Blog author’s note: I’ve made a decision to accept guest posts from other educators and businesses offering children’s educational products & services. I believe such articles will help me share a collective experience of many experts in the most efficient and progressive ways of teaching and bringing up kids. This is the first article I would like to bring to your attention.
These days it seems like more and more of the toys our children scribble the name of on their Christmas and birthday wishlists are electronic devices. From games consoles and computer games, to radio controlled cars, electronic board games and learning devices, everything is being updated for the modern age with the addition of a battery or a plug.
For parents who were brought up playing with Barbies, action figures and puzzles, it seems a bit of a shame that youngsters are no longer using their imagination in the way they once did. It seems like you’re more likely to find your child playing games on a tablet computer than you are to spot them running around in the garden or building dens.
Unfortunately there’s not much we can do about the rise of electronic toys, but there is one way to encourage your kids to sit down and read instead of staring at a screen, and that’s with interactive books.
Why do they work?
Interactive books are great because as well as reading, your youngster has to actively move around, lift flaps, slide partitions and move parts of the page to progress with the story. The niggly child you once had who could barely sit still is suddenly gone and instead, you’ve got an infant who is engaged and eager to help with story.
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| Interactive books are a way to encourage your kids to sit down and read instead of staring at a screen. |
Interactive books can do wonders for a child’s concentration if they normally struggle to sit still during story time, while they’re also introducing them to new skills and senses. If your little one is reading about a creepy haunted house, chests with hidden secrets inside and pop-up ghosts will bring the experience to life for them. They also help to improve dexterity for really young children.
Some of the best interactive books…
Snuggle Bunny by Emma Goldhawk
If you’ve got very young kids, interactive books don’t come much better than this. Snuggle Bunny is a super-cute book that tells the tale of a soft white rabbit who’s getting ready for bed. The beautifully-illustrated title comes complete with a rabbit hand puppet, meaning you and your children can act out the tale as the character winds down before bedtime.
Ice Age
If your kids love the Ice Age films they will adore the interactive Ice Age book. The clever technology brings the characters to life and means that instead of just reading about their adventures in the form of 2D images, you can connect the book with your computer and create 3D characters. Children will be fascinated as Manny and the rest of the character set sail on an iceberg in one of the four augmented reality experiences.
Sticker Dressing: Explorers
Make learning fun with this interactive book from Usborne. This creative book introduces kids so some of the world’s greatest explorers who spent their life sailing the seven seas and discovering new lands. But instead of just reading about them, kids can dress the characters ready for their adventures by using the stickers to create different outfits.
A Ladybird Sound Book: My Very Noisy Digger by Andrea Pinnington
As kids grow up they love anything that involves bright colours and loud noises – so they’re bound to love My Very Noisy Digger! This brilliant Ladybird book includes a big red button to create sound effects as youngsters enjoy the story. The pages are also interactive, giving youngsters the chance to help the driver choose his vehicles, materials and the job he’s going to do.
Have you discovered any amazing interactive books for kids?
Guest post contributed by Lauren Jones, a mother of 4 with a love of buying children's books online to help her children get into reading regularly and learning from a young age.
I remember toys, books and running around outside whereas these days, kids are glued to a screen as you said.
ReplyDeleteIts great to see you taking interest in this and suggesting activities that do not always evolve around a computer screen. I think many parents and teachers would benefit from ideas like these.
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Good luck