The other day while I was at my sons playschool, I asked the director if I could give business cards out for On The Lap and explained that On The Lap was a website that was dedicated to helping parents promote literacy at home. Her first question was "Does it have hands on activities or is it just online games?" I then explained further about what On The Lap really was and it sounded great to her. (I hope it does to you too).
Then I started thinking about how important it really is for kids to have hands on activities when it concerns literacy or any other area of learning. However, in the last few years, I have discovered that literacy is becoming more and more digital and by the time our children are grown; sadly, there may not be any "actual" books being read. Even now, most of the popular texts can be downloaded or read using a computer, ipad, iphone, etc.
Even my own children use technology to enhance their literacy through devices such as Poingo. In the above pictures, you can see my youngest son (3 years old) enjoying a book with his Poingo pin. He went from using it on one book, to multiple books, then from in the floor, to his chair and table. I tried my best to take pictures of him without disturbing his fun. So, you can see that he is thoroughly engrossed in the books at hand.
With this in mind, we have to find a balance for our children. It is important to share with them the value of reading a book and holding it their hands while introducing them to the future of books. I initially was not a fan of Kindle readers when they first came out. Then, I realized how absolutely cool it was to carry such a small device and have my library with me at all times. Isn't everything in life truly about balance anyway?
I don't know about you but, all of my children's books are going to be kept safe for the "future".
1 comment:
I understand the balance between using actual books and letting my daughter use reading sites online and using her Tag reader. I have made it a point since she was very little to make real books a very important part of her daily life. I started reading to my daughter when she was an infant with books I could hold. Still I think my daughter would now at 5 years old would rather pick up one of her books to practice her reading skills.
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