It is so hard to find time to sit down and read with your kids every, single night.
Especially as they get older.
When kids get older, sports and activities run later; evening meetings seem to run longer. And whereas life once seemed to slow downย at 7 pm, now? ย It just isn’t so.
It’s quite the opposite, actually.
Some nights, I try desperately to rub the tired out of my eyes after dinner, and I look at the clock and wonder how on earth I am going to stay awake until 9 or 9:30pm, when my kids finally get their tails in bed.
I know I’m not alone.
Add when you’re trying to plow through a chapter book with your kid, each and every night, and things get complicated.
But that’s why Book Walks really and truly rock for big-kid read-alouds: Book Walks give you a quick and easy way to catch up without losing too much.
Here’s the skinny. . ย .
Why Book Walks Rock for Big-Kid Read-Alouds:
First of all, Book Walks are kind of a fancy name for something really simple.
Book Walks simply reference a ‘walk’ through the pages of a book.
You can go on a Book Walk as a pre-reading technique to get kids familiar with a text.
You can go on a Book Walk after reading as a technique to practice a little guided summarizing.
You can go on a Book Walk to catch yourself up on what happened in a text if you can’t remember.
A million different reasons exist for Book Walks, but what I love using them for is for aย catch-up:
- the catch-up on a few pages or chapters that I may have missed in the event that our busy, unpredictable schedule didn’t allow us to read together one night;
- the catch-up of a big chunk of the book if I want to jump into a book that my child has already started;
- the catch-up of the end of the book if my impatient child read ahead.
You can Book Walk for just about any reason, but the bottom line is that I think they really, truly are the key to reading aloud with your bigger kid.
Because let’s face it, friends, our daysย often take quite a different shape by the end of the week.
This week in particular, Cora and I needed to use a Book Walk to catch me up with the Thea Stilton book we were reading. We started the book on Sunday night, then I was away on Monday, so she read ahead.
And I never, ever mind if my kids read ahead; in fact, I want them to!
Especially when it comes to a book that is at their level–one that they need little to no support to get through–then I tell them to read ahead. If they then catch me up via a Book Walk or re-read with me, it’s all good.
Cheers, and happy reading during this incredibly exciting journey!ย
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