My oldest is a confident happy reader, she enjoys reading to herself but she also LOVES it when we read a book together.  It is honestly one of her all time favourite activities.  Curling up on the couch while we dive into a book and yes she does not NEED me to read to her she can manage the books herself but it is not about Needing it is about nurturing that enjoyment of quality stories.

I know in our busy lives finding time to still read a book together with a child who is a confident reader may seem like a waste of precious time. I get that, really I do. But for me to is about developing that love of books, nurturing that desire to get lost in a story, encouraging the idea that good literature is entertainment in its finest form.

And when we read together a lot happens.  She follows me as I read, words that she might have struggled with become easy words, phrases that she might not have 100% sure about get discussed and her vocabulary and understanding of a past lifestyle gets broadened.  She listens as I read with expression and she copies the expression.  Her younger brother often joins us but he does sometimes opt for an activity on the floor while he listens.

We don’t tear our way through the books, we read them slowly, chapter by chapter and we discuss the events and the characters we encounter.

We don’t always read curled up on our couch at home we often take our current book out with us.  Sometimes to a local park or a coffee shop and we read a bit more there.

And often once I have finished a chapter and am busy with something else she will find her own spot and reread the latest chapter.

So if you peek into our window you might just spot us on the couch with me reading to the kids and if you look a bit harder you might spot my daughter following every word I read, correcting me if I make a mistake and quizzing me about how life back then was different.  And hopefully if you stop back in a few years time she will still be curled up on the couch with another classic book, hopefully she will still choose reading as a form of entertainment and enjoyment.

A Bit about the Books that we using as Family Reading

We are loving the Oxford Children’s Classic Series and they are without a doubt our current favourites for Family Reading.  I am busy reading The Railway Children to both kids and my daughter is actually attempting The Secret Garden – it started off as just her book but her younger brother has convinced her that it should be THEIR book (ie she is reading it out loud to the both of the them).  And with all the family reading going on my youngest has now even started trying some of the books himself.  For Quality Read Aloud Family Books we Highly Recommend this range of Classic Children Stories – All three of us are LOVING the three books that we have.

These are the three Oxford Children’s Classic stories that we currently have

Oxford Children’s Classics: The Railway Children

Oxford Children’s Classics: The Secret Garden

Oxford Children’s Classics: Heidi

I did approach Oxford University Press and requested sample copies of these three books as I was wanting some classic Children’s stories for Family Reading.

I have included some Affiliate links. If you follow an affiliate link and go on to purchase that product, I will be paid a very small commission, however your cost will remain the same. I only include affiliate links for products use and love.

Save

Save

Save