One of my favorite things when I was homeschooling our kids was reading out loud to them. I so enjoyed reading a variety of books throughout the 25 years I homeschooled. From classics like The Chronicles of Narnia, to historical fiction like Johnny Tremain, to themed stories of Christmas and family, I absolutely loved it.The advantage of reading out loud was that I could pick something that perhaps the younger ones couldn’t read on their own yet, but they acquired an ear for good literature. Then they started picking their own reading, which I also included in “school time” as I wanted to encourage them to read what they liked. As a result, all six kids love to read. And for those who may have a harder time of it, or have a hard time fitting it into their busy schedules, they listen to books on audio. There are major benefits to reading. Even in the age of technology where information is accessible and synopses of books are available, perhaps even more so because of that, reading is such an important activity. Here are just four very valuable benefits that come to mind.
The increase of attention span. Through different forms of entertainment and media, we are given short snippets of information. And so we have become used to giving less attention to those asking for it. Slowing down enough to read a book counters that tendency.
The expansion of imagination. AI is making it very easy so that we never have to use our imagination or creativity ever again. That is sad. For having Chatgpt conjure up something is not creativity. It lacks substance and essence from a person. And although I think AI has value, it certainly cannot replace the creativity and imagination of a human.
The building of empathy. Stories are filled with heroes, mentors, enemies, underdogs, etc. Through story we are taken into the life of characters that fall into some of these categories. The author invokes feelings in us through story. We find ourselves rooting for the hurting and hoping for a happy ending.
The growth of vocabulary. “Never make fun of people for mispronouncing a word. It means they learned it by reading.” ~anonymous. So true! A reader’s vocabulary grows through the context of story. Words they have never heard of become familiar through reading.
There is so much value in reading! These are just a few. When our family comes together and we are all sitting at the table talking about any topic, I can see the value of reading and thinking and creativity and imagination. Our kids are also all writers. Deep thinkers. Articulate. Most of those qualities are because of reading. It’s beautiful. And it’s available to anyone who opens a book.