Today we are talking all about the importance of reading aloud to your children. Whether you choose to homeschool your children or send them to school, reading aloud should be a huge part of every child’s education. I am covering the benefits of reading aloud to your children, how to find time in your schedule to read aloud as well as giving you some suggestions for our favorite homeschool read alouds.
Benefits of Reading Aloud
Engaging your children in language-rich books, helps develop communication skills, patience and literacy – all of these skills are critical to their success in school and beyond. They develop recognition of sounds and letters and it widens their vocabulary knowledge. It helps with better listening skills and a deeper understanding of how stories work. All of these things will serve them well in school and beyond. I believe it is foundational to any good education.
A great way to nurture and give attention to even the youngest child is to build a strong bond by reading books together and creating great memories that your child will always remember. Reading aloud is one of the best things you can do for your child’s future reading ability,
I read somewhere that if you teach your child how to focus and help them to develop that skill, he/she will be able to accomplish and learn anything in their life. And I would add to that, if you teach your child how to focus AND help develop a love of reading, he/she will be able to accomplish or learn anything they want.
Reading is one of those foundational parts of life. We don’t know what jobs will be available when our now 5 year olds are 25. But we can be sure that the skills and ideas that are learned by reading aloud will serve them well in their lives; knowledge, patience, focus, imagination, language, great ideas, morals and so much more.
5 Reasons to Read Aloud To Your Children:
- Bonding Time. Time spent. cuddling on the couch with blankets and maybe a hot drink, while Mom reads aloud creates wonderful memories surrounding reading.
- Reading aloud strengthens imagination. It encourages children to imagine and visualize the stories and helps them to form ideas of how the story may play out. Often I will find my children acting out stories or bringing in characters from a recent book we read, during their free time.
- Aids in language development. Teaches proper pronunciation and grammar. Don’t underestimate the power of reading aloud and the language skills your children will learn through it. These skills will help them later in life as they begin reading on their own and even writing their own stories.
- Extends their attention spans. This one can take some time, but don’t give up. Slowly increase your read aloud time and you will notice even your busiest toddlers or most energetic boys able to sit and listen for longer. Also remember that children don’t have to sit and do nothing while you read! I have plans to make a video/blog post with suggestions about what your children can do while you read, but they don’t need to sit perfectly still, there are lots of activities they can be doing with their hands while they listen to you read. Legos, blocks, play doh, crochet, cross stitch…etc.
- Last but not least, it creates a lifetime love and interest in reading. The happy memories that reading aloud will create will stand out in their minds and hopefully give them a lifetime love of reading. There is nothing like intentionally setting aside time to devote 100% of your attention to your children while filling their souls and minds with great books and ideas.
When Should I Read Aloud? I don’t have the time for it!
Now that we’ve covered why you should be reading aloud to your children and the benefits of it, you may be wondering how to fit it in to your already busy schedule, so here are 6 ideas of where to fit in your read aloud time.
- During breakfast: this is a great time to read. The kids are busy eating and they will love that you are taking the time to sit and read to them while they eat.
- Morning basket time: a basket full of books that you read a small amount in each morning, sometimes during breakfast, sometimes after or really, any time of day is great for this.
- During lunch is another great time.Sometimes I will eat my lunch a little before the kids, while they are still playing and then that frees me up to read to them during lunch.
- Directly after lunch and before nap/quiet time. This in-between time is a great time to sneak in some reading aloud. Remember you don’t have to read for an hour, 15-20 minutes is a great starting point and you may find after a few weeks that your kids will ask for you to keep reading because they want to know what happens next in the story.
- Before bed. This is the classic read aloud time and it’s a great one. I like to send my kids to get changed and their teeth brushed a little before their actual bedtime so that way there is plenty of time to read books before bed. This is a special time of the day and is a great way to spend the time right before your kids go to bed for the night.
- In the car! Don’t forget about audio books! Audio books are a fantastic way to get in some read aloud time while you are driving to and from activities. Local libraries often have apps available for renting audio books and you can download them right onto your phone for listening in the car.
Read Aloud Book Lists
I want to share two of my favorite places to get read aloud book lists and ideas. The first one is my friend Amye from The Intentional Childhood. She has fantastic knowledge and taste in choosing language-rich books filled with great stories and ideas. Her book lists are my absolute favorite. And while you’re at it, check out her amazing podcast, the intentional childhood, you won’t regret it!
Another great resource for homeschool read aloud book lists is the Read Aloud Revival. She has wonderful book lists that I rely on regularly. I always keep a printed copy by my computer so whenever I have time I can put books on hold at our local library.
Read Aloud Book Suggestions
If you want to see some of our favorite read aloud books(I only covered a dozen or so, we have so many more, but I can’t list them all), check out my video here. I shared a look inside of some of our favorite books from our home library in that video. Here, I will post the books and links for you if you want to check any of them out.
This post may contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
The Bumblebee Queen – https://amzn.to/2TegwOm
Sonya’s Chickens – https://amzn.to/2Vi6heL
Charlotte’s Web – https://amzn.to/3c1cUrH *exact one we own, with the large text and pictures, hard back.
Little House In The Big Woods – https://amzn.to/38YpuGu *exact one we own, with full color
The Stick – https://amzn.to/2HRH576
Make Way For Ducklings – https://amzn.to/2Vpm5MC
If You Give A Mouse A Brownie – https://amzn.to/38W7AUz
The Hat – https://amzn.to/2SVqfdS
Bedtime Stories – https://amzn.to/3c6aCb1
Degas and The Little Dancer – https://amzn.to/3c3QTIW
Frog and Toad Are Friends – https://amzn.to/3c3QTIW
Put Me in The Zoo – https://amzn.to/38WqTgC
Mother West Wind Thornton Burgess – I can’t find a link for this one.
Henny Penny – https://amzn.to/32m55IR
We Are The Gardener’s – https://amzn.to/2HNDAOW
Dear Zoo – https://amzn.to/2Tcw8lK
The Real Mother Goose Board Book – https://amzn.to/38TQQgI
Usborne Peep Inside – https://amzn.to/2VkaWNo
Usborne Look Inside – https://amzn.to/2uql102
My Book House, out of print. Look on ebay or local sale sites.
For the Children’s Hour, out of print, check ebay.