A Simple Trick to Help You Read Aloud More (Even on Your Busiest Days)
I say it all the time: reading aloud 10 minutes every other day = 30 hours of reading aloud over the span of a year. It’s kind of amazing, really.
And most of us can find an extra 10 minutes in our day, even if it means skipping a load of laundry, not getting on Facebook one more time, or putting the kids to bed 10 minutes later.
But there’s another thing I find really tricky about reading aloud: getting my kids to the table (or the couch) in a timely manner.
I might be able to find an extra 10 minutes for reading aloud, but if it takes them 8 minutes (or 100 years, depending on the child. Ahem.) to join me, what then?
I’ve got a trick—one that has forever changed how long it takes my kids to come for read-aloud time. Now I can say “meet me at the table in two minutes!” and they all come, they all stay, and we get to read-alouds even on our busiest days.
Watch the video here:
(This tip will work for you right away.)
Hi! I was just wondering if the list of read aloud activities was still available? I’ve been a subscriber for a while and don’t recall getting it. I also just put my email in and I received a link to the book list but not the activities list. Just curious if I missed it?
Sarah! Quando pensei que teria a dica, ela está em vídeo. Eu não falo inglês. Oh, que lástima!
Hi from Warsaw, Poland! Could you please share some links or other info about the research showing kids listen better when working with their hands?
I host a monthly children’s book club at our house with kids of various ages. The other parents would be willing to pitch in to stock a shelf with supplies, but I’d love to have research backing up my suggestion that we start this. :) Thanks!
Hey – Can you share more about the research on keeping hands busy during read alouds? Or more generally – the benefits of kids being busy with their hands and how that may help them listen more carefully? I’m curious about that part – sounds intriguing and could be an interesting change up to some things we do in the classroom….
and funny about the bigs clambering around to listen in on the littles read-aloud… that happens in our house and it always stuns me. :) It surprises me even more when Ainsley doesn’t really remember certain stories that we must have read 100’s of times to her when she was little… but she is drawn to them with a magical-like emotional quality – so the memory must be in there somewhere.
Love that the stories are a part of her if if she can’t quite remember *how* :)
Hi, SARAH! I’m so grateful to have met another homeschooling mother that directed me to your teaching from rest book, which led me here. Thank you for sharing your heart and life with us. I am extremely encouraged early in my homeschooling walk. My question is, and clearly it’s working for you so I feel a little ridiculous asking it, do your kids absorb what you are reading aloud when their attention is focused on other activities?
Every kid (and every book!) can be different. For the most part, we’ve been happily surprised at what our kids retain even when busy with other things.
Definitely going to try out your idea! My kids are little (2, 4, & 6) so we read mostly picture books. My oldest is a reader and he loves to just sit and listen. My second loses attention if I’m reading something she isn’t all that interested in, which can be a picture or chapter book (she loves Jack & Annie, from Magic Tree House). So I’ve been considering trying out your method recently. Anyways, I’m off to browse Pinterest for cheap and easy ideas on how to hang file shelves in the dining room for our read aloud “equiptment.” 😁 God bless!
Thanks for all the great ideas! I’m curious about the fabric the curtains behind you are made out of?
Hello, I’ve been on your email list and enjoying the tips, lists, and videos I receive there. Do I still need to “register?”
Thank you for all you do!
Erin Hertz
Ooh! Ooh! Can’t wait to see that read-aloud activity list! I’ve been trying to cull from my own ideas, but I’m sure your compiled list will be extra fabulous. Love the themed magazine bin idea! Thank you so much
In the Army, we called this “pre-positioned equipment”. I have things like this set up but haven’t taken too much advantage of it regarding spontaneous read-aloud time. Thanks for spurring us on!
I love love love the books on the shelf Sarah keeps trying to prop up and that keep falling back down. Authenticity win. Also, welcome to my life. =)
Hahaha! :)