Comments on: 3 reasons your read-aloud book is taking too long https://simplehomeschool.net/3-reasons/ Never let your schooling interrupt your education. Wed, 11 Feb 2026 15:59:28 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 By: Rolfs Judith https://simplehomeschool.net/3-reasons/#comment-605219 http://simplehomeschl.wpengine.com/?p=44932#comment-605219 Mealtime for sure worked best for our read-aloud time. Highly creative books or ones that made everyone laugh like the Best Christmas Pageant Ever. I encourage you young mamaa to have papa read right after dinner for at least 15 minutes before anyone is excused. My home-schoolers are grown now and have their own families but we all have such fond memories of this time together.

]]> By: Michelle https://simplehomeschool.net/3-reasons/#comment-449194 http://simplehomeschl.wpengine.com/?p=44932#comment-449194 It was always timing for us. Lots of chaos and energy and when the littlest takes a nap, I must too. We are reading How the War Saved My Life at bedtime. I actually lie in my bed and they gather around and listen to me read it on my smartphone. I do not know how I found this book but cannot believe how much I love it. It’s more for my 10 yr-old, but I know that even if the littles don’t quite get it, their getting something from it.

]]> By: Emma Cummings https://simplehomeschool.net/3-reasons/#comment-427578 http://simplehomeschl.wpengine.com/?p=44932#comment-427578 Thanks for sharing, have been thinking these exacts things lately. It’s encouraging just to know I’m not the only one. I’ve ditched a few read alouds in the past because I’ve not enjoyed them, a good book is cross generational. I think for me just now I have to reassess our schedule and and make a few changes.

]]> By: Ashley https://simplehomeschool.net/3-reasons/#comment-427415 http://simplehomeschl.wpengine.com/?p=44932#comment-427415 I second some of the comments about their voice giving out. I loved the ideas you gave. I really need to find some books that are exciting and I will enjoy reading. I would like reading to my kids to become a normal thing. I put my email in before but never received the copy so I just did it again. I’m worried it won’t work again. I would like to use your recommendations though!

]]> By: Christine Smith https://simplehomeschool.net/3-reasons/#comment-426950 http://simplehomeschl.wpengine.com/?p=44932#comment-426950 Another possibility that I’ve experienced – my voice gets tired! My kids are old enough (9 and up) to listen for a solid 45 minutes to a GOOD book, but my voice won’t go that long. So we’ve switched to audiobooks!

]]> By: Sarah B R https://simplehomeschool.net/3-reasons/#comment-392371 http://simplehomeschl.wpengine.com/?p=44932#comment-392371 We just finished Alice in Wonderland & I told my daughter that, from now in, if I don’t enjoy reading a book, I will stop & she can read it on her own when she knows how (she’s 6). I’ll also use your idea of getting the audio book.
Oh my, it was so painful. A good reminder that not all “classics” are worth reading!

]]> By: Ashley https://simplehomeschool.net/3-reasons/#comment-391301 http://simplehomeschl.wpengine.com/?p=44932#comment-391301 Thank you for the list! I just sent it to my email and I’m excited to look through it. My daughter and I try to do about 20 minutes of reading together every night and when we pick a clunker of a book it becomes such a chore for the both of us. We are currently halfway through the Narnia series and the last couple ones have been really difficult for her to enjoy. I think after this one we will take a break from them and read some standalones.
Her favorite readalouds are relatively short (150 pages or so) and have some pictures in the text. So far she has loved Beverly Cleary (we read the entire Ramona series in a little over a month) and Roald Dahl.

]]> By: se7en https://simplehomeschool.net/3-reasons/#comment-390902 http://simplehomeschl.wpengine.com/?p=44932#comment-390902 Thank you for such a great post, and your fabulous podcast. As an avid reading family, I carefully choose to read books that I really want to read aloud. That is my one and only trick to reading masses of books to my kids. And no, they would never let a mealtime go past without another chapter… collections of words are apparently just as important to filling their tanks as the food on their plates.

]]> By: Cara@TheHomeLearner https://simplehomeschool.net/3-reasons/#comment-390782 http://simplehomeschl.wpengine.com/?p=44932#comment-390782 We just finished “Pilgrim Stories” as a part of our history program for this year (Beautiful Feet Books Primary) and can I just say a huge hallelujah that we made it to the end?! Sometimes I forget that 1/4 of our curricula is reading out loud, so that gives me permission to pick just-for-fun books for our read aloud family time. If our family time read aloud isn’t fun for all of us then it feels like a chore and no one wants more of those. So for school books, we push through and finish, but for family time we stick to the love it or leave it rule. 🙂

Love this post – and love the book list!!

]]> By: Hana https://simplehomeschool.net/3-reasons/#comment-390706 http://simplehomeschl.wpengine.com/?p=44932#comment-390706 Spot on! We’ve been reading aloud for 17 years, but only 13 of those years were for “school”. Everything you said resonates with me as it was our experience, too. Great tips!! All of them 🙂 We read aloud all kinds of books including fiction. It’s one of my kids’ favorite thing about homeschool. We haven’t encountered hurdles other than the strain in my voice when we start the new year, and I’m reading an hour or more after taking the summer off. Oh one more hurdle: I don’t like reading the same picture book over and over again, so often I “read” the pictures. It’s more interesting for me, and the kiddos don’t seem to mind!

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