Read Aloud- how long?

[Plateau Mama]

How long do you read aloud each day for your K/1st grader? I've been doing 30-45 minutes and then 10 minutes or so at bedtime. I try to have audio books on his kindle and he will listen to those maybe another hour or so.

 

This site is saying two hours a day, not including audiobooks. How does one ready for two hours, get school done and anything else?

 

http://www.triviumpursuit.com

 

 

So, how long do you read aloud each day and does that time include audiobooks?

[mmasc]

Almost identical to you for my K'er! Only difference is audio books, which is zero because he doesn't like them, for some crazy reason!

[Walking-Iris]

I'm not sure what it would add up to if I added it all up. But I chose 30 minutes to an hour.

 

Bedtime reading is shared. Each of my kids don't get their own bedtime reading, unless it's a short picture book for my dd before our nightly chapter or two. My oldest has outgrown bedtime reading, but he hears it since he shares a room with his brother.

 

I still read aloud some history and science with my oldest, so we can discuss. Hard for me to discuss something I haven't read. But he has some things he reads on his own. Maybe if i think about it, I do read with him more.

 

I read aloud to my 6 year old some science and history, but short segments, and not every day. Too much content read aloud and he zones out.

 

I have a story time with my dd. That could be 1-2 picture books or a whole stack, depending on how long she keeps bringing them to me.

 

So actually, I probably do read aloud for an hour or two if I add all that up, but certainly not all at once, or every day.

[Plateau Mama]

Almost identical to you for my K'er! Only difference is audio books, which is zero because he doesn't like them, for some crazy reason!

My kinder loves them! He listens to them while playing Legos, anytime we go in the car etc. I caught him listening to one at 11pm in his fort, when he was supposed to be asleep. (I thought he'd fallen asleep listening, but nope.)

[Plateau Mama]

I'm not sure what it would add up to if I added it all up. But I chose 30 minutes to an hour.

 

Bedtime reading is shared. Each of my kids don't get their own bedtime reading, unless it's a short picture book for my dd before our nightly chapter or two. My oldest has outgrown bedtime reading, but he hears it since he shares a room with his brother.

 

I still read aloud some history and science with my oldest, so we can discuss. Hard for me to discuss something I haven't read. But he has some things he reads on his own. Maybe if i think about it, I do read with him more.

 

I read aloud to my 6 year old some science and history, but short segments, and not every day. Too much content read aloud and he zones out.

 

I have a story time with my dd. That could be 1-2 picture books or a whole stack, depending on how long she keeps bringing them to me.

 

So actually, I probably do read aloud for an hour or two if I add all that up, but certainly not all at once, or every day.

Maybe I'm misreading the article but it seems like she is not including "textbook" reading but just read aloud books. That's where I was perplexed.

[Ellie]

How long do you read aloud each day for your K/1st grader? I've been doing 30-45 minutes and then 10 minutes or so at bedtime. I try to have audio books on his kindle and he will listen to those maybe another hour or so.

 

This site is saying two hours a day, not including audiobooks. How does one ready for two hours, get school done and anything else?

 

http://www.triviumpursuit.com

 

 

So, how long do you read aloud each day and does that time include audiobooks?

 

My option isn't on your poll: I read aloud one chapter a day from a good book, right after lunch, regardless of how old the child is, no matter how long that takes. :-)

 

I would not count anything I had read aloud for Official School Stuff (if, for example, we had done Sonlight, which wasn't invented yet when we were hsing).

 

Why would I count audiobooks?? :confused1:  

[Walking-Iris]

Maybe I'm misreading the article but it seems like she is not including "textbook" reading but just read aloud books. That's where I was perplexed.

 

I don't read aloud textbooks.

 

Unless SOTW or Hakim are considered textbooks. Most of our history and science are non fiction trade books.

 

If I'm reading it aloud...well then it is a "read aloud." 

[Crimson Wife]

It was hard for me to vote because it really depends on how fluently the child is reading. My kids don't like me to read aloud to them once they are capable of reading to themselves faster than I can read aloud. I had one child who was past the read-aloud stage in K, one child who still liked it in K but was past it by 1st, and one child who is on track to be a later reader than her siblings,

[NoseInABook]

30-60 minutes a day. I don't have much time for more with everything else in life. I should look into audio books to see if my kids would listen to them.

[Momof3]

30-60 min. After lunch, before naps. Some days, we go on a reading blitz (especially after a library trip :)), and read most of the morning... ;)

 

In a few weeks, once we officially start our summer schedule :), my goal is to incorporate an hour of reading into our morning. But that would include the kids reading to *me* as well as me reading to them. 

 

I think 2 hours of read alouds is a great goal...but not very realistic, at least in my world.

[kristinannie]

I chose 1-2 hours, but it is usually closer to 2 hours.  Here is what I do with approx. times:

 

History read aloud at breakfast (15 min)

Morning Time (45 min-1hour)  My kids are allowed to color, draw, or knit during a lot of this time while they listen

Fun read aloud at lunch (15 min)

Family read aloud at dinner (15 min)

Bedtime reading (15-30 min)

 

We don't do everything every day, but we do most of them every day.  We listen to audiobooks while we drive, but not as often as we should.

[Momof3]

Just looked the article over... She is including reading aloud from history, science, etc. related books. Not 'textbooks', but I think SOTW would definitely count. With science, history, and Bible, we probably do 2 hours/day.

[Walking-Iris]

Just looked the article over... She is including reading aloud from history, science, etc. related books. Not 'textbooks', but I think SOTW would definitely count. With science, history, and Bible, we probably do 2 hours/day.

Honestly I think reading aloud to a child is valuable whatever the format.

 

A textbook,  a magazine article, a website page, an email, a personal letter, a greeting card, a recipe etc.

 

I understand we're talking about books here, but the more I think about it, the more I feel that it all counts.

 

I'm not sure about audiobooks though. I think of those in the same way I think about listening to music or watching a DVD. Valuable in another way at times. An actual person reading is different than listening to a recording. 

 

Nothing wrong with audiobooks--- they have their place, but I wouldn't consider audiobooks "reading" or a child being "read to" in the same way.

[pitterpatter]

It really depends on the day. On a day that I have lengthy books scheduled for both science and history, plus reading aloud at bedtime, we definitely hit that mark and more. Sometimes, I'll have selections to read in LA too. At bedtime, though, I like to read a good chapter, when possible. Ideal for me is 20-30 minutes, but sometimes I'll read for 40 minutes or so. When I don't feel like reading at night, DH will usually pick up the slack with a picture book. On most typical school days, I would say I read 1.5 hours total. On weekends, it can go as low as 20 minutes and in rare cases none. DD listens to audio books just about every day. We don't turn on the TV at all until a couple of hours before bedtime.

[Farrar]

Why would I count audiobooks?? :confused1:  

 

Because presumably the purpose of the random amount of time the OP is quoting is the children listening to text and story, not us wearing out our voices. ;)

 

I went back and forth on what to answer...  I had to remember.  I think it varied a lot at that age and it still does.  I read a chapter or two before bed of whatever longer book - usually fiction - that we're reading.  And at that age, I read a lot for history and science...  but some days we wouldn't do so much.  I think we probably averaged around an hour and a bit.

 

But I think the idea of setting a time goal is sort of arbitrary.  I guess I'm someone who likes to have things loose though.  If the weather is nice, I'd rather we be outside.  If it's not, I'd rather we be cuddled up on the sofa reading.  And if the kids are having an off day we might read more and do less seatwork.  Or, if they're not in a receptive mood, we might play more games and read less.  I guess I just think reading is only one little piece of the puzzle.  And some kids are more into read alouds than others and that's okay.

[nature girl]

I agree, I don't know that it makes sense to set a goal. Kids get so much from read alouds, but there are only so many hours in a day and at that age many kids just don't have the attention span. As long as you set aside some time to do it and make books an important part of your life, nobody should worry it's not enough.

 

With that said, my DD loves stories more than anything else in the world...So we probably read 2 hours most days, but that includes 20-30 minutes of her reading to me. Mostly fiction, but also science on the level of Lets Read and Find Out. I also tell stories off the top of my head over lunch or dinner, or if she asks me to...It's been great, because it's made her start to create her own stories to write and share with others as well. Probably because books are what I do for a living, it's really kind of the foundation of our lives and her learning.

[julie4]

I voted 1-2 hours. That includes our literature, bible and poetry. It's not all in 1 sitting.

[sagira]

I voted less than 30 min, because I read to DS10 too, but I may have to change that to 30-60 min come to think of it.

[MinivanMom]

I read aloud to her for 30-60 min daily, but dh also reads aloud to her in the evening for an additional 20-30 min. I feel like that's plenty for a child who is also reading to herself.

[Joyful Journeys]

It never occurred to me to read books beyond my child's level aloud until I started looking into homeschooling. She's 6.5 finishing up her K year and not reading independently. What a wonderful world that has opened to her, and a great bonding experience this has become for us! Even with a 4 yr old and 1 yr old that just started walking this week, we still manage at least an hour a day with me reading to her. Often we'll go outside so the littles can play and she's next to me on the swingset. Dad hangs with the babies for another 30ish minutes at bedtime. I'm just amazed that it's working and hope it continues. For the first time, my 4 yr old brought me a book to read to her (she rarely can stand to sit through a book) so I attribute it to this new rhythm to our day where Mommy is always reading and she wants to join in. We're knee deep in Narnia at the moment, which I've never read (gasp I know), so I'm enjoying it as much as she is.

[cagirlintexas]

Mainly I just read aloud to them at night before bed a chapter from what ever book we are working on at the moment.  My 1st grade reads to himself 2-4 hours a day too.

[IsabelC]

I used to do 2+ hours most days when I was home schooling 3 kids. At the moment, with two of them in school, it's less, probably closer to 1 hour a day on average.

 

The above would be in addition to audio books. My Ms 8 adores audiobooks, and generally listens to an hour a day (or more on non school days), while the other two aren't so keen.

[Guest]

My K'er hates audiobooks too, but he likes movies made from books. Go figure. I voted what I think our total hours are on an average day, but we don't have a bunch of clocks in our home and my actual answer is that I shoot for just a little bit less than he wants, i.e., if you THINK you can read one more chapter or one more picture book before your voice gives out or your kid's fidgeting makes you scream, it's better to call it good and wait until next time than to storm out of the room in disgust or find yourself unable to croak out the last few sentences of the cliffhanger.

[fdrinca]

On our best days we read for a solid 60-90 minutes in the morning, before getting started with school work. The baby is making this nearly impossible these days, though, so we're probably averaging less. We read in the afternoon and before bed, too.