Reading Out Loud

A few weeks ago, my kindergarten grandson, Stephen, got some new books. So excited about this new-found ability to read, he read them almost constantly to anyone willing – or unwilling – to listen. When his older brother suggested he read them to himself, I had to explain the Michael that he wasn’t yet able to read to himself. He still has to hear the words out loud, sound them out, experience the words as well as take them in.

Wondering how that would feel, I decided to try reading out loud. I know the value of reading a fresh writing aloud to a writing group. It helps the words come alive letting them loose from the mind and the page. However, I don’t think I had ever read aloud for my own pleasure and decided to give it a try.

It is slow. It slows the process of getting the book read, something that can be frustrating when its one of those books you just can’t put down. But the slowing down has a settling effect. It put me more fully into the character and the setting. I think I could more fully feel what I was reading by putting the story out into the air and breathing it back in rather than keeping it trapped in my head.

I don’t think I will do it often, this reading out loud experiment. I am too impatient to get the book read. But I do think I will return to it for at least short periods when I need to feel myself grounded in the character and the story. As a matter of fact, I am amazed at the kindergarten experiences that I am learning from. Finding delight in simple things that I have learned to take for granted opens up my eyes, my ears and my heart and lets in a welcome breath of fresh air.