Once Upon A Time...

Do you read a book at the end of each day to your kids?  We always do, but sometimes you are too tired, losing your voice, or coughing up a storm to read a book.  So lately, I would put a "book on video" for the kids.  I stumbled upon this awesome website called Storyline Online.

This website was created by the Screen Actors Guild Foundation and a SAG member/actor reads a children's picture book aloud.  I love this website because not only does it provides a YouTube link of the actor reading the book, it shows the pictures of the pages ("Reading Rainbow" style), gives related activities for teachers and parents, and a short bio about the actors, writers, and illustrators.  Another great use of this website is if you need something to fill extra time, this is perfect because under each book, it shows you how long the movie is.  Some are short like 5 minutes and others are long like 15 minutes. The best part about this website and videos is that it is all free!

If you school blocks YouTube, don't worry because they also provide the same videos on SchoolTube.

Today we watched Stellaluna. Here's the video and link if you want to check it out yourself.

Some of my favorite stories from this site are:
Harry, The Dirty Dog- Bette White
Thank You, Mr. Falker- Jane Kaczmerak
A Bad Case Of Stripes- Sean Astin
Someone Loves You, Mr. Hatch- Hector Elizondo
Me and My Cat- Elijah Wood

My kids love watching and listening to these stories.  They always clap and cheer with the movie is over.  This is great to show off the SmartBoard, computers, etc.  I guarantee these videos will be a hit in your classroom!  Let me know what you and your kiddos think!