Why Do My Kids Hate Storytime?

They rather do something else.
All things with kids, ebbs and flows. Nothing is constant.
You can still read to them, out loud, as they are doing something else.
That is what I do.
Maybe they just don't want to sit there.
Boys are also very mobile/physical and like to play... and yes, they wander off.
Normal.

I wouldn't force it.
Or you can have talk-story time... talking about their day, their feelings, what ideas are in their heads. OR, letting them make up their OWN stories and telling it to you.... That is what I do too, with my kids. It expands their imaginations.... and their verbal skills....

good luck,
Susan

at the ages of your children you may be forcing the "you can read that" too much. You should still be reading the younger one big picture books. if they have pictures to look at while your reading it will help. are you reading chapter books? do you take them to the library to pick out what they want to hear or do you just decide? not judging just asking. my kids loved to be read to but they also got to help pick out the stories. and a previous poster suggested reading at different times. not just bed time. maybe in the afternoon? and try to do it just for the fun not for the lessons. good luck. also young children have short attention spans. so stick with short books

How are you going about it? What I mean is, do you let them choose the books? When our kids were younger I would let them choose the book from the bookshelf outside their rooms. I always held the veto power :), but they got to choose. Since our kids are 3 years apart and had a wide variety of interests, I let them each choose one story.

Some of my daughter's favorites (even before she was old enough to choose) were the I Spy books. I Spy Super Challenger: A Book of Picture Riddles, I Spy School Days: A Book of Picture Riddles, etc. BOTH of my kids always LOVE the Frog & Toad series. And I loved reading them too. They are little short stories that take about 3-5 minutes to read, and there are 4-8 stories in each of the books (there are four books I think). They are quirky and fun. My kids love books that have interesting unexpected things go on, and not that into chapter type books. Even Harry Potter. They just would start playing while I was reading. But if I pull out "The Toughest Cowboy" (which tells the story of a rough tough cowboy who adopts a..... poodle) they crack up and want to hear it over and over. They love Arthur books too. They'd beg me to read the one where DW tries to scare the boys with a fake UFO during a campout! Why? Because they loved the line where the dad tells the boys it's time for bed, and the boys say "He said it's bed time, but he didn't say SLEEP time! " They also used to love The Grinch (and no, it didn't need to be Xmas season), because they thought the drawings of the little dog were hysterically funny. Or Dr. Suess's "Pale Green Pants" story...

So, I would say take a look at what kinds of books you are reading for them. They are far more likely to enjoy something that sends YOU over the deep end, than a cute little moralistic story that you might prefer to read. Although, I always tried to work a deal with them, if I felt up to reading alot that night, and I would read MY choice first, then theirs.

Sometimes I would let them read "a page" here and there too.

Try changing up your material... and see what happens.

I think I hear in your request that you use story time as teach-'em-to-read time. If that's the case, that could be what your sons are resisting. They may like it if it's purely for relaxation and entertainment, with no expectations about their "potential to be so much better."

Just because we've always done some activity doesn't mean kids will always like it the same. Kids also go through periods in which expressing themselves through movement is so much more important than focusing on language. This is probably more prevalent in boys. I think I'd shift the focus to just reading TO them, letting them choose books that interest them, and, as others have suggested, not connecting the stories to bedtime.

If bedtime IS the best time for all of you, though, you could give them the choice of going to bed with or without story. Framed that way, a story will probably gain some attractiveness.

Are you trying different types of books? kids have their own preferences at a young age. my oldest liked nonfiction about snakes, and sharks and tigers, my youngest liked stories about kids and animals who didn't want to go to bed or who had to be gentle with the dog (something he could related to) Try reading to him in the tub when he's a captive audience, in the car if someone else is driving. If he starts to like it then try reading to him when he's in bed at night and his only choices are listen to a story or turn out light and go to sleep.

Maybe they don't really hate storytime. I have a 5 year old girl and 2 1/2 year old boy. I know this might not be the right approach but I started telling my daughter that she would lose story time and have to go to bed early when not behaving. Since then she begs for a story every night. Your boys are older so this may not work. Maybe change it up. Have them read to you, read magazines, programs, advertisements, books of high interest (Books about trucks and cars for your 4 year old). Don't feel that you have to read an entire book, read a few pages and allow time for "talk" too. Try to get them to relate their own experiences to the book topic.

Yea this is tricky. My kids are little (almost 3 and almost 1) and my daughter (1st born) LOVES to read and she always has. From being a tiny baby she would sit still and listen to story after story after story. Nothing has really changed and she would still sit there for 20 stories before bed if I let her. My son is totally different. We did/do the same things with him and he is absolutely not into reading. Obviously, he's still really little, I get it, but my point is sometimes you do the right thing and they still resist you. I am with you in the sense that I think you should still try, but maybe have them pick out some library books to read or something else they really like. Boys do have a tendency to like more non fiction and things with animals and/or gore, which may not be the best before bed, but still! ;)

I guess I have no real advice here, but I just wanted you to know I feel like I'm in the same boat to an extent, so hang in there!

I agree with one of the moms and perhaps they don't like storytime because they associate it with bedtime. Also have you tried mixing up the stories or stopping to be silly about something just said or done? Try getting them involved into the story to answer questions ect. You could also try the Choose your Own Adventure books ( for the older one) or I Spy books. Right now its not so much about content as it is establishing the love to read. My daughter loves books and every night I read one silly "little kids" book, she then reads out loud to me ( she is now doing chapter books) and then I read a chapter out of a different book. Also perhaps your hubby could read, see if they like his style better. I know as a kid my mom didn't do very good voices so my older sister was my favorite, I still remember her awesome Grover voice :-) You didn't say if they were chapter books or not, but ss the pictures get less it will depend on how your kidos "see" the story. When my sister asked her two boys about reading, one said it was like watching the TV in his head, the other who actually didn't have to work as hard at learning to read hated it because he only saw words. You could also try to find different types of books at the library. Good luck!

Is storytime right before bed? Maybe they see it as the signal of bed and are fighting that? Why not ask them? Also, you can help them to not related it to bedtime by reading throughout the day.

We have books in every room of our home. My son will sometimes just sit and page through a book, it is fun to hear him try to remember what we read to him. Books that match his interests are read repeatedly, while books that aren't interesting sit for months untouched. For now this is right, we are just fostering a love of reading. Later we will introduce reading to learn and staying engaged with assigned reading. We use funny voices and read lots of chanting, pattern books that allow him to join in. You could allow the boys to pick out books for storytime from the library or store. For the six year old don't forget to spend part of storytime reading aloud to him from material that is above his reading level to help build his listening comprehension, intonation, fluency, and joy in hearing a story develop. Pick a chapter book, read a little every night, and emphasize that it is time for him to just listen. Eventually work in some direct and inferential questions. Don't grill him, keep it light hearted and fun. Good luck!

Be sure that your kids have lots of active play time during the day to get out wiggles. Give a warning, like 10 minuets to story time, then 5 minuets until story time...

or try having it first before play time.

Be sure that the books are interesting to them. What is interesting to a six year old might be too hard for the 4 year old, so be sure to include something for both of them. Let them do the picking (within reason).

Keep an upbeat attitude. Maybe include Dad, if hes not there already, and his enthusiasm.

One idea is to teach them some words and get them copies to read along with (even if you need to photocopy it). Have them underline words like "the" "ball" or something that repeats a lot in the story. It helps them pay attention.

My 3 year old gets pretty distracted too. She loves storied, but I think its more about sitting and cuddling and getting attention from us then listening. Many times she'll ask, so what was that story about, when we finish. ULGH! But when questioned often she knows the basics. Sometimes she's too wiggly to finish and we stop in the middle of the story and make her wait until the next time to finish it. She doesn't like it when we stop in the middle.

Hope you can get it figured out. Don't give up, you're doing the right thing by teaching your kids to enjoy reading. To some it doesn't come naturally, but they'll learn.

why don't u have them read instead to you once in a while n the one who wants the truck let him have one to play with while your reading. also i would have them read for a half hr a day by themselves

Don't give up, B.! Maybe making a fort or tent where this can occur or some other special place will help. Letting them each pick a book to read might be good too. Keep it up, don't make it too long especially for the younger, active one.