Bring Back Read Alouds & Free Book Review Pack
Both my children are great readers, but I will tell you they did not read early. Just because we homeschool does not mean I have “gifted” children who started reading out of the womb. The exact opposite. Both my boys were late readers. 6 months to a year behind “grade level” and about a decade behind homeschool expectations. Was I worried – of course. Yet it all clicked and they quickly surpassed grade level.
But there is something special about read alouds even when a child can read for themselves. Reading a novel together has been one of my parenting highlights.
Hubs read the first 2 Harry Potter books to us, while Jake and I sat wide-eyed on the floor sharing a blanket waiting for the next words to fall with perfect British accent. He read The Hobbit to us in the same way. Each character having a different accent and making the magic come alive every night on the couch.
We eventually graduated to audio books. Laughing hysterically to Tom Sawyer and some of us crying when Boxer died in Animal Farm. There was something special about all of us sitting together listening. We experienced these novels together.
Once we moved to Colorado the read alouds ended. Audio books and air pods filled heads while the house remained silent. We listened to our own things … separated. This quarantine has brought us together.
I decided to buy a few Roald Dahl books – the ones that were never turned into movies – to fill some time during the “stay-at-home” orders. He always made us laugh through James and the Giant Peach and Matilda. No one read these books to me when I was a child, so I greatly enjoyed reading them now with my youngest.
While waiting for a physical therapy appointment to end I read The Enormous Crocodile in the car- with the accents, as requested. My accents do not compare to Hubs’ but I still can bring about a laugh or two. When this short little book about a ridiculous reptile ended I felt such sorrow for this season of read alouds being over. Because we’re so old and mature now.
I remembered the one summer I read every single book of Percy Jackson and the Olympians because they begged, “just one more chapter, please” and I read until I grew hoarse.
I remember choking on words and holding back tears when I read Charlotte’s Web, and how I held a sobbing little boy for what seemed like hours.
Why not bring back the Read Alouds? Instead of turning on the news or missing a sporting event over the weekend – read together? Who cares how old your children are or if they can read themselves. Who cares if they’ve already seen the movie – the book is always better!
I’m challenging my family to spend some time every day together & bring back the beloved read alouds!
For fun we created The Enormous Crocodile “Book Review”. You can print a Blank Book Review for any book you read.
Blank Book Reviews
Blank Book Reviews are definitely geared for younger students who might not be familiar with book reports or sharing their book review opinions. This is a great place to start (and one of those – 3-hole punch it and stick in the homeschool portfolio!)
This free download offers 4 pages of different colored reviews: blue, purple, red, and green. You can encourage your student to draw their favorite scene on a blank sheet of paper.
Become an email subscriber and receive access to my Free Resources Library. I currently have 7 book reviews available and continue to add more!
