I absolutely loathe the location of my family's computer. It's smack in the middle of our family room; that means it's smack in the middle of G's line of sight. As a result, I find I'm constantly telling her, "No! Don't touch that!" and pulling a fighting, screaming, writhing toddler down off the desk.
For a while, I've been trying to find a way to make our family computer more "family-friendly". I'd tried other websites like NickJr and Disney, but most of their options were games... and G is just a little young for that. She loves books, so when I was asked to review a line of eBooks from Sesame Street, I knew I'd found the Holy Grail of toddler-friendly computer activities.
You may have seen the widget on my sidebar for the past few weeks; clicking on it will give you access to a free eBook from the folks at Sesame Street. I've had access to the full line of eBooks as part of this review. It's been a great experience. There are literally dozens of books to choose from, and multiple categories. Need a book about numbers featuring Elmo? DONE! Looking for a book about letters with Abby Cadabby? GOT IT! Want Big Bird to teach your toddler about feelings? NO PROBLEM!
My favorite feature of the Sesame Street eBooks is their "audio books" section. With these books, you can choose to read out loud to your toddler, or you can select the "audio" option and have the book read ITSELF. This is the perfect solution for dinner time. Don't have time to read to your child while grilling chicken? Now, the narrator can read dozens of titles for you. It's an educational babysitting service!
I had been approached before about reviewing various types of eBooks, but had already turned them down because I thought, "I like to read, but spend too much time in front of the computer as it is; this isn't for me." But this is perfect for G; she wants to play on the computer, and allowing her to play and read at the same time is a brilliant solution.
A 12-month online membership to Sesame Street eBooks-- and access to more than 100 titles-- costs $39.99.
TRY IT!
The folks at eBooks have graciously allowed me to post a widget on my blog. It's over there on the right hand side, just scroll down a little if you don't see it. By clicking on this portal, you'll be able to read a different eBook every week with your children for FREE!
A TagJr from Leapfrog is another good solution. Cate loves hers and then she can be in the kitchen with me while I'm cooking and the Tag will read to her.
Cate's favorite computer activity right now-- we open up Word, make the font big and colorful, hit caps-lock (since she recognizes upper case letters better than lower case), and let her "type" away. We rarely print, so we leave our printer off...no accidentally printing 20 pages of letters here. It keeps her busy for a good 20-30 minutes.
Awesome! Thanks!