How to fit in more read aloud time?

[Momof3plus]

Up until we officially started homeschooling when my eldest reached 6.5yrs, we’d primarily spent a lot of time with me reading aloud to him and his younger siblings. However since we’ve now started (MM, Seq. Spelling, FLL/WWE - Daily, SOTW 2x weeks, Sci - Quark 1x week), I’m finding so little time to fit in read alouds. We start at 9am and finish by 11:30, including other sibling interruptions and then History or Science is after lunch. By the time we’ve done lunch, chores around the house, kids have played, it’s time to go to outside evening activities. 

We’ve always been very literary based and I’d love to get back to this but I really want to follow a classical approach. 

Is there any way I can restructure our day/week? 

[Knock]

I used to do a read aloud during breakfast. If I had a baby or toddler, we'd eat our meal before everyone else and then (s)he would just snack in the high chair or nurse in my lap while I read aloud to the older kids. 

Or what about audio books in the car, or during lunch? 

[nixpix5]

We are tight this year so we have been reading during some breakfasts, lunches, listening in the car or right before bed. We do a chapter or two on the weekend to, usually before bed. I had to really get flexible with this because our schedule this year feels really overloaded. I won't make that mistake next year!

[MerryAtHope]

Add in a read-aloud time after lunch or after a play time. I also always read at bedtime for 30-45 minutes.

[Porridge]

I read while they eat. I eat before their meal, or while they’re cleaning up. We also listen to a lot of audiobooks.

[Jackie]

We recently started including a lot of audiobooks. It’s much easier, because we can listen while we all eat together. We also listen during any longer (30+ minute) car rides.

[alisha]

I spent years trying to fit it in. Finally, I heard some advise somewhere-maybe a blog- that said do it first thing. So, now when I call them to school we start with a chapter or two of the read aloud. If we find we need something to do at other times during the day, we read another chapter then. That doesn't happen too often, but some. So, doing it every day, first thing, is what's helped us to get it done.

[Ellie]

I used to read to my dc right after lunch, one chapter a day, every day that we were home.

[sweet2ndchance]

Audiobooks in the car, during quiet time, and any other time I can squeeze them in. I never saw anywhere in the homeschool rule book that said I always had to be the one reading aloud for it to count, lol. My voice tends to give out when reading aloud frequently so mixing in audiobooks whenever I could find a reader that we all liked was a life saver.

We also do/did read alouds and/or audiobooks during meals, during bath time, while painting, coloring or drawing, while building with legos, while playing with train tracks, on nice days we would all go lay out on the trampoline and I would read while they laid on the trampoline with me or played quietly near the trampoline. In the summer, it wasn't unusual for all their friends to be sitting listening to our current read aloud as well. It's one of my favorite homeschooling memories of when my big kids (older teens and adults now) were late elementary and early middle school age.

[Momof3plus]

Great thanks everyone, I may try the read first thing idea and audio books. 

Xxx

[Holly]

We also have a read aloud at bedtime.  I read for about 15-20 minutes from a chapter book then we read a chapter of the Bible (on Sundays we read a different Christian book like Trial & Triumph or Missionary Stories with the Millers).  We read another book in the afternoons, usually based on our historic period.  One day per week we read or listen to Shakespeare (Arkangel cds).  We tend to spend our mornings on 3Rs, but we often throw in a poem at some point.

[SKL]

When my kids were little, i.e. before homework ate all our weekday free time, we would do read-alouds at meals (I'd eat and then read as they finished eating).  At another stage, I would read as the girls did their evening routine in the bathroom - I would sit or stand in the hall between the rooms they were in, LOL.  Sometimes I would read while they did routine math practice or similar.  Occasionally we still do these.

We have been doing audiobooks for a couple years now, and it's been great, especially when we spend a lot of time commuting from activity to activity.

For young kids, may I suggest the Scholastic Video Collection on DVD.  These are well-done, read word for word and illustrated like the books.  They have subtitles that you can turn on and off, so this can be used to develop reading vocabulary also.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/scholastic-video-collection-treasury-of-100-storybook-classics-16-discs-dvd/8621627.p?skuId=8621627&ref=212&loc=1&gclid=COn3k5u8wdoCFXeOxQId88YBIA&gclsrc=ds

[Rachel]

We start and end our day with a read aloud. We also listen to audiobooks in the car and occasionally will listen at lunch as well. 

When my kids still napped we did read alouds after lunch just before they laid down. Now that they are all school aged, they are ready for some alone time after lunch and we have gotten away from that habit.

We do on occasion read at random times, but having read aloud time pegged to our daily routine helps me make sure it happens. 

[Ausmumof3]

Do you listen to the read aloud revival podcast?  She had some great ideas for fitting more in.  We do it as part of morning time most days.

 

other things that have worked at different times is the "coffee and books" concept.  That first bit of the day when you just have to have coffee and do not much else you can generally find enough energy to read aloud.  Another good one is getting everyone to come fold their washing and listening to an audiobook.  And of course driving time can be audiobook time.

[Momof3plus]

Ooh I love the idea of getting them to fold laundry whilst I read to them! 

 

Thankfully I've always read to them at bedtime so they’re not completely missing out and I read SOTW to them plus a religious story book each morning. It’s more the fun chapter book reading that I feel we’re missing on a consistent basis.

I’m going to aim for twice a week in the mornings before anything else and try and squeeze in some afternoon read aloud time.

Thanks all xxx

[Rachel]

7 hours ago, Momof3plus said:

Ooh I love the idea of getting them to fold laundry whilst I read to them! 

 

Thankfully I've always read to them at bedtime so they’re not completely missing out and I read SOTW to them plus a religious story book each morning. It’s more the fun chapter book reading that I feel we’re missing on a consistent basis.

I’m going to aim for twice a week in the mornings before anything else and try and squeeze in some afternoon read aloud time.

Thanks all xxx

I do our read aloud first, then SOTW. That way we get the read aloud daily and history 2-4 times per week. 

SOTW is reading aloud. Bible reading, catechism, etc. is reading aloud. They give kids the same advantages of higher level vocabulary and more complicated sentence structure as story books. 

So, it sounds like you you already on the right track and reading plenty to your children. Anything else you can squeeze in is a bonus. 

[Targhee]

Read while they eat, audio books in the car, read while they have “quiet time,” read before bed.