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You are here: Home / Homeschool / Tips for Read Alouds

Tips for Read Alouds

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February 27, 2014 By Jennifer Lambert 19 Comments

Do you struggle with getting the kids to

  • sit still
  • stay quiet
  • not touching!
  • not playing with the cat/dog/hamster/guinea pig/mouse/snake/lizard/insertwhateverpethere
  • stop making noises with body parts
  • stop making faces

or anything like that?

Read aloud time can be a challenge for sure.

20 Tips for Read Alouds

Good readers make it interesting by changing:

  • pitch
  • rhythm
  • volume
  • tone

It’s important to know context, show emotion, inflection, enunciate. Be a storyteller when you read!

What reading aloud to your child can do:

  1. Improve vocabulary.
  2. Grow the neurons in his brain.
  3. Help her become a lifelong learner and reader.
  4. Improve behaviors.
  5. Create strong bonds in family.
  6. Increase kindness and empathy.

Here’s a list of 20 tips to help your kids to focus, comprehend the words that are coming outta your mouth, and be respectful of read aloud time.

  1. Practice. It’s hard when they’re little and antsy. Keep going, mama! It’s great to teach respect and when and how to be quiet. Be intentional and gentle. They’re little and this is new and unpopular. They’ll get it eventually.
  2. Start with only a few minutes each day. Work up to more. We limit it to an hour. Then my voice gets tired.
  3. Mix it up. We read aloud from the Bible. Later, we do science. We do history on a different day. And we make time for fun reads too.
  4. Take breaks. Let em stretch or run around the house or do something to get the wiggles out. Attention spans are only about 15 minutes, tops.
  5. Let the kids take turns reading. Even if it’s a sentence or two. Great practice and they love it.
  6. Great excuse for snuggle time on the couch! Make sure you have a rotation schedule for who sits next to on Mama or there will be fights. How do I know? sigh.
  7. Get outside and worship God in creation while reading Bible stories or inspirational poetry or fiction. Yes, they might get distracted by birds or squirrels, but they’ll hear some too.
  8. Allow for questions and conversation time. It’s about relationship! Have fun.
  9. Give littles something to do with their hands quietly – like Legos, cars, mini animals (Toobs are great!), puzzles, blocks, Better Builders, Wedgits, or something quiet
  10. Give coloring pages that coincide with your reading materials – get Notebooking Pages here! Get US history coloring pages and other history pages here!
  11. Get books on CD or tape or Audible and listen to give your voice a break. Also check the library!
  12. Give each child her own rug, cushion, or spot to sit on during reading time
  13. Make sure they know they will be narrating this to Daddy so they should pay attention!
  14. Have the kids draw pictures of their favorite scenes as narration after reading time
  15. Inform them they will be acting out the narration afterwards. Let em make it a skit with props! Perform it for Daddy or grandparents or neighbors that night. Or video it!
  16. Let em have snacks or read during breakfast or tea time. Their mouths are full and they can’t talk!
  17. My eldest likes to crochet during reading time. She even balances a book or her iPad mini on her knee during her quiet time
  18. Give littles tracing pages or a dry erase board to play with with colored markers or crayons
  19. Provide matching cards or 3-part cards or some other manipulatives that pertain to the read alouds
  20. Read at a park, or Starbuck’s, or somewhere public. They’re less likely to embarrass you in public. They’ll be super good if the incentive is playtime or a treat after. They’ll want to hurry through it and go!
  21. BONUS! Read alouds after dinner include snuggle time with Dad. He loves listening to me read history and science. :)

It’s all worth it when you find your kids like this:

Sisters Reading Together

I still read aloud to my kids and they’re tweens and teens now!

Do you have any strategies that help your kids (and you) during read aloud time?

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Comments

  1. Misty_E says

    February 27, 2014 at 10:58 am

    Great post! We’ve just started reading the Narnia books aloud as a family and while my 6 year old loves it, my 4 year old struggles to pay attention. I will be trying some of your tips tonight!

    Reply
  2. Laurie says

    February 28, 2014 at 8:48 am

    Excellent post. There are definitely a few here that I had not thought of before. My older three do pretty good with read-a-louds, but some of these tips might work great for my younger ones. Thanks!

    Oh, and have you ever hear of Tales 2 go? It’s another audio book type site. We used a free month trial for it not long ago and loved it. Unfortunately we don’t have money for membership right now, but I think it is a good value.

    Reply
    • Jennifer Lambert says

      February 28, 2014 at 10:35 am

      Thanks for the tip. I haven’t heard of Tales 2 Go. I will look into it! Mine don’t do as well as I’d wish with audio. Nor do I, lol. I think they’ll have to begin to love it soon since there will be fewer distractions.

      Reply
  3. Manic Mom says

    February 28, 2014 at 12:54 pm

    We Love Family Read Alouds!!!! Thank You for all the great tips to even make it better!! :)

    Reply
  4. Brandy says

    February 28, 2014 at 1:20 pm

    We love read alouds here! These are great tips. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  5. Jackie says

    February 28, 2014 at 9:13 pm

    It’s so great to hear tips from other parents. I’ve shared this on my Tips for Parents board

    Reply
  6. Trish says

    March 2, 2014 at 9:05 pm

    We love read alouds too. We have been reading our Bible study aloud for years. So, read alouds are pretty normal at our house. If I can read Jim’s dialect aloud from Huckleberry Finn, I can read anything :-)

    I chose your post as my favorite for the Hip Homschool Moms’ hop, so you will be featured this week on our hop and I’m pinning this article now :-)

    Reply
    • Jennifer Lambert says

      March 3, 2014 at 6:42 am

      I was just discussing dialects in books with a friend the other night. She struggles with it and doesn’t want to read Twain to her boys yet so they don’t get ideas on misbehavior!

      Reply
  7. Marcy (@BenAndMeBlog) says

    March 3, 2014 at 11:40 pm

    We have used many of these ideas over the years. And even today, at age 13, Ben often builds Legos or draws while I read aloud. He’s just one of those kids who focuses better if his hands are busy :)

    Reply
  8. Amy says

    May 5, 2014 at 9:47 pm

    I love this! The key is finding what works for you and each of your kids. You’ve provided lots of ideas, enough for everyone to find something that will work! For us, I don’t mind my little ones moving, laying upside down, or whatever, but they key is that they have to be quiet. Like your one suggestion, we read a lot during meals/snacks. I like your idea of telling them that they will have to narrate it for dad later! I’ll have to try that one =)

    Interestingly enough, my 5yo son (who I’m sure would be labeled ADHD in a classroom setting) can’t get enough of me reading to him. He always asks for “one more chapter!” Any idea why that might be? It seems to go against his natural tendencies.

    Reply
    • Jennifer Lambert says

      May 6, 2014 at 7:04 am

      Just love it and read to him! My son is just now sitting still for reading but he says “good” when we’re done.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. #FellowshipFridays 11 & A Featured Post - Christian Mommy Blogger says:
    February 28, 2014 at 5:15 pm

    […] Royal Little Lambs […]

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  2. Hearts for Home Blog Hop 3/6/14 | Water on the Floor says:
    March 6, 2014 at 5:31 am

    […] 20 Tips for Read Alouds […]

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  3. Life as Mom :: Family Fun Friday | Everyday Family Living says:
    March 6, 2014 at 2:09 pm

    […] at Royal Little Lambs gave us an excellent list of tips for read aloud time with children. I have used many of her tips with my own children through the years. Now I’m reaping the […]

    Reply
  4. Friday Flash Blog No. 58 {Plus Linky Features} | The Jenny Evolution says:
    March 6, 2014 at 5:01 pm

    […] Love this! My 1st grader has just started reading a bedtime story every night. I’m going to have to implement some of these ideas from Royal Little Lambs […]

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  5. Summer Reading says:
    July 9, 2014 at 4:32 am

    […] still do family read-alouds every morning and evening. School books are in the mornings and a fun family classic is before bed. […]

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  6. 20 Tips for Read Alouds says:
    July 16, 2014 at 5:19 pm

    […] Read aloud time can be stressful without proper training to make it enjoyable. Check out these 20+ tips to make this a loving and relaxing family time that everyone looks forward to each day! […]

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  7. A Day in Our Life says:
    February 11, 2015 at 10:17 am

    […] start with our read alouds. Today is Anne of Green Gables, Winnie-the-Pooh, Harlem Stomp!, and World […]

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  8. Raising Readers says:
    February 16, 2015 at 8:06 pm

    […] God all four of our kids love words, books, and writing. Read alouds are an everyday, twice-a-day occurrence – and even the littlest one loves to snuggle while I read […]

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