This listening center is a MUST have for your home if you have little ones that enjoy reading or being read to!
The best part about it is that you can DIY it since you probably already have all the items lying around your home. Plus, if you’re a non techie like me, you’ll find the steps pretty easy to follow!
Below you will find how I created the perfect listening center for our home. Keep in mind there are tons of different ways to go about this, so you can definitely modify it to fit your child’s needs.
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In Action
Materials
- Books- you can use any books that you have in your home library or you can order some online. These Disney Busy Books are some of our favorites as they come with little figurines that our babes love. Touch and Feel books like these are also always a hit around here.
- Tablet like this one or your own cellphone.We ended up using my husband’s old iPad since he no longer uses it, so make sure you first look for any old device you may have around the house
- Headphones like these are optional but definitely come in handy
- storage will be up to you, whether you opt for something aesthetically pleasing like this book bin, or just a regular plastic cubby, it’s ok!
Instructions
Remember the part about me not being tech savvy? Well, bear with me as we go through these instructions. If anything seems unclear, feel free to comment or shoot me a message. Here we go!
- Record yourself reading a book. You can use any recording app on your phone. My little ones are toddlers, so an extra step I had to take was to record a beeping sound every time it was time to turn the page, that way Damian knows to do that as he follows along.
- Upload your recording to GoogleDrive or anywhere else that you save your media and documents. You can stop here and have your kids visit your audio library there or you can take it a step further like I did.
- Create a QR code for each audio linking it back to your GoogleDrive file. You can visit any free website online to create these QR codes in just a couple minutes
- Print and tape the QR codes to the back of the books.
- Set up the listening center and practice with your little one. PATIENCE is key. Some little ones are fantastic with finding their way with electronics, while others require a little more assistance. Damian got the hang of scanning the codes pretty quickly! Depending on your device, you can scan using your camera directly, or you may have to download an app to scan.
Damian Scanning the QR Code
Following Along
Books With Figurines
Final Thoughts
So what do you think Mami? Pretty simple, specially if you already have all the materials. Creating the QR codes will be a learning experience if you haven’t experimented with them before, but once you get the hang of it, they’re pretty easy to manipulate!
I’m sure your little ones will enjoy and love this listening center just as much as mine have!
Remember to send me a message if you have any questions. I am more than glad to help!
Talk soon!
My Ko-fi button
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It’s so cool to see how technology has changed. I remember listening to records that went along with books when I was little, and it was my favorite activity. How much cooler would it have been to hear my mom read it through the headphones! Thanks for the tutorial. I will pass it along to my daughter for her kids.
Agreed! Listening center back in school was also one of my fave activities and it played a huge role in me learning how to speak English!
What a neat idea! Maybe one of these days I’ll find the motivation to create a listening center for my girls. I bet it would be a huge hit!
I would have never thought of recording myself reading a book so they could come back to it independently! What a great idea!
yes! It was a favorite in my classroom, so I had to make our home version one!