How long should you read with your kids every day?

You may be wondering  How long should you read with your kids every day?  I am here to tell you why the magic number is reading 20 minutes a night or more.

 

 

There are so many things that I, as a teacher, wish that the parents of my students knew about reading with their kids.  Reading for 20 minutes a night is just one of them.

 

It means that your kids are reading out loud to you.   If your kids are in Pre-school or Kindergarten, they are probably reading the small, repetitive books like “I went to the store.  Mommy went to the store.  Daddy went to the store.  We all had fun!”.

 

If you have not reached 20 minutes yet, this would be a great chance for YOU to read to your child.

For Your Older Children:

I let our son (second grade) read his chapter book to me for about 15-20 minutes.  He would prefer to read it silently, but he has to read it out loud because I can listen to him
-I can make sure that he doesn’t just skip over hard words.
-I can help him with his mistakes.
-When he is finished, I will ask him to tell me about the story (what happened, who were the characters).
-I also make sure to read a story to him every night.  Hearing me read aloud is also important.  

You can download & print this chart by clicking here.
 

I know that time is tight.    I know that you are busy.    I know that your kids need to get to bed early.  

I know that they will ask you “Mommy, will you lay with me?” at the end of the day, and you’ll wonder if you have time.   You do.  I promise… you do.  It’s worth every second.  

I also know that if you skip out on reading nightly, your child will slowly fall behind.   Give your child the best advantage and read with them- twenty minutes a night.   

They will thank you … one day!