We had a very nice Father's Day at our household. I didn't get to see my Dad, because he was off visiting my brother (450 miles away ) but my son did come join us, and we BBQ'd with
my sister- and brother-in-law. We considered going out to a Father's Day Brunch, but decided against it.
Which got me to wondering ... do most families make a bigger deal out of Mother's Day than Father's Day?
This week's crop of interactive, narrated stories is quite impressive. With professional storytellers and a humongous number of classic and original stories to choose from, you (and your kids) are going to love these sites.
KOL Jr. Stories
KOL Jr. (published by AOL for kids ages two to five) organizes their narrated storybooks into: Animals, Arthur, Fairy Tales, Family and Rhyming. Whichever you choose, you'll be rewarded with read-along words highlighted in red as the storyteller reads the story out loud, and the pages (with their original illustrations) are turned automatically. The stories take about forty seconds to load on a DSL, so be prepared to wait a bit if your connection is slower.
Mrs. P
"Mrs. P is concerned because fewer and fewer kids are reading these days. Also, according to recent reports Mrs. P has seen, it is becoming harder and harder for many parents to find the time to read to their children." Storyteller Mrs. P (played by actress Kathy Kinney) is my video pick of the day, with her classic children's stories, read along options, engaging personal anecdotes, animated games and clever presentation. If you have a high speed connection, you can turn on more even more animated fun by clicking on Start Here, and selecting options such as "Bookcase titles say funny things."
Speakaboos
Speakaboos is a delightful find, chock full of classic video storybooks read by actors, along with games, e-cards, sing-along karaoke tunes, and printable coloring pages. The stories are divided into Favorites (such as Arthur and Holidays), Fables, Nursery Rhymes, Fairy Tales, Folk Tales and Songs. A useful feature is "More on This Album: Play All" which will queue up all the songs (or stories) in a particular album. Some of the songs are available for free download (to your iPod or a DVD) while others are for sale in the iTunes Store.
Surfnetkids Printables Club Members also get the following printables to use in the classroom, the computer lab, the school library, or to send home with students:
Stories Printable
Alphabet Fun Printable
Rebus Stories Printable
"Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values." ~~ Dalai Lama. Tenzin Gyatso (born 6 July 1935) is the fourteenth and current Dalai Lama. He is a Buddhist monk, and the exiled leader of Tibet.
Dear Reader,