Last year our family discovered the Yoto Player. This is a smaller audio device designed ideally for kids that allow them to listen to audio books and music. We purchased four of these for our four younger children and have been very impressed with them so far. We have truly loved the Yoto Players. They are a way for my kids to listen to some good books without the ads and the screens!
How the Yoto Players Work
Each of these devices have a pair of dials, a front speaker, and a small display window. They also have a USB-C input for charging, and an audio jack to plug in headphones. The Yoto players work by inserting these cards that you see in the picture into the top of the device. These cards are available for purchase from Yoto in two basic formats. You can buy the cards with story books already on them, or you can buy blank cards and make them yourself. Blank cards can be made for instance from Audible books using a source to capture the MP3 files such as OpenAudible.
Our kids enjoy having a variety of cards (the cards are the audio books or music). While listening to the books, the kids have full control of the dials which are control the volume and chapters. I can have master control on my phone as well which is helpful to set the top volume. This will keep my kids from turning up the volume too high.
The Yoto Cards
In order to listen to one of the Yoto cards, you place the card in the top slot. The Yoto player reads from the card and begins to play the audio starting with the first chapter. If you have already started listening to a particular Yoto card and stopped mid way through, it picks up where you left off. Each of our kids has a lanyard to keep a few cards that they are listening to. This lanyard helps them keep the cards together and organized. They are able to listen to their cards and easily place them back in the pouch when they are done.
My kids will re-listen to books over and over again! They can even follow along in the actual book. I’ve collected many Audible books over the years. It is so amazing to be able about to put those books on a “Create your Own card”. Using the Open Audible software you can convert these books to MP3 format. We are also able to make chapters on the card. This is helpful for the kids to have chapters on the custom books.
Storage for the Yoto Players
We keep a master vault binder to store all our Yoto cards. This binder is a great storage tool and holds lots of cards. The kids keep a few cards on hand in their own lanyard or near their bedside stand/charging station. When the kids need new cards, they bring in their “old” cards and trade them for different ones.
Our oldest son Gregory built a custom station out of wood to give the kids a storage area for the Yoto players and accessories. His custom Yoto stand is a nice addition to keep everything organized! So far we haven’t lost any Yoto cards!
Storage Bags for the Kids
One of the ways to keep our kids organized was the color coded bags. These bags are good for storage but great for car trips. Each of the kids have a little bag (corresponding color) that they carry all their Yoto items in when we travel! Our kids pack their Yoto players, the lanyard with cards, and the headphones. Each child has a set of headphones that correspond with their color. The headphones are great when we are on car trips so that Brian and I can still visit or listen to music.
Ongoing collection of Yoto cards
In the months since we first purchased our Mini Yoto players, we have slowly amassed a large variety of cards. We have a balance of cards purchased from Yoto and blank ones that we have made for the kids. Many of the customer cards have Audible books we purchased prior to owning the Yoto players. My kids also have a couple cards with music that Brian has downloaded for them to have a playlist of songs! In addition to this, we also signed up for the monthly Yoto Club. It has proven to be a good investment. We get free shipping on anything and we choose two new cards every month!
Yoto Daily Radio Program
The kids really enjoy the Yoto Daily radio program. This is a daily radio channel produced by Yoto that plays songs as well as fun birthday announcements each day. Our kids love when their Happy Birthday announcement comes on the radio.