Enforced read-alouds for independent reader?

[melcotx]

My 5 year old ds is a strong independent reader. He taught himself to read (no pushing whatsoever) at 3.5, and now he's reading novels.

Great, right? But now he usually doesn't want me to read to him. At bedtime, OK, and sometimes if there's a book he wants to share with me, but usually he wants me to hand it over so he can read at his own (faster) pace.

The problem is, he can read books that are far beyond his maturity level or that have themes that I'd like to have input on. Like, he could definitely read the Little House on the Prairie books, but I'd like to be there to discuss/edit out the racism. I'm interested in literature-based curriculum like Sonlight for his K year in the fall, but I'd have to hide the books pretty well or he'd be through them all within the first month.

Any ideas on what to do? He is very strong-willed, and I don't want to make reading a chore--we're homeschooling because I want him to always have this delight in learning. But I'm not sure how to make this work.

(Oh, and as this is my first post, hi! I've been lurking a while and really admire the collective wisdom on this board.)

[ocelotmom]

Could you have him read aloud to you, or take turns? Developing fluency in reading aloud is valuable. I know that my own didn't really improve until I had kids and started reading to them! (This is what I thought the post would be about when reading the subject line!)

While it wouldn't allow you to edit them, you could have a "book club", and both read the same book on your own (either at the same time, or you first) and then have a discussion about it. if you want a more immediate discussion, stick a post-it in the book and tell him to come talk to you when he reaches it, and then you can either discuss that part or read it together.

You could also find books that would be difficult for him to read on his own (classics tend to be good in terms of high reading level but still age appropriate).

[Callimom]

Non fiction is your friend. It's actually where a lot of boys end up naturally. Get a stack of non-fiction that "go with" your current read aloud so that he can delve into the topic further without using the fiction books you want input on. Start on the ritual of having special read aloud books (ie a mom-son book club) and then have a selection of books for him that are less "worrisome" and that he can have free reign with - authors like Dick King Smith write good stories and relatively benign.

Early readers are challenging to guide through this stage. You might try googling book lists for gifted kids as this issue of age appropriate versus academically challenging comes up often.

Good luck!

[moominmamma]

I've tended to just co-read or pre-read. My kids have been similarly precocious readers, and have also strongly opposed reading aloud. I would pre-read or co-read and then raise any issues I was concerned about.

"Have you got to the part yet where she describes the natives? That part kind of bothered me, because of the way they emphasize how primitive and 'wild' they were. The book was written a long time ago when people hadn't made an effort to really understand the culture and wisdom of the Native Americans. These days we know much more, and we appreciate that there were many ways in which those native cultures were more balanced and peaceable than the culture of the early Americans. They certainly understood the ecology of their land far more deeply and lived in harmony with the ..... etc."

Or "You should know that there's a part in the book where someone is killed. It's kind of frightening, the way it's written. If you want me to read it with you, or if you'd like to skip it and just have me explain it to you, it's in Chapter 11. I guess I just don't want you having bad dreams or worries that come from it. Or you might just like to pick a different book, I don't know."

That kind of conversation always seemed very mentor-ish and supportive to my kids. Sometimes they participated in the conversation, sometimes they just listened. In either case I think they heard what I was saying and took it into account.

Miranda

[*Jessica*]

I've started pre-reading books before I put them out where my son can see them. That way I know if I need to address any portions of the story while he's reading.

The only problem with this is that I seem to be reading only childrens' books lately!

[lach]

Can you set up a time of day where he does something while you read to him? While he colors, or plays quietly, or builds a model boat or something?

[melcotx]

Thanks ladies. I think I'm going to have to do a combination of these things, along with simply hiding the library books until I'm ready for him to devour them. I think he'll respond to pre-reading and talking it through with him beforehand. Pacing is still going to be an issue though. I like the idea I get from Ambleside Online of interacting with a book over an extended period of time, but there's no way he's going to want to draw things out like that. Hmmmmm.....

[*Jessica*]

Originally Posted by melcotx

I like the idea I get from Ambleside Online of interacting with a book over an extended period of time, but there's no way he's going to want to draw things out like that. Hmmmmm.....

I don't blame him! While I love Ambleside, I have a very hard time spreading the reading of a book out the way that they do with some of them. I get involved and I need to know what happened now!....not in six months when the schedule has the book being finished! You don't want to squelch his love of reading, so you might want to consider some adjustments to Ambleside. It works well for some kids, but it doesn't sound like yours will be one of them.