How do I get my kids more into the News?

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I spent a lot of time talking to parents about how to protect their children from watching the News when it is on a constant loop of disasters or bad, negative stories.

But as children grow up and mature they need to be more aware of the wider world around them so I read with interest an article on Cool Mom Tech on the very interesting Blog Her website.

Here’ s the review of a new app – to engage and encourage kids to get involved in the News in a kids friendly way!

I review a lot of apps for kids and thus, am inundated with spinning,  whirling, jumping, and shrieking characters/animals/aliens on my iPad. But once  in a while, an app comes along that makes me breathe a sigh of “well, finally.”  Such is the case with a ingenious app that condenses the daily news of the world  and delivers it in perfectly kid-digestible form.

News-o-Matic news app for kids on Cool Mom Tech

 

News-o-Matic  from the young company, Press4Kids is a daily iPad newspaper app (6.0  or later for  now) for young readers, aged 7 to 10. Developed by actual journalists and   educators with the help of a child psychologist–a good sign right  there–News-o-Matic’s mission  is two-fold: to inspire a daily reading habit and  engage kids in what  happening in the news, science, sports and the arts in a  safe and  empowering way.

Colorful and fun, with eye-popping graphics and sound  effects, your  elementary school child can choose from 5 top stories that  not only give  information, but invite reaction and interaction.

Each  story has a “fact” button with additional facts, an “act” button that   gives actionable ideas, and a “Go there” button that shows a map of the  globe  and a “You Are Here” indicator and cool tidbits like how far it is  to the  source of the story and how long it would take to drive there. So clever.
Also, News-o-Matic happens to be ad-free which I love. The downside of  that: subscription cost. It’s on par with an adult publication (Weekly $1.99,   Monthly $6.99, Yearly $49.99), but for such an invaluable tool, I’d pay  that in  a heartbeat if you’ve got a real news junkie in the family.However you do get a  three-issue free trial

There’s also a free version of News-O-Matic just for classroom teachers  should you want to pass that info along to your school. And to think we used to  come home covered in ink from the local papers after social studies classes.  –Shari

Read more about the News-o-Matic app for the iPad at Press4Kids and get  your free trial or subscribe at the App Store.

Read more:  http://www.coolmomtech.com/2013/03/news-o-matic-interactive-news-app.php#ixzz2OaQdNQTJ

 

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