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March 5th, 2012
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Reading aloud is one of those precious moments that many of us reserve for the end of the day when we’re putting the children to bed. This week on Wednesday 7th March is World Read Aloud day a global movement of literacy and reading aloud by LITWorld founder Pam Allyn.
Reading aloud is probably one of the most squeezed activities in our household because of the time pressures. It doesn’t benefit from enough time and thought. The amount of reading generally gets smaller as new siblings arrive and older children learn to read. It doesn’t need to be that way!
In this short extract we hear founder, Pam Allyn tackle this problem When you have more than one child how do you choose the right book that fits them all without giving up on Read alouds?
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February 29th, 2012
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You can’t have failed to notice how many ways we can find information. Podcasts have become a really important way that you will learn, are entertained, inspired, take action and grow. Podcasts are produced by enthusiastic hosts passionate about their subjects. The parenting world has a range of podcasts which are a perfect way to listen to information and be part of a community connected without boundaries. They offer comment on current issues in a way that leaves you thinking long after the show is over and urge you to take some action.
Podcasts in general take a huge amount of time to produce and in the parenting world this coupled unpredictable nature of it with more kids coming along, new directions, maternity leave over and normal life there is a tendency to see your favourite show on hiatus or podfade.
The podcasts listed here are in no particular order. They were all current for 2012. Visit the website or better yet download a show and let the host know what you think. They will appreciate it.
Podcasts of 2012
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February 22nd, 2012
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Strong emotions are a big bug bear when you’re in a playful home or are they really? Our aim as parents surely is to train, teach and allow opportunities of growth. We allow ample unstructured playtime to build creativity; structured activities to encourage skills and further learning; outdoor skills to connect with nature and so on. However, since our children come with varied temperaments, there is that potential to clash. This power struggle of who wins and who loses is a big problem in most of our playful homes. Mostly because we rely on previous experiences and default scripts we are often surprised that really come out of our mouths.
{Image Credit}
We can all think of a sticking point in our playful experiences at home and wish we had a tool or trick to just fix it, and fix it forever. Tricks don’t last over time. Although they can get you through situations they often start you down a path that leads to more problems. A better solution is to arm yourself with ideas, tools and solutions that you marinate with overtime and gradually introduce into your family.
Remember, you only have to succeed the last time.
Brian Tracy
What we know to be true with toddlers
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January 23rd, 2012
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Some days you just get blown away by the simplicity of a message. Today was that day.
Do you ever find yourself doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. What about the children do you see that in them? How do you get them to move to a point where they can set simple goals and achieve them. Concentrate and persevere in an age appropriate manner.
I’m a totally a visual person so really appreciated Dr Becky Bailey demonstrations and explanation on the importance of developing the executive state in the frontal lobe. Before you switch off thinking oh no brain science how will this impact my child let me encourage you with a few highlights.
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June 8th, 2011
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Birmingham Public Library (AL)
Listening to audio is a skill that’s not confined to just car journeys. There are many times when we need to add some downtime or slow the pace down.
Listening is a very active form and a really easy way to provide imagination, inspiration and entertainment.
Here are 3 go to places for active listening
Listen and Play
This is part of the BBC school programming and is published on a Tuesday. They are available on demand for 7 days after broadcast.
Each programme includes familiar songs, rhymes, stories and sound discrimination games to develop children’s phonological awareness and confidence with spoken language.
Each show has kept my little one interested and we’ve subscribed via iTunes so can listen again to older versions. if you live outside of the UK access to the BBC iplayer is restricted but you can subscribe via iTunes and download as a podcast.
Listen and play
Playtime
P-L-A-Y-T-I-M-E …It’s PLAYTIME! P-L-A-Y-T-I-M-E………
With the current interest in letters and singing of the ABC song along with the phonic game on the fridge this show is perfect for my soon turning preschooler. It’s full of energy and emotion that he’ll stop to listen. We pretend together and with siblings as well.
Songs, stories and movement activities for pre-school children inspired by popular themes.
This is also part of BBC programming for schools.
Playtime
Barefoot books podcast
I’m a big advocate for diversity in book and literature with my family of boys we just love the Barefoot Books as they have a range of stories both traditional and from different cultures. We always have lots to talk about seeing the people and places in these books. Now you can read along or just listen to your favourite books.
Barefoot books publish a huge range of stories and many of them for the over 5s so watch out for the themes.
Barefoot books
We’ve been experimenting with audio and listening recently and have tried them at our family dinner time. Instead of the usual hustle and bustle we listened to a story and then discussed it afterwards. It was really a different way to celebrate dinner together.
We’ve tried the traditional sit down and listen but this doesn’t work as well for us . It’s been great tidy up ‘music’ and listen to in the morning music before everyone is awake.
Photo credit: Birmingham Public Library (AL)
When do you listen to audio and what do you listen to?
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