Great Family-Oriented Web Sites
The Internet is not just a great place to showcase family photos and share stories. It's also a great place to do research, find services, get help with homework, and enjoy a wide array of entertainment and fun activities. The sites featured in this section are geared toward parents and young people.
Earn clams at Whyville (www.whyville.net)
When members of the online community at Whyville.net were challenged with reporting on Winter Solstice celebrations around the world, many quickly determined that the best strategy was to recruit an international team and compare notes.
That wasn't so hard in a virtual world in which half of the members come from outside the United States. The real challenge came when they wanted to celebrate their success and discovered they'd first have to learn to negotiate different time zones. Most of them were only 12 or 13, with early bed times.
No one assigned the task of studying time zones, but then much of the learning that happens at Whyville isn't assigned, it's discovered. That's just one of the secrets of success in this online learning environment, which is also getting attention from adults who hope to apply some of the lessons learned in Whyville to online communities for grownups.
Whyville.net is run by Numedeon Inc. It was started in 1999 by a small group of scientists, educators, and Internet experts who wanted to create a place where young people could learn about science through experience, not just by memorizing terms.
Take care of baby and mom at ww.BabyCenter.com
From pregnancy to preconception to the first year of your baby's life to preschool and beyond -- you'll find everything you need at this popular parenting Web site.
Features planning tools, recommended products, and lots of helpful information.
Moms find support at MomsView.com
MomsView.com is all about moms, and is a great place to make friends, find support, and even get a few free things for parents.
Kick back with your laptop, or balance the babe on your lap and log on to this popular parenting site.
Get help with homework at RefDesk
Dedicated to helping visitors sort through the volumes of information available on the Internet, the RefDesk is a comprehensive collection of links to a wide range of resources that can help you with research projects, term papers, and test preparation.
RefDesk features links to government sites, news sources, phone directories, statistics, rankings, and other reference sites, including the atomic clock and a guide to time zones.
Travel the world without leaving home
www.nationalgeographic.com/kids
The National Geographic Web site features a special kids' section with beautifully illustrated travel stories, a news section, science reports, an online coloring book, and so much more.
With the resources of the National Geographic magazine to draw on, the site provides a broad range of professionally produced stories, photographs, and other materials.
Find your way with Yahooligans
Run by the famous Yahoo! site, Yahooligans is a smorgasbord of stuff any kid should find interesting. Here you'll find a directory of cool Web sites for kids, the Yahooligans TV animated series, games, music, and much more.
Take a Yahooligans poll, laugh at the joke of the day, try the grab bag, and use the home page as a launching pad to many other great sites on the Web.
Asking Jeeves in kidspeak
Designed to help kids search the Web in words they can understand, Ask Jeeves for Kids is widely considered the best search engine for children ages 7 to 17.
One of the coolest features of Ask Jeeves is the ability to search for information by entering a real question, such as, “Why is the ocean full of fish?” The kids' site features a wealth of resources including a kid-friendly dictionary, thesaurus, almanac, atlas, and clip art gallery.
In Your Family Corner
The Family Corner is an online magazine that provides informative articles, educational guides, loads of ideas for crafts, and a wide range of resources on parenting, child development stages, and how to care for pets.
Updated regularly, the site features seasonal topics such as back-to-school and holiday planning and preparation, along with such timeless sections as the games and contest area.
Answering Parents' Questions
At the heart of the Tufts University Child and Family Web Guide, you'll find a directory of hundreds of Web sites with information about child development, parenting, and other issues of interest to parents and families.
Search the site for the latest child development articles, and get expert answers to parenting questions by emailing the experts who manage the site. The Child and Family Web guide is designed to help parents sort through the vast amount of information on the Internet by using the site's extensive database as a filter to help eliminate unreliable information. The guide is a nonprofit resource managed by the university and features contributions by child development experts, including David Elkind, Edward Zigler, and the late Fred Rogers.
Send us your favorite Web sites!
Recommend your favorite Web sites (including yours!) and we'll consider them for this cool sites section and maybe even feature them in one of our future books. Email your suggestions to janine@digitalfamily.com.
More Fun and Games on the Web
If you're a fan of the Victorian era (or just want to learn more about it), the Virtual Victorians will help you appreciate what life was like in the 1800s, with games, tours, and more.
Check out Fact Monster for a fun-filled site of science, news, and trivia.
If you love your Etch-a-Sketch, you may enjoy their fun and games page.
The Little Dittle Children's Web Site features fun and easy games for younger children. You'll find colorful easy-to-learn games, coloring tools, sports, and puzzles, all designed to be easy enough even for the youngest members of your family.
My friend's kids love the Club Penguine game at http://www.miniclip.com/. You'll find many great games there, but club penguine is their favorite.
Send us your favorite Game sites
What to you do for fun on the Web? What are your favorite sites? Let us know by sending email to janine@digitalfamily.com.
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