Top 3 Reasons you should read aloud together as a family

1.  Reading allows you to bond together

     When I first started homeschooling I was listening to a lecture about reading aloud as a family, and I was so impressed by what the speaker said that it has stayed with me all these years.
 
     She had two sons, a senior and a 7th grader.  Both were avid readers and the entire family enjoyed listening to each other read books.  A senior!!  How many of us stop reading aloud when our children know how to read on their own?  Reading opens doors and invites you into new realms and wonderful and exciting characters.  Being able to discuss them with your family opens the door for good communication on all fronts.


2.  Good readers test well and enjoy learning

     When my son was four, I took him in for testing for speech classes.  He had several issues saying words and I wanted to get it taken care of while he was young.  At this age, we only had one other child and I read to him about four to five books a night, and countless during the day. 

    One part of the test had him pointing to pictures to identify vocabulary words.  The words started out easy and got progressively harder.  Imagine my surprise and astonishment as he correctly identified "cliff" and "celebration".  I was also a little upset thinking that I needed to do more to get my four year old up to par with these words he "should" know.  After the test, she asked me about this part and I told her that I was surprised that he knew so many words.  She was too, he tested at a 2nd grade vocabulary level and he had just turned four. 

    Reading aloud gives you the opportunity to discuss new words or information with your child.  They can interrupt and ask questions, without have to go to that pesky dictionary (that no one really ever uses because most of us just skip over a word we don't know).

3.  Reading is a better instrument of your time

     My friend bought her child a Kindle Fire.  I was excited to see how this new technology, this ability to download a book at the speed of light would enable children to read more and more books.  Imagine my surprise and shock when she told me that her child uses it to play games and not read.  What's the point then?

    In this day and age, most kids don't read for pleasure.  They read only what is required in school and then run home to their computers and video games.   Gone are the days when a child sits on the couch reading, laughing over a joke in a book and stopping to take the time to tell mom why they are laughing.  Now, kids are shut up in their rooms and they don't come out until they eat. 




Reading together opens new doors, new worlds, new friends.  Reading together enables the family to laugh, cry, or be amazed at the words on the page.