Jason Boog's Blog: Born Reading, page 3

Sharing Apps with Family

What’s your favorite app to share with the kids in your life?

Last month, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center asked me to write about the “Preparing for New Experiences” section of its free interactive book aboutFamily Time with Apps.

My essay explored lots of different apps that parents and children can use together, but my main example focused on potty training. Check it out:

“The process of pottytraining requires weeksof patience, and the physical process needsto be reinforced everycouple hours f...

Hat Monkey & Interactive App Play

Does the kid in your lifealways want to play with your smartphone?Children just want to understand these digital tools that parents use every day, and you can help them.

Author ChrisHaughtoncreated theHat Monkeyapp, a satisfying way for kids to engage with adult technology. The app contains simple technology that your kid can play with inside the story.

Rather thanrandomly pushing buttons on your device, the app encourages kids to text, chat and dance along with the lovable Hat Monkey charact...

BOB Books & Early Reading

A few months after I published Born Reading: Bringing Up Bookworms in a Digital Age, my daughter took an interest in learning how to read.

We started with a set of BOB books, a beloved 35-year-old seriesthathelps kids take baby steps into the world of reading.

Oliveloves shuffling through thisboxed set of skinny books and reading them to her grandparents. To expand the experience,I justdiscovered This Reading Mama’s excellent printable activities for the series.

Whenever exploring early read...

Toontastic Joins Google

Google has acquiredLaunchpad Toys,the makers of the Toontastic storytelling app. Nowyoucan download Toontasticfor free (along with the company’sTeleStory app).

Iinterviewed Launchpadco-founder Andy Russell a coupletimes while writingBorn Reading: Bringing Up Bookworms in a Digital Age. Hiscompany creates apps that let kids make their own cartoonsusing digital charactersand powerful special effects.

“Our nearly four million storytellers around the globe will be able to look back on their portfol...

The Bookstore Quest

A trip to the bookstore can be a magical experience for born reading kids.

There are many ways to make these visits exciting, but one dad turned his bookstore visit into a genuine adventure. On Reddit, one father posted the heartwarming story of how he helped his nearly three year old son let go of the pacifier.

On his son’s 1,000th day of life, a mysterious box appeared at the house. His son decided to put his pacifier in the box, and a magical bookstore adventure began…

Once the boy opened the...

Nate the Great Born Reading Bundle

Did you ever dream of becoming a detective? My daughter and I have been readingNate the Great and the Crunchy Christmas by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and Craig Sharmat.We kept the experience going all weekend with more books, activities and detective apps.

This funny series features the adventures of a pancake-loving kid detective and his kooky friends. I always wanted to grow up to be a detective, and love watching my daughter discover her first mysteries. The ending of this book always makes h...

Sight Word Resources for Young Readers

From kindergarten onward, many parents will learn about “sight words.”

These are common words that many school kids will be expected to recognize on sight as they learn how to read.

If you need a simple introduction to sight words, start with The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss.

The legendary author incorporated 220 “Dolch words” into this easy-reading masterpiece. Back in 1936, literacy expert Edward William Dolch analyzed scores of children’s books and developed a list of “Dolch words” that young...

Ballet Born Reading Bundle

Does the kid in your life love ballet?

Last month, I read Ian Falconer’s Olivia and the Fairy Princesses at my daughter’s preschool.It is a fantastic book, introducing kids to independent thinking, modern dance and the work of dancer Martha Graham.

In a funny sequence of illustrations, the main character reenacts Graham’s famous dance, “Lamentation.”The kids acted out this dance as I read, discovering that dance is more than just ballerinas and fairy princesses.

When I finished reading the book,...

B.J. Novak Illustrates Interactive Reading

Actor and author B.J. Novak demonstrated the art of interactive reading in a video abouthis new kid’s book,The Book with No Pictures.

Despite the fact it doesn’t have a single illustration, the book hasinteractive reading techniques literally built into the pages: dramatization, questions for the kids, and plenty of opportunities to stop and discuss what happens in the book.

I outline more of these reading strategies in my Born Reading Playbook, butif you are unsure about how to make kids parti...

Crafts Based on Children’s Books

“Follow the things your child loves” is the foundation of Born Reading: Bringing Up Bookworms in a Digital Age.

When your kid loves a particular book, you should go online and find more activities related to that book. Most authors have websites these days, loaded with free activities, games, crafts and pictures.

Below, I made of a list of great craft pages based on some of my daughter’s favorite books. These resources will help your kids make crafts and continue exploring the stories that they...