American kids want their new president to do a few things for them.

Like, bring nine-year-old Lonnie’s dad home from Iraq.

Or find a job for 10-year-old Zachary’s dad in Michigan.

Or make it rain candy for six-year-old Aaron. 

These are just a few of the tiny requests coming from 45 hundred or so 5-12 year olds that were being asked of the newly appointed leader. All petitions came to Kid Thing and with the generous assistance of the National Education Association the winning hopes were neatly organized into not just a book, or journal but an E-BOOK! 

The young bidders then shipped the book off to a very special address, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, you know the White House!!  

This little initiative will help launch education, reading and the value of the ebooks. I mean if the President likes them, they have to be super cool!

you can download the eBook for free!

In a longitudual study done by the Children’s Hospital of Boston and Harvard Medical School, that concludes

“TV viewing before the age of 2 does not improve a child’s language and visual motor skills.”

The study done on children birth to age 3, published in the March issue of Pediatrics, didn’t measure any detrimental affects of television viewing. But the researchers say there are other indications that children younger than 2 should not watch television, which is the stance of the American Academy of Pediatrics as well.

“Contrary to marketing claims and some parents’ perception that television viewing is beneficial to children’s brain development, no evidence of such benefit was found,” Marie Evans Schmidt, Ph.D., lead author of the study, said in a statement.

BUT…programs like “Sesame Street,” “Between the Lions,” and “WordWorld,”  all provided by PBSKids, have been shown to boost some of the pre-skills necessary for learning to read. There are even some efforts under way to help parents, child caregivers, and teachers of young children to use educational programming more formally. These programs also provide online support to enoucourage and enagage children into reading and words/languge skills. 

Also, Tennessee Public Television is launching a program for children 3-8 that will enhance reading and the way kids learn to read. The program called “Raising Readers” is partnering with 20 PBS stations to bring reading to the fore front on education. Catching children early to start the fundamentals of reading and build the foundation through programs they watch everyday. 

I know that my 5 year reads along with “Between The Lions” and “Word World” I too love playing the games online with him!

What do you see as the pros and cons of promoting educational television as a learning tool?

Alexis Marcionette, 5th grade student from Florida, has signed a deal with K-8 online learning company BigIQkids.com to release her first book “”UGH…You Again!” in eBook format complete with interactive graphics, “click to hear” word functionality and built in reading comprehension and vocabulary quizzes.

This is fantastic. Kids are not only reading online they are writing! This shows those stuffy old adults that reading from a worksheet and then answering question in short answer is not learning. Kids who take things outside the box, are learning. They are taking what they take in and out putting it into a format they see. If you did not catch that allow me to rephrase. Billy, a 5 year old in kindergarten hears a story about a knight and a castle; he then goes home and tells his mother what story they read today in class. She gives him a piece of paper and a crayon and he draw the images he heard about. Then he makes a story to go with those pictures. He took that information in and relayed it into something tangible that he can now share with others. He learned. In opposition, Susie who is 7 read a short story in class today about a man who discovered a technique for pasteurization. Susie was asked to then write 5 sentences about the story of Louis Pasture. She wrote 5 basic sentences and handed her appear in. When she got home she was asked about her day and what she did. She relayed the information of “some guy who made milk safe.” Because she was forced to regurgitate the information her imagination was blocked. 

This proves that information must be free when teaching children to learn. Not just read but learn. Miss Marcionette took advantage of speaking out in a an area she felt comfortable to explore and therefore share what she is learning. 

Giving children the book is not as important as giving them the knowledge to interpret and share the information inside it.

Now the greatest ebook site for kids is on Facebook. Keep up with news, new books and all the Wizards fun on the site you spend time on anyway. Check us out and become a fan of Wizz-E. 

In Lew of the official launch of Wizz-e.com

“great”    “so fun”   “coolest graphics”    “more please”

Who were these words flying from you ask? Well, upon the launch we sent out emails to moms, dads, grandparents, and friends asking them to check out the sight and email back their thoughts. They had so much to say. Mostly the comments surprised us. As they told of the search for online books that were diverse enough to keep and toddler engaged and challenging enough to keep a young reader interested so they return to the site. Most had been introduced to ebooks before but not in children’s media. 

They did have some questions too. Steve from Oklahoma asked “the ebook is great but how can a child learn from this media, also is it your intention to release the traditional book?” I answered “by no means.” We are partnering with parents to encourage and engage children though technology, this to which they are already well versed. Karen from New Mexico asked “what are ebooks? Is it something like kindle books?” I answered, “Yes, Karen they are somewhat like Kindle books, however our books are made for young readers. They are designed with audio and animation to enchant the reader and show then that reading can come to life.” Our books are unique and diverse enough for children ages 3-8.

We encourage you to check out WIZZ-E.COM and let us know what you think of the site!!

 

Children 3-8 can rejoice in their options for great reads online!

In a Press Release from PRweb.com

Studies show that the newest generation of students comprehend better and
enjoy more when using technology to read.

Dallas, Tx, February 23, 2009 -

For those parents and educators struggling
to instill the love of reading in their kids, there is a new solution.
eBooks4kidz, a UK based company, is launching Wizz-e.com…
The business was created after the CEO and co-founder, Jeanette McLeod,
struggled to find quality eBooks online for her own kids. “It was
frustrating to search for quality materials online to help my kids read,
only to come up empty. They are the technology generation! This is how they
learn best,” says Mrs. McLeod.

Wizz-e.com is not meant to replace traditional books but work in addition to them. The books are of the highest quality, combined with audio and animation. Combine them with fun games, jokes and coloring pages it is a site geared toward grabbing kids attention and keeping them not only entertained but give them the desire to learn. 

You can read the full article at PR Web

Check out all the fun at Wizz-e.com

 

 

eBooks for kids can now be found at http://www.Wizz-e.com

If you have children or have not been living underneath a rock for the last year, you know about the small handheld gaming system made by NIntendo. The Nintendo DS Lite, a double screened gagdget that allows you to play on two screen as well as use both screens to draw, text, keep babies, horses, and pets alive or be a cheerleader, chef and the newest addition to this superb contraption, read entire novels. Classic kids stories, and adult favorites. 

This device is taking ebooks to another level. One that will get them into kids hands which is the idea right? The DS works with Wifi so they can use it on the go as well as at home. Think of it as a “Kindle” Jr. only this one allows you to do so much more than read. This is just another way that technology is being used to encourage kids to read. We have said it before, if you can present the task to a child in a forum that is exciting to them, within their understanding and familiar  to what they normally do they will partake in it. I mean, would you seriously pass this thing up? 

Game is avail. in the UK and soon in the USA: Wired: blog

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!

In a recent article written by John Biggs, a contributor to CrunchGear.com he says:

We won’t need any more “things” in the basest sense as long as the media we consume is compatible with the things we have. By buying digital, we will point to what formats we want to use. 

He has a point. We consume things, collect things, give things; all in the name of gaining more things. The same things to which we consume (gadgets, phones, game consoles, etc.) can be reloaded, so-to-speak with the things to which we bought them for. For instance, giving this holiday season can be maximized by gifting digital formats to be downloaded to the hardware we already own.

John Biggs goes on to say that:

How should you give digitally? Head over to the Amazon MP3 store and gift an album. Buy someone with an XBox a 1-year 1 DVD/streaming only subscription to Netflix (I know it’s cheating, but tell them not to get the DVD).Buy someone some cool ebooks and some software to read it on their phone.

I am facinated by the fact that when I buy a gift not only does the price of the gift factor in but the wrapping, postage, and card; they cost as well. One of the perks of digital giving, card comes with it no wrapping or shipping. Not only is this cool, it contributes to the “green” movement. 

The fact is we, people, kids, grandmas, teachers; are all telling the industry what to keep, toss and recreate. Conservation does not have to mean skimp on giving, it’s mearly giving the right thing. We can still give music, books, DVD’s; just in a more conscious way. We need to tell the market that digital downloads are user friendly, more convenient, and better for the wants and needs of the public. 

Top 5 Digital Gifts:

 

1. Credit to Wizz-e, allowing your child/family member/friend to enjoy the great selection we provide online.
2. iTunes gift card, can be sent via. email.
3. Wii, Xbox, PS3 gift card to download games 
4. Amazon allows you to download a great deal of various gifts. Video on Demand can be gifted through emailed gift cards. Video on Demand can be played on your PC/MAC or Portable device like TiVo.
5. eGifts has 100+ stores you can purchase egift cards.