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Do you read the newspaper aloud to your children? If not, your family is missing out on a rich source of learning. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 77 percent of children ages 8 to 18 read no newspapers on a given day. But there is good news. You can enrich your homeschool by reading the newspaper aloud. 

In this newsletter, we give you three reasons why reading the newspaper aloud should be part of your homeschool week. Much of this information comes from Jim Trelease’s The Read Aloud Handbook, an excellent resource on the benefits of reading aloud to your family. 

1. Newspapers Contain More Rare Words Than Most Other Sources
According to Trelease, newspapers contain 68.3 rare words per thousand. That’s a big number, surpassed only by scientific papers. Reading the newspaper beats adult to child conversations (9.0 rare words) and even adult books (52.7 rare words). When you read the newspaper aloud, you delve into those rare words that help them most when it’s time for school and learning. 

2. Newspapers Enhance the Home’s Print Climate 
Having an actual, physical newspaper in the home helps condition children to print. If a newspaper is visible on the kitchen table or beside an easy chair, children are seeing all those rich and informative articles and headlines. Daily, their eyes are drawn toward complex vocabulary and new and interesting problems. Newspapers used to be the way Americans entered the world of reading. Today, the print newspaper industry is in decline. This is a shame because it means the print climate of homes is also in decline. And research shows that kids who grow up in a home rich in print (abounding with books, magazines, and newspapers) are more successful in school and life. 

3. Newspapers Pass Visible Torches
By reading the newspaper aloud to your kids, you are modeling good habits. You are showing your children the habits of a good reader, as well as a good citizen. Reading the news to yourself on your phone or table it not the same. Your readings habits are out of your child’s line of sight. Also, reading the news digitally—on Facebook, blogs, and RSS feeds—does not go very deep. It lends itself to skimming rather than pondering and digesting. And as Trelease pointedly asks, “How do you pass invisible torches?” 

Need some tools to help you read the newspaper aloud? This week begins our Hot Chocolate and Current Events initiative, which is Silverdale Press’s effort to help your homeschool families and co-ops become more conversant in current affairs. In our weekly newsletter, we provide a family-friendly article and discussion questions. Our articles span the types of news: business, technology, politics, life and arts, and world affairs. During the school year, you’ll find the week’s article at the end of each Friday newsletter. 

This week’s article is about international business and the world's biggest coffee chain.  

Do you know which European country just got its first Starbucks? 

1. Read this article aloud with your family. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/06/grande-opening-milan-gets-italys-first-starbucks
2. Look up these vocabulary words: mezzanine, colossus, dubious. 
3. Point out these locations on a map: Seattle, Washington and Milan, Italy.
4. Discuss the following questions:

• Where does the story take place?
• What is the main topic or issue?
• Why did Starbucks want to bring a fancy coffee store to Italy?
• Comment on the design elements of the new Italian Starbucks. 
• How do you think Italians will respond to this Starbucks?
• What is your opinion on or reaction to this article? Do you think Starbucks opening in Italy is a good idea?