I am not talking about my morning cup of coffee (although that is a close second). Our favorite time of the day is read aloud time. All three of my children enjoy it when I read to them. I’ve read to them since before birth. Reading is my absolute favorite way to use my imagination. On a side note: I actually think it would be a lot of fun to record audio books. I love doing different voices and acting out parts of the story.
We have our read aloud time at the beginning of our school day right after prayer and Bible study. I read for at least 15 minutes. I like to read a chapter a day of whatever book we are reading but sometimes it’s a little more. If it’s at a really good part, my boys will not let me stop. I don’t mind because it shows they are actually listening and using their own imaginations.
I usually try to do a theme each year for our read aloud books. This year was pirate adventures and sword fighting. We read Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Ember Rising (the 3rd book in The Green Ember series). There are old movies that go along with some of the books we read and we have a movie night as a family to watch it. My boys find it very interesting how the book has so much more detail than the movie.
During our read aloud time, I allow my boys to do something quiet. For instance, my oldest son likes to do his math work for the day. If he comes to a problem he needs help with, he skips it until I am finished reading. My middle son loves to draw comics while I read. He has drawn many scenes from the books we’ve read. My middle son lays in the floor near me and plays with his stuffed animals or he draws some pictures in his notebook.
After I read the passage for the day, we talk about what we read. We discuss anything they didn’t understand and get excited about what’s to come next. No matter how old my boys get, I will always read aloud to them. It’s part of our daily routine and we actually feel lost if we don’t get our read aloud time in. This has only happened once or twice and we learned our lesson very quickly. Even on days when we have an appointment or a field trip, we do a minimum of prayer, Bible study, and read aloud. It’s truly the best and most favorite time of our day. I pray that my boys always remember the many books I read to them over the years.
