Why We Do Read-Alouds

Lately I’ve been reflecting on one practice I wouldn’t dream of dropping, even as we transitioned to unschooling. My kids would revolt if I did anyways.  There is so much research on the benefits of reading aloud to your children. I’m not going into that here, but I am going to start with that it is beneficial as an assumption. But I think to receive all the benefits of reading aloud to your kids, it is equally important what you read. 

The library is filled with so many books that I have read and felt that it was stolen time that I can’t get back. This can be equally true of books written for children and adults. There are so many well-written children’s books, why waste your time on books that are less so? Reading a ten page summary of a TV show does little justice to the world of books. Caveat to this is that I do sometimes read books like this that my kids pick out-because I love them and want to show care. However, they aren’t books I want to own. I want to wet their appetite for beautiful stories with beautiful language in the same way that I want to teach them to enjoy healthy food. (Is my Charlotte Mason influence showing?) 

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

We want to cultivate a love of good and beautiful things in our children’s hearts. Stories are one of the easiest ways to do that. Stories offer our children an opportunity to walk through the hero’s journey, to face moral dilemmas and even ‘try on’ different character traits. To experience through story another’s struggle and journey to overcome can become a part of our own story. Beautiful stories with beautiful language, like art and nature, are an expression of beauty from our God who created the world to be beautiful as well as functional. 

There is a reason that Jesus taught in parables. Our minds are made to remember stories and narrative. So by reading stories we are tapping into one of the foundations of learning that has been used by many cultures for thousands of years.  We are giving our children (and ourselves) the opportunity not just to hear information, but to do the work to sort it into knowledge. Doing this mental work is what I believe Jesus meant as he was explaining to his disciples why he spoke in parables.

Read-alouds in our house are a family experience. Sometimes we sit snuggled together on the couch, other times the girls listen while building with legos, drawing or knitting. But all are listening and soaking in an experience brought by the written word. It becomes a journey that we’ve all traveled together, a shared experience. My oldest will yell out loud at a character who has committed a wrong. My middle will laugh when she finds something comical, causing the rest of us to break into hysterics. My youngest wants to pause to study any pictures. But the real magic happens afterwards, as we discuss what we read. Why did a character act the way they did? Was it a good choice? What would you have done? What relevant history gives us context for the story? Can we find where it took place on our globe? Sometimes we look up something that piques an interest or a question. This is where so much of the learning happens as each person holds onto what they find meaningful and makes connections. These conversations are also how it moves from something we all experienced, to something we experienced and participated in together.

Last summer we read the Little House on the Prairie Series. We enjoyed these books immensely. We became dear friends with Laura as she explored each of her new homes, watched her parents homestead, and struggled with all of the common trials of childhood. These books led us to try new things like making our own butter, a favorite snack of milk and popcorn, and great discussions about American history. These past few months we’ve been reading the Birchbark House series. They are delightful and heart-tugging stories about a Native American girl and her experiences as white settlers move west. I remember learning about this in school, along with many of the tragic and violent events of the era.  So I’ve known that so much of what happened was wrong and sad. But I’ve never felt truly heartbroken for these people the way I did reading these stories. Heartbroken as her little brother dies of smallpox. Heartbroken as her family is forced to leave the land that they loved, and where they’ve lived for generations. While they are fiction, I can experience an empathy I didn’t have before I walked through this story. Well written stories are powerful bringers of empathy. We learned to love both Laura and Omakayas with all their imperfections. We learn the power of perspective and the value of listening.  

I came from a family where I was read to. Because of that, reading to my children was natural. I found my oldest would calm down through reading her favorite book, even as a four-month old. My younger two aren't as interested in reading in the same way that my firstborn is, but they still love to listen as I read aloud. I know not everyone loves reading the way I do. But stories are universal. Passing down the love of reading is a gift we can give to our children. All the learning that happens through stories is only one of the benefits. The bonds formed reading together is powerful. And spending time with beautiful stories is an easy way to turn both ours and our children’s minds to the lovely and praiseworthy.