Read Aloud and SSR

How is your homeschool going?  I know I shared A LOT of detailed information in my earlier post on emergency homeschooling and I stand by it but it was meant to be a menu of options, not a checklist and I fear many people are struggling with overwhelm right now.

I want to focus on two very simple things you can do to make your homeschooling incredible.  SO MUCH research backing this up.  This is not just my opinion.  It is proven fact.  Focus JUST on these two things and your homeschool will accomplish more than any other school ever has.  Truly.

1.  Read Aloud
2.  SSR/DEAR

Read Aloud
If you want convincing, read The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease.  5 minutes of Read Aloud counts and will make a difference.  If you are a working parent and all you can manage is 5 minutes, don't despair, it counts.  It will make a significant difference.


Audio Books Count
This is the easiest way to do read aloud.  Play audiobooks on a kindle, phone, tablet, amazon Alexa, whatever and let the kids play with legos, playmobil, puzzles, coloring, drawing, painting, etc. while they listen.  Be really flexible.  Keep trying out ways to make this work until you figure out the best way for your family.  My kids do best with individual kindles and headsets so they can each listen to what they want.  But our family enjoys sharing a book too, especially in the car.


SSR
SSR stands for Sustained Silent Reading.  Another variation is DEAR or Drop Everything and Read.  The research is stunning.  Failing schools have been turned around in months, student scores have soared, the summer slump has been overcome, all due to SSR.  15 minutes/day is all it takes. But most people will want to keep going.

Read The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease and The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller for convincing.

The keys are:
1. EVERYONE in the home/family/space you are in does it.
2. Each person CHOOSES what they want to read.  No assigned content.
3. Make it SHORT like 15-20 minutes.  Then if anyone wants to continue, they can but DON'T require it.  Let people fall in love with reading.

Seriously,  just focus on Read Aloud and SSR and you will be stunned by the results.