How important are Read Alouds?

My own children are getting older each day, and one of our favourite time of day together is "story time". My daughter is in Grade 4 now and can read on her own - should we keep reading to her each night? Selfishly, I want to continue as I am not ready to move on from this amazing parenting stage. But I usually follow her lead so each night I wait for her request "Will you read to me?" and my answer is always "YES!" We are reading the most amazing book right now, Pax by Sara Pennypacker, a story about a boy and his fox.

Here are my observations when I am reading aloud to my children:

1. My children always ask very specific questions about vocab - sometimes we even reach for our dictionary or use Google to confirm the definition (what a great habit).

2. If they are confused with the text, they feel very safe and comfortable to clarify with us.

3. They stop us and make connections - last night it was a math connection about angles!

4. It is a shared experience - it's a bond that I hope they will always remember.

5. Every night they always ask - "Just a few more pages...?" How can I say no?

When Pernille Ripp, American Educator and author, posted this link on Twitter http://www.ascd.org/publications/newsletters/education-update/jan18/vol60/num01/Why-Every-Class-Needs-Read-Alouds.aspx

I devoured it. I completely agree! We all need to keep reading aloud to our children and students. Read more difficult texts, pause to explain, clarify and question, and enjoy the shared experience.