Our collection of top teaching tools and toys | Elementary homeschool

Top teaching tools and toys to promote beginning readers 4-8 yrs

Worthy tech investment: Kids Kindle

Buying my child a Kindle when he was 4 was a game changer. Kindle Kids gives kids access to an enormous free library of kids books you do not ned to pay for. (For us this has paid for itself and beyond.) Parental controls are easy from the Amazon app and kids get tons of choice and leveled recommendations for what to read next. Kids Kindle also gives kids stats on how many books they have completed, how many pages read, etc. They can set goals and track their own accomplishments. It is very rewarding. Kids can look up words they don’t know, and bookmark and highlight. The kindle also has technology that makes the screens gentle on the eyes which we really like for bedtime reading and the realistic “feel” of reading a real book. Note that the Kindle Kids 2022 model has a slightly bigger screen and duller screen which I think is best for younger kids and more compatible with kids literature. The Kids Paperwhite has the brighter white screen and is slightly smaller. Older kids will love how light and compact it is.

Worthy tech investment: Toni

We didn’t understand what a Toni was when a relative gave it to our son, but we soon realized what a powerful tool it could be. Toni is an audio player that has child-friendly buttons for volume control, skipping tracks, rewinding etc. You purchase (usually separately) “toy” characters to put on top of the Toni box. The characters each contain different audio tracks. Some are music and some are stories. Our kids love both. The stories options are really well-done and the controls enable kids to really be in control of what they are listening to and skipping etc. Moreoever, you can buy “Creative” character which are essentially blank Tonis that you can add your own tracks to. This is great for recording family stories or anything special your child likes to listen to. Everyone can listen at once as well which makes this something the family can do together as reading comprehension practice.