Debbie Adams
is a veteran homeschooler, having taught her sons Cody (12) and Cameron (10) in
their classroom at home for six years. They live in the Racine-Kenosha area in
Wisconsin.
When
we embarked on this journey of homeschooling, I chose a very structured and seatwork
driven curriculum to assure myself I wasn't missing anything academically. Yet
I wanted to allow for fun and spontaneous learning. Doing that sometimes takes
us off the main road to follow what interests my children along the way. This
almost always leads us to our local library, to "dig deeper" into a topic which
piqued our curiosity.
One day sitting on the floor of the
library, surrounded by books my boys had looked up on Endangered Species, I fell
in love with learning for the first time -something I had never felt in attending
a traditional school. Our search for more materials on Endangered Species that
day led us to a story written by Jean Craighead George called "My Side of The
Mountain". The book was not available, but the AUDIOBOOK was. So we left with
a ton of books, and this one audiobook. My boys decided to listen to it at bedtime....and
the rest is history! We have been listening to audiobooks ever since.
 IT
WORKS!
Audiobooks don't just end after the initial listening
experience.
If we can get an unabridged audiobook on a subject we're
studying, that is our first choice. My younger son Cameron requires multi-sensory
learning and has really struggled with reading. Audiobooks have helped him over
that discouraging hurdle and to develop a love for books. After listening to the
audiobook, he can't wait to check out the book. Audiobooks bring the story to
life, stimulating their imaginations. It's like a motion picture in your mind
- images are formed as you listen - causing you to make the story your's! I am
amazed at how much detail my children remember months and years later, after having
listened to an audiobook. They play them over and over again, sometimes memorizing
their favorite scenes, and acting them out in their play time. So, for us, audiobooks
not only teach good listening skills, help greatly with reading, but encourage
activities and brainwork far beyond the initial listening experience.
IT
WORKS!
Another benefit of audiobooks is that listening to the
narrator has taught us to read out loud more expressively. This adds so much excitement
to the story. Some of our favorites are "Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S.Lewis
and "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. In "My Side of the Mountian", the narrator
Jeff Woodman has a wonderful voice - his voice IS Sam Gribley to us!
TIPS:
 | EXPAND
LEARNING LEVELS AND VOCABULARY
Listening to audiobooks allows my
boys to be exposed to literature above their current reading level. Consequently,
their comprehension and interest levels are usually way beyond most books for
their educational levels. Short children's stories are boring to them now as they
have become accustomed to reading/listening to stories which are much more difficult
then those at their age level. For instance, when we first listened to "My Side
of the Mountain", the ages of my boys was only 7 and 5! Their understanding of
abstract thought has really jumped tremendously since listening to audiobooks,
which is why they enjoyed listening to "Books of Virtue" by Bill Bennett. They
really enjoyed listening to the poetry and prose narrated by such famous people
as Charleton Heston, and understood their meanings quite easily. If you have a
child whose preferred way of learning is auditory, audiobooks are a must!
| | BUILD
UP YOUR OWN AUDIOBOOK LIBRARY
Audiobooks are by far one of our
favorite ways to learn and explore the world through literature. And for those
of you whose children just can't part with an audiobook from the library, try
asking relatives to buy audiobooks for gift-giving occasions. Build up your own
library! Your kids will listen to them over and over! My son Cody said it best
recently....there is something very powerful in the spoken word!
|
| | | FROM
CAMERON AND CODY...
..Listening to audiobooks helps me use my imagination, picturing what
the characters are like in a story. I can imagine what's happening better. Listening
to the story allows me to focus on the details of the story - without interruptions
or having to stop to take a break because of getting tired, or sometimes struggling
with reading words I'm not familiar with yet. One of our favorite parts of our
day is when our Mom allows us to draw or build Legos, while listening to a story.
We listen to stories sometimes when doing some of our school work too, like penmanship.
..Listening to audiobook stories makes me feel like someone is sitting
in our room telling just us the story, and makes me feel like I'm right there
with the characters, watching it all happen. Sometimes when the story is really
good, I wish I could ask the characters questions! One of our favorites we've
listened to lately is "Mrs. Frisbie and the Rats of Nimh".
Debbie Adams - Homeschooling
Parent
e-mail Debbie and her sons at cja2@quixnet.net
FREE! EXPERT
ADVICE!
Visit with nine educators
who have proven success using audiobooks as a teaching tool. Go ahead and e-mail
them with your questions! |
 EDUCATORS:
If you make good use of audiobooks in your approach
to education and feel you have some good tips and inspiration to pass on to others,
would you like to be considered for our Educator of the Month feature?
If so, contact Heather Frederick, Publisher at Audio Bookshelf at 1-800-234-1713
or audiobooks@prexar.com
We want to honor you!
|
