-term) change in our schooling style, I'm about to begin again with what I hope will be renewed vigor! I do think that reading aloud is very important to our family for several reasons, so I'm willing to keep doing it (*sigh*). I will also point out, though, that no one ever read to me once I learned to read to myself (and not a whole heck of a lot before then!), and I still turned out to be a voracious reader of all subjects. So even if you don't do hours a day of reading aloud, I really don't think you'll be doing any permanent damage. Do what you can, stop when you need to, and give yourself a break on the rest!

 

ETA: Oh, and I forgot to say that depending on how old your kids are, there's nothing wrong with them reading the books in your curriculum to themselves too. Read what you can (maybe the more "boring" or difficult stuff), and let them read the rest.

[jar7709]

Like others, we do well over an hour of reading aloud most days, but it is really all chunked up. In the morning I will read our MBtP lit selection, sometimes taking turns with DC. In the afternoon we will read our a chapter each from a fiction book, our history text, and/or a section of another history or science book, depending on the day. And then at bedtime another chapter of whatever the kids want. I worked up to this amount, adding more as the kids could handle it and my stamina improved. It helps that my kids enjoy it and learn well this way...if they didn't, I would find another way to cover some of the stuff we cover. :)

[momtoamiracle]

I don't read two hours per day. I don't have time. I read bible, bible study aids,and read alouds mostly. Some nonfiction, when my son is in the mood. Hes so busy during the day he really prefers too listen at night. Sometimes he goes in his room to play and he will put on an audiobook. I've spent very little. Library and librivox provide most. My mom has tons she's collected over the years so I borrow from her. I'm thankful my son enjoys listening to a book as much as he does watching a tv show.

[Ellie]

Really? I was sure that many of you were reading for hours every day. How much time does it take to do the read alouds from a lit based program? I'd like to read history, science, Bible stories, living math books and literature to my kids. Maybe it doesn't take as long as I thought?

 

I think I need to try Boscopup's idea and start small. Baby steps, right?

 

Perhaps we can clarify terms. :-)

 

When I think of "reading aloud" to my children, I'm not including any reading which may be required for instruction. I think of "reading aloud" from good children's books, for enjoyment. Doing Sonlight would not be "reading aloud" to me, even though many of the books must be read aloud by someone, lol. Doing a Beautiful Feet Books study guide wouldn't be "reading aloud" to me, even though I'd be reading the books aloud to the dc (unless they were older and could read the books themselves) (and also, it's just one subject--history--not everything the way Sonlight is). Now, I think it's important for children to be able to learning on their own as much as possible, so I would probably not choose Sonlight for children not old enough to do the reading themselves, but that's just me. :-)

 

So maybe you can do more along the lines of reading good books, one chapter a day, at a specific time, rather than trying to imagine reading aloud for all subjects for several hours every day. :-)

[Candid]

I don't think very many people are reading 2 hours a day, probably not even 1 hour a day.

 

I did Sonlight with my kids, in our last year we did Eastern Hemisphere and the second part of the elementary level World History. I doubt that my time reading was much over an hour for both these combined, but maybe it occasionally peaked at 1 1/2 hours. The plus was that it was different books and we did break it up some.

 

However, I will note that at some point in the year or two before that I learned I could sleep and read out loud to the kids at the same time. It didn't happen often, but it did on occasion.

[Tanikit]

I suspect that reading aloud is supposed to start when our children are babies and just continue from there - a small baby can only handle a few words - sure you can read many chapters aloud while they fall asleep when they are tiny, but around the toddler stage their concentration is pretty short. My 5 year old has started listening to longer and longer books - when she started with chapter books the chapters were about 5-6 pages long and easy to get through. Now many of them are 30 or more pages so read alouds can take a while as I HAVE to finish the chapter according to her.

 

We read aloud many times a day and since I expect my child to read aloud to me twice a day, I have to do the same at a minimum. I have one or two periods during the mornings and then again at bath time and finally as they go to bed. I do not use audio books in my house at all, but I think that is because I am a very visual learner and cannot stand audio books - my children fortunately appear to be kinaesthetic and visual so it doesn't harm them too much.

[HS Mom in NC]

My read alouds cover both fiction and non-fiction. My older two (15 and 17 start) community college in the fall and my 7 year old will be the only one left homeschooling then. I'll try to give you something representative of things I've done over the years at different developmental stages. Times are based on what we've been doing recently-they were shorter when the older two were younger.

 

Mornings

 

We usually read the Bible aloud for about 20 min. (try 10 min. if you're just getting started.) It's been different things at different times. It's been a Chronological Bible, a Bible story book by Dena Korfker, sometimes it's a word study or a particular book like the Psalms, Proverbs, one of the gospels. etc. The kids usually participate in this read aloud time if it's not the Bible story book by Korfker (which I edit slightly as I read aloud for a few parts.)

 

We sometimes have another character based read aloud for about 20 min. (try 10 min. if you're just getting started.) which is sometimes related to what we're studying. It's been everything from Mere Christianity and Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis, to the Bob Schultz books Boyhood and Beyond, Made for Work, and Practical Happiness, to Confucius's Analects, selections of Democracy in America by Tocqueville, Book of Virtues books, a book listed in Books that Build Character by Kilpatrick and Wolf, etc.

 

History

 

Since I do SOTW as a series of unit based studies by region (Rome, Greece, Africa, China, India, Middle East, etc.) I supplement heavily with library books on the folklore, mythology and literature of the time and region. They usually take 5-10 minutes to read aloud. I usually have 2-3 story/picture books that read aloud 4 days a week. Yes, there are that many available for 3-4 days a week (we have an extracurricular day with PE and play group on Thursdays.) If there aren't any relevant ones, I get others that are just delightful to listen to and to look at. As they get older I get Junior Fiction or YA books to read aloud if they're good reads and relevant.

 

For a list of reading recommendations related to history studies:

 

Learning Through History Magazine

Let the Authors Speak

All Through The Ages

 

Evenings with Dad

 

My husband typically reads aloud to the children his own book selection. It's been The Little Britches Series, Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narina, Anathem, The Black Stallion Series, some Madeline L'Engel, most of everything Tolkien ever wrote, etc. He usually spends about 10-20 min. when they're 3-4, 20-40 minutes when they're early elementary aged and works up to about 45-60 minutes when they're older (over 10ish.) It's about 4-5 times per week when they're not in high school math or science yet.

 

With the older two he does Math and Science 3 times a week. We're CM and first source materials oriented, so science is often a read aloud of the History of Science or the writings of great scientists like Richard Feynman, etc. That read aloud isn't as long because he often integrates math with science and sometimes it's mostly math related to science like error analysis or some form of formal logic integrated with the two.

 

Bedtime with Mom

 

I typically read aloud another children's classic for about 20-30 min. before bedtime. It's been everything under the sun. Sometimes it's 3 different read aloud picture books and sometimes it's a longer chapter book.

 

Book Lists

 

For a book list of good children's books google lists of awards for children's books or go to this link http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia or get a copy of these:

 

Books that Build Character by Kilpatrick and Wolfe

Honey for a Child's Heart by Hunt

Honey for a Teen's Heart by Hunt and Hampton

Who Should We Then Read by Bloom

A Thomas Jefferson Education by DeMille (book list in the back)

The Boy's Guide to Historical Adventures of G.A. Henty by Potter

 

We don't expect our children to sit still doing nothing while we read aloud. There are plenty of threads here about what kids can do without disrupting while they listen.

[Tracy]

I couldn't read for that long in one sitting, either. My oldest is delighted to be read to, but I doubt she could listen for that long, either. We routinely read at three different times during the day--wake up, after lunch, bedtime--along with unplanned times where they just ask me to read something.

[OK Family]

As important as reading books aloud is to me I don't do it! I rely on great audiobooks though. We listen to them in the car, at lunch and while doing crafts in the kitchen!

[kristinannie]

 

 

Someone mentioned audible - do you end up spending a fortune? How does it work, you pay your monthly fee and then pay for any extras not included in the 1 or 2 a month package? Do you get any sort of discounts, or pay full price? Are you actually purchasing the audio copies of the books (so you could listen to them again and again), or is it like renting a movie on amazon and you only get it for the one time/time period of a month?

 

 

You get to keep anything you buy or use your credits to buy whether or not you stay with audible. I have found it to be a good deal. I get lots of classics for very cheap when buying a free or very cheap kindle book first. They also run sales that are very good, although often they are books I am not interested in! Last month, they had 25% off all titles. This month, I got a free $10. I might not find it as good of a deal if I wasn't buying books for myself. I love the Modern Scholar series (very much like the Great Courses) and the SmartPass Shakespeare titles.

[wintermom]

I like the idea of reading to my kids for 1-2 hours per day but don't seem to get to it. I think I like the idea better than actually doing it. I just get tired of it after about twenty minutes. Has anyone else had this problem and overcome it?

 

I'm not sure how old your kids are, but 20 minutes a day is great! When my dc were really little, it was really fun to see what reading different books would inspire us to do. We might act out a poem or short story with our hands or bodies for fun or to help memorize it; or go looking for spiders after reading Charlotte's Web; or explore other 'bunny trails.'

 

Now we do a lot of read-alouds with our curriculum, and the part we all enjoy most is the discussions that come up through reading really good books. We're having a great time with "Detectives in Togas" seeing if we can help solve the crime before the characters in the book do.

 

If you are enjoying the process of reading, discussing, maybe doing, and enjoying these precious moments with your children, I don't think the time limit or 20 vs 60+ minutes will be the important factor.

[wintermom]

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