In our homeschool I have spent many, many hours reading aloud to my children. There are so many benefits to reading to your children, and it’s always something I’ve enjoyed, so it was a high priority for us.

As it turns out, an oral literature-based approach is perfect for our situation as both of my children have learning challenges: one with a visual disability similar to dyslexia, and the other with auditory processing delays. Of course, reading aloud is not all we do for school. It has taken a lot of observation and research to find the best approach to help each of my children reach her potential. However, I discovered early on that reading to them definitely helped increase their attention spans and retain information.

That seems to baffle some parents who are considering homeschooling. I’m often asked, “How do you keep the children’s attention when you read to them? How do you make sure they are listening and comprehending?”

My answer: “Let them do something with their hands while you read.”

I think sometimes parents have the notion that the children should be quietly sitting in chairs, with their attention completely focused on Mom in order to listen as she reads. That has not been my experience.

I have been reading to my children for 45 minutes to an hour a day since they were toddlers. Laura was 3 when I started reading chapter books aloud to her. I had heard that reading aloud to children helps increase their attention spans, so I read to her even when she was wiggling about the room, playing. And you know what? It worked!

I remember one day when Laura was in 2nd grade the book we were reading was Ginger Pye. It is actually a rather long book for that age group, but I had just allowed the girls to play quietly as I read each day, not realizing that Rebecca, age 4, was even listening. The day after we finished Ginger Pye I showed them the next book on the list.

“Look! We get to start a new book today!”

Rebecca was crestfallen. “But! What happened to the doggy?”

She wanted to hear more about Ginger Pye. I was excited to realize she had been following along. Fortunately for her, we happened to have the sequel, Pinky Pye… so yes, we read that next.

Over the years my children have enjoyed a wide variety of “quiet” activities while I read to them. My only rule is that they have to be perfectly quiet. Therefore they can’t work on the same activity together– otherwise they’ll try to whisper.

Just a few suggestions:

• drawing pictures, often related to the story
• practicing handwriting (or calligraphy when they were older)
• jigsaw puzzles
• coloring (with crayons, pencils, or markers)
• historical paper dolls
• perler beads… or even better, Simbrix beads (from Timberdoodle)
• Legos (When we were reading about Egypt they build a pyramid, with a tiny Lego person wrapped in tissue for the mummy inside.)
• Playmobil sets
• needlework such as knitting, crocheting, or embroidery
• play dough

I have been amazed at how much my listeners retain of what they hear when their hands are busy. After cultivating a listen-and-work habit I find that they now like to listen to audio books when they are working on a quiet project.

Quiet-play resources that tie in with historical read-alouds:

When reading historical novels, I like to offer my kids something to do that ties in with what we’re reading. These are some resources I’ve found that work great for that. I’m obliged to tell you these are Amazon affiliate links. Your purchase helps support this blog without additional cost to you. Thank you!

• Coloring Books
  • Around the World
  • Ancient Egyptian Designs
  • Life in Ancient Egypt
  • Life in Ancient Greece
  • Life in Ancient Rome
  • Wonders of the World
  • Warriors Through the Ages
  • Knights and Armor
  • Life in a Medieval Castle and Village
  • Indian Tribes of North America
  • Exploration of North America
  • Life in Colonial America
  • Story of the American Revolution
  • The Lewis & Clark Expedition
  • Western Pioneers
  • Legendary Outlaws and Lawmen of the Old West
  • Story of the Civil War
  • Great African Americans
  • Victorian Fashions
  • Story of World War I
  • Story of World War II
  • History of the Civil Rights Movement
  • Great Inventors and Inventions
  • American Legends and Tall Tales
  • Historic American Landmarks
• Paper Dolls
  • Ancient Egyptian Costumes
  • North American Indian Boy and Girl
  • Christopher Columbus
  • Elizabethan Costumes
  • American Family of the Pilgrim Period
  • American Family of the Colonial Era
  • George Washington and His Family
  • American Family of the Federal Period
  • American Pioneer Family
  • Southern Belle Ball Gowns
  • American Family of the Confederacy
  • American Family of the Civil War Era
  • Abraham Lincoln and His Family
  • American Family of the Victorian Era
  • American Family of 1900-1920
  • American Family of the 1920s
  • American Family of the 1930s
  • American Family of the 1940s
  • American Family of the 1950s
  • American Family of the 1960s
  • American Family of the 1970s
  • American Family of the 1980s
  • American Family of the 1990s
• Jigsaw Puzzles
  • The Romans (1000 pieces)
  • The Castle (1000 pieces)
  • American Indian Tribes (1000 pieces)
  • The Declaration of Independence (1000 pieces)
  • The American Revolution in Historic Art (750 pieces)
  • The Constitution (1000 pieces)
  • The Voyage of Lewis & Clark (1000 pieces)
  • Abraham Lincoln: Triumph & Tragedy (750 pieces)
  • The Civil War (1000 pieces)
  • World War II Poster Collage (1000 pieces)
  • US Presidents (1000 pieces)
  • America’s National Parks (1000 pieces)
  • American Armed Forces (500 pieces)
  • Study of American History (300 pieces)
• Playmobil Sets
  • Pharoah’s Pyramid
  • Gladiator Arena
  • Viking Long Boat
  • Viking Fortress
  • Knights’ Castle
  • Native American Camp
  • Redcoat Battle Ship
  • Western Fort
  • Space Rocket with Launch Site

What can you add to my list?

I’m sharing these ideas on Timberdoodle’s “Tips for Homeschooling Temporarily” Blog Hop.