I really hate having my kids read aloud to me. Not when they were young and learning to read, it was some how cute then. But now.... We are currently reading Johnny Tremain and Heidi for my 6th and 4th grader. I know their reading aloud has tremendously improved their reading skills in general. But it is soooo boring and painstakingly slow and.... GAH! Only two days until the weekend. Only two days until the weekend. Only two days until the weekend. Only two days until the weekend. Only two days until the weekend. Only two days until the weekend.
Yeah, it is frustrating! My son hates reading aloud and that is just another thing I can't find time for because of my schedule, but I feel for ya! :lol:
Confession: My son is 11 and he hasn't read aloud to me since he was in 1st grade. He is a voracious reader with great comprehension and hates to read aloud to me. I share your sentiments exactly. I have a friend who's 11 year old son still reads aloud to her (for an hour sometimes) and she still reads aloud to him. What works for one, doesn't for another.
I would love to toss it. But this is really the first year we have done it. It was one of the things I never had time to do in the past. I have already seen such a huge improvement in their reading abilities that I am not going to toss it, at least not for this year. But there are days I am not sure I will survive it either.
I don't really hate it but I have a really bad habit of finishing the words for them if they get stuck. Some times I don't even realize that I'm doing it. I've had ds actually tell me "Don't say it for me mommy! I'll do it!" I try to physically bite my lip to remind myself to keep it shut! lol. You'll make it to the weekend! just hang in there! You also might want to try asking your kids if they enjoy reading to you. They may dislike it as much as you...If they do, then scrap it. If not, then bide your time.
You could try trading off and making thier time shorter.. I started doign that because ds has the same problem I do when we read we forget to breath... so aloud means we run out of break and get really quiet before we realise we forgot to breath lol.. but My kids love reading to other kids! Especially ds11.. we read to the preschoolers and Kindergardeners at our church sometimes! I may just put him infront of the little kids in the kidsclub we do and have him read a story once a week to them! They love listening to him cause he uses inflection and emotion in his stories.. I guess thats cause I do too.
Many times I multi-task while they are reading aloud to me...I'll have them sit at the breakfast bar and read aloud while I'm fixing lunch/supper, sit on the couch or floor & read while I'm folding laundry, etc. It does get tedious at times, but if you can do something else at the same time, it helps! Occasionally I'll even play Solitaire on the laptop secretly (sit where they can't see the screen) while they read to me. LOL.
I used to asked them to read for themselves then explain to me what they've read. I noticed that they start showing no interest in reading. so I had to listen to them reading . we also read together so I read a chapter and they read another chapter and we take turns. That helps us a lot.
That is why we do read aloud with audiobooks. The computer reads it and he follows along in the book. Best idea I ever had - he's loving reading this year, even asks for it. I buy literature guides for each book if they have them, and then he answers the questions when he is done with each section.
My DD wants to be an actress, so we keep telling her to make what she's reading out loud exciting. Also, pay attention not only to the punctuation but how the words might be said. She's starting to read more dramatically and it's fun!
That's too cute!!! Mine usually reads the little books while I'm folding laundry. We sit next to each other, so I can help, but also get some other stuff done as well!!!
I always hated reading aloud in school. I can't focus on what is being read; I have to see it. However, we've been working on a new bedtime routine that involves reading to my older 3, and on some days when I feel like I can't deal with ANYTHING anymore (usually when dh is out of town for 3-5 days), I let my 7 yo do the reading and just zone out. Nice to delegate.
I agree with the multitasking while your child is reading. This might be helpful for you. We are big readers in our house so this isn't a big problem for us. We read to Ems. She reads to us. Handsome and I even read to each other.LOL
Haven't yet. We do go look at all the tracks they leave & talk about how close some of them get. I joke with mine that the deer like to play on their swingset!! LOL!! Yesteday saw about 20 or so turkey running in the woods.
