Tag Archives: read aloud

Reading is Fundamental (RIF) Reading Fun

September is National Literacy Month. One of the most important things parents can do for their child’s education is to encourage reading. Besides, it’s fun to share stories with your children. I love sharing special stories that I loved as a child. I love discovering new ones that my children have found. I love reading out loud to them. Bedtime stories have always been one of the best parts of the day. The Reading if Fundamental (RIF) site has marvelous ideas for not only getting kids to read, but for making reading fun. Be sure and visit the parent section … Continue reading →

Read-alouds: The best and biggest benefit

In two previous posts, I extolled the benefits of reading aloud to my children. Clearly, we are book lovers, and we’ve seen many benefits of read-alouds from the time our children were very young, from instilling a love of language to increasing the kids’ confidence in their own ability to read aloud. But, as my girls have gotten older, I’ve seen another benefit of read-alouds, which adds a whole new dimension to our homeschooling and to our lives. Reading a great deal of literature to my children leads to the most amazing and delightful discussions. Rather than sending them off … Continue reading →

More Benefits of Frequent Read-alouds

In my last post, I talked about the early days in our homeschool, and of slowly building up to longer and more frequent read-aloud times, which have been the source of much fun and learning. In this post, blogger Teresa McEntire offers some great tips for growing in confidence with read-alouds, and this forum thread affirms the wisdom of using read-alouds to help nudge a budding reader along in the learning process. Books have been part of our family life since before we had a family. My husband and I were both English majors who came into the marriage with … Continue reading →

Starting Read-alouds

I read to my children. I read to them a lot. Before we started homeschooling, I thought I read a lot. There were the usual bedtime stories, the books we cuddled up with on frosty, frigid mornings, and the love of library day. But after we began homeschooling, I realized how little I had actually read to my kids. Because prior to that first year, I hadn’t gotten sore throats or dry mouth from read-aloud times. When my voice got tired, I stopped. As we immersed ourselves in all things “Little House” that first year, however, we found that we … Continue reading →

Top 10 Picture and Read-aloud Books for Ages 5 to 7

Children in this age group are ready for picture books that contain more words and fewer pictures. They appreciate humor and imaginative characters. They are also at an age where they can listen to and enjoy a chapter book. Children can listen and understand as much as two or three grade levels above what they can read. So along with quality picture books I have included a list of 10 chapter books that are appropriate to read aloud to your child. Picture Books Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst Every child can relate … Continue reading →

Top Ten Picture Books for Preschoolers

Pre-school age children love vivid characters that they can relate to. They enjoy stories with action and repetition. I had a hard time narrowing the list down to my top ten favorite books, but here they are. Corduroy by Don Freeman Every child has a stuffed animal and subsequently will enjoy reading about the adventures of Corduroy, a stuffed bear. Young readers will fall in love with the cuddly bear as he comes alive one night and searches the department store for his lost button. Cows In The Kitchen by June Crebbin This is a book and a sing-along since … Continue reading →

Choosing a Read-aloud Book

Choosing the right book can make all the difference in how much your child enjoys the time you spend reading aloud to him. Choosing a Book for Young Children · Book selections for this age group should focus on stimulating sight and hearing. · Choose books with simple black and white pictures then move to colorful pictures. · Rhyming books are important because it helps develop the ability to rhyme, which is essential to becoming a good reader. · Books that contain repetition or are predictable are also good choices. · Choose books that the child can relate to, usually … Continue reading →

Reading aloud to grade school children

We all know how important it is to read to young children before they have started school, but what about reading to your grade-school age children or even older? The national Commission on Reading stated reading aloud is “a practice that should continue throughout the grades.” In a 1990 survey done in Connecticut schools only 8% of students in grades 4 through 6 were read to the previous evening. Yet the benefits of reading aloud to your child, even though they can read to themselves, are immeasurable. According to Jim Trelease, author of “The Read Aloud Handbook”, when you read … Continue reading →