Daily reading is a must for elementary school children but particularly kids in grades below the fun FCAT years. I am sure that encouraging kids to do this task can get tedious at times, but what If I offer you an alternative to reading books?
I must confess that I began to look for alternative ways because I have a very short attention span and get bored really easy, but don’t tell my kids that because to them, I’m a very creative human being that strives to teach them in fun ways.
Maybe this idea isn’t new for you, but for the moms that have not considered this habit as an option, I’d like to introduce them to karaoke as another way to teach kids how to read. My favorite part about this option is that kids get into it so passionately, that they don’t even realize they are learning.
Karaoke is a good way to teach them how to read and teach them fast and the best part is that you do not have to rent a machine or even purchase one, you have options if you have internet access and a computer.
Here are a few ways that you can create a karaoke environment in your house
1.- go to youtube and search for karaoke songs or instrumental songs with lyrics, then click on the full screen feature and there you have it, you can sing alone with your kids while you point out the words as you sing. Some youtube songs with lyrics light up to hint when to come in and some others appear.
2. – go to karaoke websites and sing there, if you have a computer microphone is even better because you can record them while they sing. My kids love that!
3. – purchase your own karaoke songs, reproduce them on a CD and play them in the car, your personal CD player, the computer, and so forth. If you want to be fancier like me then you can hook an amp, microphone and mixer to a computer and have a nice sound system to sing karaoke. You can either read the songs on your computer screen or print them. Another good incentive is to record them while their sing, either just the song or play dress up and record a video, they love that too!
I would also like to suggest that you monitor the songs if you are going to be using youtube because as much as my kids love Kathy Perry and Lady Gaga, their lyrics are not appropriate for elementary school kids and pretty soon you will find yourself having to explain subjects that are way above their age. Instead, stick to Disney and teen songs of singers 15 and below. My kids love Selena Gomez and she has some nice songs that are easy to sing. Here is an example of one of her songs titled “Naturally”
How do you choose to express yourself?
It’s all your own and I can tell
It comes naturally
It comes naturally
You follow what you feel inside