Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Mike Smith:
I’m happy to be joined today by author and speaker Richard Grant. Richard, what would you tell a busy parent who says, “I don’t even have time to catch up on the laundry! Where will I find the time to read to my children?”

Richard Grant:
You know, Mike, what we actually do is what is actually important to us. The biggest thing to free up time for reading would be for parents to set reading as a high priority, and then do it. We spend time on Little League, ballet lessons, all kinds of good things, but few of those activities are going to impact our kids as profitably as reading. How many of our kids are really going to be pro ball players or ballerinas? Not many. But they all need to be good readers. So parents can set reading higher on their list of things to do.

Another thing they can do is turn off that TV. It consumes us. Turn it off! There are a whole lot more good books than there are good TV shows.

Also, a busy homeschool mom can add recreational reading to her daily routine. Every day she can schedule a time when everyone, including herself, gets a specific number of minutes to read quietly. I call this USSR: uninterrupted silent sustained reading. No phone calls, no chores, no answering the door. Just reading. Reading like this can be an oasis in an otherwise hectic homeschool day.

Mike:
Well, Richard, thank you for helping us get our priorities straight! Until next time, I’m Mike Smith.