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How often do you make your young kids read?
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My 8 y.o. son can read now (early chapter books), but does not prefer to do this. He will do it when I require it, but does not gravitate to it naturally. Since we are past learning to read, I’m wondering how often you all make your kids read to themselves. He can sit for hours and listen, but doesn’t choose to just go and read.
I’d love to hear how often and why you choose to do what you do for your young elementary kids.
Thanks,
Mandi
My son is 5 1/2 reads well above his age level and loves to read. I don’t actually have to make him read. He wants to but I also get him a lot of books focused on subjects that he really loves. Not sure what other folks think of the Magic Tree House books, but my son loves them. I think part of getting kids to read, especially boys, is finding a subject they truly love. Mine loves dinosaurs and any sea creatures. Other than Magic Tree House books, he seems to really love non-fiction which I think is funny because I do too.
I don’t have any magic answers and am only mom to one, but I am sure others on here can give better suggestions. Mainly, though I pick out subjects that my son loves and then I don’t have to motivate – he does it on his own.
My dd5 reads well above grade level and does it anytime she can. My ds9 reads well and at about a 5th-6th grade level, but does not choose to read on his own very often. I require 45m – 1 hr in the afternoon/evening in addition to school reading. He can read and enjoys it when he does, but won’t choose it on his own. Part is building reading stamina. We started with 10m of required additional reading and have worked up to one hour. We all have quiet time in the afternoon and I require all of my kids to read then 12, 9, 5, 3 (just looks at pictures)).
You might start with 15 minutes a day and then more at bedtime. You can gradually increase the time or instate a second reading session in the afternoon. My 8 year old reads at an upper highschool level, but doesn’t choose to read. He will read at bedtime because there aren’t any other options except lights out. You will find that when you find the right book (which might take a while) he’ll stop looking at the clock and read interest than the required time. My son will read fiction novels, but prefers to read magazines or nonfiction. You should continue regular read aloud time as well so you can continue to monitor his growth (vocabulary, pronunciation, flow, etc.).
They read daily at bedtime (a few pages of non-fiction or a short chapter) and I try to have them read a chapter during the day (but we don’t always get to this). My DC aren’t big readers…I’m hoping this changes since DH and I love to read.
My DS likes to read in his room before everyone wakes up, during his quiet time in the afternoon and in his bed at night. He likes this quiet time alone and we allow him to stay up a little later than my DD to read at night which I think he enjoys.
My 7YO DS has to read aloud to me as part of his daily schoolwork. We have been doing it this way for over a year. I usually assign 4-5 pages of a living book, but sometimes I’ll cave and allow him to read me a few pages of a Goosebumps book. (He loves that series but he can’t quite read it completely on his own yet).
My kids (DD7 and DS5) read whatever they like at bedtime, usually about 30-45 minutes. Getting to stay awake longer is a great motivator. They read what I consider semi-twaddle, such as “Magic Tree House” or “Puppy Place” and “Kitty Korner”. They also often reread the books we have done as family read alouds (such as several E.B. White books, Little House, Narnia)
During the school day, my 7yo reads 10 minutes each from a literature book and a history book that I select, although she is free to read longer if she chooses. She must choose from the list of books I select. This is to help her develop an ability and appreciation for meatier books than she might choose on her own. Right now she is reading “Black Beauty” and “Our Little Celtic Cousin”. (She was an early reader, so reads at a higher level than some 7 year olds). I also give her a chapter once or twice a week from her ‘school’ books. She is capable of reading them independently but still prefers me to read aloud so that she can draw or knit while she listens and narrates, so we are just starting to work toward having her read more on her own.
My 5yo reads 1 chapter aloud from a ‘Christian Liberty Nature Reader’ (they are very short) and then at least 10 minutes silently from his ‘free reading’ list, which is also to expose him to and help him develop skill with higher quality books. Right now he is reading some of the Arthur Scott Bailey animal stories. Previously he read through the Harriet Treadwell Readers and has done some Thornton Burgess animal stories as well.
Joanne
My reading children all currently have 20 minutes of assigned reading during the school day. We’re switching to summer schedule so it goes up to 30 minutes. My current readers are:
Makayla age 11 – reads widely and well, several hours a day on top of her assigned reading.
Joseph age 8 – Struggles through short chapter books but is making progress. Reads probably another 1-2 hours on his own during quiet time and bedtime daily. Sometimes he listens to the audio book playing at those times instead.
Emma age 7 – Reads a bit better than the 8yo and is now reading for pleasure. She usually gravitates toward longer picture books for her own reading after assigned reading time, going through stacks each day. Will read her chapter book when she’s caught up in a good part.
Daniel age 5 – Taught himself to read at age 3 and reads better than 7 and 8yo easily. He reads for fun probably an hour or so per day.
The younger 3 boys don’t read yet (ages 4, 2, 1) but are read to daily. We also have daily family read alouds.
I have one son like this. He reads just fine but he never chooses to. He is 9. The other kids will all read at bedtime because thye can stay up an extra hour in bed to read but he still won’t. I make him read every day we do homeschool (so 4 or 5 days a week). I don’t put a time limit but say he has to do one chapter. It can range from 5-15 minutes.
Nebby
I’m looking for help on this one. We have a daily quiet time, but the girls like to craft or listen to audio books or draw or play quietly with legos or something during that time. It’s like the habit of just reading during that time has been lost. Now, my older one reads at breakfast and lunch and on the toilet, but I find it hard to get her into chapter books again. She is 10 and can read anything, but likes to pull picture books or compilations of myths or fairy tales or nature books or things like that off the shelf. When she is into a chapter book, she reads it in no time, but then she has trouble getting into another one.
Also, what would you assign to a 10 year old? I was thinking of REQUIRING 1 chapter of whatever literature book she was reading PLUS 1 chapter of either history or nature each school day and then REQUIRING a certain amount of reading during quiet time??? I just want it to be natural. When I require something, it becomes a chore, an assignment instead of a joyful thing. Know what I mean?
I know what you mean about it becoming a chore. That is definitely how my 8 year old sees it (as with all “school” subjects to be done).
I’m wondering how so many of you do quiet times. We did this when my 8 and 5 y.o. were younger, but now when my 2 y.o. is down that is the time we do all our out loud reading (1-2 hours). I can’t see how I can fit a quiet time in for the older ones plus get all the reading in. (And we very much enjoy this part of the day). It’s pretty hard to do the out louds w/ the 2 y.o. and infant; although I am often nursing during the read alouds. (Remembering at this age for us all subjects are read alouds. He is only reading chapter books when I require him to. And remembering he is not as advanced as apparently most on this loop are).
I find that reading is like any other habit, it requires work – diligence, consistency, and time.
For my ds9 who enjoys reading, but would naturally choose other things, I require it. I started with 10m and he’s up to an hour. This is during quiet time and in addition to his school reading. For school, he reads 1-2 chapters of history or science per day and 1-2 of literature. He also reads in bed for 30-60m per night depending upon when he hits the hay.
At times, I’ve allowed other quiet activities during quiet time, but find it is best reserved for building the habit of reading. After all Legos with audiobooks can happen later, but a built in quiet time is perfect for reading. We often sit in the living room, each with our own books. Doing this builds reading stamina and fosters a love of reading, even in my less naturally inclined boy.
For our family, I do not allow twaddle, definitely some varied and lighter choices, but not twaddle. With more wonderful rich choices than we will ever get to, I can’t see wasting that precious reading time on twaddle. I keep a long list of free reads they can choose from. Sometimes their choices surprise me!
Christie
IrieMomma – For my children’s assigned reading time I set a time limit and they choose a book from a list I have for each child (chapter book). I have found that once they read the required book for a few days they’re into it and the assigned reading is enjoyed (not just more work). I started my barely fluent readers with 10 minutes of reading. After that was easy (about a month) their time was bumped to 15 minutes, then 20. We’ll bump it to 30 for the summer. For my 11yo it’s easy to read her 20 min. and she often asks if she can keep reading before she does the rest of her school work.
Mandi – Quiet time is a sanity saver at my house. We’ve done it for years and still do every single day. My seven range in age from 11 years to 1 year. Each child has an assigned spot (a bed or couch) and we do 1 1/2 hours each day. Read alouds happen at other times in the day, and yes, it can be hard with little ones but if you persist they’ll learn how to be quieter during read aloud time. (I’ve had a baby and toddler nonstop for 8 years. They really do learn! And sometimes a strategic read aloud during snack time helps them get that habit going).
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