Well? What do you think? How can we encourage our kids to read aloud? I believe it is becoming a lost art. Time seems to be the biggest enemy....both from parents and from teachers. I think another aspect is that people do not know how important it is to read with their kids. Once this habit is established the revelation occurs...this is freaking fun to do. Mem Fox in her book for parents called "Reading Magic" points out the sheer joy and intimacy of the moment. Another excellent book that is a treasure is from Jim Trealease entitled," The Read-Aloud Handbook." He is the read-aloud guru and continues to revise and update his book every few years. Public service announcements showing celebrities reading to their kids and perhaps publishing their kid's favourite titles would be encouraging also as we all seem so obsessed with movie stars these days. Mr.Trealease admonishes us to read to our kids every day until they are out of the nest. One way he did this in his home was to make the older kids do the dishes (yes the old fashioned way...by hand...remember?) and he would read to them as they were doing it. Try to think of other creative ways to keep these read-aloud embers burning. Perhaps read aloud to your kids while they are in the bath,or after dinner when they are sitting at the table. Of course the all time favourite is before bed. Bedtime sets the perfect scenario for a good book. It is vital that we share, get excited and bond through good books.
Read on.
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