My New Kentucky Home

A blog about faith and family, home and homeschooling.

Hands-On Activities for Read Aloud Time

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Everybody knows reading to your children is a good thing.  But it really wasn’t until I started into homeschooling that I began to hear about the benefits of reading to your children, not from Little Critter or Dr. Seuss books, (though books like those certainly have their place,) but from chapter books, including those that may seem above-level for your kids.

The more I thought about it, the more I loved the concept!  If you can introduce children to good books at a young age, it only makes sense that you will challenge their minds, spark their imagination, deepen their interest in reading and writing, and increase their vocabulary, all at the same time.  What could be better?

But what I didn’t know was what daily Read Aloud time was supposed to look like!

I knew a lot of homeschooling moms read aloud for 30-60 minutes per day!  That sounded great, but most of the books I was interested in reading didn’t even have pictures!  Were my children supposed to sit there with hands in their laps, perfectly still, perfectly quiet, just listening to me all that time?  Surely that was unrealistic.

But could they listen while working on other things?  It didn’t seem feasible for them to work on other schoolwork while I read and I didn’t want them playing video games or wrestling or using the time for Nerf gun target practice.

Using our hands, however, can actually help us process and recall information better.  Seriously!  Research has even shown that people who doodle during business meetings tend to remember more than those who do not.  Go figure!  Researchers believe that when we use our hands and ears at the same time, we’re actually activating multiple areas of our brain at once, which can aid our comprehension and retention of the information we hear.

So I began to try mostly quiet, hands-on activities during Read Aloud sessions, and with great success!  As we’ve worked our way through books like The Chronicles of Narnia, The Indian in the Cupboard, The Wind in the Willows, and Johnny Tremain, I’ve kept the kids’ hands and brains busy.  I’ll share activity ideas here, but in the hope that you, too, will share ideas with me!  Read Aloud is one of my favorite parts of homeschooling now, and I’m always looking for new activities to add to the rotation, just to keep it fresh and interesting.

Drawing, Sketching, and Coloring
 
My kids LOVE to draw or sketch things or color, depending on their mood.  Sometimes they use pencil or pen, sometimes colored pencils, and sometimes crayons or markers or a combination of all of the above.  Sometimes we use nice drawing paper.  Sometimes they draw in their writing journals.  Sometimes they sketch something from the book I’m reading and sometimes they draw whatever they want to draw!This is always our go-to Read Aloud activity.  It doesn’t require much pre-planning and the kids always enjoy it, so I pull this one our fairly frequently.  I realize not all kids like to draw, but I do think it helps if you have a decent assortment of pens and pencils and markers.  Kids usually can’t resist all that color!  And it’s not very expensive to keep those things on hand.

 

 

Painting
 
Painting is usually a lot more involved, (and a lot messier!) than drawing, and it isn’t generally something I want to do every day.  But the kids really enjoy painting with acrylics and so I try to plan for painting during Read Aloud at least on occasion.  
 
Paint, especially quality paint, good brushes, canvases, and other painting supplies aren’t cheap, but I’ve slowly built up a supply and we use it carefully and sparingly.  You can also buy cheap watercolor trays and paint on notebook paper if you prefer!  It doesn’t have to be fancy.  Kids always seem to love painting no matter what form it takes.  
 
Textile Arts — Weaving, Crochet, Knitting, Sewing, Cross-stitch, Embroidery, Etc.
 
I’m not sure if there’s a more perfect activity for Read Aloud than the textile arts!  It’s quiet and involves enough concentration to keep kids focused enough to prevent arguing over supplies.  My kids have done weaving and made the same friendship bracelets I twisted together as a kid in elementary school.
 
 
 

Thanks to YouTube, I even taught myself to crochet just so I could pass it along to my children and they could do it during Read Aloud!  Don’t be too awfully impressed now; I can only do the most basic stitches, but my children love it and we’ve also been able to give several simple creations away as gifts.

Crafts
 
I do NOT recommend complicated crafts during Read Aloud time.  Believe me, you’ll spend more time answering questions and assisting little ones than actually reading.  But simple crafts, the kind you can easily explain and then leave your kids to complete on their own, can be PERFECT!
 
Pinterest is chock-full of easy and inexpensive craft ideas.  In fact, our Rock Monsters were perfect for Read Aloud time.
 
 
 
 
Play-Doh, Modeling Clay, or Thinking Putty
 
What kid DOESN’T like playing with Play-Doh?  I really prefer Play-Doh to modeling clay — generally less mess and MUCH easier to work with — and my children, (including my 13-year-old,) would probably play with it all day if I allowed them to.   
 
As for the Thinking Putty, I have to confess I haven’t used it yet, but I am DYING to get my hands on some of this stuff.  I know it would be perfect for Read Aloud, though it’s a little pricey.  Clay can be relatively expensive, but Play-Doh is a cheap and easy way to keep your kids’ hands busy.  We keep a basket-full in various colors at all times.  
 
Wikki Stix
 
These are a new addition to our Read Aloud time, but my children are LOVING them!  If you’re unfamiliar with Wikki Stix, they’re basically pieces of string covered in colored wax to make them sturdy enough to hold a form, but soft and bendable enough to be twisted into all sorts of shapes and designs.  I’ve actually been pretty impressed with some of my kids’ creations!  They love creating flat designs or 3-D objects.  This was Doodle’s bicycle:
 
 
 
LEGO or Building Block Play
 
While I generally try to avoid letting my children play with toys during Read Aloud, I will make an exception for things like LEGOs or building blocks.  They can get a little noisy, so I don’t allow it often, but this sort of play really encourages creativity.  No matter how loud the digging through the box of LEGOs or the crash of the fallen block tower, I like having them building during Read Aloud time because I know they’re being creative and solving problems. 
 
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So there you go!  I’ve shared a few of the things we do during our Read Aloud time.  Now it’s time for you to offer suggestions as well!
 
So what do your kids do while you read aloud to them?  Do you have some unique or interesting ideas for hands-on activities during Read Aloud time?  What is your child’s favorite activity during Read Aloud?
 
 
 
 
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Comments

  2. Anonymous says

    Great post! A lot of good ideas that I can incorporate into my kindergarten classroom. Thanks!

    Teresa from Maine

  3. melissa says

    We have gotten off our regular read aloud times, I think it is because we are trying to be sure to get her reading practice in. But reading your post reminds how fun read aloud times are. I will be sure to include it back into our days more often. Thank you for the inspiration! Stopping by from Making your home sing link up.

    • kentuckysketches says

      Read aloud time really IS so much fun, but I'll admit it can be time-consuming, too. On days when we're pressed for time, read aloud often gets pushed aside, but then I miss it SO much. And it has to be the kids favorite part of the school day!

  4. Keri @ Growing in His Glory says

    I need to be more consistent with daily read aloud time. One of my girls is very active and doesn't sit still long; however, some of your suggestions would be great for her. I could only handle coloring or sketching or playing with Playdoh. No painting or crafts for now since they're 5 & under. It just would be too chaotic until they're older. Thanks for the great suggestions!

    • kentuckysketches says

      Yeah, yours may be a little young for trying crafting during read aloud time. But I should've mentioned that we've also done beading before when the kids were younger. I just gave them string and let them string beads. They loved that, too!

  6. Wendy says

    Hi Tanya! I love your post, and I'm so glad you link up with us each week on the Hip Homeschool Hop! I let my kiddos do quiet hands-on activities while I read aloud to them too, and you have some great ideas. 🙂 One thing we do that's not on your list is perler beads. Those are the little plastic beads that you place on a little peg board and then iron so they melt together and keep their shape/design. The kids make designs while I read, and then I iron them after we finish reading. Another thing we love to do is Shrinky Dinks. They color and cut out the Shrinky Dinks while I read, and when read aloud time is over, we put them in the oven and watch them shrink!

  7. Tondra Denise says

    Yes ma'am! We also love reading during snack, while children work with play dough or puzzles, and of course right before or after naptime. Thank you for sharing this post!!

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