Audiobooks

12 Character Traits: 2020, Audiobooks

Picture Books to Promote Resilience

July 28, 2020July 28, 2020by childrenslitlove7 Comments

Resilience, or the ability to overcome hardship… Something most of us want our children to develop. We hope they can grow into people who respond positively to adversity, who overcome negative situations, who not only tolerate but learn to embrace imperfection, and who approach challenges with a growth mindset and a willingness to risk multiple attempts, maybe even failing, in order to persevere, learn, and grow. To that end, resilience is our Family Focus Trait for August! Read on for a little insight into research on resilience and child development, and then check out our resilience booklist.

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Audiobooks, Literacy Tips, Parenting Resources

What We’re Doing to Combat the Summer Slide

June 24, 2020December 23, 2020by childrenslitlove3 Comments

Parents, have you heard about summer learning loss, the summer slump, or the summer slide? Does what you’re hearing make you worry about what you need to do with your children over the summer to ensure they start a new school year fresh and ready to go, especially after such a strange finish to the most recent school year? Are you trying to do ALL THE THINGS to make this happen? Read on for a little info about summer learning loss, as well as what we’re doing in our house to keep skills up in fun and natural ways! Continue reading “What We’re Doing to Combat the Summer Slide” →

Audiobooks, Literacy Tips

A (Nonsponsored) Review of Libro.fm

March 5, 2020March 4, 2020by childrenslitloveLeave a Comment

About nine months ago, I switched my audiobook membership from Audible, which I had used on and off for about 10 years, to Libro.fm. If you’ve never heard of Libro.fm, you’re not alone — I had also never heard of it until a friend in my book club mentioned that I should check it out, since I love both our local bookstore AND audiobooks so much. A brief minute on the Libro.fm website was enough to convince me to switch, and I haven’t looked back since. Read on to see an unsponsored review of our Libro.fm experience, why we love it, and some of the titles we’ve enjoyed listening to with our Libro.fm account. If you make it all the way to the bottom, I have a (nonsponsored, normal) referral link for you to try Libro.fm out! Continue reading “A (Nonsponsored) Review of Libro.fm” →

Audiobooks, Literacy Tips

How Our Family Uses Audiobooks

December 20, 2018June 28, 2020by childrenslitlove1 Comment

Since I started my Instagram page at the end of July, the questions I get most often are related to how to use audiobooks with kids– when did we start, how do my kids listen, what books have they enjoyed, etc. So, at long last, here are answers to the questions I most frequently get about how our family does audiobooks!

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Audiobooks, Literacy Tips

Keeping Hands and Bodies Busy While Listening to Stories

December 12, 2018June 28, 2020by childrenslitlove1 Comment

One of the frustrations people most frequently voice to me centers around feeling like their children (or students) aren’t paying attention while listening to stories. But, literacy and brain research experts have shown that fidgeting or moving one’s body actually fired brain connections that help learning and listening happen more effectively? (Two of my favorites, Jim Trelease and Dr. Michael Gurian, have written about this if you’re interested in reading more).

So, what I’m saying is that read alouds don’t need to look perfect to be effective. In fact, if your goal is that all of your read-aloud sessions look like cozy cuddling times in a comfy chair in a well-lit room, your kids are going to be missing out on a lot of quality time with books! Instead, think about providing your children with quiet ways to occupy their hands and/or bodies, and see if it changes the duration or focus of your read-aloud time.

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