October 21st, 2009
Have you ever considered making your own books on tape for your kids? While it’s certainly no substitute for reading to your children, if you’ve got a young child who is an auditory learner, creating books on tape is a great way to feed his or her insatiable appetite for having books read to him or her.
Making your own audio book is easy — here’s all you need to get started.
- one or more age-appropriate children’s books. You can choose from your child’s favorites, or even new stories he/she hasn’t heard yet. This is also a great opportunity to record longer books that may not be suitable for bedtime stories.
- a recording device. Many discount stores and office supply stores carry a variety of hand-held recording devices, or you can even use a built-in or plug-in microphone on your computer or laptop. Alternatively, services like AudioAcrobat.com feature easy ways to capture your voice into an MP3 using any telephone.
- a glass of water. It’s a good idea to have some water handy, as your mouth or throat may become dry during long periods of speaking and reading.
- a blank audio CD or a child’s MP3 player. Depending on the age, maturity and physical skill level of your child, you might want to choose an inexpensive or kid-friendly MP3 player with or without headphones for your child. Alternatively, you can burn your audios to CD and assist your child in using a CD player with or without headphones.
Once you try it, you are sure to love it and your children will appreciate having their very own audio books to use whenever they like. (You even might find a lessened demand for television once your kids get used to using their audiobooks!)
Enjoy it and have fun! Got great ideas for family fun? Post them here as a comment — thanks!
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