Read-Aloud Revival = October 2012

 Sarah, over at Amongst Lovely Things began The Read Aloud Revival and this is our first month of joining in.  You can find out all about the Read Aloud Revival at this link.

I wanted to join into this challenge because I know how important it is to spend time reading aloud to my children.  I also know how easy it is have this special time fall by the wayside as the commitments in the large family crowds our time. 

 

Sarah posed some questions this month:

What are some ideas for keeping little folks happy?

Although I no longer have this problem, I remember the days when my first 6 kids were 8 and younger (but I have to admit these years are sort of a blur LOL) and sitting on the floor reading picture books as little people crawled, and toddled around.

My oldest kids fondly remember me sitting in the hallway after everyone was in bed....this was the time for chapter books.  I can remember reading the Little House on the Prairie series, Roald Dahl books, and many, many others. After these first six kids, 4 more came along at a much slower pace, and I found that chapter books were read while an older child (teen) would watch the babies and toddlers.

How are you doing on your read-aloud goals?

When my older children were little we spent much more time reading aloud than we do now with the youngest kids.  I don't want them to miss out on this special family time....so I have taken the challenge.

 

As you can see by our chart,(which you can print from this link thanks to Sarah)  we started out with a bang.....in fact, we started out with a 4 hour drive to a wedding, while we listened to the first Harry Potter on cd.

 

We then settled in to our regular school schedule....I am pretty discouraged about our numbers, but I see I estimated the time for reading accurately.

I plan on increasing our goal for the month of November to 2 1/2 hours a week---mainly because I enjoy the books as much as the kids do.

 

  Week three my lovely Amy came home from Christendom College for the week...we were busy having fun, but little school or reading got done.

What did you read aloud this month?

The chapter books we completed were:

The Prairie Thief by Melissa Wiley.

This was a very fun read for all ages.

Dolphin Adventure: A True Story by Wayne Grover

This book was so good we read it in two sittings.

We are about halfway through Gooney Bird Greene by Lois Lowry.

I thought that maybe only the girls would enjoy this, but even Luke likes it.

 

Everyday we also read a few picture books.....ocean life was the theme of our calendar time this month, so many of the picture books revolved around the ocean.

I also pulled out many seasonal books about autumn, apples and pumpkins.

Gracie and I have been reading a couple books about the election process (suggested by Sarah!)

and

 

Both of these books are very informative but doesn't overwhelm my little students.