Summer Reading with Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle FreeTime | Toronto Teacher Mom

Summer Reading with Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle FreeTime

Thursday, August 03, 2017

Summer Reading with Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle FreeTime

It never fails. Every time we plan a road trip to spend a couple of days with my parents, the kids go through Wi-Fi withdrawal. You see, my parents don't have Internet. In fact, they don't even own a computer. This makes for an ideal scenario to get the kids caught up on their reading. Truth be told, this isn't always at the top of their list for summertime fun. My son would rather be outside playing with his friends, while my daughter would prefer arts and crafts. The problem is I don't want them to grow up being the reluctant reader that I was as a kid. Decoding was easy. It was the comprehension that was lacking. And it took me forever to finish a book. For this reason, I am so grateful that my kids have a Kindle Paperwhite e-reader.

Summer Reading with Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle FreeTime

The Kindle Paperwhite has so many great features that make reading enjoyable. It reads like a book in that it is lightweight and boasts a high resolution display that has no glare in bright sunlight. The text is sharp and dark, and the adjustable built-in front light won't strain the eyes so you can enjoy reading day and night. And the battery life is pretty amazing, lasting up to six weeks. Because really, who wants to hear, "Mom, my device ran out of battery!" while stuck on the highway for two hours? 

Kindle Paperwhite - Dictionary

The hardware specs are indeed impressive but, for me, there are so many great features in the software as well. Take, for instance, Kindle's Vocabulary Builder. If my kids are ever stuck on a word, they can look it up in the built-in dictionary. These words are automatically added to Vocabulary Builder where they can quiz themselves with flashcards or see the words in context. The Word Wise feature is also brilliant. Designed for young readers, Word Wise automatically shows short and simple definitions above challenging words, which they can tap to see additional definitions, synonyms and more. My kids particularly like the ability to customize their reading experience by adjusting the size of the text and the font, and love that the Kindle will automatically bookmark the last page they read. And if they want, they can pick up reading where they left off using the free Kindle app on their iPad. 

Kindle Paperwhite Kindle FreeTime Achievements

The obvious benefits of being able to access and download thousands of books on the Kindle Paperwhite go without saying. I've found some great books for the kids at really low prices, such as the Anne of Green Gables Collection for $1.29. I have also added a variety of free titles such as the classic A Tale of Two Cities. But as a parent, I truly appreciate that the Kindle doesn’t distract the kids with social media and text messages, for example, and that I have the ability to block browsing and purchasing in the Kindle Store. Of particular note is the Kindle FreeTime application, a brilliant and engaging way to motivate the kids to read. I started by creating profiles for each of my kids and then customized their reading goals and selected books according to their preference. This is great because, if they both want to read the same book, they can. And I only have to pay for it once! I also love the ability to track their progress and celebrate milestones such as ‘Read 1000 pages’. Gamification is all abuzz these days! Not surprisingly, my kids really enjoy earning achievement badges and competing with one another. My only wish was that it didn't require a Parental Controls password each time they want to switch to between their profiles. Luckily, my daughter has her own Kindle, and my son and I share our new Paperwhite.

Summer Reading with Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle FreeTime

If you're thinking of purchasing a Kindle, I'd highly recommend an Amazon cover. They fit the Kindle perfectly, providing protection without the bulk. It also helps to keep the screen clean and automatically puts the Kindle to sleep when closed or wakens it when opened.

Win a $100 Amazon.ca Gift Card!

To help you and your little ones celebrate reading milestones with Kindle FreeTime, one lucky reader will win a $100 Amazon.ca gift card! This could be used to purchase the Kindle E-reader, which currently retails for $79.99, a protective cover or even to update your e-library. Simply leave a comment on this post sharing what you love most about the Kindle Paperwhite or the Kindle FreeTime feature and complete the form below. Open to residents of Canada, excluding Quebec.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I received product samples and other perks to help facilitate this review. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own.

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118 COMMENTS

  1. The achievement badges are a great way to reward.

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  2. I like that it tracks progress and set goals to really encourage kids to read.

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  3. I love the long battery life!!! -opheliaC

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  4. I love the long battery life!!! -opheliaC

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  5. I like that it allows you to create a totally separate/individual profile for your child, giving them their own kid-friendly dashboard.

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  6. I like the long battery life! I'm forever charging mine so this would be great.

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  7. I like that you can have separate profiles with customized reading goals and selected books according to ones preference.
    Florence Cochrane

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  8. The long battery life is awesome. Hate having to recharge all the time.-Linda

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  10. My favourite feature is the Word Wise

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  11. The Kindle FreeTime feature I like is that they can earn achievement badges.

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  12. I love that you can load a lot of books, many free, for you and your kids to enjoy anywhere!

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  13. I Love the battery on this thing!!! and also that you can carry around more than one book and yet looks like it's one book

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  14. The achievement badges are a fantastic way to encourage kids to read!

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  15. I love that I might be able to use it to get my daughter to read. Maybe she needs a good challenge.

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  16. I love the achievement badges ! Its so fun for the kids and really encouraging !

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  17. I like the Kindle's Vocabulary Builder.

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  18. I like the you can read in outside and still see the screen.

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  19. I love the concept of the book share and only having to buy the book once for all kids who both wan t to read the same book.

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  20. My daughter loves to read. She has a harder time finding books than I do at the second hand store. I love that the one feature is they have alot of books for her to choose from.

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  21. I love that it has a nice long battery life!

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  22. I love that you can customize their reading goals and celebrate their reading milestones!

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  23. I like that you are able to custom set the reading goals for the Freetime

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  24. I love that the software includes Kindle's Vocabulary Builder to help kids when they are stuck on a word they don't know.

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  25. I like the long battery life, always having to change them

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  26. I like the achievement badges, a great motivator.

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  27. I like the idea of that you can set daily reading goals for your child.

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  28. Being able to set personalized reading goals is such a great feature!

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  29. I really like that the app has milestones (1000 pages read) to aim for.

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  30. I LOVE the long battery life and the badges you receive when you reach certain goal! such a helpful feature

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  31. I'm a huge reader and when I go somewhere it's always hard to pick which book to bring. With an this I can bring them all and still take up less space!

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  32. I like the long battery life!! (entered as Stephanie)

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  33. The built-in dictionary and vocabulary builder sound amazing for young readers. A great way to help them avoid frustration with difficult words.

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  34. I like how it selects books for you based on your preference!

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  35. I like that it tracks progress and set goals

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  36. The long battery life!

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  37. I love the long battery life and that it has no glare in bright sunlight

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  38. I love the long battery life. I hate having to charge every couple of days on the e-reader I have currently.

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  39. I like that this feature allows you to set goals and track progress.

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  40. I love the kindle freetime feature, that's pretty awesome! As well as the long battery life, We are a family of readers so that's a great thing to have.

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  41. I love how the kids can read the same book.

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  42. I love that each child/person can have their own profile and achieve/celebrate their own milestones!

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  43. I like the vocabulary builder, great way for them to learn and expand on words they don't know

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  44. I like that it can set goals and reward thru badges.

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  45. I like that it encourages kids to read.

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  46. I like that you can create separate profiles for different readers.

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  47. I love that you can customize your kids reading goals and select books according to their preference.

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  48. no glare in bright sunlight...I am an outside reader as we don't have a/c and its cooler out under the trees then inside the house lol

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  49. i like the longer battery life

    billiondollarprincesss at hotmail dot com

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  50. i love that you can make individualized profiles!

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  51. The achievement badges are a great way to encourage kids to read!

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  52. I ove the fact two people can read the book at the same time!

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  53. there are tons of great features, battery life is huge, and it is great for all family members.

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  54. I like that the FreeTime app adds incentives (badges) and a little bit of competition wheb it comes to reading!

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  55. There is nothing better than achievement badges! What a great way to motivate kids and help give them the love of reading. I absolutely loved to read as a kid, and I want my kids to develop this great past time.

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  56. Love that you can create individual profiles and that you can set goals to give your kids a challenge, looks like a great app to encourage reading. (Judy Cowan)

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  57. I like the no glare in bright sunlight feature as I like to sit on the deck to read!

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  58. The built in dictionary is a winner for me , not to mention the amazing battery life !

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  59. I really like that it has customized reading goals.

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  60. I think the multi user ability is great for families with a longer battery life. Win-win!

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  61. I like the long battery life! It makes life easier when we are on the go!

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  62. i like that you can download tons of books (winnie b)

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  63. I have never owned a kindle yet but the long battery life sure sounds good! Constant recharging can be so inconvenient!

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  64. I think the badges are a great idea - kids love stickers and badges!

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  65. There's no distracting text messages or social media.

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  66. I like the ability to track progress. I think it's great for kids to focus on their reading skills!

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  67. The long battery life is great.

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  68. My favourite feature is the Word Wise also long battery life is nice

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  69. The best feature is the long battery life

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  70. wow that's cool that you can track your kids progress like celebrating milestones. great idea

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  71. I love that they can create goals, track and that they can both read the same book (without having to pay twice)

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  72. The battery life for sure stands out for me...Adjusting the font too.

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  73. I love that you can set reading goals with the FreeTime feature.

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  74. My favorite feature is the long battery life.That is so important to this avid reader and the separate profiles with customized reading goals sounds really good to me too. :)

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  75. I love the parental controls where I can block browsing and purchases.

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  77. The Vocabulary Builder is a pretty awesome feature! Great way for me and the kids learn new words. Paul A

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  78. I like that my kids can only read books that I have added to their library

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  79. I absolutey love the long battery life

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  80. I love the ability to create profiles!

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  81. I love how they can reach milestones! That would definitely engage a lot of them!

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  82. I love that each kid can read the same book without having to pay twice. My kids do read the same books so this would be great!

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  83. What you like most about the Kindle FreeTime feature is the idea of gamification. It's a successful strategy I use on myself.

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  84. I like the battery life. It all sounds great!

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  85. The long battery life sounds great!

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  86. @leisamclain Long lasting battery is a must !

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  87. I like the long lasting battery and the fact that I can set goals!

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  88. I love that two kids can read the same book and not need to buy it twice

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  89. I like that you can customize reading goals.

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  90. The FreeTime feature seems like a really great way to motivate kids to read, adding a game like aspect to the process can only benefit everyone.

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  91. I like that you can create profiles and set reading goals.

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  92. I love that it has such a long battery life!

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  93. I love the achievement badges!
    ~Andrea

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  94. I love the ability to set goals with the Freetime app, and to recognize achieving your goals. Setting goals of pages read per month/week sounds so motivating!

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  95. What i like most about the Kindle FreeTime feature is the long battery life!

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  96. I love the Kindle's Vocabulary Builder.

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  97. Karen Elizabeth HillAugust 17, 2017 at 8:41 PM

    I love that the Kindle Paperwhite is backlit so that I can read in bed at night.

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  98. I love the reading goals, it's perfect to encourage more reading!

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  99. I love that it has a long battery life! (Suzi)

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  100. I love the super-long battery life! wow!

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  101. I love how the battery has a long life. I hate devices that die so fast

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  102. I like that multiple children in a family can read the same book and you only have to pay once!

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  103. I like that you can look up words in their dictionary!

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  104. I love that you can track their progress. I have an older kindle which both my kids fight over. I am forever downloading books for them. There are so many excellent free ones.

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  105. The Vocabulary Builder is pretty fantastic, I would love to have that feature!

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