Greathall Productions

Some of our favorite purchases from this year's homeschool conference were audio Cd's by storyteller Jim Weiss of Greathall Productions.

We drive 45 minutes each direction to Jazzy's ballet lesson every Monday. Last week, we tried out Mr. Weiss' Tell Me a Story! which features classic fairy tales. My children listened intently (and best of all, quietly) the entire ride.

We were right in the middle of the story Rumpelstiltskin when we reached ballet class. Andrew begged me leave the car running until the story was finished, and I admit I didn't want to turn it off either.

I unhooked Isaiah and let him sit in my lap as we listened. At the end of the story, just as the woman tells the little man she knows his name is Rumplestiltskin, Isaiah pushed one of the radio control buttons on the steering wheel which caused the CD to jump back to the beginning. Andrew thoroughly harassed me until that afternoon when we could listen to the entire story again in order to hear the last 30 seconds.

We found more of Jim Weiss' recordings at our local library, and we've since listened to American Tall Tales, Tales from the Old Testament, and Giants! A Collection of Tales and Tunes. So far Tell Me a Story! and Giants! are our favorites. After listening to the latter, even my 16 month old was saying, "HOW dya do?"

Andrew is a strong visual learner, and audiobooks and stories are great for strengthening auditory skills. They are also helpful for homeschooling on the road.

We've also been enjoying Usborne's CD packs, which include lively music, sound effects and an accompanying illustrated book. So far, Gulliver's Travels is our favorite. I'm not sure Andrew would admit it, but we all really enjoyed The Princess and the Pea.