The Easter Story: Presented By MagicBlox

By Eric L. Zielinski, MagicBlox Staff Writer

With all the excitement about chocolate bunnies and finding candy-filled eggs this time of year, don’t forget to share with your kids the REAL meaning behind the Easter Holiday

Yet another Twin Sisters classic, the last week of Jesus’ life is masterfully retold in simple-to-understand language and beautifully choreographed illustrations that your beginning readers are sure to love!

Movie Night With MagicBlox

One of the special features of this book is that it is narrated, and your kids will want to read (and reread it) again and again! Just last night, I put my kids to bed, turned off the lights and set up a (very abbreviated!) movie night with The Easter Story right before they went to sleep. My son played “sleep over” with his older sister on her bed and for a few minutes they took turns pressing the “next” button on the keyboard to move the story along. Just one of my favorite features of the MagicBlox library my kids were engaged, excited to read, and they wanted to hear the story over and over again!

Embrace The Moments For THEIR Benefit

To be honest, I was pretty tired last night and was tempted to skip story time. Knowing what I know, however, I try not to ignore the “little moments.” What’s it going to hurt to spend 5 extra minutes and let my kids choose a story out of THEIR MagicBlox library? Truth is, research has shown that spending the “extra 5 minutes” reading with our children before bedtime has absolutely no side effects and can only help build our relationships and strengthen their learning skills!

Did you know that, according to Kansas State University Research and Extension, “Reading with your child is the key to building a child’s literacy skills?” Yep! And to maximize your time with them, they suggest that you do the following:

1.     Read WITH your children, not AT them.

2.     Get your children excited about reading.

3.     Engage your children by encouraging them to think outside the pages of the book.

4.     Engage your children by asking them questions and providing examples related to the book.

Bradford Wiles, an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in early childhood development at Kansas State University, has focused on these very things for most of his career.

"Children start learning to read long before they can ever say words or form sentences.” Wiles says, “My focus is on helping parents read with their children and extending what happens when you read with them and they become engaged in the story.”

From the research, it has been discovered that reading TO our children is just the beginning. We must remember to read WITH them! By getting them involved at an early age (even if it’s just having them press the “next” bottom on MagicBlox), they start to become active in the story process and begin to build literacy skills.

"There are always opportunities for you both to learn," Wiles states, "and it creates a family connection. Learning is unbelievably powerful in early childhood development."

Have a Blessed Easter Holiday everyone and happy reading!

Sources

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130912112736.htm