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Traveling for Thanksgiving? 3 Fun Learning Ideas On the Go

November 19, 2010 | 12:21 PM | By

Bookshouldbefree.com

If you’re traveling during Thanksgiving weekend with children, plan for some downtime at the airport or in the car. Your cell phone or MP3 player is all you need to keep the kids occupied for hours — and they don’t need to succumb to the savagery of Angry Birds to have fun.

- Audiobooks. Download free audiobooks from sites like Books Should Be Free, and choose from your own childhood favorites like Anne of Green Gables, Pollyanna, Grimm’s Fairy Tales, or Gulliver’s Travels.

- Podcasts. iTunes lists a slew of storytelling podcasts. My daughter’s favorite is Storynory. The lead storyteller is Natasha, who herself sounds like a fairytale princess with her lilting British accent narrates stories like The Old Man and the Figs and Katie’s Black Friday.

- Educational apps. Learn about birdwatching, photography, or see books like Alice in Wonderland and Toy Story 3 come alive on the iPad. There are thousands more in the iTunes store — everything from math games to art and astronomy. My seven-year-old daughter’s current favorite is DoodleBuddy, easy coloring and creating, saving, and sharing functions.

FILED UNDER: apps, Mobile Learning, tech

Toddlers and iPhones Make Instant Connections

November 1, 2010 | 12:52 PM | By

Flickr:JessicaGaro

By Katie Stansberry

I have a confession to make: my 19-month-old son, Paul, is allowed to use my iPhone. In fact, he’s pretty savvy with touch screens. He can turn the phone on, unlock the list of applications, choose the program he wants to experience, and interact with the content.

Although he was a loyal Duck, Duck, Moose man when he was a baby, now that he is a toddler his current favorite app is Balloonimals. To interact with this beautifully produced app, the user first blows on the iPhone microphone to inflate the virtual balloon, then shakes the device to turn the rubbery image into a rotund animal. Paul is an expert at these simple steps and he loves using his pudgy little baby fingers to manipulate the fully constructed balloon creations. He can go from limp balloon to full-fledged unicorn in less than a minute.

A New York Times article examining the use of smartphones by toddlers compared current concerns with the ongoing debate over television saying “As with TV in earlier generations, the world is increasingly divided into those parents who do allow iPhone use and those who don’t.” Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: apps, early-education, prek, tech