We’re all trying to make it up to Mother Nature, right?  Flowers she has plenty of, so what can we do besides saying we’re sorry, we’re so sorry?   It seems to me that the most mature, logical way of going about this business of redemption is changing the small choices we make.  Turn off the light in an empty room, walk or carpool to work, take your own bag to the grocery store, read an e book.

Read an e book?!

Blatant self promotion? perhaps.  Good sense? definitely

A paper book creates four times the greenhouse gas emissions of an e-book and even more ozone depleting substances associated with acid rain.  It needs three times more raw materials and requires seventy eight times more water consumption.  Furthermore, a University of California Berkeley study found that reading a newspaper electronically releases 32-140 times less CO2, several orders of magnitude less nitrogen oxide, and SOx, and the use of 26-27 times less water.

I am uncomfortable with turning such an old and dear friend into a villain, but I am hopeful that in seeking a balance between the traditional and the futuristic, we may be able to strike a comfortable balance in our energy use as well.

If you have or know a child with ADHD reading to them or asking them to read is at the best, frustrating; not only for you  but for them. Kids with the struggle often are very smart, but in school they are not given the tools to become great readers. After doing some research on ADD through various websites (my favorite - ADDitude) I have gotten some very useful information on how to help encourage a child instead of avoid the struggle.

Great Tips:

Engage the imagination.

While your child reads or listens, encourage her to visualize the events in the story, creating a picture or movie in her mind. After a few pages, ask her to describe it.

Use sounds, voices and actions to illustrate what is going on. Make is a adventure. Since some kids with ADD can focus on TV or music, play it a puppet show or play, add songs. Ask them to act it act, make up the soundtrack or draw the images while you read.

Increase word power

The stronger your child’s vocabulary, the better his comprehension—and the less frequently he’ll put down a book to ask about a word.

If you know that a passage contains unfamiliar words, define them—or have him look them up in a dictionary—before he begins to read. Give them a little word dictionary to look up the words and then take notes on them so they are familiar next time.

Try the magazine rack

An entire book may be daunting to the child who can’t stay focused. A children’s magazine may be a less intimidating alternative. If your child likes stories, try Spider (ages 6-9) or Cricket (ages 9-14); if she likes science, pick up Ranger Rick(ages 7 and up) or Kids Discover (ages 6 and up). [For more information, visit CricketMag.com, NWF.org, andKidsDiscover.com.] Ask her teacher whether your child can read a few magazines to meet the monthly reading goal.

Use Audio books

You can get great books on tape from the library. Make it a speacial time when your child can get cozy, put in the tape and have some “me” time. Maybe buy them some special headphones that are just for reading time or a blanket that they make with pictures on it. Make it all about them and the book in their hands. Take the focus away from the challenge with sound, atmosphere and relaxation.

The great thing about children with this particular challenge, as much as it is a challenge for us as parents, educators, friends or leaders is that it is twice or more of a challenge for them. Not only to be understood but to be accepted and receive the right tools to iron out the wiggles and giggles and focus on the task they are given.

Some other ADD favorites:

Sizzle Bop

ADD

Carol Hurst

You can read the full article  ADDitude by Leane Somers.

Today we are talking to Gina McClain who is a Director of a very large children’s ministry.

I asked her about ebooks and online reading and here is what she had to say.

NIL: Do you think teachers could use [ebooks] them or could have a place in schools or education?

Gina: I don’t see why not. but i think they’ll apply more to older kids than younger. there is just something about a child’s tactile nature. they need something tangible and an online resource won’t offer that.

however, kids already read books then take online quizzes on them. (i.e. Accelerated Reader program) So, we know it works in some capacity

NIL: I did not know that!! That is very cool! In that program do kids excel and retain the information well?

Gina: well, it’s assumed that if they pass the AR test (70% or higher) then their comprehension of the material indicates retention. If they do not meet the 70% passing grade then it’s assumed retention was not adequate and they don’t receive credit for the book

As a parent of 3 children and a leader to over 10k kids each week Gina has a great insight to what educates and inspires kids to learn. I was very surprised to hear that kids are reading books and then testing on them in school online. What a great tool to enhance learning as well as reading. It is true that reading books and online learning go hand-in-hand.

Thank you Gina!

I had the chance to talk with some really diverse and great teachers, moms, and directors this weekend and here part one of the what they are saying about online learning for kids.

First Jamie Miles a  Kindergarten Teacher of 3 years at a private school in Oklahoma City said:

NIL: What do you think about ebooks for enhancing kids learning:

Jamie: I personally have never used ebooks, We don’t use books as a center in my classroom. Usually centers are a learning game, puzzles, art…etc.Each child reads with me during centers but it is not a center activity. Our kids go to Computer Lab twice a week and usually do some sort of reading in that class

NIL: Do you think that kids can learn using technology if it is not a replacement for traditional reading?

Jamie: of course, technology is a great tool

NIL: in most classes do children have access to computers at home, and do you see that parents encourage kids to learn how to use them?

Jamie: well it depends on the school. In my school I would say most kids have access to a comp at home. But some schools especially poor districts will have kids that can’t afford it at home. As far as the kids is my class I know for a fact their parents encourage learning on a computer

I believe that online books and the option to read online is such a growing and maybe a little awesome opportunity to teach kids and get them involved in technology. The main problem is getting the tools in the schools and in the homes of those students that are missing this opportunity. All children need to have access to this tool if they have the hope of competing in the world to come.

Tomorrow Director extraordinaire!

In most elementary schools the utilization of computers is a fast growing tool to teach and introduce not only a different medium to children, but to aide in the learning of a technology that they will need for the rest of their education careers.

Technology use in schools is more than just learning how to access the Internet or typing skills it’s an understanding of the control of information children see, hear and learn. An understanding between the teacher, student and parents. Most children come into kindergarten with some knowledge of computers, even if it’s just observance of their parents using them. They know what they are and what they are used for. Being the little curious sponges that they are, when offered the chance to get to use them and behave like those they have seen use computers, it is an experience in of itself.

In Collected Research using computers with Kindergartners can be useful as well as frustrating; maintaining these guidelines can help your classroom, living room, or homeschooling environment become more relaxed and learning can take place.

1. Keep the lesson short and sweet. Something interactive, colorful or with music with help hold their attention.
2. Having programs that are open-ended and can be done as the student controls, with the  pace being set by the student.
3. Computers are used within the classroom, not set in another room or area. Something like “Centers” or “destinations” can be more accepted by the class.
4. The ability for audio to be used, so that those still working on letters and sounds can participate as well.
5. The use of media, such as a web cam or video camera to add to the picture or program they are using. This way they become part of the exercise.
6. After creating something the option to print it out and further color or bring home to share with others.
7. Programs that offer recognition and sound technology to emphasize sounds of letters or word phrases that can be followed along with.
8. Some of the greatest use of technology in the classroom is the option to have stories read through headphones as well as being able to follow along on a computer. A bonus would be to use story time that can be changed along with the flow of the story by the child listening and clicking on different points to enhance their story.
9. A subscription to a site like Wizz-e would provide another resource for online learning and reading.
10. A must is teaching children at a very young age what is and what is not safe behavior online. What to look at for and what to do in case they are asked funny questions online, who they can talk to about it and the understanding that some people are not good friends online.

I don’t know about you but I LOVE history and finding anything I can about the early 20th century. By sheer coincidence I stumbled upon a 1925 Fashion Book - an eBook. I was thrilled, not only because it was vintage art/fashion picture book from the twenties, but it was an eBook! The fact that I could (for 8.95) instantly download a book that usually take hours scouring Ebay. 

This is the future of research. Being able to look up a book on popular sites such as WorldCat, GoogleBooks, or even just the local library,  then being able to download a chapter, the bibliography or the whole book. Faster research means faster results. In a world where the day-to-day seems to have less time to get things done, the ability to use ebooks for research is key. 

 

Olaf Ernst says “the reason behind the popularity of ebooks in research compared with other types of books is simple: ‘Researchers already do their day-to-day work online. In consumer markets you really have to convince them of a different way of reading books,’ he explained.

James Gray, CEO & president of Ingram Digital Group, which has the e-book platform MyiLibrary, agreed. ‘Universities and corporate research libraries are moving to a preference for e-books. They are very familiar with digital content,’ he observed. ‘STM content is very much ahead at the moment but we are starting to see these trends with social-science and humanities books too.’ (Research Information)

 

The trend is expanding, from scientific researchers to libraries, students and textbooks. This great “new” market has some of the worlds leading journals behind it as well. From Ebsco Host you can search all the ejournals online and therefore all the articles within them. Most students have free access to this service and researchers as well.

The fact children have access to this technology, even for a simple story of Red Riding Hood will pave the road for them to carry out the excitement of learning throughout their school careers. 

In a article by Carol Hurst, two different children of the same age but different reading levels and reading backgrounds were asked to tell her about The Hungry Caterpillar (Eric Carle). This is the response:

“This is about a hungry caterpillar that ate a lot of stuff and turned into a butterfly. It is a nice story. I liked it.”

That’s not bad for a beginning second grader’s writing. He certainly gets his point across, but listen to the second child:

“This is a story that I’ve heard all my life. Probably they read it to me when I was a tiny baby. And I still like it. So does my mom.
It’s about a caterpillar that eats all kinds of food. Most of it is good for you, but it just gets more and more. I’d think he’d pop or at least have a stomach ache. Instead he turns into a butterfly and he has the colors of the food he ate in his wings.
My sister thinks that green leaf he ate on the last day made him change. I’m bigger and I know he was supposed to change. They all do.
It’s sort of magic. My teacher says there’s magic all around, like me turning from a baby to a kid.
Eric Carle’s pictures are neat. They are mostly cut and paste — collage — and when he uses tissue you see through the top one to the others. He’s written a huge pile of books. Very Quiet Cricket is special and ends with a surprise.”

This should be a wake up call to us parents. Reading is Fundamental and we are not even on the basic level of fundamentals. The fact that children are sponges and they want to learn, want to be stimulated, want to share the experiences of learning with us parents. We need to get busy, lets face it if we can cook dinner, catch up on the 500 emails that were due out yesterday, laundry and baths all from the same place and with the two hands we have - that is a victory. Most of us do this every day and go to bed wishing we had more time with our kids, to read, play, enjoy and be parents.

That is why online reading is such a great supplement to quiet time with our kids. While we are working online, our kids and be next to us reading, or being read to. Getting entertained by a great story, stimulated to read on their own and getting excited about books and the creative outlet that reading provides.

Nothing says that hot cocoa with mini marshmallows, the only blanket that can take away tears, mom or dad and a laptop is a bad thing. In fact, it can be a great chance to read a new story the second the moment allows.