'Tis the Season...for wondering what gifts to buy.  You want to get your kids something fun.  But you also want to sneak a little educational purpose in without them noticing.  Check out the new gizmo called Moonlite.  It's a story projector for your iPhone.


It's got all the right stuff.  It easily hooks up to technology - your iPhone.  It's also high interest.  Now, stay with me just a minute while we flash back to the 80s.  Insert time warp sounds here.....

Remember those old Viewmaster projectors? I got one of those when I was a kid and that was just the coolest.  Lay out the blankets and pillows, bring in the popcorn, turn off the lights, and shine that Viewmaster projector on the wall.  Instant movie.  But the best part for parents? It's got guilt-free educational purpose!


Ok, enough of the good old days.  Back to our holiday shopping dilemma.  Similar to the classic Viewmaster, Moonlite uses the flashlight of your phone and story "reels" to shine story scenes onto the wall in a darkened room.
In addition to the pictures, Moonlite also shows the text of the story on your phone screen and gives you the option to add sound effects by clicking on key words.  Neat-o!


You see, whether you opt for low tech View-master or new tech Moonlite, these gadgets help kids build what Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) call Story Grammar.  Story grammar simply refers to the components of a story.  At school, kids learn that a story has a beginning, middle, and an end.  We can break stories down a bit further into more specific elements like character, setting, problem, feelings about the problem, attempts to solve a problem, and conclusion.  In order for kids to have good comprehension they need to have an understanding that stories are built with these parts and the parts usually follow some kind of sequence.

Parents can use Moonlite to share stories at bedtime.  Read the story with your children.  Sharing a story together builds positive vibes about reading.  Then, the next time your child chooses to "watch" the same story, ask them to be the "storyteller."  Instead of you reading the book, let them retell the story by using the pictures they see as the prompts.  This strategy allows your child to practice the components of story grammar and build comprehension skills.  So, gather up the blankets and popcorn!  Consider investing in story telling toys like Viewmaster or Moonlite this holiday season.

View-master
Moonlite
     

Comments

  1. UnknownJanuary 7, 2018 at 6:09 PM

    Very cool! I might just switch to working with young kids just to get to use it! Great way to bring back some quality time using technology.

    ReplyDelete

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