How to Make Meaningful Connections with Your Kids in the Coming Year
If you want to make more meaningful and lasting connections with your kids through books in the coming year, then I have a tip for you:
Don’t try to read aloud every day.
Not what you thought I would say? Well, then. You’d better listen to the rest.
This episode of the podcast is the shortest yet–and maybe the most important. It’s only 8 minutes long.
You’ll find out…
- Why you don’t need to read aloud to your kids every single day
- My simple technique for feeling good about getting to important things I get to… most days
- What you won’t regret at the end of this year
Listen below:
Remember–reading for just 10 minutes every other day amounts to 30 hours each year. That’s an amazing amount of reading aloud!
To remind yourself of all of those 10-minute mini-wins, download the calendar below and put it somewhere visible (like your fridge).
Enter your email to download your 365-Day Read-Aloud Habit Tracker:
At the end of the year, you’ll have a lot of x’s worth celebrating–even if you don’t share books with your kids quite as often as you hoped.
This calendar will help you count it.
Here’s to a year of meaningful and lasting connections with our kids. We’re rooting for you!
I still have such a hard time getting my kids to actually want me to read to them. My 8yo loses interest after a while (even if they’re books he’s picked out), and my 5yo doesn’t want me to read anything unless it’s TV character based (Octonauts, Blaze and the Monster Machines, etc) or about dinosaurs. Sometimes I find myself reading the books to myself because my kids won’t sit still. I’ve tried giving them something to do while I read (playdoh, toys cars, coloring, etc), and it doesn’t seem to help. It just seems like everything that involves books is a struggle.
Okay, so I JUST listened to this short podcast. Obviously, I’m already behind! BUT we have been reading aloud, so it’s a win! I was wondering if you’d consider making this an academic August to July calendar for homeschooling? I’d love an updated copy if you do! Thank you for Teaching From Rest and all you do!
Love your work.
hello Sarah! I am new here! Thank you for all of your work to help us mommas! I was wondering if you know of any audible stories for bed time for an 7 year old? He needs something to help calm him down at night after being tucked in – even AFTER reading stories together. Do you have any suggestions? I would love any ideas. thank you!
How do I access the podcast notes for this episode? I know I’ve found them before, but I’m feeling like a total techno peasant and can’t figure it out today.
Thanks for putting this together! This is on my husband’s and my heart ❤️
Thank you for the encouragement. I really enjoy your podcasts. I’m printing out the calendar right now. I loved the poem portion you shared. You should put it on the top or bottom of the year-at-a-glance calendar as a reminder. I’m going to hand write in on the top of mine. Keep up the awesome work!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I needed this little kick in the pants! :)
So important for us to remember these tips about staying close with our kids. I’m so grateful for the advice, especially as my son and I start down our museum-based schooling path (museumschooling.wordpress.com). Thank you for these mindful bits of wisdom.
When did you start reading chapter books aloud to your children? My girls are 3 1/2 and 2 so we are still doing just picture books – longer ones with more words for my older one who has a longer attention span, but wondering at what age is good to start with chapter books. :)
Hello, Sarah!
I’m sorry I can not speak English and I can not hear the podcast. I just want to leave my comment on that I have really realized that reading aloud daily really did not bring me very good fruit either. I also realize that they love a lot more when it is not something that “is part of the curriculum” but rather an act of love that I, among my thousands of chores with (not daily) externalize through reading for them.
Thank you for your comforting post.
Big hug
I’m curious how you think this would work in a high school special education classroom. My kids are high functioning but do have reading and writing goals. Most of them are 15-18 years old and dislike reading.
So refreshing…I am a Nana who loves reading to my Grand Littles. Thanks..I love the lists..I quickly get online and request them from the library.
In your last podcast you quoted a beautiful poem about how each drop of water and grain of sand much like the small day-to-day moments, add up to the ocean and mountains that we call our life. Can you post a link to that?
http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/l/l174.html Here is a link to the poem she mentioned… by Julia Carney
Oh Sarah, here I am in bed with a flu, but now you have given me another nudge so I guess I better go and read something to my children. Thank you for your hard work for us and happy new year to you all!
Thank you for everything you and your team do! Read-Aloud Revival has truly changed my kids’ childhoods for the better!
One thing I do to help me feel accomplished with read-aloud time is that I keep a list of the books we have read aloud over the year. When you look back and see that list, it is amazing. I print it on the back of my child’s “graduation certificate” for that school year :)
Thank you for this post! Just what I needed to hear as we gear up for the spring semester of homeschool . God bless you Sarah!
I have always read aloud to my kids. Best part of our days together for sure. I have tried to keep a reading log but mostly now just jot down the big winners. All three boys enjoy this time.
Thanks again so much for all of your encouragement great ideas and support. This is a very helpful podcast for becoming disciplined in anything we are trying to work on for the new year. I know it is better to read to my kids myself and most of the time that is what I do. One of the ways I get reading in almost every day is to use books on tape as well. Some books on tape are recorded with different accents like James Harriet books with an accent from Glasgow Scotland. We live in France and so my children here two languages every day but getting to hear books read in the accent of the original country that they were written in has been a fun way to learn about different cultures. Don’t worry I don’t substitute this for reading to my children myself I recognize the value of that. Thanks again for your work.
What a great surprise to find this in my inbox!! Loved your little “note” ;). I laughed out loud about the dental hygienist comment…I have four kids (9, 9, 8 and 3) and can totally relate!
Hello Hello!!! I stumbled across your podcast about a year ago and it has changed our lives!! Thank you for the blessing of you and your team!! Looking forward to spending many hours this year bonding through books with my three littles!! Here’s to a wonderful, book-filled 2017!!!!
Thank you for the inspiration and hard work- RAR team!
I have always loved reading and I did purpose to read aloud to my kids, but your podcast and blog inspires me so much. I read 28 (chapter)books to my kids last year! We all look forward to our read aloud time. I also started reading picture books from Give Your Child the World book lists. Reading is amazing!
28!!! That’s amazing!