My ‘big goal’, this summer, is to have a summer full of reading for the whole family!
I’ve been leading a book study on, The Read Aloud Family (aff) and I was very much convicted that I needed to get back to spending more time reading both aloud to my children and on my own. I have loved reading since I was a small child but as an adult I found that the busyness of life and the ready availability of technology made it easy to put my reading aside.
At the beginning of the year, I made a goal of reading 12 books during my personal reading time and I’m well on my way to achieving that goal.I am working hard to put the phone/computer away earlier at night and settle in with a chapter or two in a good book. I also am trying to go back to reading being my default activity if I have to wait somewhere instead of scrolling through my social media.
In addition to my personal reading, I really want to make sure that I’m prioritizing reading aloud to my children. Reading aloud to the little ones comes naturally and easily most days. The picture books take only a few minutes to read and the four year old is always reminding me ( some would say begging me) to read.
Reading aloud to my older children (12 and 10) has been far more apt to get pushed to the side. I always planned to read aloud to them at the end of the night just before bed. It seemed like such a great way to wrap up the day. However, the reality of our life is that the end of the day almost never worked out like I wanted it to. The little ones were tired and cranky, I was exhausted many nights, and clean up and showers always took longer than we planned.
So what is a mom to do? I decided to switch things up and try reading at other times. Sometimes I’m reading in the mornings and sometimes I’ve been reading in the late afternoon while we sit on the front porch. I keep the book handy and I try to make reading aloud my default whenever we have a few extra minutes. I’m still a work in progress, but I am definitely seeing an increase in our read aloud times.
We are also working as a family to make reading a fun and enjoyable part of the summer. The older children both have comfy spots in their rooms to read as well as hammocks that they can hang outside if they want to read outside. We make sure that their shelves are well stocked with lots of books that interest them so that picking a new one is fun and easy.
To help hold me accountable and encourage others to join me on this journey I’ve been posting pictures of the books we are reading and the children reading in various places on my Instagram. I’d love to have you join us! Share a picture of your current book or your favorite reading spot. Join me in making this the summer of reading and making memories with our children. If you are looking for more help with incorporating reading into your home check out our 5 Days for the Love of Reading Series.
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