There is something so relaxing about listening to stories with my kids; for me it’s a quintessential summer activity! Its a fantastic quiet reading activity for young kids.
I am excited to share with you some of the ways we’ll be using audiobooks over the summer and some of the fantastic books from our sponsor, Audible that we plan to listen to.
5 Fun Ways to use Audiobooks This Summer
In the Car
We love audiobooks in the car. Whether we’re taking a road trip or just running errands in town, it’s a great way to keep everyone happy and entertained.
Often on trips around town, we listen to well-loved story books such as Skippyjon Jones and Llama Llama and Where the Wild Things Are.
On road trips, we prefer longer books such as Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, Ramona Quimby Collection, and Alice in Wonderland.
Also have these busy bags ready for a road trip!
Bedtime
We still read aloud at bedtime to our younger children but sometimes for a fun twist (or when I am completely exhausted by bedtime) we snuggle in bed together while listening to an audiobook.
I love that such a simple change can take our bedtime ritual from ordinary to magical.
Some of our favorite audio books for bedtime are collections of classic stories like The Collected Stories of Winnie the Pooh, The Frog and Toad Audio Collection, and The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter.
Create a weekly theme around an audiobook
I love choosing a book to listen to, or read, a few times throughout the week while doing activities related to the story. It can sound intimidating but it really doesn’t have to be.
I find that I can use the same simple activities for almost any book. If I am feeling particularly ambitious than I might search around a bit for activities to go with a specific book.
Try some of these easy activities along with listening to the book:
- Listening to the story as an audiobook while looking at a hard copy.
- Small world imaginary play. Create a small world of play by adding items to a basket or a box based on the book.
- Make your own story stones to go along with a book. To make story stones, collect (or buy) inexpensive stones and attach pictures with Modge Podge or draw directly on stones using permanent markers.
- Do a craft inspired by the book.
Use audiobooks to build your child’s attention span for read-alouds
I’m often asked how I get my youngest who just turned 3 to sit for read-alouds. The secret … I don’t try to get him to sit. Instead, I offer a quiet and engrossing activity such as a sensory bin, water play, play dough, or building for him to do while we read.
We start by playing together while listening to audiobooks. I always find it feels quite natural to redirect my child to play quietly because we are both listening to the story and I want to hear it too.
I’ve used this activity with all of my kids and found that it easily stretch their attention spans for longer and longer stories!
Family Story Night
A fun alternative to family movie night, this really is my favorite way to use audiobooks. Start an audiobook you can all enjoy together and listen to it over a series of nights.
Make it a real event complete with pillows, blanket, and fun snacks.
This summer we plan to listen to one of Audible’s newest releases, Peter Pan narrated by Lilly Collins, on the back patio under the stars over the course of 2 or 3 of our family story nights.
During some of our past Family Story Nights, we have listened to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Hobbit, The Wizard of OZ.
If you haven’t tried Audible this is the perfect opportunity to try it for 30 days free and get a free audiobook! When you join Audible you get one free book per month and the opportunity to buy more audiobooks at a discount; you can cancel at any time and keep the books in your library.
Who wants to join me in listening to Peter Pan this summer?
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Audible. The opinions and text are all mine.
How to Rock Reading This Summer with Audiobooks on handsonaswegrow.com
from Hands On As We Grow http://ift.tt/25xVNrs
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