Read-Aloud Fun for Everyone

There is an abundance of benefits you can gain from everyday reading aloud, including mental stimulation, knowledge, vocabulary expansion, memory improvement, stronger analytical thinking skills, better focus and memory, improved writing skills, creativity, and good old-fashioned entertainment. A great way for your family to reap these benefits–and more!–is by integrating reading time into your family’s everyday routine. In honor of National Reading Month, here are some homeschool read-aloud tips for encouraging readers of all ages, creative ways to make reading time special, and a variety of ways to incorporate reading aloud into your homeschool living.

Ready, Set, Read!

While the benefits of reading aloud with your children are undisputed, knowing that you should–and even want!–to do something and actually making the time to do it can be two very different things. One of the best parts of homeschooling is that you can create your own schedule to make things work for your family, but getting your priorities sorted and settled into a workable routine still takes some time and effort. These 5 Ways to Set Yourself Up for Success from Simple Homeschool can help you fit family reading aloud time into your schedule.

Jamerrill Stewart shares how she became a “homeschool read-aloud momma” in her blog, Large Family Table.

Homeschool mom Amy, of Hope Is the Word, shares her tips for reading aloud with Homegrown Learners. Helping children learn to focus, process auditory information, and develop their own passions for reading will prove useful far beyond your family reading circle.

Tailored Reading Habitats

One of the best things about reading aloud for entertainment is that you can do it anywhere–no batteries required! Read around the breakfast table, pull your living room furniture into a cozy circle, pile a bunch of pillows on the floor and build a blanket fort, or try this cute idea of using plastic storage bins to make these adorable–and stackable for storage–book boats. These can serve as great cozy places for kids to settle to listen to a read-aloud or to read to themselves.

Whether you consistently read with your children in the same location every day or not, consider having a small space in your home set aside for reading that you and your children can use for reading aloud together or for some quiet time reading alone. Year Round Homeschooling shares 3 Reasons Why Your Homeschool Needs a Reading Corner.

Megan Mora Fuentes

A homeschool graduate, Megan earned her associate degree while in high school. She has worked as an office manager for eight years. In her spare time, Megan enjoys kayaking, writing, and baking cookies for anyone who will eat them. She and her husband live in her hometown of Winchester.

How to Read

First, check out theHEAV reading blog, for great titles like “8 Ways Lego Play Boosts Literacy,” posts by experts like Dianne Craft, Denise Eide, Adam Andres, and much more.

Nina of Sleeping Should Be Easy shares some insight and compelling reasons for why we need to read to our kids every day.

Where to Read

One of the best things about reading for entertainment is that you can do it anywhere–no batteries required! Read around the breakfast table, pull your living room furniture into a cozy circle, pile a bunch of pillows on the floor and build a blanket fort, or try some of these cute and cozy ideas for creating a reading corner in your home and corralling your family’s current reading material.

Year Round Homeschooling shares 3 Reasons Why Your Homeschool Needs a Reading Corner.

Cut and decorate basic plastic storage bins to make these adorable–and stackable for storage–book boats.

Upcycle old milk crates and pillows to create this book storage and reading bench from Brie Brie Blooms.

This collapsible playhouse is easy to create out of a cardboard box and folds easily for storage.

These brick bookends are simple and inexpensive and can be painted to match any decor.

What to Read

Explore this list of childhood favorites to inspire readers of all ages.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff

But No Elephants by Jerry Smath

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina

We’re Going o n a Bear Hunt by Helen Oxenbury

Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel

Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish

Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola

You Are Special by Max Lucado

The Clown of God by Tomie dePaola

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce

Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen

Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwick

The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

Stuart Little by E.B. White

The Cricket in Time Square by George Seldon

The Wind i n t he Willows by Kenneth Graham

The Borrowers by Mary Norton

Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace

Emily’s Runaway Imagination by Beverly Cleary

The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary

The Moffats by Eleanor Estes

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

Mostly Magic by Ruth Chew (this title is out of print, but you may be able to find it at your local library. Used copies can be found at Amazon and other used book sellers online. Keep an eye out at your local library book sales and thrift stores, too.)

All –of-a –Kind –Family by Sydney Taylor

Little House i n t he Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright

Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sydney

Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

Shades of Gr ay by Carolyn Reeder

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Little Men by Louisa May Alcott

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Dr. Seuss and Nonsense Verse

A beautiful way to teach–and learn–appreciation for the written word is to encourage an appreciation and understanding of the feelings that language can evoke. Nonsense verse employs rhyme and rhythm to communicate the meaning of its fanciful phrases and made-up words, and is a fun way to explore the effects language has on emotions even when you can’t understand all the words. Dr. Seuss’s children’s books contain excellent examples of nonsense verse.

Celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday on March 2 with these fun crafts and activities to pair with some of his most beloved stories.

This Horton Hears A Who headpiece from Artsy Momma is perfect for preschoolers who like to play dress-up.

This “Wocket”-inspired lacing activity paired with some freestyle drawing is a fun, creative activity for younger children working on fine motor skills.

You don’t need a “star-on” machine to create these cute T-shirts inspired by The Sneetches.

These egg carton turtles from Frugal Fun 4 Boys and Girls are fun for students of all ages to paint and decorate.

Simple clay pots transform into Lorax planters with bits of felt and pom-poms.

The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss

Horton Hears a Who! by Dr. Seuss

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

The re’s a Wocket i n My Pocket by Dr. Seuss

Fox i n Socks by Dr. Seuss