MelAR05 Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 Since our library has a limited number of books on CD, I am trying to figure out the best way for them to listen to audiobooks. Also, I just am not getting to the Read-Alouds like I want to. Do they all have their own Ipod? Or is there some other way? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 our library still has a big collection of audio cd books, so my kids each have an inexpensive cd-walkman type thing with earphones that they use. I will, eventually move over to ipods, but so far this works for us and the price is right. I got them on amazon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 My older son has an iPod and one of those alarm clock radio iPod docks. I use it for both of them. I frequently rip CDs we buy to the computer so I can then have them listen on the iPod. I haven't considered a second iPod for my 4 year old. I can just have him share with his brother, listen on the computer or from my phone if they want to listen to different things at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 My mil bought my kids a kindle each for christmas, they can plug headphones into them. My dd has since fallen in love with audiobooks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 DD started with CDs from the library. I still get her some CDs because our local library has quite a few and we are part of a huge library system and I can get most anything from another branch. In the last 6 months or so I have also started downloading audio books from overdrive for her and put them on her ipod. She has a 1st generation touch that BIL didn't want anymore. She sometimes uses earbuds with that but more often she plugs a little iHome speaker into it. DS doesn't really listen to audiobooks much yet but I do have an old ipod that I put a few books on for him. I just got middle a Sansa clip for Christmas with kid safe earphones. Oldest got my old one when dh brought home an iPod for me. For the most part however we listen to audiobooks in the car and in the kitchen while we have lunch. Can you tell me how you manage the Sansas and the iPod? Do you use the same computer but different programs? We've only had iPods and I've only used itunes and I wondered how it would work to add another brand of mp3 player to the family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tranquility7 Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 My older son has an iPod and one of those alarm clock radio iPod docks. I use it for both of them. I frequently rip CDs we buy to the computer so I can then have them listen on the iPod. I haven't considered a second iPod for my 4 year old. I can just have him share with his brother, listen on the computer or from my phone if they want to listen to different things at the same time. This is exactly what I do, too. In fact, I just ordered two more docking stations - one for my DD's room, and one for the kitchen. I'll use my old iPod nano in DD's (I use a Sansa clip now), and in the kitchen we will use DS or DD's iPod whenever we are wanting to listen to something together. I love the clock radio docking station because I can set the Sleep so DS can listen for 30 min before bed, and then I can have it come on as his alarm clock, too. He often turns it on when he is just in there playing, too, and I definitely prefer the speakers to headphones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChicoryChick Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 My kids wach have a cd player that they/we picked up inexpensively at a yard sale. Out library does have a good selection of audiobook cds and they love getting them out. Cassette players seem to have s short life span in our house for some reason. Our library has also start carrying these small boxes (I can't remember what they are called) where all you need is a pair of headphones to listen to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melenie Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 Our library has a great selection of CDs, we use them for listening in the car as we drive to and from activities. The kids also have a $20 mp3 player each, they use these during car rides with DH (who does not like listening to their CD's) and during their quiet time after lunch. They got their MP3 players as part of their Christmas presents this year and it has been one of the best things we ever bought them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Familyties Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 We listen to ours via a cd player. I didn't think about downloading audio books to an ipod...that just opens up a whole other world for me ~ thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xixstar Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 Teen used a portable CD player with headphones or a plug in speaker. The littles have a boombox in the school room. Our library is increasing availability of devices called Playaway but their like mini-ipods with whole books loaded on them - so there is one book per device and they just need a AAA battery to run them. I love them. I hated loading books on CD into iTunes to put them on the ipods, it was just too much work. Our library also have a digital library where you can just download the files too (you can get a card for just $25/year for non-state residents, btw, and then you'd have access to the digital content). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 Our kids all got Sansa Clips with expandable memory and little external speakers for Christmas (I'm not comfortable with headphones at all). This has been a great solution for Quiet Time and even play time when they all agree on what to listen to :glare: They love them. They each got their own color of player and speaker, so I know whose I've taken when it's left about ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 All 3 of my kids have ipods. My oldest has my old touch (passed it on when i upgraded to an iphone) dd and youngest ds have ipod nanos (youngest also has the old 2nd gen touch they used to share) We have quite a few audio books I've bought either at audible or from audible via amazon. They all have ipod docks in their rooms and use them at night after lights out to listen to the books then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelAR05 Posted February 13, 2013 Author Share Posted February 13, 2013 Thanks ladies! I'm glad to know there are so many options. :D Our library is increasing availability of devices called Playaway but their like mini-ipods with whole books loaded on them - so there is one book per device and they just need a AAA battery to run them. I love them. I hated loading books on CD into iTunes to put them on the ipods, it was just too much work. Our library also have a digital library where you can just download the files too (you can get a card for just $25/year for non-state residents, btw, and then you'd have access to the digital content). I'm going to see if my library has either of these options. Thanks! Our kids all got Sansa Clips with expandable memory and little external speakers for Christmas (I'm not comfortable with headphones at all). This has been a great solution for Quiet Time and even play time when they all agree on what to listen to :glare: They love them. They each got their own color of player and speaker, so I know whose I've taken when it's left about ... This sounds like a possibility. I have not heard of Sansa Clips. All 3 of my kids have ipods. My oldest has my old touch (passed it on when i upgraded to an iphone) dd and youngest ds have ipod nanos (youngest also has the old 2nd gen touch they used to share) We have quite a few audio books I've bought either at audible or from audible via amazon. They all have ipod docks in their rooms and use them at night after lights out to listen to the books then. I wonder if this works with the Ipod Shuffle? Someone gave us a couple and they don't get used much. An Ipod dock and Ipod would be the ideal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 We got the new kindle fire HD which has great speakers. Plus if you buy the e-book and audible book from Amazon and audible.com with the whispersync feature, then you can have the "immersion" experience which lets you listen and read at the same time. The words are highlighted as the audio book reads along and the pages turn themselves. You can pause it to look up any word at the touch of a finger as well. My son loves it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 The Sansas come with their own software to transfer songs. It's a simple format that is really easy to use. They take just about all forms of music so I'm able to copy things over to it without converting. I am definitely not an iTunes expert. I find it really complicated. Since most of my songs were originally ripped from our cd collection into WMP I had to convert everything when I got my iPod. Now I have a lot if duplicates in my song collection. Someday I will figure out what I actually need. Forgive any errors, I don't have Internet ATM so I'm on my tiny phone. ETA: I really chose Sansa for ds because our library has a lot of audiobooks only available in WMA format. With the Sansa, I can still use it without having to convert. This is all so confusing to me. All of the books I have downloaded from the library (Overdrive) are in WMA and I put them on my ipods. Maybe Overdrive is converting them for me for the ipod? If I used a different brand of player it would save a step? Technology is great...but :willy_nilly: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 I wonder if this works with the Ipod Shuffle? Someone gave us a couple and they don't get used much. An Ipod dock and Ipod would be the ideal. Not sure if they will work on the shuffle, because you can't select the track you want to hear in any specific order. this would be ok if you only had one book on there, but some books my kids listen to come in two parts and that could be a problem with the shuffle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 We all have tablets with audiovox installed. This is great for DS, DD would rather just read it (like me). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 I wonder if this works with the Ipod Shuffle? Someone gave us a couple and they don't get used much. An Ipod dock and Ipod would be the ideal. We don't have a shuffle but I'm sure I've read before that you can do audiobooks on the shuffle. You have to put the book in a Playlist in iTunes then when you transfer it to the shuffle it plays in the correct order. I don't know how that would work in a downloaded library book? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluemongoose Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 We do our listening in the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 We have an iPad, iPhone, Kindle, laptops, and each kid has a CD player. They use the CD players for library audiobooks, but most often they are listening on either the iPad or iPhone. The technology and whisper sync just make it the most convenient. And Kindle and Audible have now linked, so the audio will now track along with the digital text if the audio is available, which is pretty amazing and awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockey Mom Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 They both have iPods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 Either Ipod or CD player. I also sometimes rip our CDs onto the computer and put it on their ipods. I also borrow audio books via overdrive and put it onto their ipod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 The Sansas come with their own software to transfer songs. It's a simple format that is really easy to use. They take just about all forms of music so I'm able to copy things over to it without converting. You don't have to even use their software; plug it in, open it as a "file" on your desktop and copy and paste to where you want things to go. If you use external memory cards, you may have to "format" them first. Go under Settings, Card (or something like that), and format. It was pretty easy. Copy and Paste is what I want after fighting with the terrible Zune software for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkyandtheBrains. Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 We use an old iPod. Old. I upload whatever audiobook onto my computer to download onto their iPod. They have head phones for it, also their alarm clock has an iPod dock so they can listen to them in their room through the speakers on it. You can find used old iPod's at places that buy/sell used electronics and video games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 We use CDs sometimes, but we really prefer our Sansa Clip, either attached to speakers (amazon sells a decent set for about $12) or to a CD player via a connecting cord. DD does have headphones to use with it when she wants to drown out commotion around her too. We have noticed that sometimes when CDs get a bit scratched, if we upload them to the computer and play them on the Sansa Clip, sometimes the scratched areas don't come through, so that's nice. We looked into a lot of MP3 players, and the Sansa Clip was the best bang for the buck (except that it's tiny). The Sansa Fuze is also very nice (and a larger size). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 We have an mp3 player. I put the books on that and the boys plug in our computer speakers and they can all listen together. My ds also has a Kindle Touch and we can do the same on that. Just plug in a pair of computer speakers for joint listening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicheleinMN Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Inexpensive mp3 player and librivox (free) and audible.com ($14.95 a month). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weederberries Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 My kids have my old iPod for stuff we own and a speaker dock to plug it into. When we borrow something from the library, they listen to it on any one of the few computers around the house. We listen a lot in the car too. SOTW in the car is our favorite. We also have an iPad, but we haven't utilized it for listening, because usually someone is drilling math facts on it while another listens at a computer. I also record my own voice saying their memory work and they listen to it from the computer or ipod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebacabunch Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 We listen in the car. They are a captive audience there, bwahahaha! :laugh: We listen to sotw that was and have become fans of Jim Weiss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehogs4 Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Oh my goodness, yes! Our Audible subscription is our most-used homeschool tool. We have covered so much great literature together over lunch. It is one of our favorite things to do together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Yeah.....me too. :banghead: I believe Overdrive will convert WMA into a format your iPod can accept when you click on the transfer to my iPod. I don't think you'll skip a step. I just had a lot of audiobooks on my old Sansa and WMP was acting up and wouldn't let me transfer them into WMP or iTunes. So the only way I could figure out how to do it was to use it Sansa to Sansa basically. :banghead: Thanks, that makes sense. Well, kind of. :laugh: We use an old iPod. Old. I upload whatever audiobook onto my computer to download onto their iPod. They have head phones for it, also their alarm clock has an iPod dock so they can listen to them in their room through the speakers on it. You can find used old iPod's at places that buy/sell used electronics and video games. Yes, GameStop has used ipods. I think you can exchange them within 30 days if they don't work or buy a 1 year warranty for not very much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelAR05 Posted February 14, 2013 Author Share Posted February 14, 2013 Inexpensive mp3 player and librivox (free) and audible.com ($14.95 a month). I didn't know audible.com had a subscription service. Woohoo! I don't know why it bothers me to pay more for an audiobook but it does. Maybe it's because I want them to follow along with the book when possible, so it would be like paying double.My oldest is probably getting an Ipod for her end-of-school year reward and I will likely add a dock. We haven't done this in the past but she has worked really hard all year to have a good attitude. I am thinking Sansa Clips and speakers/headphones will be a good fit for the younger girls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 We listen in the car. They are a captive audience there, bwahahaha! :laugh: We listen to sotw that was and have become fans of Jim Weiss We do this too. We recently listened to Dicken's Christmas Carol, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Hakim's History of US (which we have not finished yet), etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 I didn't know audible.com had a subscription service. Woohoo! I don't know why it bothers me to pay more for an audiobook but it does. Maybe it's because I want them to follow along with the book when possible, so it would be like paying double.My oldest is probably getting an Ipod for her end-of-school year reward and I will likely add a dock. We haven't done this in the past but she has worked really hard all year to have a good attitude. I am thinking Sansa Clips and speakers/headphones will be a good fit for the younger girls. Buy the ebook first and then you get a huge discount on the audiobook at audible.com. I have learned though to check for all of the unabridged whispersync versions since some narrators are better than others and some audio books are cheaper than the discounted ones. I only use my credits for audiobooks more than $12 since with the platinum plan each credit is worth about $11. There are also free audiobooks to be had with whispersync or very inexpensive ones. The immersion feature is a huge hit here! I forgot to add that I am mainly interested in the immersion feature for classic books which may be more challenging even though ds is a great reader. If a book is an everyday kid book like Percy Jackson, then I am mainly interested in the ebooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkyandtheBrains. Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Yes, GameStop has used ipods. I think you can exchange them within 30 days if they don't work or buy a 1 year warranty for not very much. Yep Gamestop has a 30 day return policy, and the warranty for a year is really cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
placeofgrace Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Buy the ebook first and then you get a huge discount on the audiobook at audible.com. I have learned though to check for all of the unabridged whispersyn versions since some narrators are better than others and some audio books are cheaper than the discounted ones. I only use my credits for audiobooks more than $12 since with the platinum plan each credit is worth about $11. There are also free audiobooks to be had with whispersync or very inexpensive ones. The immersion feature is a huge hit here! I forgot to add that I am mainly interested in the immersion feature for classic books which may be more challenging even though ds is a great reader. If a book is an everyday kid book like Percy Jackson, then I am mainly interested in the ebooks. Yep, this is what we do too. Ds has a kindle fire hd. He uses it everyday for school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 I have Sansa mp3 players, onto which I downloaded tons and tons and tons of stuff from (mostly) Librivox, but my library also has lots of CDs and I bought a really cute and easy to use (and sturdy!) Sony CD player, that is no longer made. Why, I have no idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtoamiracle Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Kindle, Ipad, and Cd player Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSOchristie Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 We have a Bose (?) speaker that is also a dock for my iPhone. It is very loud, so he listens on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raceNzanesmom Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Ds listens on his MP3 player, my Kindle and my Nook. We burn to CD for the car since our CD player doesn't have a jack for his MP3 player. I get a few from the library, but most are from booksshouldbefree.com or freebies from audible.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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