We place a huge importance on reading in our home. Over the past year, we have become more unplugged and in-turn, we have been more hands-on in our parenting approach. The benefits for our entire family have been and continue to be, priceless.
We {gasp} adios'd the tablets and handheld gaming systems about a year ago and never looked back. If you could only see the HUGE difference in our children's demeanor's, you would understand that it really was and is, for the best. Building a foundation for our children that is rich in knowledge and hands on activity / physical activity is what they thrive on (just as we did as children). It's developmentally necessary for our children to develop their critical thinking skills through play and hands-on learning experiences, first and foremost. Even with all of the amazing advancements in technology, we limit our children to 30-60 minutes of screen time a day.
One of the big changes that took place for us as we unplugged from the tether of technology, is that we now only read "real" books (bye-bye e-readers/tablets).
There's just something about the feel of a real book in your hands - it's completely unmatched by the e-reader/iPad experience, in my opinion. And bonus: it's better for your vision!
We have been reading a ton this Summer and we recently introduced our youngest little guy to some fun touch and feel board books and picture cards, by DK Publishing.
Our older two love getting down on the floor with the baby to read to him and it's been a blast watching him discover new thing's and different textures in Baby Touch and Feel Farm, Touch and feel Dinosaur (he gets a kick out of the sticky Dinosaur tongue - he laughs every time!), and Touch and Feel Sophie and Friends.
Each page offers a new sensory experience for little ones to explore, with corresponding images and textures.
At 6 month's old (tomorrow!) - our little guy has become a big fan of Peek-a-Boo so, naturally Pop-up Peekaboo Bedtime (with hidden pop-up surprises behind each flap) is a hit! He's also all boy and he LOVES trucks and cars! Pretty much anything with wheels catches his eye and ignites a gleeful response these days. Being as such, DK's Trucks and Diggers grabs his attention each and every time. With fun pictures of every kind of truck/utility machine/digger you can possibly imagine, this book can capture his attention for a good ten minutes+ - which is eons at this age!
We recently introduced our little guy to DK My First Animals Touch and Feel Picture Cards too, and he absolutely LOVES them! Each card is sturdily constructed and has facts for the kids to read to him, along with a large brightly colored image and corresponding texture for him to touch and explore.
We love how sturdy these books and picture cards are. Little ones can't rip the pages of these books and they'll withstand a considerable amount of drool too! DK Board Books and Picture Cards are perfectly constructed with little ones in mind.
Check out these fun titles from DK (for ages birth - 3 yrs.):
- Touch and Feel: Sophie la girafe®: Sophie and Friends ($6.99)
- Sophie la girafe® has been a favorite brand among moms all over the world since the high-end rubber baby teether debuted in France in 1961. In this Touch and Feel book, babies can touch soft, shiny and bumpy textures while meeting Sophie and her friends.
- Baby Touch and Feel: Farm ($5.99)
- Baby Touch and Feel books capture the attention of the very youngest children and create an experience they’ll want to repeat. Simple, colorful images and large font labels encourage recognition skills, while padded covers with rounded corners make these books safe for baby.
- Touch and Feel: Dinosaur ($6.99)
- Touch and Feel books encourage preschool learning through exploration of various topics such as animals, numbers and letters, and feature novelty textures and colorful images that promote hand-on playtime.
- My First Trucks and Diggers
- My First Tabbed Board Books will keep toddlers interested and enthusiastic about reading with 13 easy-grip picture tabs to help little fingers turn to fun-filled, colorful pages with imaginative photographic designs.
- My First Touch and Feel Picture Cards: Animals ($9.99)
- My First Touch and Feel Picture Cards each include 16 colorful picture cards with bright photographs and textures to help toddlers develop early language skills. The included parent guide provides creative learning games to play with children.
- Pop-Up Peekaboo: Bedtime ($9.99)
- Exciting Pop-Up Peekaboo books promote parent and child interaction, memory and imagination, while hands-on play makes learning fun.
I told you guys - my older two love to read! Just check out all of the books that they have read so far this summer (4,000 + pages between them)! I definitely attribute their love of books to an early introduction to reading.
*Disclosure: Samples were received for review purposes. All opinions expressed are our own.
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