Good thing my boss doesn’t read this, or I’d make her pretty mad. She’s got this classroom rating thing that says it would be good for children to have a listening center. Phewsh. (That’s a scoffing sound.) Have you ever seen classroom listening centers? They’re nothing like they seem in the catalogs. Headphones all a-tangle, the audio tapes that get destroyed by children jabbing at buttons you’ve told them not to jab, the actual machine being jabbed beyond tolerance, books ripping, cats eating dogs. It’s mayhem, I tell you, mayhem.
Being the rebellious type that I am, I decided to go ahead and have a listening center….. my way – the ‘re-inventing the wheel, gadgety, too complicated’ way. (Mind you, I should say that at no point did she actually say that I had to have a listening center. She was quite gracious and understanding in hearing my grievances.)
I have the recording program Garage Band on the iMac, and in addition to recording requiems, turns out I can read a story¿ add some background music, and put it on my Shuffle. A couple of cheap headphones from Wal-Mart, and we’re good to go. I think they could swallow the Shuffle and it would survive.
Brad says
You should slip subliminal messages in…
“Peter Rabbit went down the (Obey Mrs. Sommerer!) bunny trail.”
Deanne says
Lauren is my new favorite teacher!! You rock, putting stories on the shuffle!!
Peggy says
“There was a young lad who swallowed a shuffle,
I don’t know why he swallowed a shuffle,
Perhaps he’ll die.”
(sorry … but it’s gloomy here)
Annette says
Ahhhh!!!! The spoils of reverse psychology!
Rosalynn Carter says
A leader takes people where they want to go.
A GREAT leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.
Rosalynn Carter
The Real Rosalyn says
“I am full of it.”
Lauren says
Has no one found the surprise yet? Not the Shuffle -- something else.
Laura Numeroff says
I found it!!!
It’s what “Lauren’s Do Best!”
Kristi says
That’s awesome! The way you say, “Turn the page.” is just so sweet. It’s much more pleasant than that awful noise in other recordings. It always reminded me of the hearing test from the school nurse, “Raise your hand when you hear a sound.”
Peggy says
That’s awesome! But that little thingamajig wasn’t there this morning. It will be my bedtime story tonight. I haven’t had someone read to me since forever!
Kristi says
Sorry, Peggy. I didn’t mean to plagiarize your opening comment. Oops.
Peggy says
Not all mommies can help “you make the garden grow”. 🙁 But some can make some really cool obstacle courses indoors.
Can’t you please finish the book, and then do the flip one.