One of the things that I have enjoyed the most about my time with my kids is reading aloud. Being homeschoolers we have done a lot of it. Being read to starts at birth and goes until you move out at our house – and I like it that way.
Sure, there are times when life gets in the way and we don’t get to read like we want to…but as soon as I can carve out a chunk of time I grab a book and invite the kids to explore a new place with me. There are a lot of benefits to reading a book to your child no matter what age they are. Reading helps your child’s imagination develop, it helps his/her language development and, best of all, it allows him/her to develop a lengthier attention span than the peers that are living on a diet of comic books, cartoons, and video games.
I can’t tell you how many times we were too engrossed in Narnia to come back home for lunch. I can’t count the number of hours that we spent exploring Middle Earth or hoping that Anne Shirley would forgive Gilbert Blythe. I knew that my reading program had been a success when my children exclaimed in disgust that Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was nothing like the book.
If you want your children to enjoy reading then try reading to them. Find a moment in the day when it works for your family. Bedtime is often good, and helps to settle everyone down…we have used a 3 p.m. “tea time” in the past. While the kids were eating their cookies and drinking tea I would read a chapter…or two…or three….. Dang! Dinner time all ready?
Everyone is going to have their own ideas about what makes a good read aloud. Here are some that we have enjoyed a lot and were easily enjoyed by 
the various ages represented in my household.
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- The Black Cauldron
- The Hobbit
- Pippi Longstocking
- Anne of Green Gables
- Black Beauty
- Little House in the Big Woods (and the entire series)
- The Black Stallion
- The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
- Uncle Wiggly books
- The Boxcar Children
There are so many more!
Besides, watching t.v all the time is just not healthy! Visit the library, find a book you like and grab the kids and start reading. It really builds family time and great memories. And…it gives you an excuse to sit down!
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Post from: Blisstree