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eBooks for Kids during shared book reading in preschool

(Source: The News Tribune DEAN J. KOEPFLER/Staff photographer)

Reading nooks, daily book reading during circle time, bring-your-favorite-book-to-school day, dressing up like the Cat in the Hat for Dr. Seuss’ birthday—the opportunities for preschool teachers to infuse early literacy and language activities into a daycare or toddler curriculum abound. A quick search on Pinterest can quickly add even more ideas! However, discovering age-appropriate and research-supported methods to integrate eBooks and digital learning into a preschool curriculum can be a bit more challenging.

Using eBooks during shared book reading in a preschool curriculum

A new study published in the Journal of Literacy and Technology observed how preschool teachers used eBooks in the classroom. As published in the article, the observations of Kathleen Roskos, PhD and Karen Burstein, PhD focused on preschool teachers’ implementation of a vocabulary-focused, shared book routine; language strategies at the touchscreen; mobile devices to extend the shared reading experience; and children’s learning of 40 target words. The research team wanted to gain a better understanding of using eBooks for kids as an instructional resource in a preschool curriculum.
Over a four-week period, the eight preschool teachers participating in the study imbedded eight eBook shared reading sessions with each eBook being read two times. In addition, the children browsed or reread the eBooks on a digital device. The researchers found that eBooks can support vocabulary acquisition and that teachers easily transitioned from traditional books to eBooks as part of the shared book reading. The teachers used the same reading methods whether using a traditional book or an eBook. However, it came as no surprise that additional digital learning research specifically focused on instructional techniques and strategies are needed to maximize eBook features and support eBook browsing and reading on mobile devices, especially when used with the youngest learners as part of a preschool or toddler curriculum. The researchers noted that eBooks with rich visualizations, sounds and music appear to support early language and literacy, especially for young at-risk students.
You can download the full article, “Descriptive Observations of Ebook Shared Reading at Preschool,” here.

Preschool curriculum uses eBooks and digital learning with music

With twice as many children reading eBooks today than just two years ago, eBooks for kids can become a key component to a preschool or daycare curriculum and a way to increase parent involvement in early childhood education. At Kindermusik International, we know how important it is to implement the latest research (and tools!) on how young children learn best. After all, with more than 35 years of experience creating music classes for toddlers, babies, big kids, and families, as well as standards-aligned preschool and daycare curriculum, we’ve experienced breakthroughs over the years on reaching even the youngest learner.
Kindermusik@HomeIn fact, we continue to create new early childhood curriculum that implements the latest research, including how to use digital learning—and eBooks for kids—in an age-appropriate and effective manner. For example, with Kindermusik@Home parents can easily access favorite Kindermusik songs and activities, music, eBooks, and lyrics—as well as recipes, learning games for kids, crafts, and more in a green-friendly digital format any time from any smart phone, iPad, tablet, laptop, or computer. Families and teachers also love our music apps for kids.

To learn more about enrolling in a Kindermusik class and receiving access to Kindermusik@Home, contact a local educator via our Class Locator.

Schools, preschools, and childcare centers can also benefit from Kindermusik@Home. To learn more about bringing our daycare curriculum into your classroom, email us at info@abcmusicandme.com.

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Digital learning in the early childhood classroom (and at home!)

Have you seen the video of the one-year-old child interacting with her father’s iPad and then a print magazine? After touching the tablet screen to make images increase in size, she tried doing the same thing to pictures in a magazine. Of course, that didn’t quite work!

Most children today will never remember a time before the Internet, smart phones, and tablets. Not to mention, with 30 percent (and rising!) of today’s college students taking at least one online class, higher education will look quite different for our children.

Digital learning and early childhood

Children engage in digital learning from an early age. Even the youngest child can model the actions of a parent talking on a smart phone or reading an eBook. A recent report, Take a Giant Step: A Blueprint for Teaching Children in a Digital Age, published by the Digital Age Teacher Preparation Council, includes strategies and tactics to better equip preschool and elementary teachers to provide age-appropriate digital learning opportunities for young children.

“Teaching young children today demands a new approach to an exciting but increasingly complex set of challenges,” said Linda Darling-Hammond in a press release. “Quality early learning programs in our digital age will be led by highly prepared, flexible teachers who can effectively integrate what they know about healthy child development with the resources of an always connected, thoroughly modern environment.”

The report highlights the understanding that integrating digital learning into early childhood works best when it enhances children’s engagement, such as talking, interacting, manipulating, pretending, reading, constructing, and exploring. (Sounds like a Kindermusik class to us!) In order to help early childhood educators best capture the power of digital learning, the report outlined several goals to accomplish by 2020:

  1. Advance technology integration and infrastructure
  2. Modernize professional learning programs and models
  3. Expand public media use as a cost-effective asset for teachers
  4. Create a Digital Teacher Corps

Digital learning: making connections between the classroom and home

In one early childhood digital learning study featured in the report, researchers worked with a Kindergarten teacher and her five- and six-year-old students. The researchers loaded math activities, video clips, and digital worksheets onto tablet computers. The tablets also included material for parents on the goals of the activities and information on the math topics and keywords the students learned at school. For homework, each student received a tablet to take home for four weeks.

After the four weeks ended, parents said that they felt more connected to what was happening in the classroom and were better able to offer their children help because they knew exactly what they were working on and what concepts they should understand. Plus, children spent more time on their homework and improved mathematics skills.

Digital learning and eBooks with Kindermusik@Home

After more than 30 years of developing early childhood curricula, including music classes for toddlers, babies, big kids, and families, we understand that the days may pass slowly but the years fly (or dance) by. One day a baby may be taking her first steps in a Village class and seemingly the next day she is walking across the stage to receive a high school diploma. Wow. Talk about a fast dance.

Kindermusik@HomeWe know that music can impact a young child in profound ways and can set a child up for early academic success.  We also know, as the above report showed, how important technology fluency will be to your child, which is one of the reasons we created Kindermusik@Home. With Kindermusik@Home, families can engage in age-appropriate digital learning, such as virtual field trips and active listening games, read eBooks, and download all the music from class. Kindermusik@Home connects the classroom learning with a family’s everyday life, making the learning (and fun!) last throughout the week.

To learn more about enrolling in a Kindermusik class and receiving access to Kindermusik@Home, contact a local educator via our Class Locator.

Schools, preschools, and childcare centers can also benefit from Kindermusik@Home. To learn more about bringing our digital early learning curriculum into your classroom while also increasing parental involvement, email us at info@abcmusicandme.com.

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Kids plugged in to eBooks

Using eBooks with children

Walt Disney understood the magic and wonder of childhood and also the importance of early literacy and reading. After all, he confessed: “there is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.” We couldn’t agree more!

Early literacy experts know that parents can best support their children’s early literacy and language development by reading together. Today parents can choose from a wide variety of books: Board books, bath books, lift-the-flap books, chapter books, comic books, and picture books. Now, thanks to emerging technology, such as smart phones, e-readers, and tablet computers, parents can even carry an entire library of eBooks in their pocket (or diaper bag!).

eBooks for kids gaining in popularity with families

A new report, Kids and Family Reading, published by Scholastic shows that the number of children reading eBooks has more than doubled since 2010.

“We are seeing that kids today are drawn to both print books and eBooks, yet e-reading seems to offer an exciting opportunity to attract and motivate boys and reluctant readers to read more books,” explained Francie Alexander, Chief Academic Officer, Scholastic in a press release. “While many parents express concern over the amount of time their child spends with technology, nearly half do not have a preference of format for their child’s books. The message is clear—parents want to encourage more reading, no matter the medium.”

Kids and Family Reading study highlights

  • Twice as many children are reading eBooks today than two years ago
  • Half of children age 9-17 say they would read more books for fun if they had greater access to eBooks
  • Seventy-two percent of parents show an interest in having their child read eBooks
  • Eighty percent of children who read eBooks still read books for fun primarily in print.
  • Fifty-eight percent of kids age 9-17 say they will always want to read books printed on paper even though there are eBooks available (a slight decline from 66% in 2010), revealing the digital shift in children’s reading that has begun.

Kindermusik now includes eBooks (and more!) through Kindermusik@Home

Our music classes for toddlers, babies, big kids, and families include fun, age-appropriate music and movement activities that help children develop social, pre-literacy, and language skills and practice a wide variety of abilities. An integral part of the Kindermusik experience includes providing parents with the tools they need to tap into the power of music to not only help make parenting easier but also support their role as a child’s first and most important teacher.

Now, with Kindermusik@Home, parents can easily access favorite Kindermusik songs and activities, music, eBooks, and lyrics—as well as recipes, learning games for kids, crafts, and more in a green-friendly digital format any time from any smart phone, iPad, tablet, laptop, or computer.

To learn more about enrolling in Kindermusik classes and receiving access to Kindermusik@Home, contact a local Kindermusik educator via our Class Locator.

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Decrease in Father Involvement in Children’s Reading

Source: Sean McCabe for The Wall Street Journal

It is no secret that parent involvement in early childhood education can be a pivotal factor in a child’s academic success, especially early literacy. In fact, research shows that children’s reading achievement, vocabulary, and comprehension skills improve when their parents read to them.

While the benefits of reading together and modeling the joys of reading may be common knowledge in early literacy circles, a new study published by the UK’s National Literacy Trust shows a widening gap between the reading habits of mothers versus fathers. The National Literacy Trust surveyed 21,000 8- to 16-year-olds from nearly 130 schools in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. One of the revealing trends indicates that fathers’ involvement in reading and literacy is significantly less than mothers and continues to decline.

Highlights of the National Literacy Trust survey Continue reading “Decrease in Father Involvement in Children’s Reading”