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Required Reading Vs. Free Reading
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I’m just curious how much time you have your children devote to reading each day. How much is “required school reading” and how much time is “free reading”?
We spend our morning time reading aloud from several different books…our current history read, the Bible, and our current read a loud…plus various other books I’ll throw in here and there as time permits. I usually devote 45 min. – 1 hour for our morning time. I currently have only one independent reader. She typically takes the book I’ve selected and spends 30 minutes reading it each day. She’s not one to just pick up a book when she’s “bored” so free reading is something I usually suggest for her to do. Should I make it a requirement each day? Or as long as she spends at least 30 minutes reading, that’s enough? Or, is it really just personal preference for what I want for her?
I really want to develop children who love books and reading, but so far, I haven’t gotten that. I don’t want to force it on them so they hate it, but I’m scared if I don’t, then they will just view it as a “school” thing and just treat it as another subject that needs crossed off their list each day. I’m trying to sit and read more during the day, instead of saving it for the evening, when all the kids are asleep, so that they will see me doing it and maybe want to mimic me, but it’s hard to do with a baby and toddler underfoot! 🙂
I guess I’m really just seeking some advice and insight into what reading looks like in your homes. What did you do to get your kids to love books and want to pick them up when they want something entertaining to do?
At my house we do a couple things:
– I read aloud in school subjects like history or science.
– I read aloud our current homeschool book club book.
– The independent readers are assigned a book to read for 20-30 minutes per day, or 1-2 chapters per day (whatever the current version of our plan is, we vary it. One book may be read in 20 minute increments while the next book may be read one chapter per day. When we start an independent reader on this I ask for 10 minutes spent reading per day.
– They can read any book they want beyond that.
– I read to non-readers daily too.
– All children have access to audio books daily. They know they can use any of our Kindles to listen to a book and how to get help if they need it to get a book started.
– Every evening at bedtime we have an audio book playing. Kids can listen to it, read with a flashlight, or listen to a different audio book with headphones. Or sleep. 😉 This special time lasts from 8pm-9pm. Then it is lights and stories out.
Currently, I am only requiring my 11yo (6th grade) and my 8yo (2nd) grade to read on their own. They both have a history book to read one chapter per day.
Because my 8yo is quick at school work, she also has 15 min. Per day that she picks a book from our bookbasket. These are library books that are quality fiction or books that somehow relate to our hostory and science studies. They are varying levels, too, so that it isn’t drudgery.
My son wasn’t a reader by choice so I assigned him half an hour of reading in elementary school and an hour in highschool. We took turns choosing his books.
My daughter loves to read and reads plenty of her own accord so I assign her about 30 minute a day of classic literature. When she was younger I allowed her to choose her classics but now that she is starting highschool, I am choosing her books because there are certain books I want her to read before graduation.
I also read aloud daily for 30 minutes or so and I assign living books for school subjects as well.
I hear you about wanting your children to love reading. That has been an important goal for me as well. I did everything I could in this area and my son has barely picked up a book (besides his Bible) since he graduated highschool whereas my daughter reads all the time. I’m confident that my son will rediscover his love of reading when he is older and more settled.
I make my kids take a one-hour quiet time every day afternoon. They always need to have a quality book (chosen by them but approved by me) outside of their assigned reading on hand. They spend at least part of that hour reading it and also use that time to finish up lessons or play with perler beads or whatever. I try to read paper books in front of them, too, pretty regularly, because even if I am reading on my phone to them it may just look like texting. 🙂
My 14YO son loves to read. He has a history book or literature book going at all times. I sometimes give a break in between books, though, so that he can enjoy some free reading that he won’t otherwise get to.
My 10YO son, however, although a strong reader, doesn’t like to read as much and I haven’t required independent reading until now. He likes audio books, so I do include those in his schoolwork. Just a couple of months ago we started alternating – free read 2x/week (currently a Lemony Snickets book, which he loves) and history read with me 2x/week (he reads aloud to me). It’s been a nice transition for him to read a book on his own that he enjoys, while still getting some snuggling and reading time with me.
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