A teacher told me
that when she has her first parent meeting she tells the parents that every child in her room needs a laptop – two laptops if possible. These are not the kind of laptops that you plug in. These are the kind of laptops that come with two knees and are just right for reading,
talking, singing, and loving!
It's really sad that some children don't have that kind of laptop at home. And I haven't seen the importance of lap reading in any state standards. However, MaryAnn Wolfe and other top reading researchers in our country will tell you that is critical to learning to read.
Never put worksheets or technology above sitting with your children and enjoying a REAL book! One teacher said that she had a hard copy of a Curious George book and a copy of the same book on her electronic reader. She encouraged her students to compare and contrast the different formats, which I thought was brilliant. And, guess what! They overwhelming agreed that the real book was hands down the best! See how smart children are!