Children are like sponges. They absorb every bit of information that is given to them, especially if it is presented in a fun and easy to learn way. It’s never too early to begin teaching the concepts of math to your children. Opportunities for math abound in our everyday lives. Once you begin to notice them, you’ll soon be guilty of seeing math in everything you do!

Story time with your child is an excellent starting point. Virtually any book that you choose to read will have countless opportunities for math discussion. If you are reading ‘The Three Little Pigs’, don’t just breeze through it. Make sure that you stop on every page and give your child time to absorb the pictures. Ask questions about what they see, but be sure to offer constant encouragement even if they give an incorrect answer. The key to learning is to constantly provide a positive experience. By doing this, your child will always be eager to learn. As you look at the pictures with them, ask questions such as, “How many pigs do you see on this page?” or “How many apples are on this tree?” If your child seems stuck, happily count out loud for them. As a general rule, count everything you see, literally. You can count the stairs as you climb them, or the socks as you are taking them out of the dryer together. The opportunities are endless. Is your child a picky eater? Try saying, “Just take five more bites and you will be done”, and then of course count them out.

Playing capacity games while you are cooking is both educational and extremely fun. Your child will love pouring liquids from one container to another. Prepare them for learning measurements by asking them which container can hold more or less, and by letting them handle the different measuring cups, spoons, etc. Amaze them by doing special tricks, like pouring a cup full of cereal into a measuring cup, then crushing it and then presenting the new compressed, much smaller measurement.

Playing pattern games helps prepare your child for the concepts they will need to grasp in school. If your child eats Fruit Loops or M&M’s, help arrange them in different colored rows. After this is mastered, put down a pattern, such as one green M&M, one red M&M, and then one more green M&M. Ask your child to show you what color comes next. You can play pattern games with colored clothespins, different shaped blocks, colored socks, etc. The more you play this game with your child, the more variations of the game you will discover.

Play subtraction games at snack time. If your child likes goldfish crackers, you can draw a fish bowl on a piece of paper. Place ten or twelve goldfish crackers on the paper so they are ‘in the fish bowl’. Have your child count them at the beginning and then tell you how many are left every time they eat one, or two, or three. This will teach your child the basic concept of subtraction while providing them with a fun snack time experience.

Regardless of what approach you take to incorporate math in your child’s life, realize that you are laying a foundation for their future interest or indifference to the subject. Keep it simple, don’t stress, and remember to move on to something else as soon as your child loses interest. Learning is fun, and helping your child to enjoy early learning experiences in a playful manner is one of the best gifts you can give them.

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Everywhere you go in the world today, you see people with iPods connected to them. Do you ever wonder what they are listening to? Maybe you assume they have some crazy music pumping into their brain? What if they are listening to award-winning works of literature? Reading is imperative to becoming a successful and productive citizen.

Students who struggle with reading will struggle in most subject areas in school and in many avenues of life. Using audio books to improve reading fluency with all readers promotes success for students in most areas of life. Intervening early improves student achievement along with self-esteem.

Audio books are an excellent solution for teachers to use when attempting to instruct students of differing ability levels and with different learning challenges such as struggling, reluctant, below-grade readers, bilingual students, special needs children as well as those children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorders or Dyslexia.

The iPods in School program started at DeKeyser Elementary in early 2007 with 25 iPod Shuffles and some audio books. Children in second and third grades check out the book and the iPod for use outside of school. Students document whether they read along with the audio book, or just listen, and whether they discuss the book with their parent after listening. These books and iPods are in great demand within these two grade levels. The excitement for reading is immense and parents and children report pleasure in the project. 

In addition to listening to books commonly found in the library, I would like to expand the program to include the textbooks from different classes and grade levels to help those students who need to either hear the text again, or are struggling to read it the first time.

Research (from Boston Public Schools) proves that audio books accelerate reading gains. Data shows that audio books can improve reading comprehension by 34% as it bridges the gap for students attempting to read text above their individual reading level. Listening to oral reading is also proven to help students acquire new vocabulary while stimulating vocabulary development by allowing opportunities for students to hear and see words multiple times. Research tells us that effective fluency instruction begins with modeled reading. Audio-assisted reading can provide unlimited practice for students, while silent independent reading alone has not shown to increase reading fluency. Finally, audio books create motivated readers.

There are at least four ways iPods in school increases student achievement and motivation; independent reading, shared or small-group reading, whole class listening, and lending out the audio books for home use. 

"Do you have any brand new audio books?" "Which one is your favorite?" "Have you listened to this one? It has a great person with lots of expression reading!" These are common questions from seven-, eight-, and nine-year old children engaged in our iPods in School program. In addition to improvement in reading scores and motivation for reading, seeing the eager children begging for iPods and audio books to check out of the library makes the program extremely worthwhile. 

With the cost of the iPod Shuffle decreasing to just $49, this cost of implementing this program is not extreme. The benefits far outweigh the cost.

Excite your students and have them begging to listen to quality literature!

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/k-12-education-articles/ipods-in-school-turning-toys-into-tools-teaching-with-technology-727107.html

About the Author:
Join Kathy and a group of educators dedicated to improving student learning through technology in the Mastermind Group of Educators  http://mastermindgroupofeducators.com  for continued support, resources, book discounts and community in educational technology. 
 
Kathy Cothran is an elementary media specialist committed to helping teachers engage students through the uses of technology. Her vast teaching experience ranges from preschool through Master's level education classes. For years Kathy has been a "Gadget Girl." She loves technology! Tie that to her extensive teaching background and she has been able to interest, invigorate, and inspire children and teachers to use technology in a rich, exciting manner.