Bedtime… Rosie is saying her prayers…
Rosie: Â God bless Mommy. Â God bless Daddy. Â God bless Grandma. Â God bless Grandpa. Â God bless my teacher. Â God bless Brynn. Â God bless Aunt Carol. Â God bless Uncle Fred. Â (insert many more) Â God bless the lady in the lunchroom. Â God bless the dog next door.
(okay, that’s just going too far)
Mommy: Â Okay, Rosie, time to go to sleep.
Rosie: Â Night, night, God! Â Well, I mean, I know you don’t go to sleep God. Â Wow, you must get really tired. Â I hope you get a nap tomorrow.
This lovely moment was prompted by a Barenstain Bear story Maya read on my iPhone! Â Mama and Papa Bear fall asleep while the list of “God Blesses” goes on and on and on.
I love, love, love the Barenstain Bear apps. Â Rosie will sit for the longest time, listening and interacting with stories about the Barenstain Bear family. Â You may have seen the animated show on television or read books. Â Now the fun and meaningful stories are available in mobile form to upload on your iPhone.
There are three modes available for each story. Â “Read to Me”, “Read It Myself”, and “Auto Play”. Â The controls to turn the pages, move through the story, touch the pictures for more info are very intuitive and Rosie picked it up quickly. Â In the “Read to Me” mode, the word that the reader is saying is highlighting as a teaching tool for children to follow along. Â There are background sounds, for example, as Brother Bear plays basketball, you hear a ball bouncing.
Rosie has listened to/read three stories and loves them all. Â She played the first one about two weeks ago, and picks it up again every few days. Â It has survived the “go back” test!
Oceanhouse Media has developed these apps and more for children. Â Great titles like Doctor Suess, Five Little Monkeys, Once Upon a Potty (love that one!) are just some of the offerings. Â Oceanhouse Media, Inc. is a leading publisher of more than 255 apps for iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch), Android and NOOK Color devices.