Reading w/ your kids

[5ft Diva]

I was just curious to those of you who read to your kids on a regular basis, how long do you read for? Sometimes when I read to my kids I start to fall asleep. A lot of the books just aren't that fun for me. And sometimes I get these huge headaches because the effort to read to a child who's asking a question every other word is a little too much. Is this a sign of a selfish mother?? Any suggestions???

I guess this is a three part question....

[PhillyGirl]

I totally hear you! Sometimes it is so SO hard to take the time and effort to read. Sometimes I just have to tell her we are going to read and not ask questions this time. I know it is good that they want to ask questions and learn; but sometimes we just need to get through the books or I will go crazy and never read again (okay, that is a little bit of an exaggeration).
I have heard that twenty minutes a day is the recommended time to read to your kids. Some days I do more and some I do less. I think another thing that is hard for me is that she wants to read the same book over and over again. Going to the library on a regular basis has helped this.
Well, I hope this helped answer your question.

[Dia Minha]

All of my kids have been readers, so they last for 20 minutes or more.

When I go to the library I will let my little ones pick out two or three books, then I pick out 5 or more. I spend a lot of time reading through a page or two of each book, to see if I could handle reading it out loud. I find that I can get through the really bad ones, if I know there is a good one waiting for me. Some books are just not meant to be read aloud. The worse ones ever, are the Disney rewrites that are based on the movies. It is a very rare occasion that I can get through one of those.

When I am really tired or not in a good mood then all the questions can really get to me too. However, I try to tell myself that it is not how many books we read, but how much time we spend reading together, and if I let them ask questions and spend time answering them it is more time together and realize that is how they learn. Besides Diva, answering questions keeps me awake. I use to wonder how my mom could fall asleep while reading out loud. Now I know.

One suggestion I have is to have two different reading times throughout the day. One for picture books and one for story time. For picture books, encourage your kids to ask questions and ask some of your own. Talk about the pictures and point out letters and/or sight words. You can even choose one sight word like "the" and have your child read that word each time. Or choose a little for each book and have your child raise his hand or shout something when he/she hears a word that starts with that letter. For story time get a book that has a really good story (really good stories don't need pictures) and let your child know this is a time for just listening. Story time works really good at bedtime.

[Dia Minha]

Hey, Diva, Your boys would love the Five Little Monkeys. My favorite is "Five Little Monkeys Clean House". It is about a mommy that has her five little monkeys help her get the house in order for a visit from Grandma. They spend the whole morning cleaning the house. Then she sends the little monkeys to get ready and they mess up the whole house again. I like it because it is so true to life. My kids like it because they can relate to the monkeys. Very cute and I can read it over and over and over again.

Another good one is "The Monster At the End of This Book" by Grover from Seasame Street. Again it is one that I can read over and over.

I guess that is the key. Look for books that you and your child enjoy.

[PhillyGirl]

I totally agree with you Dia on the Disney rewrites; they are horrendous to get through. Unfortunately, my daughter loves them. I will sometimes just summarize them for my own sanity. I am glad that someone else feels this way.
I like your ideas on the two different reading times during the day. And letting them ask questions with the picture books. That seems like a great way to stimulate learning. Thanks!

[PhillyGirl]

I just had another thought; something I like to do with my daughter is read one of her favorite books and have her "help" read. I will read a few words and she will fill in the last word or words of the sentence. It is all from memory but it is helping her to learn to read and recognize words. Then I start saying less and less and she starts saying more. It is kind of fun.

[5ft Diva]

Thanks for the reading suggestions. And the suggestions on the books. I really appreciate it. I agree about the Disney rewrites as well. In fact those are the worst. I thought it was just me. That is funny. Good to know I'm not alone. (I'm notorious for turning about 15 pages at a time in that book just so we can get through it in 3-4 pages or less.)

[teeny]

I love "The Monster at the End of this Book"! That was my favorite book as a child. I used to feel the exact same way as you Diva! I really, really DISLIKED reading to my kids and it made me feel like I was a horrible Mom! But, ever since I started homeschooling I have totally enjoyed reading to Savannah. And I know that the difference is that we are not just reading for entertainment, but to learn. For example, one week we'll be learning about animals and their habitats, etc. so I'll go to the library and look for a bunch of books that go with the theme. My daughter loves it, and my three year old even sits down with us a lot too. I still read just silly, and fun books too, but I've noticed a huge difference in my enjoyment. Oh, another thing we do, is that throughout the school year, we've read bigger chapter books too. Like, earlier in the year we were reading some American Girl books. Right now we're reading Little House on the Prairie. I really wondered how she'd do with this because there's hardly any pictures in these. At first she had to adjust to not always having pictures to look at, so I'd have her color something while I was reading to her. We still do that now sometimes, but after five months of reading these, I've noticed a huge difference in her attention span, and I think it's because she's learned to picture it in her head. I love reading the chapter books. The books so far that I've been choosing are ones that I read to myself around probably ten years old or so. Anyway, just thought I'd share my experience.

[natickgirl]

I totally believe in the importance of reading to your children, even when they are old enough to read to themselves. I have very fond memories of my mom AND my dad reading to us. I am not very consistent at reading to my own children, though. I actually LOVE reading books to children, even chapter books, but afternoons & bedtime are really hectic around here, so we usually skip reading time. =( I am going to do better at reading to them!!!