2 questions about reading aloud…

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  • July 15, 2008 at 12:56 am
    CandaceC
    Participant

    1. How many read-alouds do you have going at once? Just curious for a rough estimate…I have no clue how many is too many, etc. (My children are a young 2nd grade, a young 1st grade and 3 year old.) 🙂

    2. Were any of your children slow to warm up with being read aloud to? I mean we read a LOT in our house hold. We use FIAR and lots of literature based learning. But, those are picture books. Which they love. When it comes to chapter books they just aren’t interested…and I have tried every type of book under the sun. Both of my older 2 school age kids are girls. And they are young. My oldest is 6.5 years old. BUT, she is reading on about a 3rd-4th grade level?!?! That is what boggles my mind. On her OWN she can read chapter books. But she doesn’t like them being read to her?! They lose interest, and they don’t retain because they aren’t interested!

    One thing I have read about is having them color while I read, I have not tried that yet. I have tried reading at different times of the day, to no avail yet.

    This makes me so sad…I had visions of snuggling on the couch reading for hours. 🙂 AND, adding in Charlotte Mason education is only adding to our reading with FIAR books. Plus, there are just SO MANY great books out there!

    I would love to hear from some of you who have been there done that with kids like mine. I’ve tried off and on for over a year, thinking they need time. So far they still aren’t very interested.

    THANKS!

    July 15, 2008 at 1:09 am
    CindyS
    Participant

    Ummm, let’s see. Right now it’s this:

    For the 3rd-5th grader: A history book, a biography, a literature book, a character-building book, plus Bible. I read the history book and bio one day (about 15-20 minutes each) and the other two the next day. Bible is, of course, daily.

    For the K and under crowd of 2 🙂 (who listen in on the above): A literature book, lots of picture books, a character-building book

    The highschoolers listen in on the character-building book at times, depending on if it is something I want to ‘preach’ at them about without actually doing the preaching.

    Blessings,

    Cindy

    July 15, 2008 at 1:26 am
    CindyS
    Participant

    I’m sorry, Candace, I read your post, responded to #1 and then got distracted. I did not mean to ignore #2. First, I’m sure you have told God that you are disappointed and desire to surrender that to him. Through prayer, he will also tell you if what you are dealing with is a character issue that needs addressing. I have often been amazed at the things my own children will not let me do simply from rebellion. I do not assume that this is your daughter; it’s just a thought.

    I do believe we should be reading aloud to our children until they move away :). My reason is what I said in the previous post about the highschoolers. It sounds funny, I know, but it is so true in our home.

    I would try to catch your children at different times. Mealtime can work well, if there are not too many distractions. Or try early morning when they are still feeling cuddly. Could you select a few books and allow your daughter to choose one? Or could she bring one to you for approval as a read aloud? Short readings will be so helpful. Could your daughter read aloud to you? Then you could take a turn. Let her ask you questions. Tell her, “I’m going to read this page and then I’m going to ask you to ask me a question.” That is another great twist on narration that can really hook them in.

    We moms “know that we know we know” that one thing our children will fondly look back on is reading together and we do not want them to miss that.

    Blessings,

    Cindy

    July 15, 2008 at 5:01 am
    hvfth99
    Member

    Candace,

    I have had similar issues with mine–Dds 8 and 4. I once read an entire chapter of Wizard of Oz about how the Tinman became the Tinman. Dd 8 was snuggling on the couch with Daddy while I was reading. I started the next chapter, mentioned the Tinman, and she asked me why he was made of tin! I almost hit the roof! LOL!

    I started having her read along with me–not out loud–but over my shoulder, following along with me. Since your daughter seems to enjoy reading, this may be a way for her to feel like she’s reading, too. My Dd is very visual, so what I think was happening, is she is spacing out because she has no visual reference for what she’s hearing. I may be way off base, but things have greatly improved since she sits right next to me on the couch. Plus, we’re closer for the cuddling time!

    HTH, Faith 🙂

    July 15, 2008 at 12:45 pm
    Rachel White
    Participant

    Yes, if it’s read aloud w/o narration my son will climb Mt. Everest (represents pile on the floor) to sit next to me and read along w/me. He, too is an advanced reader; very visual in everything. I realized that I’m the same way when my husbands read aloud. Also, you could alternate reading paragraphs.

    Addressing reading for narrations, read w/much gusto and animation and in small chunks. It will get better.

    Rachel

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