Audio books

Listening to stories - whether read by a parent, librarian, or narrator on a CD is very enjoyable.  It helps kids develop their attention and imagination, just as reading does. Audio books let kids who can't read yet, hear more stories when Mum and Dad are busy, or allows older children to hear stories when they are too tired to read.  It can also give your eyes a break from close up work, while you relax and let someone else do the reading!

I remember as a kid, having a Famous Five story on vinyl record, which I listened to over and over again.  Another favourite was on a cassette - a story my aunt brought back after her time living in South Africa. It was called 'The Beobab Tree' and is a beautiful story of all the creatures living in and around a Beobab Tree - the tree itself has a voice as do all the animals.  We have managed to preserve this story for our children, through transferring it from cassette to CD, then to the computer and onto their MP3 players.

I also remember listening to stories on the radio now and again - back in the UK, on Radio 4. I wonder if children still listen to stories on there?

Our girls love listening to audio books.  They have some Famous Five stories, some Roald Dahl, The Beobab Tree, and several fairy tales from when they were younger, that they still occasionally listen to.

We have found audio books are great for car journeys - and we all enjoyed listening to some Roald Dahl stories together on a recent driving and camping trip.

Our girls often listen to them too when they are tired after swimming, or as an alternative to TV.  They even have them playing as background noise, almost as much as they do their music!  I guess some of the stories they've heard so often, and know so well, that it doesn't matter if they miss parts while they're busy playing or talking!

There are so many audio books available - to buy, or hire from your local library. There are also many available to download for free online.

 One such place I have found is

http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/

However you find them, audio books are a fantastic resource to have for both children and adults alike.

How about you? Do you enjoy audio books? Do your kids? 

Do you remember listening to stories as a kid yourself? Which ones? 

Do let us know, we'd love to hear about your favourites and where you listen to audio books!

Got a minute?

Our daughters are both learning about time just now.  They got watches for Christmas (analogue not digital) and are slowly getting there with being able to tell the time in all the different formats!

Our eldest had a book we found with some time and money puzzles in, that she's been practicing in.  During the school holidays we found a fun page which I did with both girls together - practicing some time, and also estimating!

It was all about how many of various activities you could do in one minute!  We had fun trying to guess what we could do, then timing each other to actually try!  As you can see - our estimates weren't always very near our actual results!  And I also found that clicking your fingers for one minute is unnatural and results in cramps and spasms!! (or maybe I just don't click my fingers enough in daily life and my clicking muscles are sadly very weak!)

Workbooks aren't always the most fun way to practice things, but our girls do enjoy doing them - especially ones that have gold star stickers in the back to put on each page as you finish!  This was a particularly fun page in a workbook - active fun for us all!

Do you ever use workbooks with your kids?  Have you found any great ones you can recommend? 

And what suggestions do you have for things you could try in a minute?  The ones we had were:

How many times can you stomp your feet in 1 minute?

How many times can you say, " Lucy left her lollipop in the lunch line" in 1 minute?

How many jumping jacks can you do in 1 minute?

How many times can you write your first and last names in 1 minute?

How many times can you click your fingers in 1 minute?

Remember to guess first what you think you can do!!  

It's tricky to guess!

Chess

I've never been a big fan of chess.  If I'm totally honest, it probably has something to do with the fact that my older brother was better than me at it, and so I preferred other games and activities where we were better matched or I could beat him!  I know how to play, but really never do.

I was surprised when our eldest daughter came home from school a couple of years ago, when she was 6 years old,  having joined the lunch-time chess club.  She learnt fairly quickly, and has enjoyed playing since -with her Dad, and even teaching her younger sister the rules so they can now play together.

This week I made a fabric chessboard set, using some black and white checked fabric I found in a remnant box a while ago. 

Spending the time on making the chess set, made me think about the game itself, and the fact that my girls enjoy playing it, but I never do, even though they do ask me to sometimes.  I've been thinking that perhaps I should take more of an interest in the game, and play with them sometimes. Both for their benefit - as a good parent taking an interest in what my kids are doing, but also for my own personal  benefit - to go back to something that I gave up for all the wrong reasons!  If either of our girls stopped doing something for the same reason, I'm sure I'd be a little disappointed!

I spent a little time researching Chess online - finding out about it's origins and why it is a good game to learn to play.  

Chess is believed to have originated in India around 1500 years ago.  In the Middle Ages it was used to teach war strategy; in the 18th Century, (the Age of Enlightenment) Chess was seen as a means of self-improvement; and now, Chess is seen as an excellent means to improve the mind - improving skills of memory, logical reasoning, concentration and patterning amongst others.

You can find chess everywhere, there are giant chessboards in parks, computer games of chess, most households have a chess set in their games collections,  schools often have chess clubs, and even Harry Potter books have 'Wizard Chess'. 

In 2011 the BBC reported that Armenia - (where the top players are treated like top sports stars) is making learning Chess compulsory in its schools.  I'm not sure that making it compulsory is necessary but then again, is it any more or less beneficial than some of the other subjects and things our kids learn in school?

The more I read, the more I feel like I'm missing out by not playing.  Missing out on an important part of our culture, and also a great opportunity to improve my mind and skills - not to mention an opportunity to spend some quality time with my kids doing something they enjoy!

How about you?  Do you play chess?  Do your kids?  Do you believe it's really that good for you?  And what do you think about the idea of Chess as part of the school curriculum?

Libraries - still the best resource

Libraries have been around for hundreds, even thousands of years.  Although for some, libraries may conjure an image of a large dusty building with a stern librarian patrolling telling all to 'be quiet',  they are in reality, especially today, so much more than this!  I personally believe they are special places that we need to treasure and make full use of. 

I vividly remember library visits as a child.  My parents brought me up with a love of reading and we often visited the library to stock up on books to read.  Our local library had a great kids section, with hundreds and hundreds of colourful books for all ages, plus small colourful tables and chairs to sit and and read for a while.

As I grew older, I used to go to the library myself, and spend ages choosing books to read - both fiction and non-fiction, looking for interesting covers or titles that sparked my interest.  I remember searching for books using the 'microfiche' - before computers took their place.

When I finished school and left home, I still visited libraries a lot - in many different countries where I travelled.  I borrowed books and also used their computers to access the internet and check my emails, since this is a bookable free service.

Now that we have kids, I'm discovering so much more about how much libraries have to offer.  I joined my kids as soon as I could, and have borrowed books to read to them, DVDs for them to watch, audio books for them to listen to and computer games for them to play. The kids sections still have the colourful chairs and tables, and often giant puzzles, and are decorated at various times of the year with colourful pictures and artworks. They are certainly very inviting places for children to visit!

Before they were school age, we would go to the library every week with some friends for the free 'storytime' that was offered.  Each week had a theme, with craft for the kids to do and then would finish with the librarian reading a story with the same theme to the kids.

The library also has many competitions - our youngest won movie tickets in their colouring competition at Christmas!, and also other special events such as book author readings and signings. 

There is a reading club for the children to join, giving them stickers and newsletters, and a passport to stamp everytime they borrow a book - this is then used to enter more competitions.

Also, our local libraries have given all members free access to an online literacy game website, which deserves a whole other post in itself!

In short - I am impressed, amazed and very grateful for libraries - and all the free resources and services they provide - all of which are serving to encourage our kids to grow up, as I have, with a love of books, reading and learning.

Although information is now so readily available online, and e-books are becoming ever more popular, let's not forget our local libraries!  There is something special about having a whole building full of books to have your pick of, then taking your library card up to the counter and checking them out and home with you for a few weeks of reading and exploration.

When was the last time you visited your local library?  Do you use your library for more than just borrowing books? Or have you turned to the internet and e-books mostly now?

Choose your own adventure books

Did you ever read the 'Choose your own adventure' books as a kid? I used to love them. They were one of the best selling kids book series of the 80s and 90s!

  In these books, you are the hero or heroine , and at the end of most pages you get to choose what happens next. There is a choice  of different options, or paths you can take, by turning to different pages to continue the story.  I read and re-read these books, loving that it was different every time I read it!

I was thrilled to find one recently in a second-hand bookshop, and bought it for our daughters.  Initally it was a bit tricky for the eldest to read and understand on her own.  (They were originally written aimed at 10-14 year olds, and our eldest is just 7).  So I read it to both girls, and they took turns deciding how the adventure would go on - what decisions they would make and ultimately the ending!  They enjoyed this, and our eldest has gone on to read it again and again on her own. 

I am now on the lookout for more of these books for our girls to read.  So I was really happy to find the other day in the library, a' Choose your own fairy adventure book'! This is one of the very popular Rainbow Magic Fairy book series, which our girls adore! 

Needless to say, the combination of familiar and well loved fairies, together with an adventure of their own choosing - has made it a very popular book!

Another great rediscovery from my own childhood.

How about you? Have you or your kids ever 'chosen your own adventure' in these books?

Jill

Swings

As a kid, one of my favourite things to do was to go to the park and go on the swings.  I could sit for hours, just swinging backwards and forwards, losing myself in the freedom of the movement and the wind rushing by my ears as I went as high as I could possibly go.

Our girls love to swing too, and we often go to the park to while away some time, swinging and chatting - and even doing our times tables! (but that's another story). 

The only thing I find disappointing, is that there are only ever 2 swings at the park - one larger one, and one for younger children, with a safety chain across it.  Where's the one for me?  When I was a kid in England, there were usually 3 or 4 swings in a row, then one for the younger kids beside that!  Is it just different in Australia, or is it as I suspect more because of tougher safety rules and regulations? Does anyone know?

Learning to swing yourself, with the forward  and backwards motion of your legs, combined with leaning back and pulling slightly on the chains, is a tricky action to learn.  Both myself, my husband and the grandparents spent many hours trying to teach both our girls to swing. Our eldest learned at Kindergarten - taught of course in one session by the teacher there! (nothing to do with all those hours we tried of course!!).  Then once you have it - you never forget and don't want to stop!

Swinging is a form of physical exercise, and done outside in the fresh air is of course beneficial in terms of fitness and health.  Swings are also used to help autistic children, and those with sensory issues.  The gentle rocking motion helps to calm them and balance the body and mind.  Swings help kids develop their sensory integration skills, with the constant movement of themselves, it helps develop their balance, and it is also beneficial to eye muscles as they constantly adjust to see the world around them. Of course we all know that rocking is soothing - just as we rock babies, or we rock ourselves in hammocks, or on rocking chairs.

All of this is of course aside from the social benefits kids gain from going out to the park, playing on the swings and meeting other kids there.  Some of my most vivid memories of childhood come from playparks, the games we played there and the friends we made - even just for the duration of that game.

Do you take your kids to the park often, or perhaps you have swings in your backyard? And can anyone tell me, do boys like swinging as much as girls do?  I more often see girls than boys on the swings in the park, and we just have two daughters........