Raising a Reader: Read on the Road

If your summer is anything like mine, you will find that your minivan becomes more like a second home. There are family reunions, summer vacations, and weekend camping trips to be had. It is all so great- but it certainly adds up to some SERIOUS time spent in the car. Add kids to the mix and the trip time seems to magically double… yeesh.

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I know that pretty much any family car you will ever see comes equipped with a DVD player. The man who sold us our minivan lovingly referred to it as “the babysitter.” I also know that an iPad is a toddler’s best friend and that your phone probably holds enough apps to calm a daycare. I, too, have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to road trip survival kits and lap games for kids. I get it. Traveling with kids is requires an advanced form of parenting.

Before you pass another tablet to the backseat or spend the night before a trip laminating another folder game, make sure you first consider adding an audiobook to your arsenal.

Audiobooks? For kids?

Yes… and yes.

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There is a whole world of audiobooks out there catered to your wee ones.  And the best part? It is an AWESOME way to boost your child’s reading skill. Studies show that listening to books helps readers to:

-Develop a sense of narrative

·     - Build vocabulary

·      -Emphasize reading as a source of pleasure rather than a skill

·      -Model the cadence of the reader

·      -Develop listening skills (don’t we all want more of that…)

·      -Boost creative play

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Audiobooks have become our favorite way to spend time in the car. We first started out listening to The Magic Tree House series. My girls were only 3 and 2 at the time but they LOVED it. The books topics led to awesome discussions about medieval knights, what a mummy was, and how to travel to the moon.

We have since moved on to Beverly Cleary books, Shel Silverstein poems, Roald Dahl and a collection of short stories. Each time, my girls get wrapped up in the story and beg for more!

You can find audiobooks on Amazon or Audible.com but no need to spend big bucks on your personal collection. Head over to your library! The children’s section of my library has a whole case of audiobooks your littles will love.

To start you out, here are a few of our favorites…

CHARLOTTES WEB and in audio HERE
THE MAGIC TREE HOUSE COLLECTION in audio HERE
A LIGHT IN THE ATTIC in audio HERE
THE MOUSE AND THE MOTORCYCLE in audio HERE

Have any of you found a great audiobook for kids? Tell me about it! We have another 8 hour road trip coming up fast…

Xoxo, 

Ashley

15 Minutes to Raise a Reader



Photo credit: Becky Kimball Photography

Every parenting book. Every doctor. Every teacher. They all have the same advice: READ WITH YOUR KIDS EVERYDAY.

Yet… no matter how many times they tell me, I still see days where I tuck those tired, little bodies into bed without a book in sight. We all do it! This is real life. It is a challenge to find time EVERY day to get your kids in a book with you.

Today, Delicious Readers, I am asking you to accept that challenge. Read everyday.

More than ever, our littles need reading time with their parents or siblings.  Tablets, Netflix, video games… none of these come CLOSE to matching the benefits of a few minutes of reading with your child.  Let’s chat more about those benefits for a moment, shall we?

* Reading is the number one way to help children acquire language skills

* Reading teaches kids how to learn- it prepares their minds for MORE

* Reading time is bonding time. A cozy, focused moment in the middle of a distracted day.

* Reading allows kids to problem solve, anticipate emotions, develop reasoning skills, and empathize.

* Reading requires kids to see, taste, smell, hear, and feel things in their minds. It flexes their imagination muscles.

* Reading introduces kids to science, history, geography, art, and people.

Now let’s chat the downsides to reading, shall we?

*There are NONE! This was a trick.

I remember settling down every day to read little board books with my 6-month-old baby. She was my first and I was determined to make sure she loved reading as much as I did. I would get cozy, hold her tight, and softly read through the pages.  Oh, I loved those moments! So enjoyable. So fulfilling. So… quiet.

Fast forward a few years and those cozy moments have been replaced with frantic days of bouncing a newborn while chasing a toddler while negotiating with my oldest to PUT THE SCISSORS DOWN.  Finding reading time for me these days has been rough. I say we will do it before bed…. but then we are out late and they are all asleep in the car. I say we will do it before naps… but I have laundry mildewing in the washer. I say we will do it in the afternoon… but I have locked myself in the bathroom with a snickers bar and a Diet Dr. Pepper to stay sane.

I’ve got excuses for days.

So, for your benefit AND mine, here are some ways we are going to get back into our reading routine this month:

I am putting these into practice this next month and I want to hear how you are doing in your own efforts! Keep me posted on how it is going and be sure to let me in on YOUR ideas to get reading everyday!

See you next time when we will be chatting audiobooks for your littles!