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Home / Early Learning / Literacy / Technology in Preschool with the Kurio XTreme

Technology in Preschool with the Kurio XTreme

Shared by Mary Catherine 111 Comments

technology in preschool with kid made photo books
My preschool classroom is a play-based one, meaning that the kiddos are learning through play and exploration. In my opinion, technology in preschool really needs to enhance the children’s learning experiences. So I’m very particular about what technological products come into the classroom! This post, sponsored by Kurio Xtreme, will show how my students and I integrated building, technology, and literacy. As mentioned above, this is a sponsored post. All opinions and thoughts are (as always) my own. Please read my disclosure for more detailed information.

 

Table of Contents

  • Technology in preschool with the Kurio Xtreme Tablet
  • Literacy and technology in preschool
  • More about the Kurio XTtreme Android Tablet
  • Done-for-You Preschool Resources

Technology in preschool with the Kurio Xtreme Tablet

technology in the classroom - Kurio xtreme used in the block center

My students, like many preschoolers, love the building center. They plan, create, and demolish every day. Our building area doubles as our circle time and meeting area. This means that the students can’t keep their structures up past center time, which can be a little upsetting. For the past few years, I’ve taken to snapping photos of structures and displaying them near the building center. The children love this, and they tend to ask me to take pictures when they’ve worked hard building. Since I can’t always be at the kids’ beck-and-call for photos, I brought the Kurio XTreme in. The tablet is made for children, so it’s durable and it comes with a protective bumper (we chose the blue one, since my son’s favorite color is blue and he’ll be using it at home). I showed the children how to work the Kurio’s camera, explained how to take care of it, and off we went! Let’s just say it was a hit with the preschoolers! I’m glad I established some ground rules for using the tablet so there weren’t too many problems taking turns with it. The boys and girls were so excited to capture their buildings using the camera!

using technology in preschool to make books
Taking a picture of me!

Of course, the kids spread out beyond the building center to snap photos! They took pictures of friends reading, friends sorting and exploring in the science center, their buds swinging outside, and even of younger siblings in the toddler room window. I had to laugh as I went through the hundreds (yes, hundreds!) of photos that were taken – there were photos of teachers making funny faces, special books, and even of their feet. In case you’re wondering, many of the pictures were indeed blurry – but a surprising number weren’t!

taking photos with technology in preschool
The photo on the right was taken by one of the kiddos in our science area.

Literacy and technology in preschool

At the end of the day, I loaded the photos onto my computer and chose a variety to use for a book entitled “Our Structures”. I love creating books with my students, as it makes literacy even more meaningful to them. Each photo was paired with a simple sentence – for example, “Isaac made a tower.” I’m going to mount each page on construction paper, laminate them, and turn them into a book for our reading center!

using technology in preschool to create a book about structures
The front cover of our class book about the kiddos’ structures!
encouraging kids to use technology in preschool to create books

I plan on getting the kiddos to help choose more photos to use in creating more books about our preschool day. I’m excited to see how the children build upon this over the course of the year! My son has already decided he’s going to use the Kurio’s camera, too. So far, he’s planning to create a LEGO structure book for the house. He’s also talking about using it to make a video of his artwork and structures. I may need to learn more about video editing in the near future!

More about the Kurio XTtreme Android Tablet

In addition to a front and rear camera, the Kurio comes with close to a hundred kid-appropriate e-books, apps, and games. My son and I were most interested in the motion games, as we’ve never seen that in a tablet before! The motion games seem like a great way to keep moving when stuck inside on rainy or snowy days. I also really like the parental controls – I can set them up to stop the Kurio after a certain amount of time, block apps and websites, turn off wifi access, etc. The tablet also has an internet filtering system that ensures kiddos don’t happen upon inappropriate content in apps or online. For more information about the Kurio XTreme, pop on over to the Kurio XTreme site and explore to your heart’s content!  

Would you like your own Kurio Xtreme tablet? Just leave me a comment telling me your favorite feature of the Kurio Xtreme and you will be automatically entered for a chance to win!

Sweepstakes Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

3. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 72 hours to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.  

The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 11/12/2014 – 12/8/2014.

Be sure to visit the Kurio’s brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!  

Done-for-You Preschool Resources

Planning meaningful lessons for students week after week, all while balancing other teaching responsibilities and a personal life, can be a daunting task. That’s where Preschool Teacher 101 comes in to save you time!

Preschool Teacher 101 is excited to share with you some amazing lesson plans, activity packs, and much more! We offer a wide variety of themes that are frequently used in preschool classrooms, as well as some less common (but super interesting) themes. Click on the image below to learn more about some of our great digital resources.

three preschool printables with a purple flower and a green frog and the title digital and printable colors 3-in-1 activity pack
Digital & Printable Colors 3-in-1 Activity Pack
digital and printable rhyming pack image
Digital & Printable Rhyming 3-in-1 Activity Pack
Cover for digital and printable beginning sounds activity pack
Digital & Printable Beginning Sounds 4-in-1 Activity Pack

Join The Pack from Preschool Teacher 101 today for exclusive access to our amazing products. And we even have three different membership options to suit your needs!

Filed Under: Literacy Tagged With: Book Making

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  1. Chelsey @buggyandbuddy says

    November 12, 2014 at 11:48 am

    I love the idea of letting kids take their own pictures of things they’ve created! This looks like such a cool gift idea for my kids!

    Reply
    • Mary Catherine says

      November 12, 2014 at 3:12 pm

      Thanks so much for the kind words, Chelsey! My students have looooooved it, and I have a feeling we’ll be using it for age-appropriate learning games AND more kid-made books in the near future! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Liska says

    November 12, 2014 at 3:34 pm

    Once in a while my son likes taking videos with our old ipod – he is only turning 2 next month, so he is not very conscious of how it works, but he is very excited to see everything around him on the small screen. Even though I am all for limiting screen time for kids, I also think that teaching kids to use electronic devices creatively is very important, so Kurio Xtreme seems like a fun idea.

    Reply
    • Mary Catherine says

      November 13, 2014 at 7:32 pm

      Liska, I think you have a great point about using technology creatively – thank you! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Clarissa H says

    November 12, 2014 at 4:47 pm

    What a fantastic idea! My son would love that activity! I love that the tablet comes with so many books and games preloaded and ready to go!

    Reply
    • Mary Catherine says

      November 13, 2014 at 7:33 pm

      The preschoolers still seem to enjoy the process, Clarissa! I have more photos to download, print, and laminate tomorrow! Thanks for the kind words. 🙂

      Reply
  4. katepickle says

    November 12, 2014 at 6:20 pm

    Love the idea of the kids making their own photo books! What a fabulous way to extend learning!

    Reply
    • Mary Catherine says

      November 13, 2014 at 7:34 pm

      Kate, you’re so sweet – thank you! I’m excited the kiddos are so engaged with the process. I’m also very proud of how well they’re taking care of the Kurio XTreme in the process.

      Reply
  5. heather says

    November 12, 2014 at 8:59 pm

    My favorite feature of this tablet is the camera we would have a blast with that.

    Reply
    • Mary Catherine says

      November 13, 2014 at 7:34 pm

      Based on how my students are responding, I would have to agree! Thanks, Heather! 🙂

      Reply
  6. Lavenda jones says

    November 12, 2014 at 10:45 pm

    I have been looking for something like this for my pre k class. Thanks

    Reply
    • Mary Catherine says

      November 13, 2014 at 7:35 pm

      I’m glad you like it Lavenda! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂

      Reply
  7. Nicole Dz says

    November 13, 2014 at 3:42 pm

    My favorite feature of the Kurio Xtreme is the body motion gaming where you can play 10 Kurio Motion Games, like Swim, Race, Run, Play Soccer, Ski and More! Very interactive.

    Reply
    • Mary Catherine says

      November 13, 2014 at 7:36 pm

      I think that feature is going to be SO HANDY when crazy winter weather hits! Thanks, Nicole.

      Reply
  8. Nicole Dz says

    November 13, 2014 at 3:44 pm

    Posted to my twitter page here: https://twitter.com/lil_lady_dz/status/532997061478596608

    Reply
    • Mary Catherine says

      November 13, 2014 at 7:36 pm

      Yay, thank you!! 🙂

      Reply
  9. Kimmy Ripley says

    November 13, 2014 at 4:02 pm

    My daughter is in preschool and I think that this tablet would be so wonderful for her! The app selection is perfect for a 4 year-old!

    Reply
    • Mary Catherine says

      November 13, 2014 at 7:38 pm

      The selection is very age-appropriate, and I like how the apps can appeal to different age groups. Since you can also link up to the Google Play store, there are many possibilities. My son’s having fun creating his own profile on the Kurio XTreme – I like that I can have it set up for my preschoolers on one profile and my son on a different one.

      Reply
  10. Melissa says

    November 13, 2014 at 6:24 pm

    Looks like the kids had a great experience with the Kurio!

    Reply
    • Mary Catherine says

      November 13, 2014 at 7:39 pm

      Thanks, Melissa – they’ve really been enjoying it!! 🙂

      Reply
  11. Rachael @ Nothing if Not Intentional says

    November 13, 2014 at 10:17 pm

    You had me at “durable”! Pick me! Pick me! 🙂

    Reply
  12. Rachael @ Nothing if Not Intentional says

    November 13, 2014 at 10:20 pm

    Shared via twitter! https://twitter.com/Nateandrachael/status/533096985633374208

    Reply
  13. Meloney robles says

    November 13, 2014 at 11:14 pm

    One of my favorite features is the camera kids love taking pictures on my phone this would be a great alternative to my phone. Plus all the great games!

    Reply
  14. Meloney robles says

    November 13, 2014 at 11:18 pm

    https://mobile.twitter.com/melnoregon23/status/533111375145353216 My tweet! Thank you for the chance!

    Reply
  15. Katie says

    November 14, 2014 at 5:35 pm

    My class would absolutely love this!!! They are so enthralled with taking pictures in our classroom of their creations or with their friends.

    Reply
  16. BusyWorkingMama says

    November 15, 2014 at 6:49 am

    It is pretty impressive that it comes pre-loaded with over 90 games. I think my daughter would enjoy this. Honestly, I’ve never heard of Kurio before!

    Reply
  17. Anna Pry says

    November 15, 2014 at 5:17 pm

    i like the profiles and the parental controls pryfamily5@gmail.com

    Reply
  18. Anna Pry says

    November 15, 2014 at 5:17 pm

    i tweeted https://twitter.com/dapryz5/status/533740527783407616 pryfamily5@gmail.com

    Reply
  19. Erika says

    November 15, 2014 at 11:22 pm

    Content filtering and screen time limits- they should be on adult’s technology, too! 🙂

    chambanachik(at)gmail(dot)com

    Reply
  20. D Schmidt says

    November 16, 2014 at 2:11 pm

    My favorite feature is definitely the Kurio Genius Filtering System. Filters 450+ Million sites daily to block inappropriate content and keep kids safe online!

    Reply
  21. D Schmidt says

    November 16, 2014 at 2:11 pm

    tweeted https://twitter.com/mummytotwoboys1/status/534060673592860672

    Reply
  22. OFG says

    November 16, 2014 at 4:51 pm

    I like the parental controls.

    Reply
  23. OFG says

    November 16, 2014 at 4:54 pm

    https://twitter.com/OneFrugalGirl/status/534100944049696768

    Reply
  24. Rebecca Graham says

    November 17, 2014 at 1:47 am

    I like the parental controls feature and the camera.

    Reply
  25. latanya says

    November 17, 2014 at 7:29 pm

    That my son can safely be on the internet

    Reply
  26. latanya says

    November 17, 2014 at 7:30 pm

    https://twitter.com/sweetums82/status/534503539402219520

    Reply
  27. Melissa M says

    November 17, 2014 at 7:49 pm

    I love the parental control.

    Reply
  28. Melissa M says

    November 17, 2014 at 7:49 pm

    https://twitter.com/618mom23boys/status/534508502698303490

    Reply
  29. Janice Cooper says

    November 23, 2014 at 8:46 pm

    I love that it has over 90 preloaded apps along with educational apps

    Reply
  30. Janice Cooper says

    November 23, 2014 at 8:47 pm

    https://twitter.com/disneyfan40/status/536697478205026304

    Reply
  31. ashley kirchner says

    November 24, 2014 at 7:44 pm

    I LOVE THE PARENTAL CONTROLS

    Reply
  32. Eva Biggs says

    November 27, 2014 at 10:56 pm

    the body motion controls, now thats pretty cool and a good way to by active while learning.

    Reply
  33. ANGEL JACKLYN says

    November 28, 2014 at 12:43 am

    THE FACT THAT THE KIDS FEEL LIKE THEY ARE IN CONTROL =) LOL.

    Reply
  34. ANGEL JACKLYN says

    November 28, 2014 at 12:44 am

    https://twitter.com/kytah00/status/538206294750949377

    Reply
  35. Katherine says

    November 28, 2014 at 2:08 pm

    The parental controls and the preloaded apps

    Reply
  36. Katherine says

    November 28, 2014 at 2:09 pm

    https://twitter.com/mkjmc/status/538408850081083392

    Reply
  37. Shannon Baas says

    November 29, 2014 at 7:52 pm

    I like the parental controls.

    Reply
  38. Denise S says

    November 29, 2014 at 9:25 pm

    I like the content filtering feature.

    Reply
  39. Shannon says

    November 29, 2014 at 10:15 pm

    I love that kids can play motion games!! That’s great!

    Reply
  40. Shannon says

    November 29, 2014 at 10:17 pm

    https://mobile.twitter.com/shiebs24b/status/538894376051552256

    Reply
  41. Debbie B says

    November 29, 2014 at 10:54 pm

    i like that it has an internet filtering system!

    Reply
  42. Debbie B says

    November 29, 2014 at 11:24 pm

    i posted a tweet:

    https://twitter.com/bellows22/status/538911426446770178

    Reply
  43. Gina M says

    November 30, 2014 at 1:52 am

    I love that up to 8 profiles can be created on the device!

    Thanks for the chance to win!
    wildorchid985 AT gmail DOT com

    Reply
  44. Gina M says

    November 30, 2014 at 1:53 am

    tweet–https://twitter.com/WildOrchid985/status/538948805253926913

    Reply
  45. Dwayne Berry says

    November 30, 2014 at 11:16 am

    I’d love to win this for my daughter so she’d leave my iPad alone!

    Reply
  46. nickie says

    November 30, 2014 at 12:02 pm

    I like the parental controls.

    Reply
  47. sherri crawford says

    November 30, 2014 at 1:03 pm

    im glad it has a camera and i like the timer too

    Reply
  48. Anastasia Falling says

    November 30, 2014 at 7:30 pm

    I really love the motion feature 🙂 It’s so cool that they have apps and games kids can play WHILE adding movement into it! Very cool how far kids tech has come 🙂

    Reply
  49. Anastasia Falling says

    November 30, 2014 at 7:31 pm

    Tweeted 🙂 – https://twitter.com/Enter_Now/status/539214808797569024

    Reply
  50. mickeyfan says

    November 30, 2014 at 10:38 pm

    The combo of parental controls plus all the pre-loaded apps makes this very attractive.

    Reply
  51. Emily R. says

    November 30, 2014 at 11:36 pm

    I like the internet filtering system.

    Reply
  52. Sarah Yu says

    December 1, 2014 at 6:37 am

    What a fantastic idea. Love that it’s durable and easy to use. for small fingers.

    Reply
  53. Denise B. says

    December 1, 2014 at 11:49 am

    I like that it already comes with all of those games and apps.

    Reply
  54. Ashley H says

    December 2, 2014 at 11:40 am

    I like the body motion feature.

    Reply
  55. Sonya Morris says

    December 2, 2014 at 9:48 pm

    I love the parental controls! I would hate to explain to my daughter something questionable she saw on the internet! I would NEVER hear the end of it!!

    Reply
  56. Sonya Morris says

    December 2, 2014 at 9:48 pm

    Link to tweet:
    https://twitter.com/catholicfanatic/status/539973217905938432
    Thank you! 🙂

    Reply
  57. Leela says

    December 3, 2014 at 2:36 am

    The apps and games.

    Reply
  58. jennifer says

    December 3, 2014 at 10:53 am

    I love all the apps and durability for my kids and I love the parental controls!

    Reply
  59. sandra says

    December 3, 2014 at 10:55 am

    they would use it all the time

    Reply
  60. Ashley S. says

    December 3, 2014 at 10:26 pm

    I love the parental control features

    Reply
  61. Ashley S. says

    December 3, 2014 at 10:27 pm

    Tweeted https://twitter.com/smash906/status/540346421040660480

    Reply
  62. Ashley says

    December 4, 2014 at 2:57 am

    Everything about this tablet is really cool! My favorite features are the parental controls and the motion sensor games.

    Reply
  63. Lindsay D. says

    December 4, 2014 at 11:01 am

    I love that this tablet comes with body motion games! My kids would love to have this tablet.

    Reply
  64. Kerry says

    December 4, 2014 at 8:09 pm

    I like the Body Motion Gaming!

    Reply
  65. Kerry says

    December 4, 2014 at 8:35 pm

    tweeted: https://twitter.com/KerryBishop/status/540680591646019584

    Reply
  66. Kimberley Meier says

    December 4, 2014 at 11:47 pm

    I love the extra strict parental controls this has!

    Reply
  67. Kimberley Meier says

    December 4, 2014 at 11:49 pm

    Tweeted: https://twitter.com/MRSMEIER5627/status/540729495649402880

    Reply
  68. Mary Hampton says

    December 5, 2014 at 12:38 pm

    I like the parental controls. I can set it up for my kids and then give them some independence in using it on their own rather than monitoring every app or all of their internet time. I think they’d have fun with the body motion games.

    Reply
  69. devin m says

    December 5, 2014 at 8:56 pm

    I’m excited because this would be a great way for my kids to have fun on long, snowy days, long trips in the car, or waiting at the dreaded doctors office! 🙂

    Reply
  70. Susan Chester says

    December 6, 2014 at 12:37 am

    I like that it takes videos. What fun!
    smchester at gmail dot com

    Reply
  71. Kathy Pease says

    December 6, 2014 at 4:33 pm

    I love that it takes photos and video..It sounds like a great tablet 🙂

    Reply
  72. Kathy Pease says

    December 6, 2014 at 4:33 pm

    https://twitter.com/klp1965/status/541344664867983360

    Reply
  73. Daniel M says

    December 6, 2014 at 8:48 pm

    My favorite feature is the camera

    Reply
  74. erica best says

    December 6, 2014 at 10:10 pm

    it so hard to get boys to read i love the e-books

    Reply
  75. erica best says

    December 6, 2014 at 10:23 pm

    https://twitter.com/purplelover04/status/541423615372451841

    Reply
  76. Erica B. says

    December 6, 2014 at 10:26 pm

    I like that you can make different profiles.

    Reply
  77. cris says

    December 7, 2014 at 5:29 am

    Oh, how I miss teaching preschool. Thanks for this wonderful post explaining a brilliant and completely appropriate use of technology in pre k. It is such a heated topic but I believe strongly that it is a great addition to learning when used responsibly. Again thank you for your great example.

    Reply
  78. Lisa V. says

    December 7, 2014 at 7:02 am

    I like that is has parental controls.

    Reply
  79. Ed says

    December 7, 2014 at 3:56 pm

    I like the safety features.

    Reply
  80. kim h says

    December 7, 2014 at 5:09 pm

    My favorite part is the body motion! The kids would love this!! ky_gradnma40@yahoo.com

    Reply
  81. Stephanie Larison says

    December 7, 2014 at 5:43 pm

    I love the parental controls and security on it.

    Reply
  82. tracey johnson says

    December 7, 2014 at 5:51 pm

    I like that you can make photo books

    Reply
  83. Alison L. says

    December 7, 2014 at 9:45 pm

    My favorite feature is the parental controls.

    Reply
  84. Theresa Woehrman says

    December 8, 2014 at 2:50 am

    My son goes to a co-op preschool and we love it. This pre-school is a play based one and is working out great. I love the parental controls this offers. I also love how creative the kids can be. I am imagining all the things my son and daughter can do.

    Reply
  85. Wanda McHenry says

    December 8, 2014 at 4:35 am

    My favorite feature is that your child can create their own profile.

    Reply
  86. Wanda McHenry says

    December 8, 2014 at 4:36 am

    https://twitter.com/myfolly/status/541888907281825792

    Reply
  87. Betty C says

    December 8, 2014 at 4:55 am

    I like the body motion games that will get them up and moving. I wouldn’t be happy to see them stuck in one spot just watching the screen.

    Reply
  88. Betty C says

    December 8, 2014 at 4:57 am

    Tweet – https://twitter.com/willitara/status/541894082901970944

    Reply
  89. Karen Drake says

    December 8, 2014 at 10:02 am

    My favorite feature is the parental controls.

    Reply
  90. tina reynolds says

    December 8, 2014 at 10:08 am

    I like the preloaded apps and parental controls would be a huge hit with my kiddos

    Reply
  91. tina reynolds says

    December 8, 2014 at 10:09 am

    https://twitter.com/eaglesforjack/status/541972711119921152

    Reply
  92. melissa Resnick says

    December 8, 2014 at 10:43 am

    love the parental controls

    Reply
  93. Richard Hicks says

    December 8, 2014 at 11:15 am

    I love the parental controls and it comes with a built in camera

    Reply
  94. Richard Hicks says

    December 8, 2014 at 11:15 am

    https://twitter.com/ardy22/status/541989201982394369

    Reply
  95. Amanda Sakovitz says

    December 8, 2014 at 12:55 pm

    I love the parental controls

    Reply
  96. Amanda Sakovitz says

    December 8, 2014 at 12:56 pm

    tweet
    https://twitter.com/aes529/status/542014618533908480

    Reply
  97. Thomas Murphy says

    December 8, 2014 at 1:24 pm

    I like the front and rear facing camera.

    Reply
  98. Thomas Murphy says

    December 8, 2014 at 1:25 pm

    https://twitter.com/thomasmurphy40/status/542021885655932929

    Reply
  99. Tabathia B says

    December 8, 2014 at 6:53 pm

    I like that it comes with preloaded apps and kid safe web browsing

    tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com

    Reply
  100. Tabathia B says

    December 8, 2014 at 6:55 pm

    tweet https://twitter.com/ChelleB36/status/542104351473291264

    tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com

    Reply
  101. steve weber says

    December 8, 2014 at 7:05 pm

    My favorite feature is the parental controls.

    Reply
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My name is Mary Catherine, and I love to share meaningful {and fun} learning activities for kiddos! Feel free to browse and stay awhile!

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