Back to school with book apps

By now the children are all back to school across the country.

They’re getting settled in their new classes with new teachers, reconnecting with old friends and making new ones. There will be new challenges as they overcome the summer brain drain and start filling their minds with exciting new lessons.

A fun way of re-enforcing their newly acquired reading skills on the week-ends are digital book apps. The multi sensory experience brings the reader into the story and soon they’ll be begging for more. This is music to any parent’s ears because let’s face it, they’re so many distractions these days that reading isn’t always their first choice.

I had this experience with my reluctant reader and it inspired me to dive into the magical world of digital book apps.

The app store and Google play is flooded with apps so it’s sometimes difficult for parents to know where to start and what to download.

Digital Storytime is a renowned and trusted source in both the literary and app world and they have recently released their top 25 list of book apps. They shine a light on educational apps that can become hidden in the app store so that’s where I would start. In fact I read their app reviews when researching for my sons apps and when writing for kids. I was more than thrilled when Grendel’s Great Escape was listed in their top 25 best stories for 2013. It is an honor for it to be noticed and placed alongside these other amazing books.

It’s also perfect timing because September is ADHD awareness month and the main character was inspired by a child with ADHD. He’s messy, disorganized, adventurous and a whole lot of fun.

Martin tackles the laundry monster

Download it and let me know what your kids think.

Digital Storytime’s Top 25 Best story books

Grendel’s Great Escape adventure story for iPad  Android

Sept book of the month: The survival guide for kids with ADD or ADHD

School’s back in session and my volunteer duties at the school have resumed. Now that I’m back in the library it’s the perfect time to resume the book of the month posts.

It’s ADHD awareness month so it’s only fitting that September’s book of the month is “Drumroll please”

The survival guide for kids with ADD or ADHD by John F. Taylor, Ph.D.

While stacking books in the library, this book caught my eye. It’s red binding literally pops out amongst the other books and boy was it a great find.

This survival guide is a must read for kids, it’s interesting and written in a way that will make sense to any age group. I borrowed it from the library to gain insight into my sons world and to coax him to reading it. It’s full of great advice including being upfront and descriptive with your doctor when asked if a particular course of treatment is effective or not.

How to take responsibility and dealing with the ramifications of your actions. Learning how to compromise with the other family members and positive ways of dealing with situations. It teaches without preaching and has too many AHA moments to count.

This gem not only benefits the child with ADHD but it helps bring the other siblings and adults in the household into their world as well. Understanding is half the battle so if you have or know someone with ADHD, then this book is the one to read.

My other post at Midlife mum on Living with my ADHD child is worth the read.

The Grendel’s Great Escape children’s digital story is an adventure for all kids inspired by an ADHD child.