Reading to your kids....

Having a conversation with my mom. So I am curious.

Those who have 1st or 2nd graders, especially those who can read chapter books and who are good readers. How much a day/week are YOU reading to your child vs them reading on their own.

Reading to your kids....

I don't read to my 2nd grader. She reads on her own. Her teacher reads them a book in class though. It's a chapter book, and she reads a bit each day.

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I have a 7 and 5 year old and read to both of them a couple of times a week.

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My 3rd grader is always reading on his own throughout the day, but I usually do still read him a bedtime story every night.

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My son is in 2nd grade and I rarely read to him. He mostly reads on his own. Occasionally he reads to me (but he prefers not to). He's a pretty advanced reader and enjoys reading. Occasionally, maybe we read a new article we print out for him (mostly sports related).

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My DS is in 2nd grade and though he reads on his own often, I still read to him before bed every night.

I have since he was a baby, so I dont want to stop.

Reading to your kids....

My husband reads Harry Potter to my 2nd grader almost every night. Reading TO your kids is still so very important at this age! (no matter of their reading ability)

Reading to your kids....

I do not read to my second grader but I do have her read to me.

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Interesting. There was an article in the nytimes that said that those who read to their kids all through elementary school had kids who enjoyed reading and read more than their peers. My mom said everyone reads to their kids until about 10 or so. I read daily with mine but said most do not. My mom said she was a teacher and that anyone with a good student reads daily. So I was curious especially after reading the ny times article. I figure most stop reading very early.

Etd to add I see people say their kids read to them daily, which is totally different from what I was curious about. The belief is they should do their own reading in addition to you reading to them.

Message edited 2/7/2015 6:56:46 AM.

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My DH and I are both tremendous readers and will force our kids by any means possible to become the same...lol! As a result, we read to our 9, 7, and 4 year olds 7 days a week. I read a book--The Read Aloud Handbook--a few years ago that posits best readers are those who are read to...even well into elementary school. As a high school English teacher, I read aloud a lot to my students and they really enjoyed it.

All of my kids--knock on wood--love books. The older ones read themselves all the time; my oldest is on the 7th and final Harry Potter, currently

Message edited 2/7/2015 12:04:02 PM.

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Not enough! It used to be every night. Now twice a week but that's going to change

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Message edited 2/7/2015 3:22:28 PM.

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I read to my independent readers everyday, then they read to me, or sometimes we take turns reading the same book. Usually at bedtime, I read a book and then they read a book though.

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My daughter is in 3rd now and she likes to read to me a lot....but when she gets tired she will tell me to take a turn.

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I read to my 3rd grader and kindergartener every night. My 3rd grader has to read for 30 minutes are part of her homework 7 nights a week and she hates it - its such a chose to get her to read. She does enjoy me reading to her and I have read to both kids since they were babies. So based on that I dont know if you can make a kid like reading..my DD definitely does not enjoy reading. I on the other hand was brought up in a very busy household - 8 kids so my parents never read to us but I LOVED reading books and ready them daily all through my childhood and recently have gotten back into reading again now that I have more time.

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I prob stopped by the time my younger was in 2nd grade. I think it depends on what reading level they are at too (not just age/grade).

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I read to all three of my kids every night. The stories I read vary in difficulty, so for the books at her reading level, sometimes she'll read a page, then 'll read a page. I leave it up to her though as I don't want her to see it as work.

My oldest is in 2nd grade and she loves it. It's a time to unwind and just enjoy a story.

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my son has 2 books every night he has to read to us from school. Before bed, we read a chapter or 2 out of the book of his choice.

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I'm glad you posted this because, I'm going to be totally honest - I only read to my younger DD! My older one (7) reads all kinds of books and reads on his own only. While I read to his sister, he is in his bed reading on his own.

But, I think you are probably right so I'm going to start! The thought just never occurred to me now that he can read whatever he wants.

So sort of a spinoff - what books do you read to a second grader? THanks!

Reading to your kids....

What is good is that parents who read at older ages are probably reading books above their child's level which exposes them to greater vocabulary and leads to further discussions. I encourage it as a teacher and hope I myself do it when the time comes.

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My DD is in 1st grade and she's an EXCELLENT reader, way above grade level, so I actually don't read TO her as much anymore. She'd much rather read to me which is fine.

That being said, there are certain books she still likes me to read to her every now and again which is nice. Also, now that she's really into chapter books I've started picking out a few that are a little above her level so I can read it to her at night and we can enjoy the story together. So far she's really enjoying that.

ETA - I don't think you're ever too old to enjoy a read aloud!!! I miss reading EVERYTHING to her but I'm happy she still does enjoy having some books read to her.

Message edited 2/10/2015 8:14:01 AM.

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When my son was in first grade, they read daily in school at least 30 mins usually. I asked the teacher and she said there was alot of benefit in reading TO them still. So generally we would read together some nights I would make him read a page and then I would read a page etc.

He is now in 2nd grade and they dont spend as much time in school reading as last year. If he gets a book or magazine he likes he will read it by himself, Like the entire Diary of a Wimpy kid series. But at night we generally still read TO him and switch off after 2 pages or so. IF we have time I will read to him 20 minutes adn then give him another 10 to read to himself while I put his younger brother to bed...

ETA: My son is way above grade level reading. He always has been. So he can read to himself but we still enjoy that bonding quiet time. And hearing how we read, inflections in voice, pauses, changes in my tone etc, is helpful for him to hear. Also at his age and level making inferences and predictions and reading INTO the text is important so its helpful for me to read to him and then we talk about what we think will happen next or why a character did this or that, etc

ETA again, lol, I have no intention of stopping, readign to him and I think he would protest if I did, he has always loved his story time!.

Message edited 2/11/2015 9:42:35 AM.

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