I don't like reading aloud

As a child and as an adult I have always loved reading, and I so want to instill this love in my children. I think it is so important for them to love books, learning and reading. Presently, they love "reading" their own little books and adore being read aloud too. Ben is starting to recognise different letters and their sounds.

But the thing is, most of the time, I really dislike reading aloud to them. I find it so frustrating to have to read Green Eggs and Ham or Hairy McClary a dozen times a day. They won't just sit still and listen, but crawl all over me and each other. They constantly talk and chat and ask questions: "Who's that mummy? Why's he doing that mummy? Where's the cat mummy?"

Even though I know these things are all good, they still drive me mad!

I am attracted to the idea of CM education, so I know I will have to overcome my feelings on this issue, but how? I'd love any ideas. TIA.

[Mother of Sons]

nt.

Thanks, MoS, at least I know I'm not the only one!

[arymanth]

Have you tried books on tape? They don't have to replace reading to your kids (and shouldn't) but for those stories that drive you nuts, this can be a great alternative. My kids have several "favorites" that we bought, and we get new stories from the library all the time. Some of our all time favorites are the Winnie the Pooh stories. (the originals, not the Disney version) I bought the whole set on Ebay, including the poetry, and we LOVE them! (the poems are especially good for bedtime, they are very rhythmic and help get the kids settled down)

Just an idea!

Stephanie

[Mothering by Heart]

I have the same trouble with breathing :/
And it used to drive me crazy when they wouldn't sit still and just listen. It really helps, with boys especiallly, I think to have them doing something tactile while listening. They play play-doh, drive cars, do puzzles, etc and it reeally helps with comprehension, IME

Your kids are still very young for read alouds. I am not surprised that they aren't engaged. They are much more interested in the pictures at this point and talking about what they see. Maybe you should try wordless books and engage them in conversation about the pictures for now. Remember too as they get older and develop more of a listening habit, they may still need to keep busy while listening. Playing with legos, drawing, modeling with play dough, stringing beads, etc. I have read to my children since they were babies . . . starting with wordless books and working my way up. I can say without doubt that it is the most important part of our day. I read to them while they are eating their meals which means at minimum I usually get in 1 1/2 - 2 hours a day reading time. They all love it. We have taken so many wonderful journeys together with our reading aloud. At this point, my children tell me that, even after they grow up, they will come home for me to read to them. We are seriously considering some good recording equipment so that I can record "books on tape/cd" for them and my future grandchildren.
My best recommendation for reading aloud resources . . . The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease gives great ideas, great book lists, will strengthen your resolve of the value of it. I also like Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt.

I wouldn't say I really like it either. I also don't breathe well while reading, and my mouth gets tired of talking after a relatively short period. And some books are just hard to read. I recently quit reading a chapter book to ds, Madeleine Takes Command. I just wasn't having fun reading it. I am enjoying reading another book that I started about the same time. We do listen to books on tape in the car quite a bit. Right now we are listening to The Witch at Blackbird Pond which I think my boys aren't very interested in, but now I'm hooked on the story so we're going to finish it! I don't do too bad at reading picture books aloud when they are younger, because at least they are short, but some chapter books are sooo long and dull.

[Leslie]

No matter which homeschool method you choose, they pretty much all recommend that you read books out loud in the early years.

With Charlotte Mason, she had her students reading for themselves as soon as they were able to read for comprehension. She thought students got more out of a book if they invested their own mental effort, and I've found that that's true. My sons (grades 2 and 4) seem to remember more when they have to read something for themselves than when I read it to them. So, with CM, you might actually be able to get out of reading aloud earlier.

Unlike other homeschool methods, Charlotte Mason herself didn't really advocate reading lots and lots of picture books to preschoolers. She thought it was good to tell them stories (Cinderella told from memory, or what life was like when Mommy was a little girl...) but I don't personally know of any Charlotte Mason moms who can resist collecting and reading lots and lots of picture books anyway. But if you wanted to be a CM purist, you could justify less reading out loud!

We've used books on tape. In fact, I recorded myself reading books that I didn't really enjoy reading out loud. I recorded them onto my computer and made CD's so my son could listen to them whenever he wanted.

Also, I used to hate reading out loud, but as I did it more, I enjoyed it more. The right book can make all the difference. Some books are choppily written and that makes them a chore to read out loud, but when a book flows well, it can be fun. I suspect that I'm beginning to get a feel for which books are well-written by how enjoyable they are to read out loud. We're reading The Middle Moffat right now and it's been a lot of fun.

My post seems to be very disjointed. Oh well, don't try reading it out loud!

[mom2_AthruZ]

Originally Posted by gracefuljourney

We are seriously considering some good recording equipment so that I can record "books on tape/cd" for them and my future grandchildren.

I was going to suggest this very idea. Books on tape are also excellent. Even though I love to read outloud I do understand how the repitition can get to a person.

I recently quit reading a chapter book to ds, Madeleine Takes Command. I just wasn't having fun reading it

We have this on tape!! The narrator does a really good job. Maybe you would enjoy hearing it on tape.

Oh well, don't try reading it out loud!

You are too funny Leslie!!

I recently quit reading a chapter book to ds, Madeleine Takes Command. I just wasn't having fun reading it
We have this on tape!! The narrator does a really good job. Maybe you would enjoy hearing it on tape.

None of our libraries has it on tape that I can find. Maybe I'll try it again next time through the history cycle. I think we're going to read The Matchlock Gun instead. THere are only so many books one can read at one time.

[mom2_AthruZ]

THere are only so many books one can read at one time.

And definitely not enough time to read all the books one wants.

[Singingmom]

I think it was the author of The Read Aloud Handbook who said if you don't enjoy reading a certain style of book yourself, don't choose it as a read-aloud. I'm with you as far as Dr. Seuss type books go.

Your children are so little right now. If they mainly enjoy talking about the pictures, that's good too. You don't have to do much reading aloud if none of you are loving it. You'll have plenty of time for that as they get a little older.

Sometimes I have more fun when I use a different voice for each of the characters. My kids like it, too.

I'm not crazy about reading aloud, either, but I find the book itself makes a huge difference. I love Sandra Boynton's stuff and don't mind reading something by her every night. I will not read comic strips (Garfield, Baby Blues), Disney, Bob the Builder, or most Sesame Street or Barney books (although there are a couple of Barney board books I don't mind, and I like a Sesame Street one with Grover alright). I just see no point to reading books I really hate - if for no other reason, than because the child might pick up my dislike and apply it to reading.

I also went crazy with the asking questions and bouncing around stuff, but as others have said they do grow out of that, thank goodness. With my boys I ended up reading them very, very simple books, with no words or with no more than a sentence on the page, where my goal is to discuss the book rather than read it. I try to think of it as time hanging out with the kids rather than as reading time - changing my mind set helped a lot, for some reason. Ruined expectations added to my dislike of the whole thing, I think, so expecting something else helped, maybe.

Also, and I don't know if this applies, but with my boys I'd only do one book at a shot - when eldest son was little we'd do a book at lunch time and one at dinner and one at bedtime instead of trying to read more than one book at a time. My problem now is that I'll sit second son down for one book and my son will run off after but my two youngest girls have settled in thinking they'd like an hour of reading, thanks.

Part of my problem with reading aloud is I really don't understand what I'm reading. I read with great expression, so some part of me is processing it, but even when we're talking picture books I finish the thing wondering what happened - I've learned to read all the books beforehand, because otherwise we've finished the book and I want to go back and reread to figure the pictures out. Now that my oldest is twelve and we've started reading longer stuff I'm getting better about it, but for the longest time reading time was incredibly boring and frustrating for me because somehow my brain wasn't engaged. Practice does help - so does taking breaks sometimes. I'm lucky that hubby reads to the kids as well, or they'd have gone some long times without being read to at all - although he'll "cheat" and show them very short videos instead of reading to them sometimes. Youngest won't put up with this, fortunately, so he generally ends up reading at least one story every day.

Sheryl