Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Reading Aloud Challenge: The XBox Edition

This post?

This week's reading aloud post?

Yeah, this one is for everyone who seems to have this completely insane idea that I'm super-homeschool-mom or something.


What did we read aloud this week?  Well, I think we managed to read two days of The American Patriot's Almanac by William Bennett.  That's maybe 5 minutes total. 

Other than that, <ahem> the only reading aloud that happened all week was when someone read subtitles on various XBox games.

Okay, so I read aloud a couple news stories about the Boston Marathon too.


If it isn't obvious, Dale had the week off, and we stayed home.  That primarily meant various mega-game fests that I tried to ignore.

I thought about just not posting a reading aloud link-up, but hey, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Some weeks are just not educational.  At all.


In other semi-related news, though, William has been reading along on his Kindle Fire via the Immersion thing (where the professional Audible.com audiobook is read, and the text on the ebook is highlighted as the words are said) a whole lot of stuff, including some this past week.

And yesterday, driving to Scouts, he did more reading aloud than I did all week.  He was trying to read every road sign we passed.  He was succeeding too.  I never, ever thought he would be able to do that.  He told me that he figured this was really good practice -- having only a certain amount of time to read (usually) unfamiliar text.  "And besides, Mom, I'll need to be good at reading road signs before I can drive."  <gasp, choke, sputter>

I had people tell me I was spoiling him by buying that Kindle Fire, but he has made SO much reading progress in the past four months, and I haven't been working with him at all in 2013.  He has read through Tale of Two Cities three or four times, and right now he is doing Gulliver's Travels and some Troy book or another.  And clearly, it is having an impact. 

It was worth every single penny.


How about you?  What are you reading out loud? It simply has to be more than I did this past week...



4 comments:

Debbie Phillips said...

Sadly my son, 16 chose this year to start reading all his school to himself. That makes me sad but it is a step down for me toward not homeschooling at all in only 2 years. It is preparatory. I think it is good. I causes me to work on things other than school all day long. A life of my own for the first time in years.... Well I still have the house to clean and meals to make and school to plan, grade, record and keep track of hours for High School.. but you know.. nothing much to do with my day!! LOL

Hubby is currently reading "He Loves Me" by Wayne Jacobsen for our random devotional times as a family. Not every night... a couple times a week. I MISS having someone to read aloud to.

Oh, also hubby and I are are reading "The Richest Man Who Ever Lived: King Solomon's Secrets to Success, Wealth and Happiness" by Steven K. Scott. I read aloud to him... a just for us married couple read aloud. Not that our kids couldn't read this one... but for now we are reading it just he and I. Again... not every night.

So I am sad to feel like I can't link up each week. I loved reading aloud History and Science to my kids and did it for 21 years. It is strange NOT to be doing so.

Debra said...

I am losing my nearly 16 year old to read-alouds too, so I totally get that.

How neat, Debbie, that you are still doing some things though. The "couple" read-aloud sounds like such a great idea!

If you ever do blog about it, definitely feel free to link up though!!

I'm going to desperately miss read-alouds when the time comes...

Karen said...

My 15 year old HATES to be read to...but, so do I so I completely understand.

Sharon said...

My older two do all their own reading. I hate missing out on sharing some great books with them. I love that they still desire to join in read alouds though. I try to always keep a "just because" read aloud going so we can all enjoy it together.