Perhaps you're convinced that incorporating more reading time into your homeschool schedule is important, but like my friend, you haven't discovered how to do incorporate a family reading time with positive results. Here are some ideas that worked for us.

I began reading to my children before they could walk. My house was filled with simple board books. The kids slobbered on them, carried them around, and jabbered to them. Eventually, they would bring their little books to me, crawl onto my lap, and ask me to read to them. I'd even catch them "reading" to their stuffed animals or younger siblings.

Soon we progressed to books with more words on the page and the endless trips to the library began. I tried to find books that would hold my children's attention and didn't force stories upon them that had too many words on the page for the amount of time they were interested in the picture. That's not to say my kids never started to wiggle off my lap or turn the page before I was ready. But I kept reading and sought to tailor that read a-loud-time to their attention span.

Honestly, I received some criticism about this at homeschool conventions where vendors were absolutely convinced that their books were geared for an average four-year-old, but I disagreed. Many times I had to go with my gut feeling about what books would hold my children's attention, even when I secretly feared my children were behind schedule as vendors tried to convince me to buy something I felt was not age appropriate. A mom knows her children better than anyone else. When choosing books, don't feel pressured to choose literature someone else believes you must have. Step back and ask yourself what will really work in your home, and make your decisions based on that, not on pressure, guilt, or insecurity.

I also found that when the children were little, several short reading times together throughout the day worked much better than one long one. I wanted kids to love reading, not feel forced into it, but I also knew I had to consistently build into them in this area. All of my children, especially the boys, were active and on occasion resistant to the family reading time. Strive for the balance between asking more than is wise from your children and going to the other extreme of letting them dictate whether or not you have reading time together. There are time to let them squirm and times to coax them to sit on your lap and listen. You will know this balance better than anyone else.

As the children got older, the books progressed from picture books to chapter books. I discovered they would listen longer if I allowed them to draw or build with blocks while I read. By this time we also had younger children who couldn't be still while I read to the big kids, but that didn't change the need for the older children to hear more difficult books. Many reading times have been shared with toddlers playing with matchbox cars and older siblings building with Lincoln Logs. As all four children grew older, I'd often assign each child a drawing lesson from Hablitzel and Stitzer's Draw Write Now books and they'd work on pictures while I read to them. I've read at the kitchen table while the kids peeled potatoes for dinner or apples for pie. I've read at the park, in the living room, and sitting in our neighbor's yard while the kids licked popsicles.