why book walks rock for big-kid read-alouds

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 down at 7 pm, now?  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. .  .

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 a 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 days 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!