eReaders or Real Books for Preschoolers?

I asked Katie, Mommy with Selective Memory, if she would take a picture of Little Munchkin using the iPad. Munchkin loves to wear pretty dresses and was happy to oblige. But Katie told me she did not stay with the iPad very long after the picture was taken.

Technology is a wonderful tool and I LOVE my Kindle - but I believe creating a love of reading with beginning readers is best done on the lap of a parent with a real book, conversation and interaction. A parent’s voice is soothing to a young child and can be full of expression. Sharing books together forms a comforting bond as a child turns pages, touches the illustrations, and actively participates in the reading process.

Young children learn using their five senses and movement. They will engage in a book more if they are interacting with a book that has flaps, movable gadgets and interesting textures. Reading is more than learning letters sounds and putting the sounds together to form words. Reading is a magical adventure. Communication with a parent or teacher enhances the experience and adds to comprehension, language development, and vocabulary. Questions can be asked and answered.

 

CONS OF eREADERS

• Research concludes that children who are exposed to too much electronic reading have a lower vocabulary and delayed language development
  E-reading tends to be more of a solitaire experience and may even become a babysitter
•  Comprehension is lower perhaps because children are distracted by the lighting, ways to move around the book, and options for playing games. Deep focusing is inhibited.
• Young children need large print and interesting illustrations.
• Heat can destroy an eReader if left in a hot car and they need to be re-charged  
•  Going to the library and picking out books cannot be experienced by using an eReader. Owning a collection of books that are re-read numerous times creates a feeling of ownership and comfort
• The lights and movement on eReaders can be stimulating and keep children awake after bedtime. 

PROS OF eREADERS

• May be more engaging to reluctant readers and children with special needs
• Can supplement reading skills through repetition
• Saves on book expenses and trees (I love garage sale books)
• Easily available on long car rides or doctor appointments when child needs more to do
• May give parents a much needed and deserved break!
• For recommended FREE ebooks, see No Twiddle Twaddle

photo by Glittering Muffins

Children crave and need a parent’s nearness for bonding, creating a love of reading, and comprehension of what was read - whether using a flat screen or a paper book. As with everything in life, finding a healthy balance is desirable.

Resources:
Why the Real World is Better for Children than an iPad, Psychology Today
Sesame's Best Practice Guide for Children's App Development
Parents Urged to Limit TV for Youngest, The New York Times

Would you like inexpensive ideas, activities, and games to teach your child through play? Mommy with Selective Memory and I can help save your sanity, one project at a time, with The Happy Mommy Handbook: The Ultimate How-to Guide on Keeping Your Toddlers and Preschoolers Busy, Out of Trouble and Motivated to Learn. Or you might like a glimpse into Kindergarten - for parents and teachers. Both bestsellers are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

Does your child prefer real books or eReaders?

Teach Kids about Diversity with Multicultural Activities

We are living in a global community. We can connect, google, share, tweet, pin, blog, and comment all hours of the day and night. It's daylight somewhere, right?  It should be easier than ever to teach our children about world cultures and diversity. I'm including people with special needs because I am reminded every day how prejudices can affect people. My daughter has a seizure disorder. She has suffered from unkind remarks and people staring or wondering why she acts strangely sometimes. Yet she brings me more joy than anyone. Can we all try a little harder to see the good in everyone? Young children learn from their parent's attitudes and behaviors. They are great imitators of what you say and do.

5 Ways to Teach Children about World Culture and Diversity

We can teach children to respect and value others regardless of their skin color, language, or physical and mental abilities. Here are five ways to help children learn about differences: 

I. MUSIC

Children can learn about world cultures and different languages as they learn songs. Music crosses all barriers and transcends boundaries. Award-winning Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou travels around the globe spreading the message of peace, tolerance and most importantly, fun, through her music for children. Daria believes that children need music that is not only enjoyable, but also positive and empowering.  Children can learn to create their own multicultural instruments that they might find by traveling around the planet. From Australia’s “way too funny” didgeridoo, to a box-shaped drum from coastal Peru, to recycled rattles, there are a multitude of ways to be creative with music as you shake, rattle, and roll.

Every month Daria has a monthly song and giveaway plus she also blogs at My Favorite Multicultural Books. Your children will enjoy learning this funny song while they watch her video of La Cucaracha (Dancing Cockroaches). Daria has songs and videos in many languages but I just discovered this beautiful video in which she sings in Yiddish and English.

II. FOOD  

Glittering Muffins features the amazing Around the World in 12 Dishes including a fabulous Linky Party.

III. FLAT STANLEY

Crayon Freckles started a Flat Stanley world-wind project and Sarah is enjoying it very much. It is always fun to get mail. Flats can teach children geography but also reading and writing skills by using the traveling journal. We are putting together the neglected puzzle of the United States and will buy a globe for a 3D hands-on experience of finding locations.  Sarah is excited to make new friends including Tiaras and Bowties and We Can Do All Things -- and I'm happy to connect with moms who also have Children with Special Needs. We have started a new Flat Stanley project for children with special needs.

IV.  OLYMPICS

There are 204 countries competing in 2012 Olympics being held in London. The Olympics inspire children to play new games or reach for new physical or athletic goals. If you are having a party while you watch the Olympics, here is an adorable printable for Olympic Party Fry Box Favors which can hold pretzels, celery, baby carrots, or crayons. For many ideas on celebrating the Olympics, world cultures, games, outdoor play, and children's activities, click on these Pinterest boards:

Pinterest

MeMeTales Children’s Stories

World Culture Book, Activities, Crafts & Learning Curriculum
Kindergarten & Preschool for Parents & Children

V.  BOOKS

A love of reading = A lifetime of learning.

Ebooks to Own and Borrow! This is the last week (6) of MeMeTales Readathon and the theme is WORLD CULTURES. You can borrow books and OWN over 20 wonderful free children's ebooks for  viewing on the computer or Apps. Many correlating activities are offered. For every child who joins, a hungry child is fed through FoodforEducation.org. So far, over 8,000 meals have been donated and children have read the books over  80,000 times! It is easy to join, just click here. 

The Human Garden

See more at memetales

The Human Garden introduces the concept of "unity in diversity" of the human race in a very simple and direct way.  The book begins by making the association between a flower garden and the world of humanity, and has beautiful illustrations on how the uniqueness of each individual flower adds to the beauty and richness of the garden, just as the uniqueness of each human being adds to the beauty and richness of the human race. Many other beautiful ebooks are available to own or borrow through MeMeTales including more of the popular Stickfiggy series.

My husband used to ask me why I didn't plant the same color of flowers around our house. He thought the landscaping would look good if all the flowers were red. I said, "If God didn't want us to enjoy all the colors, he wouldn't have made them." Dan stopped asking that question and I continued planting a variety of flowers in various shades and glory. With the WWW, there has never been a better opportunity for us to learn to live cooperatively together and benefit from each other's wisdom and experiences. Let us connect with respect, understanding, compassion and joy while we celebrate and learn from our differences. We may not know a person's language, but we can smile at them.

No matter what language you speak, everyone understands the
universal signs of happiness: Smiles, giggles and laughter.

For a glimpse into Kindergarten see my book. Would you like inexpensive ideas, activities, and games to teach your child through play? Mommy with Selective Memory and I can help save your sanity, one project at a time, with The Happy Mommy Handbook: The Ultimate How-to Guide on Keeping Your Toddlers and Preschoolers Busy, Out of Trouble and Motivated to Learn. Both have been No. 1 Bestsellers on Amazon.

When Kids Recycle, Animals are Saved

When my kindergartners were having trouble focusing on being quiet, I pulled out a critter book and we were all fascinated by the amazing facts of animals, insects, fish, and birds. Science was the favorite subject in my classes and we even won 1st place in Kindergarten for our science project which involved squiggly worms. Fascinating - to five-year-olds, plus  it gave my husband a reason to go fishing when the project was finished. So when children are not interested in what you are trying to teach, throw in animals and science and they will pay attention - especially hands-on learning like taking apart owl pellets to see what owls eat (I highly recommend you have plenty of parent volunteers that day) or having races with beetles which have emerged from your mealworms.

SIMPLE WAYS FOR CHILDREN TO RECYCLE:

When we  teach children to recycle, we are helping to protect our earth's natural resources including habitats, critters, and food supplies. It is easy to separate items that can be recycled:

• Aluminum cans: We earn money for aluminum cans or donate them to the Boy Scouts for their fund.
• Plastic: Using material bags instead of plastic keeps more plastic from being deposited in landfills or burned.
• Glass: Some places prefer the glass be separated by color.
• Cardboard: Children enjoy stomping on boxes so they will fit into the cardboard recyclable container.
• Paper: We stopped taking the newspaper (read news on internet) and cut down on junk mail and magazines.
• Metal: We decided to build a home in the country and bought land that was formerly cow pasture. There was a lot of metal left on the property - even an old car with a tree growing in the middle! My husband cut the car into pieces and took it to the Recycling Center along with other metal including cans from soup and vegetables. We were happy to collect several hundred dollars for a trailer full of metal.
• Water: Did you know water is our most endangered natural resource? There is no reason to purchase water in plastic containers. Tap water must undergo more stringent standards than bottled water. It would be cheaper in the long term to purchase a filtering system if you do not like the taste of tap water. Humans need to drink lots of water, but we can use the same container over and over.
• Hazardous Substances: Model for children the proper way to dispose of oil, paint and medicine so that it doesn't end up in our water supply.
• Clothes: My personal favorite - we don't need to wear clean clothes every day - saves on laundry, wear & tear on clothes, and electricity.

Since we recycle and live in the country, we are able to burn what little trash we have left and WE HAVE NO TRASH COLLECTOR'S BILL! But remember, never leave a fire unattended.

 Note water bucket and hose nearby.Yes, those are chickens in the background. They love our food scraps and give us delicious, nutritious eggs.

HOW DOES RECYCLING HELP ANIMALS?

• It protects their habitats.
• It prevents ocean life from being hurt by trash like plastic rings choking fish or plastic littering their water space. Plastic takes hundreds of years to disintegrate and even then the particles are not good for consumption.
• It provides a cleaner water supply.
• The less space used for landfills, the fewer rodents and more room for animal habitats.
• Crafts, gifts, and cards from recycled materials help critters such as bird houses made from wood scrapes, bird feeders made from plastic jugs, or gifts made from natural objects like a Fossil Dough Stick Ornament.
• Upcycling toys lessens the cost of  manufacturing and transportation. Mommy with Selective Memory's children spent hours making and playing with their 3D House Made from Trash around Your Home.
  

Little Buddy loves collecting sticks and berries then

making a Fossil Dough Ornament gift.

MORE IDEAS ON PINTEREST BOARD:
Recycle! Upcycle! Kids Activities & Art

3D House Made from Upcycled "Trash"

Birds enjoy Little Buddy's Birdhouse

Using Less - Means More.

Would you like inexpensive ideas, activities, and games to teach your child through play? See my new book, co-written with Mommy with Selective Memory titled The Happy Mommy Handbook: The Ultimate How-to Guide on Keeping Your Toddlers and Preschoolers Busy, Out of Trouble and Motivated to Learn  - or would you like a glimpse into Kindergarten? Both are bestsellers and are also available on Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

What other ways can children help animals?
What do you recycle?

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