While I have been distracted by high school curriculum in the last few years, the educational richness of my nine year old’s elementary experience has suffered.  Rightfully, the older boys point out to me that I don’t read to Virginia nearly as much as I did to them.  When they were in early elementary school, I sometimes read aloud for two or more hours every day.  Of course, for three of those years I was either pregnant or nursing, so reading aloud was the most efficient way to get through school.  I probably rocked a thousand miles with a book in one hand and the baby in the other arm. 

These days, with the amount of time school seems to take and the number of outside activities we have, I find it hard to spend time reading aloud. In my concern for doing all I need to at school, I’ve set aside the very thing my older children remember as the best part of school! 

To recapture some enthusiasm – and find a book I haven’t read to pique my own interest – I consulted a guide from my early days of home schooling, Jim Trelease’s, The Read Aloud Handbook.   These lists include summaries, reading/listening level, number of pages and related books.  Sometimes having a list helps me overcome the inertia that keeps me from getting started.  In the lists I found some old favorites I had forgotten from the boy’s elementary years, some classics I haven’t read yet and a bunch of titles appealing to girls.   

The Read Aloud Handbook was just the prescription I needed to revive my dedication to reading aloud; this newest (5th) edition has been up-dated and expanded considerably.   The entire first half of this new edition is an educational manual on using reading aloud to develop fluency, comprehension and a love for reading.  Not only does he summarize documented research and statistics that support reading aloud, he relates compelling stories of the difference reading aloud has made in classrooms and homes.  He also debunks some myths about computers, classic literature, comic books and using recorded books (he likes books on tape and some comic books, by the way).  What I liked best is that he encouraged me to just read for the sheer pleasure of the book, detached from “school work” and writing summaries or literary analysis. 

Trelease includes suggestions for implementing a read-aloud program including mother/child book clubs, using magazines, reading series and teaching about authors.  This newest edition also provided suggestions for continuing reading aloud to teens and high school students and developing an avid reader after the age of thirteen and using books to understand your adolescent’s mind.  

Another “old favorite” Trelease revives and explains is a practice which bridges reading aloud and encouraging children to read for themselves – sustained silent reading,  SSR for short.  If “everyone” in the family stops to read silently, it provides a model and practice for students, encourages them to make their own reading selections and gives the mother 15 – 30 minutes of peaceful reading for herself! 

The NEW Trelease manual on reading aloud is a “must have” for the home school library for both the newcomer and the experienced home school parent.  The case he makes is so compelling, I’ll feel I’m short-changing my daughter if I don’t read aloud for at least an hour each day!  This book’s impassioned but practical approach to reading with your children will give you the inspiration and the methods to develop a love of reading in your children.  You might even rediscover the joy of reading for yourself.

Further note:  Trelease does not write from a Christian perspective and some parents may want to consult Honey For a Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt, How To Grow a Reader; Books Children Love: A Guide to the Best Children’s Literature;  The Book Tree: A Christian Reference for Children’s Literature.  These should be available through homeschool catalogs. 

Suggestions to get you started:

Make your book collection attractive to the student

• Pick a favorite book from your own childhood
• Issue TV tickets for reading on a 2 hour to 1 hour exchange
• Start with a short exciting book if you’re new at this
• Start with wordless and predictable books if your child’s very young
• Start a reading discussion group with a couple of your child’s friends

Allen Family Favorites:
(Sorry I can’t remember the author of all of them)

Rascal by Sterling North
Men of Iron
Banner in the Sky
TinTin (this is a classic comic series found in libraries)
Johnny Tremaine
The Cay (this is a good one to get unabridged on tape)
Timothy of the Cay
The Children’s Homer
The Sign of the Beaver

The American Diary Series of historical biographies
The Cabin Faced West
The Little House  series

Favorite Poems Old and New
The Little Riders
Snow Treasure  (my fourth grade teacher read this to us)
My Side of the Mountain
The Hay Meadow
The Door in the Wall