OT(kind of): Kids and tablets

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  • Misty
    Participant

    Ok so I have 2 girls. An almost 6 yr old who can read basics, and is starting to learn addition.  Also, a 4 yr old who only knows shapes, colors, letters and numbers.  I keep seeing all these tablets popping up in the black Friday ads and they are all over in price and what nots.  1st off I’m not looking for a ‘toy’ per say.  I want something I can either put good educational games on or that are pre-programed.  I don’t know if that means a ‘toy’ type tablet meant for kids or if that means something else.

    I have an iPad that we all share, so I’m not looking for that type of thing. I’m looking for something that I don’t have to have them sitting at my feet to use.  Does anyone have any of these for there kids?  What ages are they good for?  Do you feel like it was a good purchase?

    Thanks for the help Misty

    LindseyD
    Participant

    Our kids each have a basic Kindle. We have disabled the Wifi, and they can only use it for reading. I’m sure you could put games on it, but we don’t do video games. If they want to play an educational app, they use my iPad, which is rare. We bought their Kindles for $50, and they’ve been worth every penny. Perfect for car trips or nighttime reading. Lots of free books to download as well, which makes it a very frugal option. I have two voracious readers, so it’s perfect for us. I’m not sure what the basic Kindle’s capabilities are, since we only use them for reading. I absolutely would not buy my children their own iPad at this point. Too expensive and too many things that they can access that I might not be able to control. 

    MissusLeata
    Participant

    My kids are 7, 5, 3, and 1. I occassionally feel tempted to buy them an ipad, but whenever my mom comes to visit and brings hers, the kids (especially my oldest) becomes completely attached to it and his behavior is affected. I would rather they play outside and learn to read and do math the old fashioned way. 

    Misty
    Participant

    I totally agree MiisusLeata about being outside etc.  We do live in MN and we can be stuck inside for stretches of time and if we go anywhere it takes an hour or so.  I like our iPad and I can limit the time which works great, but sometimes I just think it would be nice to have two of something like that, but can’t afford an iPad (ours was a gift).

    Lindsey- any good books for beginner readers for the kindle?  I would love suggestions!  As I have one but have never used it, I ready all my books on my iPad but would be willing to let my daughter use the kindle unsupervised once she learned how to do it.

    LindseyD
    Participant

    Ambleside Online has listed many free Kindle books. Lots of classics are free or $.99. All of Arthur Scott Bailey’s “Tale of …” Books are free. I believe Thornton Burgess’s books are too. We bought the entire Wizard of Oz series for very little, $.99 if I remember correctly.

    Our kids know how to download books by themselves, and my husband receives an email each time a book is downloaded so we know exactly what they have. They don’t have access to download books that aren’t free.

    MissusLeata
    Participant

    Your kids are so young that I don’t see how reading on the kindle would really work unless you got books that read aloud. If you had a tablet that had the capability to do things like Reading Eggs, Starfall or ABC Mouse, you could have them learn to read on it. I live in TX where playing outside is usually an option, but if you have to stay in for months, I totally get trying to find something to kee them busy. 

Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
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