Audiobooks: Brilliant for the Whole Family!
In this 5 minute read you will explore the benefits of listening to books, alone and as a family. We have a little gift for you at the end of this post.
As parents and teachers we are continually looking for effective ways to boost our children’s reading and learning skills. Audiobooks might be something to consider adding to your family’s repertoire. Audiobooks offer simple yet effective ways to do just that. Let’s explore how this fun and engaging way of ‘reading’ can benefit the whole family, including the youngest learners in your house.
Benefits for Young Minds
Improving Listening Skills
Audiobooks help children become better listeners, a crucial skill for formal learning and social interactions. As they follow along with books, kids learn to focus on spoken words and interpret tone, inflection, and vocabulary meanings. You can expect to build listening stamina with the child, thinking of listening ability like building a muscle.
Enhancing Vocabulary
Exposure to a wide range of words in context helps children expand their vocabulary. In addition, when an adult is listening along too then the child can stop and discuss nuanced concepts, building shared experiences while building their language skills. Audiobooks often include words far above the child’s reading level, introducing them to concepts and language in an accessible way.
Improving Comprehension
Contrary to what many folks might think, listening to audiobooks can actually improve reading comprehension. Professional narrators bring books to life, helping the listeners to visualize the content and understand complex themes, character, and storylines. Visualization while listening/reading is a powerful cognitive tool that greatly improves reading comprehension.
Supporting Diverse Learners
Help for Struggling Readers
For children who find reading difficult, audiobooks can be a game-changer! This delivery of literature allows children and adults alike to access incredible content without the frustration of decoding text while boosting their love for and confidence in themselves as learners and storytellers.
Multi-sensory Learning
Combining audiobooks with a physical book creates a multisensory listening experience. Some children become frustrated with being required to have a book in hand while listening so explore what is best for your child. Another consideration is that diverse learners of all ages find it easier to listen while moving which can easily be done with audiobooks. So find what is best for your family.
Practical Tips for Parents & Teachers
Family Listening Time: Make listening to audiobooks a part of family routines, like during car rides or snuggled on the couch before bed.
Classroom Integration: Use audiobooks to supplement any area of curriculum that you choose, fiction or nonfiction. This takes the pressure off of your voice and allows you to enjoy the book with your students.
Discussion Prompts: After listening, engage your children in conversations about the story to reinforce comprehension and critical thinking. This is also a wonderful way to build social-emotional skills and empathy.
Audiobook-Print Pairing: Encourage children to follow along with the audiobook while reading print text. This may stress some children out if they have found learning to read frustrating and difficult, so only implement this when they are ready.
Budget Friendly Audiobooks: If you are on a tight budget there are many free audiobooks platforms including apps. made available through your public library. You can borrow free audiobooks in CD form or through apps. such as Libby and Hoopla.
In conclusion, listening to audiobooks is not only a convenient alternative to reading print books, it is important for improving children’s and adult’s listening skills, vocabulary and comprehension of content. All these benefits while supporting your diverse learners in a simple way. Find here a free download to get going on a “30-Day Audiobook Reading Challenge.” May this be the beginning of new adventures for you and your child(ren)!
Feel free to send me your thoughts, questions and experiences regarding listening to audiobooks!.
dawn@bodybrainlearning.ca
Finding a Great Tutor: What to Look For
Choosing a great tutor is so important, but what factors should you consider? This 5 minute read will highlight 6 things to ponder.
What to Look for in a Good Tutor
If you’re looking for a tutor for your child, there are quite a few things to consider. This is a big investment for you, as parents! It’s will also open new doors for your child. It is a major responsibility to work with your child to help her succeed in school! In this post I break down some essential factors to consider when choosing a tutor.
Compassion: Working with a tutor is like working with an educator and counselor, all wrapped up into one package. This is why, at Body Brain Learning, we are therapeutic tutors and educators. A good tutor is not only an expert in their subject, they also have compassion and understanding of child development. Many students who come to us have been suffering mentally, emotionally, and socially because of their learning. Finding that balance between gentleness and urging the student to take another step in learning is essential to ensure a positive learning environment and to keep your child to take ownership of their learning.
Student-Centered: A great tutor will focus primarily on the student’s unique needs and approach them as a whole person, rather than just a student. The tutor will be able to understand a student’s struggles, direct them to resources that will help them to grow and develop in their learning journey.
Educational Knowledge: A great tutor will possess a good level of knowledge about their subject, as well as an ability to explain it in an variety of ways. For example if a student comes to me and I learn that they are a creative storyteller and they think in stories and concepts then I will create stories to help them understand difficult content. In addition, a great tutor can make concepts come alive in a way that builds long-term understanding and can help find ways to make learning more enjoyable. Learning through games is one way of building up the joy of learning.
Multiple Intelligences: Every person learns so differently. A great tutor will take time to learn about the child’s learning strengths and challenges and then tailor their teaching methods to accommodate those unique learning styles. If you want to learn more about the Multiple Intelligences Theory of Howard Gardner this video provides a good 4 minute summary. Finally, at Body Brain Learning we incorporate multi-sensory learning methods, using visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile senses in every lesson.
Curriculum: A great tutor will stay up to date on current curriculum and assessments. They should also be able to cater their sessions to a student’s goals, whether they’re tackling a difficult problem set, trying to master a concept that’s giving them trouble, or teaching them to read fluently. In addition, a tutor will be familiar with academic standards of their region.
Family: A great tutor is be able to collaborate well with the learner’s family as well as the student in order to provide the best possible education. Involving the family in the tutoring process can benefit the student by providing additional support. Body Brain Learning we offer to have parents sit in lessons so that they may learn how to teach their own children at home. Equipping families is a core belief for us!
If you want to ensure growth and success for your child, it’s important to consider all of these factors when selecting a great tutor for you or your child. Look for someone who is passionate and knowledgeable and dedicated to helping your child reach his or her educational goals while nurturing their learning spirit.