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A truth I thought we all knew by now: sharing books with children by reading them aloud is one of the most effective ways to help children develop a love of reading . (And, being an avid reader is, y'know, not just good for kids but good for our whole society.)
In the past two weeks, I have read two different pieces that address children and reading: How to Accelerate a Reader by Donalyn Miller and How to Raise Boys Who Read by Thomas Spence. What I found quite surprising (read: I was irrationally indignant) is that neither piece mentioned reading aloud to children as a way to help children develop into readers/improve their reading. (Where are you, Jim Trelease?!?) If you are writing about raising readers or accelerating readers, it is nothing short of absurd not to include the recommendation to regularly, meaningfully, read aloud to those readers you are attempting to raise/accelerate. It seems in the current climate of Extreme Testing and literacy, literacy, literacy, people are not prioritizing one of the easiest ways to turn kids on to reading. These recent articles, while full of good points, don't help the cause.
So, after that little diatribe, it might surprise you to learn that "reading aloud to children so that they develop a love of reading/accelerate their reading" isn't even the point of this post.
While I think there is a real danger in mistaking “can read on his/her own” for “has developed a love of reading,” that is not the driving reason behind the fact that I read aloud to my children every night. To speak particularly of Max, my nine year old... he can read (and enjoys to) on his own now. Why then do I continue to read aloud to him? I have had a draft of this post going since, I kid you not, February. But it took several recent conversations in which I found myself justifying why I still read aloud to my oldest child (even though he can read to himself and likes it) to get me to finish it. Well, those conversations AND my irrational indignation over the aforementioned articles.
A new development in our family: if you want to start everyone laughing, dreamily utter the word "Jupiter" at any random moment. Seriously. It has been the source of MUCH amusement. "Jupiter" has even derailed at least one Lego dispute-related meltdown. If you read one of our last posts, you'll know that "Jupiter" is from our recent read-aloud, Elizabeth Enright's Gone-Away Lake. I think it would only be slightly hyperbolic to say that our lives are richer because of "Jupiter." Sharing little inside jokes like this is just one of the many ways that reading aloud together makes our lives richer.
Reading aloud together…
- …provides at least one point during even the crazy-busiest of days that we are snuggling our children, sharing a meaningful experience. It's intimate... and in this age of Wii, DS and other electronic distractions, as well as soccer practice and playdates, "intimate" doesn't happen often enough. And it isn’t just me trying to get my child’s attention away from DS or TV. My children like to have my undivided attention just as much as I like to have theirs.
- …can be a springboard for important conversations. For example, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume had Max and I talking, on the surface, about Peter's frustrations with having a baby brother. But we were also talking about Max's frustrations with HIS little brothers... in a "safe" way.
- ...can be edifying. When we read together, my guys frequently stop me to discuss an unfamiliar word or a confusing/interesting topic. For instance, when reading the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, we had many conversations about Native Americans and the awful way they were treated and thought about by many people (yeah, I'm talking to you, Ma).
- ...usually makes the guys sleepy, which, before bed, is always a good thing. (Okay, so maybe you're thinking, "How does THAT make your family's life richer?" I suppose I could argue that the kids falling to sleep easier lets them get more sleep which makes them less cranky which makes me not get annoyed and cranky back at them which makes our lives richer... but I'm willing to admit that maybe them falling to sleep easier just makes my life richer because I have more time in my evening to spend time with husband/read/watch Friday Night Lights
