Answering Questions

I often get questions from friends, family, and my blog readers about various aspects of our homeschool journey, so I thought perhaps it was time to address some of those questions.  

The very first question I will tackle is...

"Why do you I still read aloud to my boys (and for so long) when they can all read independently and have been able to for many years now?"

Before I specifically answer the question, I will give some background into how much reading we do in case I get any new readers who aren't aware of our general routine... Please be patient if you are a long term reader of this blog.

Our homeschool has always had a focus on books. In fact, I have made books, and reading, the core of my teaching philosophy with the boys. I do use a few textbooks, but sparingly, generally only for math and handwriting. I source quality books from our library for all our other subjects - history, geography, science, health, and some of our art and music topics.

I also read aloud to the boys - a LOT. On a good day (meaning when the schedule goes as planned) I will read aloud to some combination of the boys for about 4 hours of the day. NO! I do not read for 4 hours straight as none of us has the desire or the attention span for that. But a typical day of reading looks something like this...

Between 8:30am and 9am the boys and I gather in the lounge room and everyone gets comfortable. We start with our Bible chapters for the day (I read a minimum of three) and then progress to the character development book that I'm reading at the time - currently that is "The Moral Compass" by William Bennett. I generally read one story per day from this book but sometimes there will be a couple of short stories, or several poems, so it depends on the layout. We alternate "The Moral Compass" with "The Book of Virtues" which is also written by William Bennett and we are ALWAYS reading one or the other.

 Last year and also this year, we have had a "story a day" type book that we have read every day for the entire year. Last year we read "On This Day in History" and this year we are reading "Eureka: Mindblowing Science Every Day". As I haven't found any other suitable "read every day" style books, we will only read the Bible and our character development book from next year.

After those books I dive into subject content books for the three boys. I start with Munchkin and work my way up to Monster. I read any science, history and geography selections plus at least one chapter of each boy's selected literature at that time. Once I've read Munchkin's books to him, he is excused and will often play his allowed computer time, read, or work on independent schoolwork while I read to the older boys. All of this reading can take anywhere from 1-2 hours which means we are ready to start our structured written work part of our school day by about 10:30am.

Our day ends with more reading in the evening. Again, when the schedule is working well, we eat dinner at 6pm and then start our "evening routine" with prayers together as a family which start at 7pm. After prayers I have Munchkin and Monkey recite their memory verse from the Bible and after that we jump into our evening reading - which is entirely based on their literature selections. I read to Munchkin first and the number of chapters I read is entirely dependent on how early we finish prayers and memory verse practice. On a good evening (and depending on the book and the length of the chapters) we read anywhere from 1-4 chapters. Once I finish reading to him I move on to Monkey's selection. He is more particular with his evening time and likes to have as much time as possible in the evening to draw and chat online with his friends so we only read one chapter of his literature selection. This suits me well because his literature selections are more difficult and the chapters are generally longer as well. Finally, once I finish reading to Monkey I offer the opportunity to Monster for additional chapters of his literature. However, he generally prefers that I read his literature selection during our morning reading time which means that I'm finished reading aloud to all three boys sometime between 9pm and 9:30pm which means I have time for my own independent reading time before I get too tired or it is my bedtime.

I have read MANY MANY books about the importance of reading aloud to children - and the books take me all the way back to when I graduated from college (university). I have included a few photos of some of the books I've read - but these selections are definitely not all the books I've read on the subject.

This book was a gift given to me when I graduated from college/university and I have read it several times. As a teacher I knew that reading was an important life skill, and as a reader myself I knew that I wanted to encourage my future children to read. Not only does this book give information and research on the importance of reading and reading aloud, but it also includes lists of books that children will enjoy at various ages. I highly recommend this book to parents and/or anyone who works with or loves children. 

This is a book written by my FAVOURITE Australian author, and I've read at least two other books written by two other Australian children's authors as well. Jackie French concentrates on ideas for helping children who struggle with reading (as she is dyslexic) but this book in no way is only about reading difficulties.

This is a lovely book that was gifted to me by a dear friend. The father in this book read aloud to his daughter for a minimum of 10 minutes per day EVERY day until she graduated from high school and moved out of home to attend college/university. It was a wonderful read and she highlighted some of her favourite books that she read with her dad.

When I read THIS BOOK earlier this year it was MIND BLOWING and life changing for me. It caught my eye because our lovely librarians had put it in a display of NEW adult non-fiction books and I ALWAYS notice books about reading. I borrowed it even though I was unsure that I would learn anything new from ANOTHER book about reading aloud. Boy was I wrong. Below is the summary taken directly from Goodreads.

A Wall Street Journal writer’s conversation-changing look at how reading aloud makes adults and children smarter, happier, healthier, more successful and more closely attached, even as technology pulls in the other direction.

A miraculous alchemy occurs when one person reads to another, transforming the simple stuff of a book, a voice, and a bit of time into complex and powerful fuel for the heart, brain, and imagination. Grounded in the latest neuroscience and behavioral research, and drawing widely from literature, The Enchanted Hour explains the dazzling cognitive and social-emotional benefits that await children, whatever their class, nationality or family background. But it’s not just about bedtime stories for little kids: Reading aloud consoles, uplifts and invigorates at every age, deepening the intellectual lives and emotional well-being of teenagers and adults, too.

Meghan Cox Gurdon argues that this ancient practice is a fast-working antidote to the fractured attention spans, atomized families and unfulfilling ephemera of the tech era, helping to replenish what our devices are leaching away. For everyone, reading aloud engages the mind in complex narratives; for children, it’s an irreplaceable gift that builds vocabulary, fosters imagination, and kindles a lifelong appreciation of language, stories and pictures.

Bringing together the latest scientific research, practical tips, and reading recommendations, The Enchanted Hour will both charm and galvanize, inspiring readers to share this invaluable, life-altering tradition with the people they love most.

If you prefer to read the above review yourself you can find it HERE. Just click on the word HERE to be taken directly to Goodreads.

So, now on to the answer to the question of WHY I still read aloud to my boys. The answer is multi-faceted. I learned in my education studies in college/university, that reading aloud to young children (who are unable to read yet themselves), improves their reading. Then I learned that continuing to read aloud to children AFTER they can read fluently improves their writing - and goodness knows, early on, my boys needed all the help they could get with writing. So I continued our reading aloud as each boy met the milestone of independent reading. 

Then I learned that continuing to read aloud to fluent readers gives you the opportunity to read books to your children that they might never choose to read independently, but would still enjoy. This is also the case for me. I have certainly chosen books to read aloud to the boys that I want to read but wouldn't necessarily make the time to read independently. The Lord of the Rings series is one, and anything by Charles Dicken is another example. I have now read "A Christmas Carol", "Great Expectations", "Oliver Twist" and "David Copperfield" to various combinations of the boys and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. However, I know that it would have been a much less enjoyable experience to read these books myself. Yes, I'm aware that I have the option of listening to audio books if I don't want to read something independently, but for some reason audio books don't appeal to me.

Finally, The Enchanted Hour, taught me something else I wasn't aware of. Reading aloud helps premature babies, children with parents in the military or in prison, and adults suffering from various forms of trauma. This was amazing to read and learn about.

So there you have it... a very long winded and intricate answer to a seemingly simple question. I love that my boys still love to read aloud. I love that Monster has asked me to continue reading literature selections to him for the remainder of this year and possibly into next year even though he is effectively finished with school, and I love that I still have two more boys to continue this wonderful tradition with.