We have always tried hard to make reading part of our daily routine. As I have more kids and life gets busier, it has become harder to find the time to sit down and read. We try to always read books before bedtime. But sometimes when we are running late and it's past bedtime, we will skip the books. I've learned that when you skip for a couple of days; it gets hard to get back into the routine again.
How do you find time to read to your kid(s) everyday?
I think that being consistent with a set routine is key. Find a time in your day that is not too crazy, and set the goal to read to your kid(s) everyday. It doesn't matter the age of your kid(s); start young! Here are a few ideas of different ways to squeeze reading into a busy schedule.
1. Books at bedtime. (If you are too tired, try a different time of day when you can be more consistent.)
2. Books on tape/CD for in the car.
3. Books in the morning. Start you morning routine 10 minutes earlier. When everyone is ready for the day, sit down and read before you head out the door.
4. Books after nap time.
5. Books on the go. Pack a few books into your diaper bag and read while you are waiting at the Dr.'s office, in line at the grocery store, etc.
Please share some of the different ways you have been able to squeeze more reading into your busy days.
At random times of the day (generally when Mommy needs a break ;), I will call DEAR (drop everything and read) TIME! or ZYLAR (zip your lips and read) TIME! and we will all stop what we are doing and curl up with a book!
ReplyDeleteI taught Kindergarten for a few years and reading is a huge push for little ones now. Here are some tips that I would send to parents/friends/family who asked me about reading. It is long...be prepared :)
ReplyDeleteAlways let him look at the pictures in the entire book and spend as much time looking at the pictures as he wants BEFORE reading the words. (we called this a picture walk) We would always do a picture walk before reading any book and make predictions about what was going to happen on each page. Even my kids who didn’t “have” to do a picture walk, we would do it and I would cover up the words so that they really had to pay attention to the pictures for a little while. This way he will get his “fill” of the pictures and hopefully be more interested in the words when it is time to read. If you have multiple kids, tell your “beginning reading” child that you are going to put a younger sibling down for bed/do some dishes/clean up the living room or something else that is pressing and that is his time to look at the pictures in whatever book(s) you will be reading that night. That way the child still gets the benefit of a picture walk, but if you are busy you can spend your time reading instead of picture walking.
After he has looked at the pictures tell him that the next step is to really focus on the words, but to keep the picture in his mind as he reads the words. Get a piece of paper and cover up the picture on each page until you have read all the words. Then uncover it to let him make the picture/words connection. Maybe ask him sometimes if that is what he was picturing in his mind as he read it.
If you come to a word that he hasn’t seen before but he can sound it out, make him do it. Even if it is a hard word like “beetle” or something. If he sounds it out phonetically and doesn’t know what it is, you can uncover the picture for a second and tell him that sometimes the pictures are good to give us clues. Have him read that part again and try and use the sounds that he heard as well as the picture to figure out what the word is. “beetle” isn’t going to be “betty” when you have a big beetle in the picture.
I would always ask him comprehension questions at the end of the book (and as you go through it if there is something to point out). Even if they are just the simple questions to make sure he isn’t just reading the words, but actually thinking about what he/you are reading and making sense of it in his mind. Teaching reading is hard…but if they never learn the importance of comprehension it is even HARDER!
***What was the setting?
***Who was the main character in the story?
***Who were the other characters in the story?
***Was there a villain?
***Was there a problem?
***Who solved it?
***How was it solved?
***Was there anything that was funny?
***Was there anything that didn’t make sense?
***And on, and on, and on
If you are just looking to read TO your child and not have them read to you…I would still have them do the picture walk and ask the comprehension questions as you go and at the end. All of that can be done without your child reading the story to you and is still important. Other things you can do with a non-reading child: read the story have them tell you words that they can read (me, the, etc.), after reading a page point to various letters and have them tell you the letter and the sound it makes.
Just some tips I found were helpful for parents of Kindergarteners and younger when I taught. Have fun reading!