Parents of young children most likely have experienced a similar situation — complete weariness at reading the same book to your child. The same book, again. You longed for the day your child would possess the skills necessary to read the book himself. And the day has been here for a while. Your child is no longer learning to read, but reading to learn. Your child reads for homework, for research purposes, and hopefully, for enjoyment and entertainment.
However, don’t think that means your child shouldn’t be read to. On the contrary, reading aloud to your child still has many benefits. There have been numerous studies explaining the correlation between reading aloud and the subsequent increases in a child’s vocabulary and improvements in reading comprehension. But without getting too academic, reading together is a way to connect; it’s shared, special moments when you are both intimately, and actively, engaged in the same experience. Additionally, when an adult reads aloud to a child, the adult is demonstrating a number of important reading skills: reading fluently, reading with emotion, reading with inflection, reading with appropriate pacing.
Now I know some parents will think that this sounds like a great idea but how do you implement it? How do you take it from a great idea and make reading aloud a regular part of your family’s day? You figure out when it could work, you choose a book, and you start.
First suggestion, bedtime. Your child is in pajamas, everything that has to be done has been done, and you have some time to slow down, decompress, and read. For some families, though, bedtime might not be the best time. For these families, everyone is exhausted and just wants to crawl under the covers and escape to dreamland. That’s when you look at your day and figure out when it will work. Maybe you’ve got a lengthy commute to school each morning. During the commute, your child can read to you, or you both can listen to an audio recording of the book. Once you arrive at school, you realize that you are ten minutes early which gives you some time to read to your child. Chapter books work well if you’re going to have to break-up your reading sessions and take turns reading. And you can take turns — reading aloud doesn’t have to be one more thing for Mom and Dad to do. You can alternate with your child.
You look at your days, and find the pockets of time for reading. Maybe while one child is at soccer practice, you find a quiet bench with your other child and read. Read aloud (quietly) in a dentist’s waiting room, while standing in line at the post office, or instead of doing the dishes right after dinner.
When I taught upper-grade, I always tried to read to my class after lunch. It gave them a chance to settle down from the drama and activity of their lunch break. We also always read books that had a movie version. We’d read, discuss, make predictions, and when the book was done we’d watch the movie. We were comparing and contrasting — how was the movie alike and different from the book version?
But reading and discussing books should also be fun, so when we watched the movie, we always snacked. For example, when we read James and the Giant Peach, we snacked on peach-themed refreshments (peach iced tea, peach pie, diced peach cups, or gummy peach rings). While we watched Matilda we snacked on honey graham crackers in honor of the kind-hearted Ms. Honey.
If you don’t know which book to read, ask your child for suggestions. Go the library and ask for recommendations. Ask your child’s teacher. Ask your siblings which books they remember from their childhood.
Just remember, unlike diapers, bottles, and car seats, being read to isn’t something your child needs to ever outgrow.