It's not just about the kids reading--it's about you reading to the kids
Let's just pretend no time has passed at all since my last blog post.
Happy Tuesday everyone! Hope everyone is gearing up for Advent and the Christmas season--
Okay, I can't do this.
It's been almost five months.
School hit harder than expected. Homeschooling is way better than college. However, I've got to admit--could I have effectively learned from home the fact that public structures keeping people from doing things (like...walls) are called hostile architecture? Or that plagiarism is bad and Russian fairy tales are worse? I don't think so. Clearly the school system is superior.
Okay, now that I've gotten that out of the way. Let's talk about reading.
You know what's important? Reading aloud. You know what's also important? Being read aloud to.
Reading Aloud for Yourself
I can't count the number of times I've been told that I read aloud well. I've never taken a speaking class. You know why I have inflection? Why I can do a mad Scottish accent (which is a very important skill)? Because I've read a million-billion books aloud to my younger siblings. From picture books to Percy Jackson to Harry Potter to The Penderwicks, I've read a grand total of many books out loud. One develops some pretty solid speaking/reading skills after reading the entirety of the Harry Potter series in English and Scottish accents.
BUT WAIT, there's more.
Relationship development is a huge part of reading aloud to children. Relationships are built on shared experiences—and what better experience than a shared adventure? This gives parents and their children something to talk about, and a cast of characters in common. In an interview with Read-Aloud Revival, N.D. Wilson discusses the joys of sharing stories with one’s children: “Getting to watch a little 6-year-old engage with Henry in Henry, Kansas, for the first time, and then come talk to me as if he is somebody that I might know… And talking to any reader at all—any kids—about my characters as if they’re a mutual friend… I love that. And getting to do that with my kids is especially fun.”
Bonding can even go beyond the story itself; setting the time aside to sit together and establish a reading ritual has been shown to improve relationships. The opportunity to sit beside a parent, cuddle, and watch them read is a significant factor in strengthening a parent-child relationship.
Reading Aloud FOR THE CHILDREN
It's no surprise that kids pick up their parents' habits. Both the good and bad. You can add to the good habits you pass on to your children by showing them that reading is fun! By setting the time aside to pick up a book and engage with the text, a parent is showing their child that reading is not merely a box to check off in school; it is a lifelong activity.
By introducing your kids to books, you are opening up the wide world of literature to them. This has many benefits for a young mind. For example: broadened creativity and imagination. A love of reading correlates with an interest in gaining knowledge and refining one's thinking. The practice of reading has also been shown to help reduce stress and aid children in coping with anxiety.
As children ascend reading levels and start working their way through more advanced literature (either on their own or with a parent), they are introduced to new vocabulary and complex sentence structures. They are also exposed to a wide range of facts or ideas that may be totally alien to them. Even reading aloud to very young children has been shown to increase home literacy and linguistic skills.
But how do we find the TIME to read aloud??! How do we find the ENERGY??
This is where routine comes in to play.
Homeschool perks: we could break from schoolwork at any time in the day to read some C.S. Lewis or The Magic Treehouse. But our mom wasn't the only one who read aloud to us. In fact, when she was pregnant with our little brother, she didn't read aloud to us at all; she slept. Our dad took over. Before bed, he'd pull out Where the Red Fern Grows or Old Yeller (we called them The Dead Dog Books), Treasure Island or The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and he'd read aloud to us. And it was great! Those are some of our fondest memories.
If you develop a routine, there will be time. Make a morning routine, or a bedtime routine. Just do it. Set aside a bit of time to read with your kids. It is completely worth it, and it is something they will always remember.
IN CONCLUSION...
“Since it is so likely that children will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage.”
-- C.S. Lewis
Literature and life are full of knights and heroes and the dragons they conquer. Kids need that. Kids need books.
One of the craziest things I've heard in my first semester of college (and trust me, I've heard some crazy stuff) is that most of these kids were never taught to love reading. I guess I've always known that, but it's just now becoming real to me as I'm surrounded by non-homeschoolers. They were taught to read, sure. Their parents may have forced them to read a certain amount of chapters or for a certain length of time every day. But if you place A Girl Named Disaster or Watership Down in the hands of a young child, you are 1) insane, and 2) not making them love reading. You are teaching them that reading is a chore that they have to complete for a period of time each day.
But if you show your child that reading is fun, that books are varied and wonderful and that reading is a lifelong activity, they will follow your example. So read aloud to your kids.
Peace out.