We got the idea for smories.com during an extremely long journey in a very dirty Land Rover from the Kalahari desert in Botswana to Cape Town in South Africa in February last year.
Our daughter (8) had the idea to film herself with our ipod reading Enid Blyton short stories, and then play them back to her younger sister (6). This kept them entertained for hours.
Our kids have always loved reading to each other and are transfixed when other children read them stories. They are also obsessed with the internet and will make their way to youtube any time they get their hands on a computer.
We thought a website that had a continuous flow of new stories, read aloud by kids, would make a healthier destination than so much of the stuff out there. Imagine you’re stuck in traffic and need to keep a miniature person entertained in the back. Access a playlist of smories stories from your i-phone and voila…
Once we had the idea for a site that publishes stories for kids read by kids, we also thought it would be a great unthreatening forum for showcasing unpublished stories. This allows writers to test their work in a straightforward and transparent way, hopefully giving them exposure which they might otherwise not have received.
- Lisa Swerling & Ralph Lazar
Book-it and Suessville have teamed up to do a live read-aloud story time with Tim Tebow. Tim Tebow will be live in a webcast reading Dr. Seuss classic, Green Eggs and Ham On February 15, 2012,. I am sure for Colorado kids this will be huge since Tim Tebow plays for the Broncos. Tons of cool printables like coloring pages, bookmarks, graphing activities, green activities, games and more. So take a look and to get your students excited for Feb. 15th.
We Give Books is a new digital initiative that enables anyone with access to the Internet to put books in the hands of children who don’t have them, simply by reading online.
We Give Books combines the joy of reading with the power of helping others, providing a platform for caregivers and educators to inspire children to become lifelong readers and lifelong givers.
We Give Books also helps some of the world’s best, most inspiring, literacy organizations by spreading the word about their great work and by providing books to the young people these organizations support.
How it works
We Give Books is a free website that enables anyone with access to the Internet to put books in the hands of children who don’t have them, simply by reading online.
Simply choose the charity you want to read for and then select the books you want to read. For each book you read online, we donate a book to a leading literacy group on your behalf.
The more you read, the more we give.
Remix a fairytale: Remix lets you change a story! Have a go and see if you can make a silly fairytale. Will your story be even better? Have fun!
Fro Teachers:
These well-loved and widely known fairytales are ideal for introducing young children to the power and excitement of stories. The language is simple and repetitive, and the humorous, detailed illustrations will draw children into the tales and hold their attention.
Story work with Read it yourself will enable you to address the early learning goals of attentive listening, confident response to stories, vocabulary extension, and understanding. Also, we know that children who love stories will come to love reading, making them satisfied and confident young readers.
Sixth-grade teacher Ryan Kinser describes how virtual book clubs can be a simple, enjoyable way to interest students in reading and offers several tips for teachers interested in adding them to the curriculum. He recommends teachers determine the role of the clubs in lessons, the inclusion of students without home Internet access and the guidelines of participation. Kinser also suggests reaching out to parents and letting students guide the club. Education Week Teacher
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