Great Websites for Kids

Whether you and your kids are looking for websites that have  homework help, safe sites to play games on, sites that have lots of volunteer opportunities in your area, sites that have safe social networking and email for kids, watch kids TV shows, look up health information, or you are looking for online music sites, this page has them for you!   

Click here to link to the site

On this page are 18 different sections that have websites by category. Here is a screen shot of the first 6:

Baby's First Year Milestones

Fun Baby Firsts: The Exciting Milestones of Baby's First Year  (title is a link)



webinar from the Minnesota Working Family Resource Center (another link)


Watching your new baby grow and develop is such a joyful part of parenthood.  Learn about the amazing leaps and bounds your baby will make in the first year, and how to promote development.  Parents will learn when to seek help for concerns, and how to access community resources dealing with development. 

Presenter: Sara Pearce, RN CNM IBCLC Amma Parenting Center 

Sara is the founder of Amma Parenting Center, as well as Director of Education. She holds a BA from Wellesley College and a Masters of Science in Nursing from Yale University. A Registered Nurse since 1995 and Certified Nurse-Midwife since 1997, Sara practiced OB nursing and midwifery in North Carolina and Minnesota until 2001, when she shifted focus to education. She founded Amma Parenting Center in 2007 to bring the New Mama Class to new mothers and became an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant.

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/714361026   You can click on the title or this link to go to the registration page.

How Do You Talk About Traumatic Events With Your Little Ones?

Over the winter there was a horrible school shooting, before that a shooting at a movie theater. Now there were bombs at the Boston Marathon. And on our daily morning and evening news there are numerous stories about killings and shootings and hit and runs and...... 

We try to shield our children as best we can because we know that they really don't need to hear and see all of the violence in the format the news media projects it. But you know that there are other adults out there that don't see the little ears and little eyes and they talk about events and watch news stories where children can hear. 

At different ages children are able to handle different aspects of trauma. I received an article in my email that I wanted to share because it's perfect. It talks about the different developmental levels of children and what they understand and can handle regarding trauma in their lives.

Here is a link to the article I mentioned. It is an excellent article, well worth reading.

Talking to Your Child About Traumatic Events  

Olly, A Kid Friendly Browser

The default web browser built into the iPad by Apple is Safari. While this is a highly effective browser, many parents wish to be able to have more control over the features of Safari than Apple currently allows. The Olly browser is an alternative to Safari that provides parents with additional control over blocking websites and viewing Internet history. (read all the way to the end to find out how you can also protect your children when browsing the internet on your computers at home)

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/olly-browser-protecting-kids/id556938946?mt=8

(from the iTunes store) Olly is the best browser in the world for protecting kids from harmful content. It blocks over 660 million pages of sexually explicit content. Thousands added every hour. Designed especially for families and schools.

"There is finally a way to let kids access the web on an iPad without having access to adult content" - Forbes

Features

★ Protects kids from over 32 billion URLs of sexually  

    explicit content
★ Safe Browsing is easy to turn ON/OFF
★ It doesn’t block innocent websites! Less than 0.3% error 

    rate
★ You can block widely used social networks and video 

    sharing sites with one-touch buttons
★ Add additional websites of your choice to Safe Browsing 

    block list
★ Thousands of new pages added every hour. Software 

    update not required.
★ Monitor your kids' search history while protecting your 

    own with a pincode

"Olly seems to be as fast (or, in some instances, faster) than both Chrome and Safari, which was a pleasant surprise. If I had children or simply wanted to have control over what someone using my iPad chooses to view on its formerly-innocent screen, Olly would likely be my first choice." -Pandodaily.com

"Olly is very easy to download, install and use. Parents assign themselves a four digit numeric passcode that enables them to not only turn Olly’s safe browsing mode on or off, but to add additional sites to the filter list including Badoo, BlogSpot, Digg, FaceBook and Twitter. By default these sites are not blocked, which is smart, since there are plenty of good reasons why kids should have access to social networking sites." -Forbes

"Because Apple makes it possible to disable Safari, it's possible to make Olly the only available browser. Parents can always turn Safari back on when they're using the iPad, but after using Olly for a while, I think it makes more sense for parents to simply use Olly with safe browsing turned off." -Mercury News

Regular features included

★ Olly is a fully loaded browser. It only blocks adult content

    when Safe Browsing is enabled
★ Unlimited tabbing just like Chrome
★ Bookmarks
★ Twitter sharing integration
★ Facebook sharing integration
★ Integrated search and URL bar for simplicity
★ URL history (protected by your passcode)
★ Copy and paste
★ Print

TO DISABLE SAFARI – Go to iPad Settings > General > Restrictions > Disable Safari

We add thousands of new pages to our cloud-based classification system every hour but you don’t need to install any updates. You don’t even need to restart the browser for it to block new sites when Safe Browsing is enabled. 

Olly is brought to you by MetaCert, the company that helped to instigate the creation of POWDER, the new industry standard for labeling content for online family safety, formally replacing PICS as a W3C Recommendation.

MetaCert also has software or extensions for your desktop browsers at home, if you use Firefox or Chrome they offer a free download that allows you to have more control over what your children are looking at on the Internet. (click on the links to go straight to the option for your browser)

iPad App to Prepare for Flying

There are many apps out there to help parents ease the fears of the first trip to the Dentist or Doctor. This app helps you prepare your child for a trip on an airplane. Airplanes can be very exciting but also very scary. This app goes from packing your suitcase, going through security, boarding the plane, and getting off at your destination. Its very good for little kids and lots of interaction opportunities are available. This app has 4 and 5 star ratings on various sites that I frequent. At this point it is only available for iPad and iPhone/iPod Touch. I have not seen an Android version yet.
 
Description from the iTunes Store:  $2.99  (There is a lite/free version as well)

 (app icon)

Familiarize your child with the experience of taking a flight and make them an active participant in the travel adventure. Build anticipation, reduce your child's anxiety, or let them share your trip even if they stay home.

Your child will learn:
* The steps involved in taking a flight, e.g. packing a suitcase, going through security, boarding the plane etc.
* Names of key destinations around the world and a taste of the view and culture
* The location of key destinations on the world map
* Preparing for different weather conditions in their travel destination

Activities include:
* Packing a suitcase
* Driving to the airport
* Going through security
* Boarding the plane - storing luggage and finding a seat
* Fastening seat belt and the takeoff process
* Claiming checked luggage
* Drawing and sending a postcard representing each destination
* Collecting mementos from each destination

An iPad Mini Contest

 
Smart Apps For Kids is hosting an iPad Mini giveaway!

click on the links to take you to the specific pages

This is a great site to help you find fun and educational apps for your kids. They review lots and lots and lots.....of apps. Most reviewers are parents and educators so you know that if the app has 4+ stars its probably going to be really good. They review apps for all age levels so as your kids grow you can keep up or if you have older kids you can find some that might help them with school skills. If you sign up for their newsletter they send you updates on new apps and contests (and they have alot of contests). You can also find them on facebook. They also have a facebook page dedicated to Android apps

Check Your Child's Development

picture credit: http://agesandstages.com

Many times when schools are called by parents who are concerned about their child's development an Ages and Stages Questionnaire is sent to the family to fill out. This is a fairly quick set of questions that look at all the areas of a child's development based on their age. Our public health system also uses this in their Follow Along program. You can now do this yourself anytime you want to online.

Easter Seals now has this available on their website. You input your child's birthday and the correct questionnaire opens up. You fill it out (trying the things with your child that you are not sure about) and then you submit it. You receive the scores by email a week or two after submitting the questionnaire.

Developmental Milestones Screening

The first five years are critical in a child's life. And this is the most important time to get your child support for a developmental delay or special need.

Children develop skills, or "milestones," at their own pace. How is your child doing? You only need 10-20 minutes to check with the Ages & Stages Questionnaires®, Third Edition. Your ASQ-3™ results will help you see if your child's developmental progress is on time and alert you to concerns that you can talk over with your health care provider.

Please note: ASQ-3™ is designed for screening, not diagnosis. It is a quick check for children from birth through age five. If your child is age six or older, please discuss his or her development with your child's health care provider, your local school district, or your child's teacher. Results from the questionnaire will be emailed to you within two weeks.