Parenting Resources

Hackley Public Library Resources

• Girl Scout Leader Resources: Hackley Public Library resources for Girl Scout Leaders
• Cub Scout Leader Resources: Hackley Public Library resources for Cub Scout Leaders

Learning

• Bookhive An online book review source for parents and children.
• Books Build Brighter Babies from the BBC. Lots of information on getting young kids interested in books.
• Children's Books Online "contains full versions of dozens of classic children's books, including David Copperfield, Grampa in Oz, and Peter Rabbit. What is equally compelling is that a number of the books are available in a number of different languages, including Polish, Italian, German, Romanian, French, and Russian." (SR)
• CYFERNET: Children, Youth And Families Education And Research Network
• Family Involvement in Children's Education Successful Local Approaches
• Countdown to Kindergarten: Monthly Activities ""Besides being fun, these activities introduce four- and five-year olds to the kind of learning skills they'll be developing further in kindergarten." Includes descriptions of 12 monthly activities such as a mail activity for February, water play in July, and an October fall walk and talk. From a partnership of public and private organizations in Boston." (LII)
• Kindergarten Entry Skills "Overview of skills "considered necessary for a child when entering kindergarten." Topics include the importance of kindergarten entry factors as rated by kindergarten teachers (includes various social, perceptual, motor, and language development skills), and expected cognitive and motor skills. Also includes links to related sites. From the Clearinghouse on Early Education and Parenting (CEEP), part of the Early Childhood and Parenting (ECAP) Collaborative at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign." (LII)
• Ready for Kindergarten? "In this article five "kindergarten teachers from around the country ... share their insights on helping your child gain the right mix of kindergarten-readiness skills." Topics discussed include enthusiasm toward learning, oral-language skills, ability to listen, the desire to be independent, the ability to play well with others, strong fine-motor skills, and basic letter and number recognition. From Scholastic Parent & Child Magazine." (LII)
• LD Online: Learning Disabilities Information and Resources
• Lil' Fingers Storybooks a storybook site for toddler age children with games, storybooks and coloring pages (BWN)
• Summer Reading with Reading is Fundamental "This site offers parents tips to keep children reading over the summer whether the family is traveling or experiences travels from their very own backyard." (BWN)
• Music Sites
• Kididdles Search for kids music
• Play a Piano
• National Association for the Education of Young Children information about how young children learn and grow.
• National Middle School Association Every thing you want to know about Middle School
• Pathways to School Improvement Want to improve your school but don't know how? Check out this site.
• Prepare My Child for School: Helping Your Preschool Child ""This booklet is for families and caregivers who want to help their preschool children to learn and to develop the skills necessary for success in school -- and in life." It includes sections on the education and development of babies, toddlers, and preschoolers; tips for preparing a child for kindergarten, selecting TV programming, and choosing child care; and related material. Also available in Spanish. From the U.S. Department of Education." (LII)
• Quick Picks for Young Adult Reluctant Readers
• SchwabLearning.org: A Parent's Guide to Helping Kids with Learning Differences (LII)
• Tutorz "a beta search engine for professional tutors. What a fabulous tool for parents and students! You can search by subject and/or location, and sort by distance, "best match," or popularity. Listings include information about the person's qualifications, degrees, subject specialties, and rates." (LIB)
• World of Reading Where kids and books come together.
• Guys Read tips on promoting reading to boys, along with list of good books for boys. (LII)

Homeschooling

• A to Z Home's Cool Homeschooling Web Site 'Find links to "the best and most interesting and useful sites and articles about home education on the web." ' (LII)
• Home Education Magazine
• Homeschool World
• Homeschool Legal Defense Assocation (RB)
• Home Schooling Information Independent guide illustrating everything there is to know about home schooling including information to help parents choose the proper curriculum for their children as well as teaching hints and resources.
• Jon's Homeschool Resource Page
• National Home Education Network (NHEN) "to encourage and facilitate the vital grassroots work of state and local homeschooling organizations and individuals by providing information, fostering networking and promoting public relations on a national level." (LII)

Health

• EPA Children's Health Protection "This is EPA's site on indoor air quality, asthma and children's health."
• KinderStart This directory has information on pregnancy, birth, and issues relating to children up to age six.
• Adventures of Mr. Reach Info for parents, and games for kids, about dental hygiene.
• Healthy Teeth from the Nova Scotia Dental Association
• Kidnetic.com "Material about food and fitness for children. Features indoor and outdoor games and activities, recipes for nutritious foods, and an interactive diagram of the human body and associated fact sheets about healthy eating and exercise. Fact sheet topics include weight concerns, the 10,000 step per day challenge, going vegetarian, and fitting in fast food favorites. Also includes material for parents in English and Spanish. From the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation." (LII)
• The Magic School Bus: Brushing Up

Internet

• A Note To Parents

  Please remember that the Internet and the Web contain many different kinds of material, and its links can carry one to many different places. Hackley Public Library is not responsible for what one sees or reads once beyond the boundaries this site. Parents should watch where their children journey... One of the best sources for parents is an informational pamphlet, "Child Safety on the Information Highway", found at The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Interactive Services Association. Once at their site, choose Education and Resources, then NCMEC Online and Publications List.

• America Links Up this site has lots of information about how parents can protect their children from inappropriate web sites.
• On-line Class for Families to learn to use the Internet From Camden County Library, New Jersey.
• GetNetWise "GetNetWise is a new, free, educational resource for families and caregivers that helps you ensure that your kids have a safe, educational, and entertaining experience on the Net."
• Net Mom a site for everyone, it includes Net Mom news, and the Internet yellow pages for kids and families, among other things.
• Department of Education: Parents Guide to the Internet
• Including Your Child For parents of special needs children up to 8 years old, this pamphlet was recently released by the US Dept. of Education.
• Teaching Kids Safety
• USFA Kid’s Place all about fire safety. (BWN)
• Safety City (grade 3-6) Sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Bike, school, bus, and car safety.
• Poison Prevention (kindergarten-grade 3) Information on poisons and staying safe.
• FEMA for Kids learn about how to prepare and survive natural disasters. From the Federal Emergency Management Agency
• Sparky the Fire Dog (grade 4-8) Fire prevention.
• Surfing the Net Safely
• CyberNetiquette Comix (gr k-4) Animated adventures on Internet safety
• Iggy and Rasper's Internet Safety Game (gr k-4) Web safety quiz.
• Family Web Collaborations
• Homestead " In addition to family pages, Homestead can be used to create any kind of Web site .. and is great fun! Optional features include a password for privacy, chat room, newsletter, and guest book."
• MyFamily.com This site has many of the features of the others, but also has a genealogy component.
• Surfnet Kids Surfing the net with Kids archives
  To join the discussion by e-mail: join-surfnetkids@s1.netIt is not necessary to type anything in the body of the message

Just for Fun

• Activity Village chock full of ideas of things to do with kids 10 and under.
• At Home Astronomy: Hands-On Science Experiments for the Whole Family "Collection of illustrated instructions for science experiments related to astronomy. Topics include understanding shadows, verifying the size and location of the sun, building a model lunar settlement, demonstrating the principles of rocketry, and making an astrolabe and model of the solar system. Includes links to related sites. From the Center for Science Education, Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley." (LII)
• Camp Search search for a camp.
• ChildFun--Mailing list for parents and day care providers :
  e-mail: Majordomo@ListService.net be sure to include: subscribe childfun in the body of the message.
• Child Fun Home Page
• Children's Partnership A national nonprofit organization that informs people about the needs of children
• Creative ways to recycle by making art (SL)
• KinderGarden Many rich sources for parents to help kids learn about plants, gardening, and the natural world.
• HealthyToys.org: The Consumer Action Guide to Toxic Chemicals in Toys "Test results released in December 2007 for toxic chemicals in "over 1,200 toys and children's products." Search by product name, or browse by brand or toy type. Listings include general information (such as country of manufacture), and levels of lead, cadmium, chlorine/PVC, arsenic, and mercury. Also includes a FAQ, background on the chemicals, and a place to submit suggestions for other toys to be tested. From the Ecology Center (Michigan), with the Washington Toxics Coalition." (LII)
• Let's Play: A Guide to Toys for Children With Special Needs "Descriptions of toys appropriate for children with physical impairments, hearing impairments, blindness and low vision, and developmental disabilities. Lists dolls, stuffed toys, games, puzzles, educational toys, and more. "Toys in this Guide were tested by more than 100 children with a variety of special needs at 10 centers across the country." From the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)" (LII)
• Making Friends Lots of crafts.
• 700 Great Sites for Kids
• The Mother Goose Pages Find those rhymes you've partially forgotten. (LII)
• Science Toys You Can Make With Your Kids "make toys at home with common household materials, often in only a few minutes, that demonstrate fascinating scientific principles." (SR)

General Parent Resources

• Baby Center A Clearinghouse of information for expectant or new parents.
• Think Baby Names a site where you can search for baby names
• Back to School Tips "A list of ideas for parents of school-age children, covering topics such as backpack comfort and safety, starting a new school, school avoidance, study habits, child care, television use, and alcohol abuse prevention. From the American Academy of Pediatrics." (LII)
• Book Hive Reviews of children's books by librarians.
• Boot Camp for New Dads a national support network for men confronting the realities of fatherhood". (LII)
• Boot Camps For Troubled Teens For parents who are looking for resources available for struggling teens. Find information relating to teen boot camps alternatives with us.
• Boot Camps Information and resources for parents looking to place their troubled teen in a boot camp.
• Child Care Aware "is a non-profit initiative committed to helping parents find the best information on locating quality child care and child care resources in their community."
• Child Support For Custodial Mothers and Fathers: 1997 [.pdf, 6p.]. Statistics about custodial parents.
• Child and Family WebGuide "offers categorized links to sites that contain research-based information about child development." (SR)
• Child Safety Seat Check check here to find a place to get your safety seat checked. (RB)
• College and Scholarship Information College ratings, where to get scholarships, etc.
• Connect with Kids "preview any of our videos, watch our weekly news stories or search our extensive online archive of thousands of topics. Our site is full of parenting tips focused on helping you improve your parenting skills."
• Dads and Daughters "DADs provides tools to strengthen our relationships with our daughters and to transform the pervasive messages that value our daughters more for how they look than who they are." (LII)
• Support Guidelines.com This site has links to guidelines on child support from each state, and is intended to help attorneys in their research.
• Family.com "The site addresses such wide subjects as arts and crafts, entertainment, family pets, parties, travel, and more."
• Family Life Today "providing practical, biblical tools to strengthen and build your marriage and family relationships"
• The Factbook: Eye-opening Memos on Everything Family "The Factbook is "an organized collection of research on family" created as a website companion for Po Bronson's book, "Why Do I Love These People?" Find approximately one hundred well-documented short articles and memos about family life, including facts, statistical data, and opinions. Topics include parenting, family roles and responsibilities, marriage, children, work, and more." (LII)
• Focus on the Family "scriptural principles of marriage and parenthood to help preserve and strengthen families"
• Fire Safety Campaign for Babies and Toddlers [pdf, QuickTime] "to draw attention to the increased risk of fire death for young children, and to teach parents and caregivers how they can avoid the tragedy." (SR)
• Grading the Movies, Music and Games
• Ian's Shoelace Site everything you always wanted to know about shoelaces, including different ways to tie them. (SR)
• Kids-in-Mind
• Michigan Merit Award and MEAP Information
• Michigan Parent Resources "a comprehensive directory that will help Michigan families and parents become aware of all the services available to them through the State of Michigan." (RT)
• Military Schools Providing comprehensive military resource and information guide to US armed forces.
• Movie Mom
• Screen It
• New York Times Learning Network
• ParenTech This is a way to learn about how technology is changing the way we go about our lives.
• Parent Soup
• Parents' Choice Foundation a "not-for-profit evaluator of children's books, videos, toys, audios, computer software, television, and magazines." (LII)
• Toy Safety "provides safety guidelines for parents when purchasing toys for small children and provides examples of toys currently on store shelves that may pose potential safety hazards." (LII)
• Parenting Adolescents tips and advice for dealing with teenagers. (LII)
• Responsible Single Fathers "Responsible Single Fathers is an organization of caring men and women working to help kids weather the difficulties often brought about by their parents' divorce, death, or ended relationship." (LII)
• Safer Toys "SaferToys.org is a site for parents and concerned individuals to track the latest news regarding unsafe toys." (DSL)
• School District Demographics System [.csv] from the National Center for Education Statistics (SR)
• All Public Schools.org "a simple directory with a built-in search engine and cross-referenced listing" (TB)
• All Private Schools.org "a simple directory with a built-in search engine and cross-referenced listing" (TB)
• A New Era: Revitalizing Special Education for Children and their Families [MS Word, .pdf] a report to the White House. (SR)
• Smithsonian Education information on the Smithsonian Institute. (RB)
• Talking with Kids Need help talking to your kids about serious stuff? Try here for some tips and helps.

Dealing with Trauma: Some Websites to Help Children and Their Adults

• AAP Offers Advice on Communicating with Children about Disasters
• Calm young children; explain to older kids
• Children, Stress, and Natural Disasters: School Activities for Children
• Cornell expert advises parents on how to help children cope with news of terrorist attacks
• Disaster Handouts & Links
• Helping Children After a Disaster
• Helping Children Understand Crisis and Trauma
• National Association of School Psychologists: Coping with a National Tragedy.
• Recognizing Stress in Children
• Talking with Kids about Violence
• What to Tell Children about Terrorist Bombings compiled by Polly Farrington, P.A. Farrington Associates; Mary Fellows, UHLS; Sue Rokos,MVLA; Katharine Winderlin,WSWHE BOCES; Becky Wright-Sedam, SALS

To see the review sources used see our Review Source Page

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