Give children the gift of literacy this Christmas-a gift that keeps on giving. Believe it or not, at least one in three adults cannot read this sentence and Georgia has the nation’s third highest high school dropout rate. Only 29% of Georgia’s fourth graders read at or above proficiency levels. According to the Ferst Foundation, several states plan how many jail cells they will build in the future by how many children are not reading on grade level by third grade.
Yet, in spite of these dismal facts, research also shows that education begins at home and that parents are the child’s first teacher. This is a role not to be taken lightly since the ability to be a competent reader by third grade is a key indicator of a child’s ability to experience academic success, graduate from high school, and to be successful in life. Readers are leaders and leaders are readers. We have the ability to develop our youth as future leaders within the home, school and community. School readiness actually begins at birth through positive experiences, nurturing, and opportunities to learn at home. We, as parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and caring others have the responsibility to produce literate youth. With the introduction of technology into American families, devices such as laptops, smart phones and tablets that children and teens see as toys and gadgets can be used as fun and innovative ways to make education fun. Why not give these as gifts this Christmas and download educational games and books. How many of us are tired of the toys that kids retire only a few days after Christmas? That is, the ones that still have all the pieces or aren’t broken. And let’s not even talk about the toys that never get played with because the child prefers to play with the box or the Styrofoam packing. It’s amazing to watch this generation of youth and their seemingly innate ability to use technology. I watch as my twenty month old grandson swipes across my phone to look at pictures or as my nine year old grandson hooks up a monitor to my laptop with no instructions for the first time, installs the software and uses the laptop. Children figure out games on their phones and tablets by using problem-solving skills that they are unconsciously utilizing.
I read about an interesting study done by the One Laptop per Child Organization. Laptops were dropped off, boxes unopened, with preloaded programs in a remote area in Ethiopia with a researcher weekly monitoring the devices’ usage. The purpose was to see if illiterate children with no previous exposure to written words could learn to read by themselves without teachers. The organization’s goal is to try to impact the statistic that 100 million first grade aged children worldwide have no access to schooling. After several months, these Ethiopian children were observed singing the alphabet song. One of the researchers stated, “I thought the kids would play with the boxes but within four minutes, one child had found the on-off switch and powered the tablet up”. Within five days, the children were using 47 apps each. “If they can learn to read, they can read to learn”, said Negroponto, the organization’s founder. He states that these early results are promising.
As a grandparent and GED literacy instructor, I have experienced the value of technology in education. I have given tablets preloaded with educational games and books that I approve of to my grandchildren for Christmas in the past. Parental Controls and limits for usagecan be set on many according to the child’s age. Their prices have decreased substantially, making them more affordable as gifts. We as adults have the responsibility of monitoring our children’s use of technology since there are many unsafe sites and apps. We are obligated to protect our children’s emotional and psychology health as they utilize these devices. During this season of giving, I am giving the gift of information and education to you. ELearning has been found to develop and reinforce reading skills, math skills, eye-hand coordination, planning and problem solving skills. Join me in giving the gift of literacy and make the experience as safe and educational as possible. Consider these security and internet safety apps, among others, that you research: Google Play Funamo which blocks inappropriate sites and sets time limits for app usage. The Kindle Fire does this also. The Android Kids Place, Care4Teen, and StudyLock for Android are others.
Here are some tablets to consider. VTech InnoTab and Leap Pad include interactive eBooks and learning games. Nabi allows children to browse the web, read books, includes parental controls and a “Mommy Mode.” The Kindle Fire and Nook offer 1,000 children’s books as well as games. Many tablets have durable construction designed for accident prone younger children. Also tablets offer apps that allow stories to be read to the child as they follow along to teach and enhance reading skills. The Nook even has a Read to Me app that lets parents record themselves reading so that children can hear their parents even when they are not around. There are many other smartphones, tablets and laptops on the market. Do some research and you should be rewarded with a child who enjoys learning. There are some apps that I have used and find helpful. Be sure to test sites before allowing your child to use them. Some free apps for the IPad and Apple products are: Endless Reader; ITunes U, which gives access to courses, lectures and books from leading universities; Bible for Kids; PBS Kids Video; Mathway, which teaches basic math, Pre-Algebra, Algebra, Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus, Calculus and Statistics; Khan Academy and Brain pop Featured Movie. Low cost ones include Green Eggs and Ham, The Magic School Bus, ABC Mouse.com and Electric Company Wordball. The Google Store has a variety of educational games, as well. However, I have not used them as much since I have an IPad. Be sure to read the descriptions and reviews before downloading games and apps and remember to disable your child’s ability to download games or surf the web without your permission and or supervision. Make your child the star of stories they read by giving them personalized books with them as the main character. If there are apps and websites that you are aware of that you find helpful, feel free to email me at liferenovator@gmail.com so that we can share with other parents. Give the gift of literacy this Christmas. Your children and their future will thank you.
renacanadylaster 