Thursday, July 8, 2010

Listening Fun

We LOVE to listen to books on tape!!

When you were a kid, did you ever listen to books on tape (or records, depending on how OLD you are) that had the tinkling noise which cued you into when you needed to turn the page? I know I did (I will admit that mine were records). I LOVED those stories. I think with the prevalence of computers and dvd/videos available today, we have often forgotten gems like those. 

Fortunately for us, when my mother retired in June, she blessed us with MANY educational treasures she had gathered during her 31 years of teaching. One of them was a box of about thirty wonderful book/tape sets for my kids to enjoy and a simple tape player. Today I showed Ladybug how to work the small tape player and the Three Amigos spent the afternoon (it was HOT outside, and it rained) working their way through about a dozen of the sets. They enjoyed many stories ranging from Disney titles such as The Aristocats and Cinderella to classics such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears and The Little Red Hen.

It really warmed my mother's heart to hear the children's talking to each other about the stories, especially when Ladybug and Cowboy both commented, "Those other animals sure are selfish...they should have helped the Little Red Hen." Not only are they listening intently, but they are drawing GOOD conclusions, too.

The tapes' readers are especially neat because they talk directly to the listeners about the story before jumping into the text. They ask the children questions about the pictures in the book and what they think the characters might be doing. It really helps prepare children for predicting and deductive reasoning, two important skills for emerging and beginning readers to develop. 

The Three Amigos listening to a story

I think I will wind up taking these tapes with us on our road trip this summer. I think it will be something good that will keep the kids constructively occupied when we need some time to visit with just the adults. I am so grateful to my mom for sharing this treasure with us. Thanks, Nanny!!

If you haven't checked out books on tape for your young ones lately, consider giving it a try this summer for a change of pace, or for your family trip. Let me know if you find any new family favorites we might like to try, too.

1 comment:

Merit Kirkpatrick said...

We love books on tape too - Thankfully, our library has a good selection. I also love to purchase them as a complement to our Homeschool Curriculum when our budget allows. We love the "Jonathon Park" series which is full of science facts and logic!It is more like a radio series now, but it started out as a book that we loved!

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