With August being Back to School month, I want to share a little bit about our 3rd grade struggles with Accelerated Reading (which I’ve shared on the blog before), as well as our newly established, evening reading routine as a family.
Reading Homework
When school is in session, you know evenings are packed with homework. However, with my 7th grader just getting started, he hasn’t had much homework or reading.
On the other hand, my 3rd grader started last month and has to complete a minimum of 20 minutes of reading each night, whether there is a written homework assignment or not.
In addition to his reading, he is required to complete a Reading Log which includes a brief written summary for each day.
Sadly, he hates it.
So, to get back in the routine of habitual reading and completing his Reading Log, I have developed an evening reading routine for us as a family.
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Evening Reading Routine
Each evening, once we have come in, relaxed a bit, and finished dinner, we spend at minimum 30 minutes reading together in the living room.
If we are all doing it together as a family, it becomes more of an enjoyable bonding experience than a forced school assignment tied to negative emotions. In addition, they get to see me reading which will set an example for them.
Children should see adults reading to foster the importance of reading.
Reading isn’t just a “school thing”. It’s an everyday “life thing”.
Nevertheless, if you are interested in creating an evening reading routine for your family, below are 3 helpful tips.
1) Have books readily available.
I have found it helpful to have books readily available in the living room that are within the Accelerated Reading Levels for each of the boys, as well as a variety of books that I enjoy.
Having them available makes the evening more relaxed and enjoyable because there is no need to run and find a book, especially if they left the book at school.
I am currently reading the 5 Love Languages, my youngest son just finished Mayor Hubble, and my oldest son is reading Wishtree – which are all recommended books.
2) Have a comfortable reading area.
We enjoy lounging together in my bed or in the living room. But, I love it even better when we are relaxed in the living room and have proper lighting.
3) Have quality lighting.
Having proper and quality lighting is important because you don’t want to cause eye strain to your eyes while trying to read.
To increase the lighting in the living room, we’ve added this new Trilage Floor Lamp by Brightech which allows enough lighting for all of us to spread out in the living room and read with enough light. I love that it’s super cute and modern.
Final Thoughts
Starting an evening, family reading routine early in the school year will set your children up for success – not only at school, but in life in general. They are creating a habit to life long reading which will put them ahead of the pack.
Reading is one of the best habits successful people have in common.
Did you know Bill Gates, the world’s richest man in the world reads about 50 books per year, which breaks down to one per week?
That’s right! It is said that most of what he reads is nonfiction which explains something about how the world works. Think about that.
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