Reading practice

Do you have your kids read out loud to you?  How much time do you spend practicing at home? 
 
 
 
 

 

My boys are 5 and just learning to read. They like to sound out words, and every night i read one story and they want to practise reading a book out loud. Right now they go through hop on pop every night. We do that because they're interested, but I don't push It. I find with my two anything I schedule is a battle, so I am happy to sit back and let them take the initiative. I would say they're looking at books about half an hour a day at home, usually at bed time.

 

Our school requires 20 mins reading each weeknight.  In K, it was a combo of them reading to me and me reading to them. In 1st,and the beginning of 2nd the girls would read aloud to me for 20 mins in the afternoon and I would read to them for 30 mins before lights out.  Halfway through 2nd, their teacher said it was okay for them to read silently to themselves for the 20 mins.  Now (4th grade) they do the 20 mins in the afternoon during homework time (this cannot be done at bedtime as a written response is also required) and they read to themselves about 30 mins in bed and I read a chapter or two to them right before lights out.They also read all they want on the weekends, after homework, chores etc.
 
It wasn't until about 2nd/3rd grade that they started to enjoy reading for pleasure.  

 

When my girls were younger I let them lead it, but I always read to them at bedtime.  If they wanted to grab a book during the day and read to me that was great.  If they wanted to grab a book during the day and have me read to them, that was fine too.  I had one whose reading just exploded in kindergarten and she was really motivated to read.  Once she became proficient she started reading by herself, but even now sometimes I'll ask her to read to me.  I have one girl who has struggled with reading and since last year (1st) grade has read to me each night for about 15 minutes (this is along with reading extra help at school 3x/week).  We are FINALLY getting to the point where she is becoming independent and she even picked out her first chapter book over the christmas break.  Like Jen I didn't want to make it a chore... I want them to love it just because (and I model reading by being an avid reader myself).  
 
Oh and even though they are independent readers (one definitely, one well on her way), I *still* read to them every night before bed.  I love this little ritual we started when they were infants, and we'll continue it as long as they enjoy it.  

 

I read to them at bedtime but would listen to a story anytime. As they get bigger I expect to have them read to me, but for now they are enjoying reading "You Will Not Fly" to their little sister.  :wub:

 

I always read to mine at bedtime.  We do about 15-20 minutes of reading to Mommy and/or Daddy a day.

 

We read to them at bedtime every night as part of the wind down routine. Last year in K and this year in first they have "home reading". They bring a book home from school that's matched to their reading level and read it to/with us. Last year we barely did it at all because the girls were not even slightly interested. This year they've wanted to read their home reading almost every night. We don't force it though. If they don't want to read, we just read to them.

 

I haven't read to my children since they were 4, but that's because they read by themselves.  We have them read newspaper articles online outloud to us occasionally, just for the challenge of new words.  They're supposed to read for 20 minutes daily, but are only allowed to take home 2 books of 2nd grade appropriate literature.  It takes them maybe 5 minutes to read their books and their twin's books.  It's a very weird problem to have (and it's actually a real problem for us, there are only so many books written that are appropriate in context and challenging enough in words, plus once they're reading there's no pulling them away from their books.)  I've actually told them that instead of reading a story, they should write one.  Alice is currently writing a book about our cat Pris.  Chapter 1?  I am a Pris-cess.  Chapter 2?  I am a Pris-oner.  Royce is writing about Super Smash Brothers.  His is a non-fiction book about how to play the game. 

 

 
I love that problem and solution! I was like that as a kid too, and was reading adult novels by the time I was in the 4th grade because our library ran out of things I was interested in. Do you guys go to the local library?

 

Thanks.  I was just curious.  My boys are in K and both are reading.  They come to me and ask about words they don't know or spell them out to me.  I do not have them read out loud unless they want to.  When I read to them they do point out spelling words.  They are fascinated with my books and I find them "reading" them.  They were both thrilled when they figured out they could actually read some words in my books. 
 
I just don't make them read out loud to me.  I HATED it as a child.  It was tedious.  I was reading chapter books in K.  On the other hand my brother didn't read until 2nd grade.  However by 3rd grade his reading level was off the charts in testing.  I don't think being an earlier reader is that big of a deal.  I was an early reader and he was a late reader but by 3rd grade we were both reading on a very advanced level.  I just worry more since the boys were preemies.  Since they are progressing I guess I won't worry about it so much.  It doesn't help that a friend of mine's daughter is just now reading in 3rd grade.  She is gifted but has a severe learning disability.  I don't want to miss a problem.
 
I do read to them all the time.  We listen to books on CD in the car.  Visit the library several times a month.  I will continue to read to them long after they are reading chapter books on their own.

 

We have always read outloud. Still do at 9. They both were very early readers and have been read to themselves for a long time, but we have always also read out loud together. Sometimes I read, sometimes they read. It  all mixes up on 'challenging books' to super easy reads they have been reading for years, sometimes I pull out something I think they might enjoy but are not aware of. Sometimes it is just silly jokes or short stories.
 
Oral reading helps with pronunciation (which even strong readers may not know how to pronounce a word....English is weird and many words are NOT phonetic and kids can figured out meaning in context clues but mispronounce it if they have never 'heard' it spoken).
 
Personally, I don't like reading out loud or listening to books on tape (never have), but I see the benefits in both. I do like listening to my kids read out loud--- that never gets old.
 
We are big readers and our house has a lot of books/magazines....everywhere. DH prefers magazines/non-fiction and I prefer novels. Our kids are split- one of each. 
 
We never practiced reading for X minutes or timed it or kept track- it just was not natural to do so.
 
Oral reading (both by and to children) has wonderful benefits even after children can read. Reading to yourself and reading out loud/listening require different skills sets that are beneficial in different ways. One of my daughters likes books on tape as well....the other does not at all.
 
Everyone in our house reads before bed 90% of the time.....it is just a habit the kids picked up from us. Reading out loud happens randomly-- sometimes at night (or midday) but sometimes they want to read to themselves. We let them choose but we do have a set bedtime. Lights off, or they would read all night.

 

Does your school have Achieve 3000 Kid Biz?  Basically, it takes articles from newspapers, magazines, journals etc and rewrites them to the child's reading level. The appropriate reading level is calculated by taking a test right at the start of the program.  After reading the article there are about 8 multiple choice questions to answer  - pick the antonym/synonym, main idea, what should be included/excluded from a summary, what is most likely to happen after this article, etc. It requires them to make inferences, read into the article, and really think about the questions and answers which are not just straight from the article like the Accelerated Reader program.
 
It seems strange that they can only take home two 2nd grade books and not more or higher level if they are able to read them.  I'm trying to think what my kids were reading halfway through 2nd grade.  Magic Treehouse (the fact tracker companion books are good too), Fairy Magic series, Catwings series.  Some of their friends liked Junie B. Jones, Amber Brown, Bailey School Kids.