It is truly a wonderful way to show your children you are intentional about spending time with them. My oldest daughter is driven by stories and seems to have been born a reader. She has always loved books and stories. And even though both my girls are good, strong readers now, they love nothing more than to be read to.
It takes more effort now than it used to. It's much easier to send them to bed with a handful of books for them to read on their own. And if there is time during the day for reading a book, I'd often rather curl up on my own and read.
But it's good for all of us to gather and experience stories together.
There are so many benefits to reading aloud. Increased vocabulary. Greater reading comprehension. An instilled love of reading.
I was not a bookworm growing up and didn't develop a love of reading until after college. It's not that I didn't read as a child. I did. I can remember favorite books, but I didn't love to read until later. At ages 6 and 8 my girls already love to read and have read hundreds (thousands?) of books.
I am convinced that my girls are strong readers because of the time we have spent reading together. Reading together has been a priority in our home, and I think it shows. Reading aloud is also one of the foundations of our home education journey. Resources like Story of the World, Life of Fred, The Story of Science and A Child's Geography are wonderful additions to our learning experience. In some cases they are the foundation for what we are learning.
As we enter into summer and a new season of learning, I plan to spend even more time reading aloud to my girls. I have a short list of books I'd like to get to, but even if we don't get through them all, I know we'll enjoy the adventures that are awaiting us.
Here's what we'll try to read:
- Begin by Philip and Erin Ulrich
- The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
- The Bark of the Bog Owl by Jonathan Rogers
These are all first books of series, so if we really like the book, we might continue in the series.
What are you reading aloud this summer?
Oh, I love those pictures! I've been so surprised with how much the boys love being read to and whenever we do it, they all just flock and snuggle in (well, not Luke but someday...) I love doing it and my greatest challenge is forcing myself to stop, sit down, and DO it. Life of Fred sounds so intriguing. I would love to get that!
ReplyDeleteThat first photo is at your dad's house in NY. I also have a picture of you reading to Sydney (probably the same book!) from the same day. : )
DeleteMy husband and I are both voracious readers. When I was pregnant with our first I already worried what I would do if she didn't enjoy reading like we did. LOL! Fortunately all of my girls love to read. Our homeschool curriculum is full of good, old, living books. Not a day goes by that I don't read to girls...and the oldest is 16. We love our time together reading.
ReplyDeleteJill, thank you so much for mentioning our book. We hope you and your girls enjoy it!! Happy summer!!
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