Can MP3s and Ipods improve your children’s reading comprehension and speed? Can it help same you time teaching and story reading? Here are 7 reasons to use MP3 in your homeschool including listening to the classics, homeschool software , improving reading, Bible study, where to get FREE downloads, and more.

• Free Books: Overdrive and NetLibrary offer free books online. These are simply the best resources I’ve seen in twenty years of homeschooling! All you need is a library card number and computer to open the door to the world of classics. But to really take advantage you should have an mp3 Player. To download the free books you have to use a  compatible player. (iPods will not download freebies from the online libraries.)
• Save Time: You can listen to Christian classics or fiction while you do housework, barn work, walk, in the car, doctor’s office, in bed, etc. I just finished listening to Believing God by Beth Moore (excellent!) while doing yard work.
• Story Time: Children’s audio books are great. As I write this post I am downloading The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew for my boys to listen to today. I bought a cheap set of speakers from Walmart ($10) for the mp3 and now, instead of me reading aloud, we listen to the story together. I have the speakers in my bedroom so we can crawl into bed for story time. We will continue to have our read aloud time but all the classics are available on audio so why not take a break once in a while and let someone else do the reading. See sample books available here and below.
• Memorization: Allow children to listen to learning song to memorize Scripture, math facts, foreign language,  and more.
• Help Reluctant Readers: Improve basic reading skills and reading comprehension by pairing books with audio books. This will increase their word recognition and improve fluency.
• Record Audio Books: Many mp3 players have record options. Let your child make his own audio book. Have him read into the recorder. Research has indicated that as your child listens to himself and hears his own reading becoming better, his skills will likely improve.
• Educational Software: There is homeschool software available for the MP3 and iPod from kindergarten to high school math and the preparation for SATs.

Sample of Free Books Available

I listed a sampling of downloadable books in another post and below are some more of my recommendations from Overdrive. Browse the site for many more

Important Notes: The list below is just to give you an idea of available books. These are from my library. You need a library card (click through to sign in to your library). Some books are only available for 14 days- (but you can get several at a time and go back for more when you are finished).  Many books you can download to CD or MP3 and keep forever (they are marked).

		The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
		Following its initial appearance in serial form, Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage was published as a complete work in 1895 and quickly became the benchmark for modern antiwar…

		Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
		Next to The Bible, The Pilgrim’s Progress has probably been more widely read than any other book in the English language-and rightfully so. It is considered by most critics as the…

		Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
		Called “the greatest novel ever written” by Malcolm Muggeridge, Pride and Prejudice captures the affections of class-conscious 18th-century English families with matrimonial aims and rivalries….

		Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
		In this spirited and romantic saga, a young heir named David Balfour meets his miserly uncle Ebenezer, who has illegally taken control of the Balfour estate. Ebenezer kidnaps David and plots to have…

		The Problem of Pain by C. S. Lewis
		For centuries, Christians have been tormented by one question above all: “If God is good and all powerful, why does he allow his creatures to suffer pain?” C.S. Lewis sets out to disentangle this…

		In His Steps by by Charles Sheldon
		An all-time best-seller, this timeless classic, written at the turn of century, has blessed millions of people who have asked the vital question, “What does it really mean to be a Christian?” Sheldon,…

		Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
		Shipwrecked and cast ashore onto an uninhabited island, Robinson Crusoe ingeniously carves out a solitary, primitive existence for twenty-four years. Eventually, he meets a young native whom he…

		Amelia Earhart: Young Air Pioneer by Jane Moore Howe
		Did you know that Amelia Earhart built her own roller coaster before she was ten years old? And what do you suppose happened to her while she was exploring a spooky cave and sledding down a steep,…

		Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
		The treasured story of a courageous horse.

		The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
		After witnessing his father’s crucifixion by Roman soldiers, Daniel bar Jamin is fired by a single passion: to avenge his father’s death by driving the Roman legions from the land of Israel….

		Celebrate America by Twin Sisters Productions
		Original, fully orchestrated vocal arrangements of time-honored patriotic classics rich in history and tradition, tributes to those who defend our freedoms, and marches.

		Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
		For decades, E. B. White’s charming, bittersweet tales of friendship and adventure have enchanted audiences young and old alike. The magic of CHARLOTTE’S WEB comes to life in a delightful-and…

		Cheaper By the Dozen by by Frank B. Gilbreth
		Count ‘em—a dozen carrot topped, freckle-faced kids. Dad, a jovial optimist, successful inventor and efficiency expert is fond of doing his work at home. Mom, a psychologist, is busy putting…

		David Crockett by William Groneman III
		Perhaps no other figure in American history is more shrouded in myth and legend than David (“Davy”) Crockett, the Tennessee frontiersman whose death at the Alamo in 1836 ensured his place in the…

		Elsie Dinsmore by Martha Finley
		Book One in The Original Elsie ClassicsElsie Dinsmore is an endearing eight-year-old girl with several bewildering problems. She has never known her mother, who died when Elsie was a baby,…

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