Today’s Tech Savvy guest is Karen Waters. Karen is a technical project manager who is passionate about work/life balance. With three kids, a husband, and a full-time job, her life demands technology to maintain equilibrium. She uses her technical skills to help promote efficiencies that allow her to flourish in her career while being the best mom she can. Today she shares TumbleBooks, a great service full of audio e-books books for children of all ages!
My five year old loves books. Unfortunately, the rush between fixing dinner and doing homework isn’t the ideal time for bonding over a book. That’s where TumbleBooks comes in – it’s my stand-in reader!
Our local library offers a free subscription to TumbleBooks. TumbleBooks is a online database full of audio books for all ages. Younger children can choose to have the book read to them, while older ones can read the book themselves.
Pre-readers enjoy a variety of full-color books designed for their age group. The pages flip as the orator eloquently narrates the story keeping even the smallest eyes riveted. My daughter quickly learned how to navigate the list of books usually choosing the ones with the most exciting covers! I helped her setup a favorites list where she can quickly go to hear her beloved stories over and over. And, when I get caught up in the homework shuffle with my older kids, I arrange a playlist so her selections will play back to back with no other intervention.
My son, 10, has been having a little difficulty with reading comprehension this year. TumbleBooks to the rescue again! We set his session for “manual” read and chose the option to include comprehension quizzes when he’s finished. Now, he can get practice reading and instant feedback on his understanding of what he read. And, if he needs to take a break, TumbleBooks allows him to bookmark his page and come back later to finish up.
TumbleBooks is just one of the many efficiencies we incorporate into our household to maintain sanity and balance. It’s not always convenient to get to the library and take advantage of the vast assortment of books they possess. But, I can still take advantage of the services offered by my library through TumbleBooks. I encourage you to visit your library’s website to see if they offer this valuable service. If not, why not suggest it?
Feed the need to read!
Karen shares her work/life balance insight over on her blog at http://findingme.typepad.com.
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Original post by Tech Savvy Mama
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