Once our children reach the age where they can read on their own, what is the best way to encourage them to become independent readers? Watch this episode and learn along with Paige and Gretchen as author and reading expert Erica Perl shares some great tips and tricks for encouraging your independent readers. Check out Erica’s own delightful new book, Ninety Three in My Family then visit our Facebook page and let us know what you think!

They say that this generation of children will be less literate than the generation before. As part of MommyCast’s ongoing series on eduction, Paige and Gretchen address their personal concerns with this literacy issue and discuss some ways they believe it can be improved. After the episode stick around and view the trailer for the new documentary film “The Lottery” Be sure to tell us what you think.

In this episode Paige and Gretchen literally dive into the interactive website, Disney Digital Books. Watch as they walk through the different features on the site and illustrate how simple it is for children and parents to use. Improving childhood literacy is something that MommyCast is dedicated to and its it interactive reading sites like Disney Digital Books that can help really help. Take a look and let us know what you think!

As a part of MommyCast’s ongoing series on education this episode is dedicated to the subject of childhood literacy. Improving your child’s literacy skills is a very important goal for a parent and luckily there are many tools out there that can help. Paige and Gretchen sit down with Gail Lovely, literacy and technology specialist, to discuss some of the programs available. One such website is Disney Digital Books. This site offers many tools and games that will not only help your children read and write, but get them excited about learning in general. Stay tuned because in the coming weeks MommyCast will be reviewing this site even further.

Watch Paige and Gretchen literally dive into the interactive website, Disney Digital Books in the video below.

Has it only been 100? Paige and Gretchen celebrate this milestone by looking back on the last 99 episodes. Watch as they talk about their favorite moments and what they look forward to in the next 100 episodes!

Click here to view the infamous story about Paige and Gretchen’s trip to Atlanta. You won’t be disappointed!

Reading is a great activity to do with your children, and it has been shown to assist with a child’s educational development if you start reading with them at an early age. As we all know though getting kids excited about reading time is not an easy task, which is why Paige and Gretchen invited author and reading expert, Erica Perl, to share some of her tips on inspiring young readers. Check out Erica’s own delightful new book, Ninety Three in my Family. We know you’ll enjoy it!

We all know reading with our children is imperative to their development, and happily book stores and libraries are overflowing with choices. So Paige and Gretchen are checking in with Erica Perl, author and reading expert, to get her advice on how to pick great books to read with your 3-5 year old. Her ideas include looking for books that are concise and well written, have fun and engaging characters, and are visually interesting. Try to find books that you enjoy too, since you may well be reading them many, many times!

Bob Smith, a school based technology specialist, gave Gretchen and Paige the run down on keeping kids protected when they’re on the computer. His number one rule? Communication! Bob says the best way to protect kids is to talk to them about what they’re doing. Let them know you care enough to check where they’ve been and who they’ve been talking to on the computer. Watch the show for more ideas on keeping kids safe, and then share how you monitor your kids’ computer use on Mommycast.com. We’d love to hear from you!

Every parent wonders if their child’s development is “normal” at some point (or many) in their child’s life. It’s helpful to know what developmental milestones your child should be reaching at each age. Gretchen and Paige talked with Anne Dolin, author and educational specialist, about milestones in reading, speech, and comprehension. For more help and information on child development, we like the book How is My First Grader Doing in School?: What to Expect and How to Help, by Jennifer Jacobson and the other books in the series. You can also click here and here for more great information.

Adding to their audio show, the mommies show you a sample of what MommyCast Videos will bring you. It’s fun. It’s educational. It’s MommyCast Videos!