As I hear other moms share how they snuggle up with their kids and read a book, I’ll admit I’m a bit jealous. Read aloud time at our house can be an absolute zoo. Even through all my efforts to make it fun and interesting, four kids arguing over who gets to sit by mom or turn the page made me crazy. (Not to mention the sweet toddler who, after a few minutes of listening, has the amazing ability to roam the house, locate any marker that happens to be out in the open, and decorate our house. Love.ly.)
I had almost given up completely on read aloud time {I don’t advise this} until…I started using and rotating these quiet read aloud activities. Seriously. It transformed our read aloud time. And if read aloud time is zoo-ish at your house, too, maybe you can use some of these as well.
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8 Quiet Read Aloud Activities
One word of caution before I share these quiet read aloud activities: if your child is not one who can focus on these activities and listen at the same time, these ideas may not be for you. I usually stop within the text at different spots and ask questions or start a small discussion, as a way to “check in” on my kids’ thinking and comprehension. (I expect this mainly from my 5.5 and 8.5 year old kiddos. My 2 year old and 4 year old, while expected to be quiet, are not expected to always comprehend what’s going on.)
1. During snack time or a meal time.
This is probably the easiest way to integrate read aloud time. Simply give the kids a snack or lunch and let them stuff their little faces during read aloud time. This has been a great time to read aloud because my tot is buckled into her seat, which equals no surprise markings on our couches (with permanent Sharpie, mind you.)
2. Sticker Play.
My kids love for me to draw them open-ended scenes for sticker play, like you see in the photo above. I wrote a post about it here.
We will also print off the “poke pages” from my free Pre-K/K Packs (find them all here) and they will place stickers all around the outline. (All my kids do this. Even my soon-to-be 3rd grader!)
Another favorite of ours are the Crayola Cling & Play Activity Scenes. I bought these for a long car trip and they have lasted us all year! While I couldn’t locate these specific ones on the web, Melissa & Doug makes some fabulous reusable sticker pads that would serve the same purpose.
3. Playing with Stamps.
I have a tub of stamps that only comes out on special occasions. We have so many different kinds. I really like our letter stamps (upper and lower case) and our pattern block stamps. I also enjoy collecting stamps in the $1 section at Target.
4. Playing with a quiet toy.
The toy would depend completely on your child, but may I emphasize the important word–QUIET toy. The last thing you want is a loud toy that you have to read over. I encourage them to build AND listen at the same time. If the toy becomes a distraction at any moment, away it goes. But so far, we haven’t had a problem with this.
My son, at 8.5 years old, loves LEGO bricks
My daughter, 4 years old, enjoys our bristle blocks
Playdough is another favorite at our house during read aloud time. We use our open-ended playdough mats at this time, too.
5. Coloring.
Coloring is probably my kids’ favorite quite read aloud activity. So much so, that we just took a little trip to our local $1 store and bought new coloring books since our others were worn out. My kids like to color Carisa’s Just Color! pages (she has so many FREE themed coloring pages).
I personally love the Color Wonder pages and markers (wonderful toddler gifts for Christmas or birthdays!) for my youngest so that marks stay off my walls and only on the paper.
They all love to color the giant coloring pages (also a great Christmas or birthday present) and spread out on the floor of our schoolroom to color as I read.
6. Drawing a picture.
Sometimes, my kids just like to doodle on paper as I read.
Other times, I might ask them to draw what’s happening in the chapter(s) I’m reading aloud, like they did with The Mouse and the Motorcycle. This idea is a 2-for-1 because kids are 1) doing something quiet and 2) processing the information and drawing their mental images (a great comprehension strategy).
7. Working a puzzle.
I love the 24 piece puzzles for my 4 and 5 year old. Sometimes, my oldest will get out a more complicated puzzle and work it just during read aloud time. We keep it on a board and place the board up high out of the reach of little ones when not in use.
8. Painting a picture.
Pull out the water color paint (my favorite because it’s washable) and let the kids just paint while you read aloud. They could even paint a picture about what you’re reading aloud (another 2-for-1.)
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Other Quiet Time Activities for Kids:
Check out these quiet time activities for kids. Some may be just what you’re looking for as you read aloud in your home!
- 25 Fun Quiet Time Activities for Kids {Playdough to Plato}
- 15 Quiet Time Activities {The Play Room}
- Quiet Time Activities for Preschoolers {Hands On: As We Grow}
- Quiet Time with Felt {Kids Activities Blog}
- 75 Quiet Time Box Ideas for Preschoolers {Teaching Mama}
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~Becky
I get discouraged sometimes because of the chaos going on when I am trying to read aloud. Thanks for these ideas! and encouragement.
You’re very welcome, Amy. Yes, read alouds (especially when you move into chapter books) can be very discouraging with active little ones.
I need to try some of these ideas. I usually just let them draw or color, but I need more variety.
Hey, if they love to color and don’t get tired of it, go for it! Variety is nice, though, isn’t it?
I LOVE those pattern block stamps!! I’m adding them to my shopping list right this minute. Thanks for including our quiet time activities in your list of additional resources. Pinning!
I love these ideas, especially drawing a picture. I am going to utilize this in my Pre-K class. I think having the children draw about the story while the story is being read will help assess their comprehension of the story much better than having them draw about it afterwards.
Awesome! I’d love to hear how it goes.