Using Your Mp3 Player to Enhance the Education of Your Children

Do you read out loud to your children? I heard recently that pediatrician's recommend reading out loud to your children for 15 minutes per day. That's not a whole lot to ask, and it is a good place to start, a good minimum. Most of us agree that reading a good book to our children is important for their success in education, but finding time to read entire books is difficult. We also realize that children who are read to are more likely to enjoy reading and achieve success in reading. When time is of the essence and flexibility is mandatory, pull out the mp3 player and help your children listen their way to academic success.

My children and I spend those necessary hours in the car each week laughing and crying together over the sorrows of Anne spelled with an E, thrilling in the triumphs of the Redwall mice, and basking in the joys of Winnie the Pooh -- all while we drive to soccer practice, ballet lessons, Doctor's appointments, the grocery, chess club, and the library. While I do not think anything should replace cuddling on Mommy's lap with a book, and we do plenty of that, I also think wasting necessary time in the car is really sad.

The first time my daughter ever identified so deeply with a character in a book that she felt empathy -- enough to cry -- was at the end of listening to The Cricket In Times Square masterfully read by Rene Auberjonois. I just cannot read that well! Sometimes, we even stay in the car because we are so caught up in a story. More often then not, we take the IPod® into the house and draw pictures at the table while we finish listening and while I fix supper or sometimes we all clean together while we listen!

You may be wondering what can be put on your Mp3 Player. The answer is almost any digital media: audiobooks (borrowed or purchased), music cds, podcasts of books, stories or radio shows, and movies. Mp3 palyers are great for boosting memory work, foreign language, exciting books, music appreciation, music history, history, science, Bible -- basically any subject you can find on audio. With a simple voice recorder, you can easily create your own audio files! A video iPod® can even be used to playback Tae Kwon Do moves over and over as you practice.

Mp3 Players are great in the car, through the home stereo in the family room, using portable speakers anywhere you need to listen, or for older children using headphones to concentrate. You can take your mp3 player anywhere! No more lugging CD's to Grandma's. Audio books in the car -- when children are already sitting still, and having nothing "better" to do -- work like magic to increase the attention span.

Mp3 Players can be used during breakfast, (no more eating and reading at the same time!), at lunch, (you get the idea...), on the way to Dr's appointments, while you clean together, on the way to Soccer practice, or school, even right before bed in the hallway so that everyone can listen at once. All those wasted hours in the car will be wasted no more!

You can find audio books for your mp3 player at the library, and many libraries now have a program where you can download audio books directly from the internet onto your player. These downloads expire in three weeks. You can also find free audio books at http://librivox.org, or http://www.audiobooksforfree.com. Audio books can be purchased at the http://audible.com, http://greathall.com or from booksellers. Our used bookstore even has a fine selection of audio books.

Podcasts are free and can be found for nearly every subject imaginable; and can be used on any mp3 player, not just iPods®. I have found wonderful storytelling podcasts such as Story Nory or Activated Storytelling. I have found several Spanish as a Second language podcasts such as Coffee Break Spanish. I even found a Civil War Traveler podcast, which has podcasts for each of many different battles! The President's Weekly Radio address is on podcast, and so is a set of interviews with children's authors called Reading Rocket. You can find any of these podcasts simply going to the iTunes web-site and putting the title in the search box. Don't stop there though, the possibilities are endless. Search for anything your children need to supplement, and you might just find it.

Mp3 players are a wonderful tool for parents as we get involved in the education of our children. In Jim Trelease's book, "The Read Aloud Handbook", he states that being read aloud to at home is the most telling predictor of academic success for children. I don't know about you, but I am not aiming for the minimum here!