do you use audio books?

[bttrflyvld]

My 6 year old has really been enjoying audio books lately. We do our regulary read aloud time in the morning for about 1-1 1/2 hours. But I have to admit, that is my limit to reading a loud. I love our reading time, but I get tired of reading sometimes. My daughters could go forever listenign to books. So to remedy this we have been checking out our limit of audio picture book combos for them to listen to during the afternoons when the more reading time. I hope to soon introduce my oldest (6 years old) to longer stories. I'm not sure how to transition to the longer books though.

 

How did you go about it? Did you get the book for your child to read along with the audio or just listen? Where do you find your best books? (buy or find free online). Any good resources to buy audio books?

 

I should add that my daughter will sit for over an hour listening to audio picture books.

 

What would be some good books to help transition to longer no/less picture books?

[grovegirl]

I use audiobooks for my eldest  a fluency tool.   I tend get a copy of the book and have her read along with the audio.  If I can't find an audio book from my library,   I use the Librivox websit https://librivox.org/  which has free public domain audiobooks.    I find the site a little challenging to browse.  I find it works best to know the name of the book you are looking for.    For example here is the link to a collection of Beatrix Potter stories.  https://librivox.org/the-great-big-treasury-of-beatrix-potter-by-beatrix-potter/

[ondreeuh]

My 6 year old will listen to an audiobook while in the bathtub or playing with Legos or Playmobil. He doesn't usually read along, although we've tried that and it was ok. He has a Kindle Fire so we can often purchase the kindle & audible version of the same book and it will highlight the text as the narration plays. He just prefers to do something else while he listens, and he only lasts about one chapter before he's ready to do something else. So far he has listened to:

 

*many Jim Weiss CDs (these are more like listening to a storyteller than listening to a narrator - a good place to start)

*BBC dramatised stories (Queen's Nose & others)

*Beatrix Potter collection

*Mary Poppins

*Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

*The Snow Queen

*D'Aulaire's Greek Myths

*Ramona series

*Grimm's Fairy Stories (http://www.amazon.com/Grimms-Fairy-Stories-Jacob-Grimm-ebook/dp/B0082UXYTE/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397162824&sr=1-10&keywords=grimm)

*Mr. Popper's Penguins

 

I have a whole collection of others ready for him: 101 Dalmatians, Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, Henry Huggins collection, etc.

[kitten18]

My 6 year old will listen to an audiobook while in the bathtub or playing with Legos or Playmobil. He doesn't usually read along, although we've tried that and it was ok. He has a Kindle Fire so we can often purchase the kindle & audible version of the same book and it will highlight the text as the narration plays. He just prefers to do something else while he listens, and he only lasts about one chapter before he's ready to do something else. So far he has listened to:

 

*many Jim Weiss CDs (these are more like listening to a storyteller than listening to a narrator - a good place to start)

*BBC dramatised stories (Queen's Nose & others)

*Beatrix Potter collection

*Mary Poppins

*Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

*The Snow Queen

*D'Aulaire's Greek Myths

*Ramona series

*Grimm's Fairy Stories (http://www.amazon.com/Grimms-Fairy-Stories-Jacob-Grimm-ebook/dp/B0082UXYTE/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397162824&sr=1-10&keywords=grimm)

*Mr. Popper's Penguins

 

I have a whole collection of others ready for him: 101 Dalmatians, Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, Henry Huggins collection, etc.

I agree with all of that.

 

My dd started listening to long books when she was 6 but it was more difficult to get my DS interested.

The Beverly Cleary books were a great start for him, he listened to many of her books.

[Hunter]

More and more I am using audio books. My tutoring students and I all share a lack of opportunities to hear advanced English SPOKEN. Some of us have good reading and writing vocabulary, but all of us have gaps in out spoken vocabulary.

 

I get some of my audiobooks at currclick when they go on sale.

 

I have a lot of whispersync deals

https://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000827761

 

I use the free streaming audio at the NYC website.

http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/audiobookcloud

Click on "connect to database"

 

I collect library cards from different cities and download audiobooks from them all. In most states at the least the capital city cards are free, if not all or many city cards, to anyone living in the state.

 

One of my libraries offers a subscription to Hoopla. As well as streaming video, I can stream audiobooks, but I mostly save that for the Bill Nye videos.

[bttrflyvld]

My 6 year old will listen to an audiobook while in the bathtub or playing with Legos or Playmobil. He doesn't usually read along, although we've tried that and it was ok. He has a Kindle Fire so we can often purchase the kindle & audible version of the same book and it will highlight the text as the narration plays. He just prefers to do something else while he listens, and he only lasts about one chapter before he's ready to do something else. So far he has listened to:

 

*many Jim Weiss CDs (these are more like listening to a storyteller than listening to a narrator - a good place to start)

*BBC dramatised stories (Queen's Nose & others)

*Beatrix Potter collection

*Mary Poppins

*Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

*The Snow Queen

*D'Aulaire's Greek Myths

*Ramona series

*Grimm's Fairy Stories (http://www.amazon.com/Grimms-Fairy-Stories-Jacob-Grimm-ebook/dp/B0082UXYTE/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397162824&sr=1-10&keywords=grimm)

*Mr. Popper's Penguins

 

I have a whole collection of others ready for him: 101 Dalmatians, Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, Henry Huggins collection, etc.

 

Where do you find the audio's for the books?  Amazon?

 

[Hunter]

Oh, and about once a year, I sign up at audible.com and for 3 months I pay around $7.00 each month for a credit that I can use on just about any book. I use the credits for expensive books. I cancel as soon as I'm charged the regular rate, and wait till they offer me the discount again.

[FloridaLisa]

My 6 year old will listen to an audiobook while in the bathtub or playing with Legos or Playmobil. He doesn't usually read along, although we've tried that and it was ok. He has a Kindle Fire so we can often purchase the kindle & audible version of the same book and it will highlight the text as the narration plays. He just prefers to do something else while he listens, and he only lasts about one chapter before he's ready to do something else. So far he has listened to:

 

*many Jim Weiss CDs (these are more like listening to a storyteller than listening to a narrator - a good place to start)

*BBC dramatised stories (Queen's Nose & others)

*Beatrix Potter collection

*Mary Poppins

*Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

*The Snow Queen

*D'Aulaire's Greek Myths

*Ramona series

*Grimm's Fairy Stories (http://www.amazon.com/Grimms-Fairy-Stories-Jacob-Grimm-ebook/dp/B0082UXYTE/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397162824&sr=1-10&keywords=grimm)

*Mr. Popper's Penguins

 

I have a whole collection of others ready for him: 101 Dalmatians, Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, Henry Huggins collection, etc.

 

This is a good list to start with. We use audio books in the car, so it's usually no problem to listen to them for up to several hours if we're on a  trip.  For reading aloud at home, where there is no picture book, my youngers like to draw or play with legos, blocks, Lincoln logs, etc. while listening. 

 

Lisa

[Berta]

We listen to audio books in the car too. The Jim Weiss ones are our favorites as are the Story of the World CD's. I buy them used on FB homeschool pages.

[mommaklee]

We love audio books.

 

We get them from the library for free using "Overdrive".  It is an app that allows for library lending to your mobile device.  My husband and I have read so much more now that we can relax and sit back and listen.

 

We use audible some.

 

We use the audiobooks app (green background with red book and headphones) for Librivox by Cross Forward Consulting.  Librivox is a bunch of free audiobooks that are out of Copywrite.  We have enjoyed it for a long time.  The "Treasure Island" performed by Adrian Pretzellis is the BEST!!!!  They have a ton of classic literature.

[twoxcell]

Yes I get audio books on CD from the library and my kids listen to them at bed time. :) They do not read along. I think Winnie the Pooh and The House At Pooh Corner are two good ones to start with for longer listening. All of my kids enjoyed listening to these especially my 4 year old.

[Rosie_0801]

We listen in the car too and I download anything that sounds interesting from Librivox. It turns out there are a lot of books that don't bore me to death when someone else is reading them!

[tabinfl]

We listen to a lot of audiobooks, and for the longer, more advanced books we'll listen to a chapter or two at a time & discuss afterwards. I also pause often to explain new vocabulary or difficult passages.

 

I try to find a movie version of the story when we finish, the kids love finding the similarities & differences between the versions.

[pitterpatter]

We check out audio CDs from the library and download audiobooks from our library's digital catalog. We transfer .mp3 files directly to our Kindles from the digital site and they stay forever. Other formats expire, but not the .mp3s. DD listens to longer books all of the time. She will listen all day and all night, if we let her. She listens to them over and over again. I check out paper versions of the books to match when I can. She likes to follow along, especially when there are pictures. When she's had enough following along, she'll play while she listens. Like I said, most things she listens to over and over, so she knows the stories better than I do. Some days/weeks, it's almost an addiction for her and I'll have to police a little. Some books are for school and some are just for her listening pleasure.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I was hesitant about audio books, but am now a believer.  :-) 

 

We use the SOTW audio books, bought through Rainbow Resource I think. 

We use several Jim Weiss audio books, bought through audible I think.  Just So Stories are MY favorite, and DS loves them too.

 

This year we've also done:

D'Aulaire's Greek Myths (why, oh why, isn't there an audio for the Norse myths?  So upset!)

Pyle's Merry Adventures of Robin Hood

Pyle's King Arthur

(these were both bought in order to introduce DS to the thee/thou antiqued speech, and he picked it up immediately and listens on repeat to Robin Hood especially)

Treasure Island

 

From our local library we got:

Several fairy tale collections, including things from Perrault Andersen, Grimm, usually the gentler versions- these are all in French

Several French children's books (Petit Nicolas being the best!)

 

 

I love audio books now!  I have an eye condition that causes eye fatigue, and I can't read tiny text.  I've only got about 1.5 hours of reading that I can do each day of "normal books".  I can go a bit longer on a kindle book because I can adapt the text size.  But I've decided audio books are a part of our school and here to stay and we all enjoy them.  :-)

 

[hepatica]

We use a ton of audio books, at home and in the car. I get most of mine either at the library, or free online. Librivox has a great selection, but sometimes the multiple readers drive me a bit batty. Lit2Go is another good source for free books. 

[violingirl]

We frequently use audio books in the car. We are fortunate to have an excellent library system with generous time on each item checked out, so most of our audio comes from the library. We do purchase some as well (usually through amazon) but most of our listening is from the library.

 

 

As far as listening to longer books, we kind of just did it one day. I checked out an audio book that was a little longer, we tried it and it went over well. 

 

One particularly excellent audio book we listened to earlier in the year was Tales from the Odyssey by Mary Pope Osborne. I didn't know if my boys would like it or not, but they were begging to listen more.

[Mom2OandE]

We do. Mostly we listen in the car traveling to classes or outings. We go through a ten hour set in about 2-3 weeks.

[rocassie]

We love audio books in our household checked out from our library either the CD's or MP3 format.   My almost 7yo will listen for 1hr to 3 hrs depending on her day and mood.  She likes to draw or stare out the window while she is listening.  She has listened to all sorts of books.  Mostly age appropriate in content but the reading level is often YA to Adult.  Myself I like to listen when I am taking walks or when I'm knitting/crocheting.  I or my Dh will still read a chapter book to her at night, usually one or two chapters, and she usually listens in when I start reading to the younger ones.  

[FairProspects]

TONS. We have an Audible membership set at the maximum rate, and we use several resources for dyslexics to access even more audiobooks. We exhausted our library's selection of audiobooks pretty quickly but if you have a good library system that is another option. Project Gutenberg will work directly with the Voice Dream app so that is another resource for text-to-speech audiobooks for free after the cost of the app. :)

[Hedgehogs4]

I have not read the responses of other people, so I hope I am not repetitive, but I can tell you that our Audible subscription is one of the best investments I have made in my kids' and my education! My daughter can read well, but would much, much rather listen. She has listened to so much good literature!

 

She will be 9 in May, and we have had an Audible account for at least two years, and we use other sources of audio books as well. We have listened to abridged Dickens, Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables, Marguerite Henry books, all of Henry and Ribsy and Ramona (multiple times) all of the Chronicles of Narnia (so many times I've lost count), Around the World in 80 days, 39 Clues (we actually get these from the library), Story of the World multiple times, tons and tons of Jim Weiss, War Horse, PollyAnna, Swallows and Amazons,The Hobbit and LOTR...and there's more that I don't remember...

 

The cool thing about audiobooks, in my opinion, is that it elevates a child's working vocabulary and exposes them to complex stories that they are able to enjoy but might not be able to read on their own yet. I am amazed at what my children have learned from listening, and since we all enjoy it, we have something to do and to talk about together. 

[LLMom]

TONS. We have an Audible membership set at the maximum rate, and we use several resources for dyslexics to access even more audiobooks. We exhausted our library's selection of audiobooks pretty quickly but if you have a good library system that is another option. Project Gutenberg will work directly with the Voice Dream app so that is another resource for text-to-speech audiobooks for free after the cost of the app. :)

 

Please share your resources for dyslexics for audiobooks.  My 9 dd is dyslexic, and I am looking for audio resources. 

[bakpak]

I guess we started in the car, probably when DD was just turning 2 and we had a 5-week roadtrip. I started reading longer books to her (Charlotte's Web, Little House) to her at meals when she was 2.5, so I knew she was ready by how long she could focus on listening without having pictures. I think if you just get some audiobooks from the library and offer them you'll find out if she's ready. Story-telling type music CDs (Pete Seeger or Ella Jenkins) are also helpful for children to start listening to stay engaged longer by just listening.  I haven't had a problem. My DD4 has been listening to long stories and music CDs ever since I gave her access to the CD player and put story/music CDs in front of her (age 3).

 

I'd possibly start with a story/characters your DD already knows...Pooh, Paddington, etc. We just finished Mary Poppins again and it's great fun :)

 

My DD loves the Magic Tree House series - we've read them all out loud and she's reading them herself now, but she also listens to those stories over and over and over and over......

 

Just for perspective, my DD listens to stories or music probably 3/4+ of the time she's at home and not asleep. The rest of the time she's probably engaged with one of us; often times with one of us reading with her! :P If it suddenly becomes quiet, my DD usually begins reading out loud or singing, even if she'd previously been reading silently. This parent could use more quiet in her life!!

 

 

[Kevin'sMom]

There are a lot of great children's books on YouTube, with some very fine readers. My son has listened to all the Artemis Fowl books recently. Charlotte's Web is as terrific a listen as it is a read. Sometimes the chapters are not in order; other than that, it's a great free resource.

[FairProspects]

Please share your resources for dyslexics for audiobooks.  My 9 dd is dyslexic, and I am looking for audio resources. 

 

Do you have a dx? We are heavy users of Learning Ally and Bookshare but you have to have someone willing to sign paperwork for the dx to get access to both because of copyright laws. We love to use the Voice Dream app because it syncs with Bookshare and sounds pretty realistic for text-to-speech.

[Jamee]

LOVE our Audible subscription.  My boys are obsessed and will listen to books over and over again. My eldest's first book was the Odyssey, something he'd never be able to read on his own.  I can say it's pretty crazy when you have a bunch of elementary students critiquing the Epics and their preference for Homer over Virgil.  I've been enjoying our subscription even more now that the Great Courses lectures are available. I'm in agreement with Hedgehogs4, as it being one of the best educational investments.  

[kitten18]

Where do you find the audio's for the books?  Amazon?

 

 

We get books on CD from the library (we have a huge library system), downloads from Overdrive, and my library has a new app called Hoopla.

 

 

I will sometimes buy a book from Amazon especially if it's Whispersync and a good price.

[LLMom]

Do you have a dx? We are heavy users of Learning Ally and Bookshare but you have to have someone willing to sign paperwork for the dx to get access to both because of copyright laws. We love to use the Voice Dream app because it syncs with Bookshare and sounds pretty realistic for text-to-speech.

 

 

Yes, I do, but I got it from the public school. Don't know if they would be willing to sign the paperwork or not.  Thanks for the help. 

[Χά�ων]

I use audiobooks all the time. We have one going in the house all day except during lessons and one in the car at all times. I get them from the library or buy them if it is a favorite.

[MotherOfBoys]

Every night we put in an audio book from the library. Their vocabulary from listening to books is amazing! 

 

We choose books I'm not wanting to read aloud at first. But now it's anything and everything. 

 

Just finished Because of Winn Dixie and are starting Gary Paulson The Boy Who Owned the School tonight.

 

We've done wizard of oz, Winnie the pooh, sotw, ... I can't even list a quarter! 

 

It's just a great way to get in more learning without fuss!

[Miss Mousie]

We use a ton of audio books, at home and in the car. I get most of mine either at the library, or free online. Librivox has a great selection, but sometimes the multiple readers drive me a bit batty. Lit2Go is another good source for free books. 

 

Lit2Go looks great!  I especially like the accompanying pdf files.  Thanks for the tip!

[laughing lioness]

We use a ton of audio books and MP3's. We like anything by Jim Wiess, but Jim Hodges has some excellent Mp3 downloads too. Also, the Apologia eled science is on Mp3. I don't always agree with their doctrinal views, but it's generally good, basic, eled science. So far, they just have A & P and Birds but by fall they'll have all the eled books on Mp3. 

SOTW 1-4 is just a given, imho. 

D'Aulaire's Greek Myths.

[IdahoHomeschooler]

I definitely use audiobooks. I really dislike reading aloud, because I end up yawning like crazy, and that makes me feel sleepy. It's very annoying. Audiobooks have been a God-send. I subscribe to Audible, have the SOTW audiobooks, and bought the Little House in the Big Woods audio cd for Christmas. I also use Librivox, which is free, but the format annoys me, so if it's a book that is likely to heard overandoverandover then I splurge for the Audible version. The bonus of the audiobook is that I get to feel all warm and fuzzy listening to books from childhood that I remember my teachers reading to my class.

 

I don't have my dd read along with the audiobook, but I have thought of doing so. I recently downloaded a text-to-speech app that I would like to try out with her. I usually play audiobooks when she is playing or working on an artsy activity. She also has the option of listening on the iPad with headphones, in the event that I just do not want to hear about Jack, Annie, and their friggin Magic Tree House again!lol

[Meadowlark]

Can someone tell me about audible and how it works in your home? I'll be honest, if it doesn't come with a CD, I don't know how to work it. We have one iPad in our house and that's it. Seriously, I need someone to spell it out for me and assume you're talking to a Kindergartener. How does it work? :-)

[IrishMum]

We use audiobooks. We started with them when my youngest was about 3, and we have gone throught 100s in the last 6 years. We listen at some meal times, and on long car journeys. Some highlights for us were How to Train your Dragon series, Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit, all listened to multiple times. I don't read aloud much now I just sit back and listen to the experts reading.

[Rosie_0801]

I wish I could find Arabic audio books that weren't theology!

[Hunter]

Can someone tell me about audible and how it works in your home? I'll be honest, if it doesn't come with a CD, I don't know how to work it. We have one iPad in our house and that's it. Seriously, I need someone to spell it out for me and assume you're talking to a Kindergartener. How does it work? :-)

 

 

Install the audible.com app on your iPad. Register, but do not sign up for a subscription unless you want to.

 

Go to the whispersync site

http://www.audible.com/mt/wfs/narrow?source_code=GO1DG904DWS090612&bp_ua=yes&mkwid=s32EW2A1x_dc&pcrid=32608124409&pmt=e&pkw=whispersync&gclid=CMCR86Dn470CFaVQOgodiDUAqQ

 

Click on "try a classic for 99 cents". "Buy" a free ebook. Then you will have the option to buy the audiobook version for 99 cents.

 

If you download kindle books from your library, you will be able to get the reduced price audiobooks, without even buying the ebook.

 

For subscriptions, usually the first month is free and you get a free credit. You can use the credit on almost any book, even $50.00 audio Bibles. I think after that, keeping the subscription is $14.95. If you tell them you can't afford that, they will offer you 3 months at $7 something each month, and you will get a free credit each month.

 

Cancel before they put you up to full price. At least once a year, sometimes after only 3 months, they will offer you another reduced rate 3 months. I have never paid full price, and I'm subscribed about 6 months of each year.

 

Even when you are not subscribed, you have access to all your books, all the time, on any device with an app on it. All the books are stored in the cloud, and you can just click on a title to download it to your device for offline listening.

 

I know this all sounds scary and overwhelming, but it's REALLY easy for anyone who has already done it. Do you have a friend that could help? My library does it for people.

 

RECAP:

 

Download app

Register but don't subscribe

"Buy" a free kindle book from the 99 cent page

Buy the 99 cent audio book

[bttrflyvld]

I have not read the responses of other people, so I hope I am not repetitive, but I can tell you that our Audible subscription is one of the best investments I have made in my kids' and my education! My daughter can read well, but would much, much rather listen. She has listened to so much good literature!

 

She will be 9 in May, and we have had an Audible account for at least two years, and we use other sources of audio books as well. We have listened to abridged Dickens, Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables, Marguerite Henry books, all of Henry and Ribsy and Ramona (multiple times) all of the Chronicles of Narnia (so many times I've lost count), Around the World in 80 days, 39 Clues (we actually get these from the library), Story of the World multiple times, tons and tons of Jim Weiss, War Horse, PollyAnna, Swallows and Amazons,The Hobbit and LOTR...and there's more that I don't remember...

 

The cool thing about audiobooks, in my opinion, is that it elevates a child's working vocabulary and exposes them to complex stories that they are able to enjoy but might not be able to read on their own yet. I am amazed at what my children have learned from listening, and since we all enjoy it, we have something to do and to talk about together. 

 

So is audible where you purchase the audios or more borrowing like Overdrive?

[Hunter]

You purchase the right to use the audio. Kindle books are like that too. More and more often, we are buying the right to use, not the item itself, but often people don't know that. 

 

Most of the time you will be lulled into thinking you have bought your audiobooks, and will have them forever. It's easier just to think that, and go along with the way things are.

 

But, I have had books disappear, especially some of the free whispersync books that were given away for free when whispersync was brand new.

 

And I don't know about audible, but with KIndle books, unless you turn off the automatic update, if an author edits a book, the book you are in the middle of reading gets edited. And that FREAKS me out. It's like George Orwell's 1984 on steroids!

[EmilyK]

http://www.audiobooksync.com/ is a nice resource for audios for older kids.

[Hedgehogs4]

With audible you can either listen from an app on a tablet or phone device, or  you can download your books in MP3 form. You own the books, not just the right to listen to them whenever you want. If you want to download them onto CD, you may.

[IsabelC]

We use a combination of audiobooks we own, loaners from the library, and ones from free online sources (eg as I type this, my kids are listening to Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator {vermicious knids! :D} on YouTube).

[Hunter]

I've been using audio books less than I was. I find it cumbersome, especially when I'm trying to listen along to text. Every time someone interrupts me, or there is something going on in my environment that I want to pay attention to, I need to turn off the audio.

 

I think I'm going to study more O-G rules on pronunciation and syllable division and review a syllabary, and try to become a better guesser at pronunciations.

[Jasperstone]

Audio books play a huge part of our homeschooling. My dc have enjoyed: Elsie Dinsmore, Secret Seven and Famous Five, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Tale of Despereaux, Winn Dixie, Pooh House,  Little House on the Prairie, Left Shoe, All in a Kind Family, plus hundreds more!

 

I believe my dd has gotten her skills in creative language though the exposure that the audio books have provided.

 

If I had to narrow homeschooling down to four things it would be- Bible (KJV), English, Maths, and audio books! :laugh:

[Korrale]

We are huge audio book readers here. My son will sit and listen to Charlotte's Web it its entirety. We would never be able to afford book via audible. Instead we use the overdrive app in conjunction with my local library.

[mama27]

Can anyone link me to a good, cheap site to buy audio books already on cds? Because I don't Ipads, or pods, or apple things. I'm able to get on this computer and not do much else on it so I don't want to do mp3's and all that. lol

[Erin]

We love audios, too.   :)

 

We also do Overdrive, Audible.com (I refuse to admit how many we have in there!), CDs at our local library, and finally Librovox for all those old classics, totally free.  

DS giggled all the way through Tom Sawyer just a few weeks ago...  lol

 

Because of audios, Buck has decided he doesn't hate books (which is what he said for years), but rather just hates reading.  And even that has gotten to the point that if he only has to physically read a book once every couple of months, it's not quite so bad either.  

OTOH, he's decided he really likes good books, so long as he can listen to them.  

 

 

I listen to audios when I'm sewing, or building on our house, or doing dishes, etc, etc.  
Trap drives a truck so he always has a book going for when he's driving...

I've always been a book worm, but I really enjoy being able to get that much more "reading" in, even when I don't have time to just sit and do so.

[Targhee]

Haven't read all the comments, but here's what we do:

 

1. Make an longer audiobook more appealing than other choices (like listening in the car vs staring out the window, listening during quiet time vs having to lay on the bed bored, listening to an audiobook vs listening to siblings make noise)

 

2. Let them have something to do while listening - coloring, Legos, a fidgit toy, look at pictures (no words), etc

 

3. Get audiobooks of quality literature AND that are really well read/recorded (the reader makes a HUGE difference to the experience)

 

4. Stop the recording with a hook - leave them hanging and wanting more

[Targhee]

Sources - library, audible.com

 

Winnie the Pooh was a great one for my 4-6 yr olds. Also, short folk stories (no pictures) from Hugh Lupton, Jim Weiss' Greek Myths, and Roald Dahl stories

[shawthorne44]

Can anyone link me to a good, cheap site to buy audio books already on cds? Because I don't Ipads, or pods, or apple things. I'm able to get on this computer and not do much else on it so I don't want to do mp3's and all that. lol

 

I will sometimes pick them up used on Amazon.  I sometimes have to watch for a reasonable price.  

The mp3's aren't bad though.  I have an old Zen Plus mp3 player that is good with audiobooks.  Most mp3 players start each track at the beginning which is worthless when one track is a chapter.  

I like to use the CD's in the car.  I know I could buy a gizmo to broadcast the mp3 audio over the fm, or the cassette tape player (yes, my car is old).   But using the CD's is just so straight-forward.