Reading for an Hour a Day

[Mandabplus3]

I rememeber being quite surprized ( and a little envious) when I heard that H sat to read for an hour every day. I rememeber thinking "wow how much would they learn, how much would their reading improve?" then wondering just how I would find an hour to spare each day for my kids. Knowing how busy they are with homework, afterschool activities and the value I place on free play time...I could only find an extra 2 hours a week. So I endevered to fill that extra time with reading. YES I was successful.
Now for the interesting bit. It was a complete waste of my time!    As it turns out I have since discovered that my children (yes all 3 of them) spend well more than an hour a day reading! what a shock to me that was! What a shock to me it was to realise that I didnt know that!  Especially since I thought Jaykob did most of his reading sitting right next to ME!
I found out just how much my kids DO read because their school had this competition going where by they had to keep a reading log of everything they read. It was a class competition to see which class read the most. The school decided that the definaition of reading was (pretty broard!) reading or listening to a story or playing reading eggs. SO in this case audio books counted as did picture books viewing for the preps and non readers. Well of course I didint count audio and reading eggs as reading, nor listening to me. However I will say that those are all very valuable techniques to use to improve reading and comprehension, so dont give them up.
In the end I discovered that my kids SELF read an average of 1 hour and 45 mins a day! Not including time spent reading at school. Now I will assume that maybe 30 mins of that time was due to the competition motivation. But that still leaves my busy children with a book for over an hour a day.  I watched where they found the time and was quite surprised that the single biggest factor in their reading was having a library between their bedrooms. they cant walk past it without reading a book!  They walk past it on the way to the car to go to school, and grab a book to take with them. The large bucket of borowed library books in the lounge room got a few reads but the home library was the winner by far. I always wondered why there were books on the floor EVERY single time I go in the library! Now I know why, they are actually reading them. 
Seems like a good reason to buy books to me 
I was also surprized to find Jaykob reading with his sisters. I didnt realise he was doing that yet. Lucky boy has too big sisters to help him figure out any tricky words. Time to get more truck story books apparently...
Keep a watch on your kids and see if they surprize you at just how often they pick up a book. I have never kept a reading log as I found it tedious. In truth this last three weeks writing down every book they read did drive me nuts. We do our book count by making sure I read at least three books or chapters each night before bed. I need to do a log for reading for my oldest for school now...but I told her teacher it would be a highlight only  version! I think I will do a 2 week only annual reading log from now on.

[DadDude]

Excellent!

Bear in mind, we didn't start the hour-a-day thing until H. turned 5. Also, when he was 1-3, he was on the floor with his books for well over an hour, indeed. When he was 4, I continued to read a lot to him, but he was reading very little to himself. This bothered me, so basically, when he turned 5, I had him start reading to himself whether he wanted to or not. After a couple weeks he had no problem with it and he still doesn't. Actually, in the last...year?...he has gone back to reading various things in his spare time. Actually, it's usually not the most challenging stuff. Tintin is his favorite at the moment, but he has also re-read all sorts of stuff that I read to him a few years ago, like Berenstain Bears books and picture books that I've been reading to baby E. Occasionally when he's really into a book he'll continue outside of the assigned hour's worth of reading. So while sitting in the corner I let him continue reading Roald Dahl's Matilda, and often lately he picks up books about the human body since now he declares he wants to be a doctor. Also, now that he's in first grade, FWIW, I've got him reading 90 minutes to himself: an hour of literature and half hour of serious nonfiction (for now, his choice).

[Korrale4kq]

James reads to me only 10-15 minutes a day. Depends on how long it takes him. He is reading simple stuff but he gets easily distracted by the pictures.
I however make it a point to read to him at least an hour a day. For me being a stay at home mom it has been pretty easy. 30 minutes before nap and 30 minutes before night time.
I love that he now loves to read or rather most likely just look at a book alone once he is in bed. He has been doing this a lot lately. Just like his mummy did as a kid.
We also read when we do a few work book pages, or just for fun randomly through out the day,  Or when daddy reads to him. It easily adds up.

[Mandabplus3]

My 4 year old probably spends a bit less than the hour self reading but definately gets an hour a day of listening to reading. It's amazing just how much actual time is spent reading through a couple of easy books. If you watch the clock, they are hard at work for about 15 mins for each little story. He will only do a maximum of 2 books in a sitting UNLESS we are at school and he has 60 beginning readers to choose from!  Then he will read until it's time to go, usually 50 mins.
I actually think 90 mins isn't too much to ask for from a grade 1 kid. My grade 1 girl would easily hit that 90 minute mark if I added in reading during school time. Her home readers alone take her 35/40 mins a day ( I havnt told her that she is required to only do 2 books a week, we do one a day  ) I know my own kids happily read for 45 mins as their was bonus points up for grabs for a 45 minute reading session. They came home from school a number of times and set the timer for 45 minutes....and then kept reading after the timer went off! I doubt they would do 90 minutes strait....but I have never tested it. It is likely my oldest would happily do 90 minutes if she had 90 minutes to spare. if I was home schooling I would definately add in the hour a day reading session.
The books they choose vary but I do need to encourage them more to read the challenging stuff. Non fiction is very popular in this house. It would be at least half of their time spent reading. I am careful to ensure that I read some good quality literature to them for bedtime stories, to ensure they get the exposure. The school constantly challenges my grade 1 girl but my oldest I have to find challenges for.

[Mela Bala]

It is so hard to keep a reading log.  I gave up after the first week.  My 2 year old reads to himself every chance he gets.  Some mornings when I go to wake him up he is already up and reading to his Little Pim panda.  Sometimes when I am reading to him he picks up another book and begins reading that to himself.  I want to continue to read to him so he can hear the story we started but I don't want to interrupt his own reading.  So I usually wait until he asks me to read to him.  This week his favorite book to read is The Greedy Triangle and his favorite book to have read to him is any of Curious George's adventures.  I am hoping that he will continue to love reading as he gets older.

[bella]

this thread is very important to me . My six years old ( same age like H ) can read and you often see her flipping through a book but her choice like H is the simpler short picture books , or the usborne illustrated series . She picks so many chapter books from the bookstore , we have a big colleciton , also some kindle books , magic tree house books , raol dahl , rainbow fairies, those are very easy readers for her but she won't read them on her own , she tells me i am waiting for you mama so we can read together , i read few pages you read few . I didn't mind doing this before , but now i like to spend more time reading with her younger brother 3 years old and she is happy sitting with us and listening to me reading , when i know it is true what manda said she is not wasting her time and still learning but i like her also to spend this time reading to herself and learning new stuff in her reading on various subjects .I don't know if i have to make her do it , or it will come when she is ready and just continue what we are doing now .
She does lots of independent reading with various curriculum we are reading like first language lessons , writing with ease , story of the world , she is happy reading those short selections , then follows it with narration , but still she needs me as audience and i doubt she would just read it on her own and carry on the exercises .
viv

[Mandabplus3]

I reckon you should do what Daddude did and just tell her to do it!  Start of with a 30 minute read it to your self session, then give her 5 minutes of your time to tell you all about it .My 6 year old is happy enough to read alone (yes if it is challenging she likes the support of me sitting with her) BUT she is even happier telling me ALL ABOUT IT!  Gradually increase the time until you get to her limit (bearing in mind that the limit will increase with age )
My kids have never mixed up their time to read and My time to read to them...I think its because they are clearly 2 different events. I read to them ONLY on one couch in our library OR in the big bed with all three kids in it. They read to themselves on the green rug or stretched out somewhere on the floor. The green rug is somewhere central that I can help them with words they get stuck on, while I do other things (make dinner pack lunchboxes...)
Perhaps you could get a read by your self chair or cushion?

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