How long does your child read independently each day?

[Nakia]

Just a little background info: My (young) 3rd grade daughter reads at about a 4th-5th grade level. She is currently reading King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry which is a 5th grade leveled book.

 

I have been having her read 30 minutes in her room each day. Sometimes she reads more of her assigned book. Or sometimes she reads another book, of her choosing, in addition to the 30 minutes. Plus, of course, she reads parts of her other subjects during the morning. Does that sound right? TIA!

[Emmy]

My oldest is 8 1/2 and although we call him a 2nd grader, he's really a 3rd grader. :p He reads on the similar level about 5th grade books. I require him to read 1/2 hour a day from books of my choosing and 1/2 hour a day for fun (his choosing within reason). Not every book he reads is at that 5th grade level - we mix it up; most of his reading is from late 3rd grade to mid 5th grade material. He also reads here and there for science and history.

 

We don't always get the full hour in everyday, sometimes it's only 1/2 hour. It depends entirely on my follow through which can be spotty at times. :D

 

Anyway - it sounds like what you are doing is fine, it's very similar to what we are doing.

[Haiku]

My K and 1st grader read for 30 minutes a day. My K-er can read whatever he wants (because he's not actually reading, he's looking) and my 1st grader can choose from the book basket that I stock.

 

In 2nd grade I will up this to 45 minutes, and by third grade I will require an hour: 1/2 an hour from the book basket, 1/2 an hour of whatever they choose.*

 

Tara

 

*Still subject to my veto, as I won't allow things like Junie B. Jones or Captain Underpants

[TN Mama]

I have been having her read 30 minutes in her room each day. Sometimes she reads more of her assigned book. Or sometimes she reads another book, of her choosing, in addition to the 30 minutes. Plus, of course, she reads parts of her other subjects during the morning. Does that sound right? TIA!

 

My daughter is in 2nd grade and I require 30 minutes of reading of a book of my choosing. If she would like to read something else, she can (and often does). So, I think what you're doing sounds good!

[Pongo]

Lets see:

5th grade dd, loves to read, 1-3 hours (1 hour assigned, the rest she does on her own)

3rd grade ds, likes to read, 1-2 hours (45 assigned, the rest he does on his own)

1st grade dd, does it because it's REQUIRED, 35 minutes

 

I have my own system, I give five minutes for each year they are in age, I add 5-10 if they love/like it , if not the required amount is met:001_smile:

[vettechmomof2]

My 9 year old daughter would read all day long if I let her. So, since I normally have to "stop" her from reading to do other things I do not count it except when we log a books she ahs finished.

 

My 4 year old is not reading yet but the whole family has to read to him on average at least 3 hours a day.

 

Plus I read family stories to the both of them before bed. Normally about 1 hour.

[KS_]

My kids are the same way - voracious readers. They spend several hours a day reading - more when they have new books to read, but thankfully, they will read books over again (we have a fairly large library at home). So I don't assign reading time or keep a log of what they read on their own.

[patchfire]

Dd is 8, 3rd grade. She's 'required' to read 30 minutes of fiction (this week, Carry On, Mr. Bowditch) every day. Most days she has 30-60 minutes of additional reading in history or science. Plus, she reads on her own a lot too. I'm trying to decide if I should make the required amount 45 minutes next year.

[Chris in VA]

I'm like the others with a voracious reader. She has to read 15 minutes a day for public school--it's laughable, really. She can motor thru a MTH or other similar book in about 20 minutes. Her teacher didn't realize this--so when Nature Girl put down books like These Happy Golden Years, and only read a couple of hours in them, her teacher's thought was that she wasn't finishing them. She was. NG can't wait to homeschool next year so she can read to her heart's content. Well, almost.

[Tree House Academy]

So far today, my 4th grader has read for about an hour. He will read another hour or so tonight before he goes to bed. Right now, he is reading Wilbur and Orville Wright for his book study, but most of the time he reads whatever he wants...and still averages 1-2 hours a day...even on weekends. :)

[bookmomma]

My 3rd grader is a low-level reader, but he reads 30 mins. during the day and 30 mins. at night. Glad to see I'm doing about the right amount of time each day. My 1st grader reads about 20-30 mins. a day.

[Nakia]

Thanks for all the comments. My daughter just really took off in her reading this year, so I am trying to figure this out.

 

Thanks again!!!

 

ETA: We also do a book basket for each country we are studying (MFW--ECC), so she does that independently too, and then comes and narrates to me from what she read.

Edited January 14, 2009 by Nakia