[Do you read aloud to your older kids? Our family read aloud time includes my 10 year old and I hope he continues to listen to my melodious voice (ha ha) well into his teens. Amy of Sunlit Pages is here to chat about the importance of continuing to read aloud to your kids even after they are fluent readers themselves. – Erica]
I am counting down the days to summer vacation. I love our daily to-do lists, summer goals, and unstructured free time. But mostly, I love the extra time to read aloud to my kids.
My oldest is six years old and finishing up first grade. He is a strong reader and reads many books on his own, but I still grab any chance I can get to read aloud to him. I didn’t think there was anything odd about this (he is only six, after all!), but recently, I was talking to a friend, and she mentioned that she wasn’t reading aloud to her daughter too often any more because she was able to read so well on her own.
She said it almost like the two went hand-in-hand: the better they read, the less you read to them. Whereas, in fact, the two are completely separate.
I can remember both my mom and my dad reading books aloud to my siblings and me all the way through high school (Little Britches and A Little Princess were among our favorites). And in the early days of my marriage, my husband and I often read aloud together (I’ll never forget the Saturday morning we lazily stayed in bed in order to finish Jane Eyre). There is something so wonderfully satisfying about enjoying a good book together.
Families think nothing about having a family movie night, but having a family reading night seems sadly to be a tradition of the past. But here are five reasons why I think you should hold tight to this precious time with your children and make this a long-lasting habit:
Physical Closeness
I have four crazy boys. None of them are the type to sit still for very long. If I didn’t read to them, my physical interactions might be limited to a good-bye kiss in the morning and a good-night hug at bedtime. But when I pull out our book, they snuggle in close. They fight over who gets to be next to me so that we have to take turns. I can rub the back of one while another one rests his head on my shoulder. While it will certainly change as they grow older, even being in the same room together and sitting next to each other provides that physical closeness that strengthens the love and affection we feel for one another. In a way, it has nothing to do with what we’re actually reading aside from the fact that the reading gives us the excuse to make sure it happens.
New Vocabulary and Writing Styles
Right now, my six-year-old’s favorite books are in the Dragonbreath series. He’s building up his reading fluency and speed, and they’re great for that, but they’re not exactly the most sophisticated books out there. Reading aloud gives me the chance to introduce him and his brothers to literature that he might get bogged down with on his own. For example, one of our recent reads was Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes. My kids loved it, but the plot was very intricate with many flashbacks and copious details. On his own, my son might have become bored or discouraged, but together, we could review important points, define difficult or unfamiliar words, or speculate on what was going to happen next. Reading together allows you to read above their level and introduce them to new words, ideas, and writing styles.
Difficult Subjects
A few months ago, we were reading Ramona the Brave. The story opens with Beezus being made fun of by some older boys on the playground and getting called an inappropriate name. This initiated a discussion on bullying, name calling, and which words are not appropriate to say. Stories are often the perfect jumping off point for discussing difficult subjects (death, illness, cruelty, moving, losing a job) as well as some really wonderful subjects (marriage, a new baby, trying something new, vacations). Sometimes you might not even discuss anything at the time, but just having a scene from a story as a future reference point can help children build their arsenal of experiences.
Familiar language and culture
When you read together, you create a language and culture that is unique to your family. For example, we are huge Mercy Watson fans and have frequent requests for “Mercy Watson toast, please!” Soon after reading The Cricket in Times Square, we heard a cricket chirping somewhere outside, and one of my sons was convinced it was Chester. And there’s nothing like seeing a single bite taken out of an apple to remind us all of the time Ramona Quimby did that to an entire box of apples. Reading together provides an endless supply of inside jokes, quotes, and references that become a much-loved part of your family’s culture.
Good Literature
On occasion, I’ll hear a friend say something like, “I’d love to read to my kids, but I just get so tired of reading those types of books.” To which I say, “Then you’re reading the wrong books!” Not all children’s literature is created equal. Far from it. And if you’re reading the bland, formulaic series that are so popular with developing readers or, even worse, character books based on movies, then it’s no wonder you aren’t all that excited to read aloud to your children for a half hour every evening! The key is to choose literature that is engaging to both of you, and I promise that it’s out there. (Erica’s book lists are an invaluable resource for choosing good literature, as are book awards lists or asking your librarian or child’s teacher.) Each night, I can hardly wait to read to my kids because I’m as excited as they are to find out what happens next. I remember when we were nearing the end of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and it was past their bedtime, but I couldn’t make myself stop because we were all enjoying it so much. If that has not been your experience, stop whatever you’re reading and choose something else.
Of course, like I said before, my oldest is only six years old, so take all of my suggestions with that limited experience in mind. We’ve still got a long stretch of time in front of us, and I’m sure things will change as he and his brothers grow older. But I see no reason for prematurely cutting off our reading time together, and I see many reasons for protecting and treasuring it.
I’d love to hear about what reading aloud looks like in your family. How old is your child? How have you continued the read aloud tradition as he/she has grown up? What have been some of your favorite books to read aloud together?
Note from Erica:
These book lists were especially designed with older readers in mind:
- Chapter books with old fashioned flair
- Read alouds for 8-11 year olds
- Funny read alouds
- The 20th century classics book list series.
- Summer read alouds
Amy is an avid reader and the mother of four rambunctious boys. Her life goal is to make them as obsessed with books as she is. (Judging from the dozens of books scattered all over her house, she has been successful so far.) She blogs at Sunlit Pages where she writes about a variety of books – from what she is currently reading to her kids’ favorite picture books.
Jill says
My mother read to my sisters and me well into high school. They are memories I treasure. My kids are 9, 7, and 4, and sometimes we have to separate into two reading sessions due to ages. We don’t read for long or chapter books every night, but all sorts are in the rotation. You are right. Sharing the laughs or drama of a story is a great way to connect with your children.
Amy @ Sunlit Pages says
We also split up the reading in the evening. My husband takes our three-year-old (and sometimes the baby), and I take our 6-year-old and 5-year-old. It works pretty well because then they all get reading time with us (but my husband did complain that I’m hogging all the chapter books! :-)).
Phyllis says
You are so right! We read aloud to our kids until they read well enough to read aloud to their younger siblings.I haven’t yet figured out what I am going to do with my youngest yet.LOL
Amy @ Sunlit Pages says
Sibling read-aloud time is great! Maybe you and your youngest can take turns reading to each other. 🙂
Jen Robinson says
I expect and hope to be reading aloud with my five year old for many years to come, for all of the reasons that you mentioned. We are already experiencing most of these in our family now, and I will be very reluctant to give them up. Thank you for a wonderful post – I hope that lots of parents see this!
Amy @ Sunlit Pages says
Thanks, Jen. That means a lot coming from you!
Karen Inglis says
My mother read aloud to us regularly as children, certainly beyond our reading age – probably until I was around or 7 or 8. The memories of some of the stories I absorbed while listening are in part what inspired me to become a children’s author – and I loved sharing my early drafts of The Secret Lake with my boys when they were 5 and 7 respectively (age 5 was a little young but Nick nevertheless was entranced and has since gone on to write himself!) Back to my mother – listening to The Wind in the Willows is a particularly fond memory. We also had ‘The Book of a Thousand Poems’ that she would read from and we would keep asking for our favourites! She’s 90 now and still going strong! (And writing!).
Amy @ Sunlit Pages says
Karen – thanks for sharing your precious memories! Your mom sounds awesome!
Beth says
We don’t read aloud anymore (the kids are 16 & 14) but we did until the oldest was about 14 or so. It was a fun way of sharing books. Even now if I find a good picture book I’ll call the kids over to appreciate it.
What we’ve transitioned to in the last few years is a Family Book Club, where we all read the same book and then have a special dinner to celebrate it. Sometimes we join up with a friend’s family, and each summer & Christmas we tell the selection to the extended family so we can have a giant club meeting with Gramma and the cousins and all.
Amy @ Sunlit Pages says
Oh my goodness! This is AWESOME! Thanks for sharing an alternative idea for what to do when kids get older. Love it!
Stacey says
This topic is near and dear to my heart. I am so happy to see you here Amy! My girls are 11 and 9 and while we don’t always read aloud together, we do make time for it a couple times a week. I also read picture books to my 9 year almost every day. I love some of the suggestions above because I worry my girls will not always be so agreeable!
Amy @ Sunlit Pages says
I could definitely take some tips from YOU, Stacey! You are a great advocate for reading aloud! Even if your girls go through a phase where they don’t particularly want to do it, I bet they’ll come back to it. They’ll always have good memories of it, and it will be one of the things from their childhood that they look back on with the most fondness.
Emalia says
My boys are 11years and 11months, my daughter is 4years old. I don’t read aloud to all of them every night anymore… 4yr old gets stories while older bro reads to himself and baby feeds, baby gets stories early early in the morning… But while re-organising our bookshelf recently for baby safety I found collections of short stories that I was given as a teenager and I started reading one randomly. Because it’s not a regular thing, it seems even more special – a real treat!
Amy @ Sunlit Pages says
I bet your kids loved that! I think it surprises many people how readily their older kids enjoy being read to. Sometimes we’re afraid they’ll think it’s babyish, but they think nothing of the kind. I wish you the very best as you explore other books together!
ailikate says
My daughter is 8 and I’m fairly sure that nothing would cause a bigger rebellion than if I suggested I should stop reading aloud.
Dana says
We love read alouds too. I love being able to shape my kids by the books they are exposed to. I have a teen in public school, the books he reads there are of the poorest quality. Last summer we did “The Hiding Place”. This summer we choose “Around the World in 80 Days” and “The Last Lecture”. I also homeschool my 10 yr old. Reading aloud is my favorite time as well. We’ve done the “Princess Academy” series, “Ballet Shoes”, and many more. I will often read the first in a series to peak her interest. When I started homeschooling my son we didn’t do read alouds. Many missed opportunities. 🙁 I realized he enjoyed it too as he would snuggle up as I was finishing a book with my daughter. They are both avid readers.
Kris says
I read to my 10 year old and 8 year old. I read books that are above their level or books that they would not pull out on their own like Tom Sawyer.
Erin says
Growing up, we had family bedtime stories all the way through highschool and at that age tackled books we kids would probably not have read on our own (like the Odyssey and a Tale of Two Cities). So many great inside jokes and fond memories came from our reading nights. A love of reading is a strong connector in our family and having a common set of books that we heard together is an important part of that. I can’t wait to read my daughter many of the books I loved hearing aloud.
Leigh Hatch says
As a veteran ELA teacher, I have been a long time advocate of read alouds. In fact, I read to my 7th grade students on a daily basis.
I am SO happy to say that I read with my own kiddos until both were in later years of high school. What a great opportunity to make life long connections! Additionally, we were able to have such rich conversations about plot development, characterization, conflict resolution, inferences, etc.
Erica says
That’s wonderful!