Website Watch
Featured Page Sponsor
Local Forecast & LIVE Doppler Radar
|
|
Website Watch |
Featured Page Sponsor
Local Forecast & LIVE Doppler Radar
|
| a-z index | what's happening | blog | family forum | newsletter | mom's choice directory | advertise with us | gallery | about us | search | contact us |
| Website Watch |
|
 Agape Counseling Center 217-787-1616 Learn More |
217-787-9677 We've Moved! Come see us |
217-787-0725 Save $20% off Dry Cleaning |
217-544-4000 Working for your Wellness |
|
|
Featured Website: www.hulu.com
Adults and Kids alike will marvel at the new website from
NBC that offers full episodes of classic TV shows old and new alike!
Thanks to Lisa Whelpley for this find!
Featured Article: The Latest Internet Safety Tips Welcome to Webkinz World: One Dad's Addiction by Bill Eves Send us your favorite websites for adults and kids! |
|
www.usa.gov Ever heard the line: “We’re the government and we’re here to help!” Before you scoff, take a look at this website brought to you from … well, the government. is the U.S. government’s official website, and you can find just about anything and everything you would want to know through this website. Try out their search engine and find everything from college loan info to pictures from Mars to recipes from the White House. Take a look! Check out their web gems, one of my favorites for funny clips of the day. Music Paradise for Parents Thanks to Springfield Dad, Kevin Lust, for introducing me to this wonderful website of internet radio. Pandora will search the artist that you like and group related artists so you can create your own stations. It’s free and also offers the option to purchase songs via iTunes or amazon.com
http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/moviemom
When I was a kid, my mom would often go to the theatre and preview movies before
she’d allow my sister and me to go see them. I’m not sure we’re all able to do
that, but here’s the next best thing. Check out Yahoo’s The Movie Mom.
Her reviews are amazingly thorough and detailed. You’ll know exactly what is
going to take place in the movie. She grades each movie, evaluates it in terms
of language, nudity & sex, and alcohol & drugs. And, if that’s not enough, she
offers discussion questions for families to use as a springboard for
conversation after watching the movie. Most kids and teen movies, both new and
old releases, are reviewed. Movies straight to your doorstep! For a monthly fee, Netflix provides unlimited DVD rentals, (although there is a limit on the number you can have out at any one time) and you can keep the DVDs for as long as you like without paying any late fees. When you are ready to return a DVD, you simply seal it into the included postage paid envelope. Now they have a great feature where you can allow different family members to create their own "queue" with movies that they would like to select. Perfect for busy (and forgetful!) families!
It's like having a library in your mailbox! If you are a subscriber of Netflix, (see above) you will understand the concept behind Booksfree. Booksfree is a paperback book borrowing service that's been in business since 2000 and offers over 49, 000 titles to choose from. You can subscribe to their book service for as little as $7.99 per month (paperback, audio CD or MP3). Based on the service you choose, you can have between 2 to 29 books delivered to you home each month. And shipping is free both ways! Register & Save - Thanks to Ann Londrigan for this referral. All you need to do is register with our local Kerasotes Theater and they will send you and your registered family members a card to go to movies for only $5 each. You have to wait a few weeks after new movies are released, but they keep you posted via email on when you can attend the shows. What a deal. Also, while you’re in the movie mindset, don’t forget Kerasotes’ Matinee Movie Magic for Moms at Show Place 8. Log on to www.Kerasotes.com or call 1-800-FANDANGO to find time and showings
www.theholidayspot.com & www.coolarchive.com are great for downloading free fonts & clip art to your computer.
Let’s face it, some days the news can be a downright bummer. If you’re tired of it, check out this website recommended by Readers’ Digest as "doggedly upbeat." This site’s motto is "Real News. Compelling Stories. Always Positive."
Toy Recall Websites www.Consumersunion.org/products
The Latest Internet Safety Tips Today, one of the most helpful yet dangerous resources in our home is the family computer. Stories of cyber-stalking, cyber-bullying and just general mayhem and mischief concern parents everywhere. Here are some tips and resources to help you keep your kids safe as they navigate the Internet socially and for school.
Stay on top of who is going where
on the family computer.
Limit
screen time.
Be aware of
cyberbullying.
Check out these web sites, which provide a variety of information and strategies to help you become more Internet savvy: · Bully OnLine: www.bullyonline.orgBully OnLine helps parents determine what might be going on in a cyberbullying situation – what the motivations and techniques of the bully might be and ways to help your child survive being a victim of cyberbullying. · GetNetWise: www.getnetwise.orgGetNetWise is a public service site sponsored by the Internet Education Foundation. There is a comprehensive guide on Internet safety. The Online Safety Guide targets a wide variety of age groups and also provides safety software recommendations and links to kid friendly sites. · iSAFE: www.iSafe.orgiSAFE is a nonprofit organization dedicated to keeping kids safe online. Check out the multi-media guides for kids and teens as well as learning modules and curricula for parents and teachers. · Kidz Privacy: www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/kidzprivacy. This Just for Kidz site, from the Federal Trade Commission, offers guidelines for parents and computer savvy kids.· Wired Safety: www.wiredsafety.orgWired Safety is one of the oldest and largest Internet safety organizations. Look over their videos, articles and tips for families including Internet-use contracts that parents and children can sign and a number of downloadable booklets.
Safe Search Filters
Other Resources for Parents
Local parents also recommend these free websites. NEW! For the elementary and the younger set!
www.starfall.com great for the kindergarten and new readers. ABC practice, reading phonics, easy reading exercises and tons of educational worksheets.
www.eduplace.com/edugames.html
www.internet4classrooms organized for kindergarten through eigth gradae!
www.scholastic.com/learningarcade/play.html Matching, memory, math patterns and rhyming words
www.funbrain.com choose from many levels of reading and math practice.
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/flash/stage1.shtml Kids can learn basic keyboarding skills. Dance Mat Typing ages 7-11.
www.bbc.co.uk.schools/lacc/menu.shtml Digby mole for word practice, Count Hoot for math practice, Story Bear will read you a story
www.eduplace.com/edugames.html
www.miniclips.com Springfield Dad Kevin Lust says his son is addicted!
You must first purchase a webkinz doll $12-$15 to get a code to access the games on this site.
Similar to webkinz, but you name a star in the sky that is also imprinted on your stuffed animals paw. The code will give you access to the games on the site. Price point around $15r
Kids and adults alike can get addicted!
www.pbskids.org who can resist simple games, coloring sheets, and learning with your favorite PBS characters.
Tara McAndrew wrote in with this interactive website: http://www.nga.gov/kids/zone/flow.htm. "My son's teacher recommended this website at the National Gallery of Art. We checked it out and it's amazing! He loved it, so we wanted to pass it on. Even adults get caught up in it. Just click your mouse anywhere on the screen and see what happens."
http://kids.discovery.com/games/games.html Games for a variety of age levels
http://www.sadlier-oxford.com/index.cfm Educational activities for grades K-12+! Activities to enhance Math, Vocabulary, Phonics, Grammar, Writing & Reading at all ages!
www.nick.com or www.nickjr.com
www.toontown.com Award-winning, create your Toontown player and go on adventures!
http://looneytunes.warnerbros.com/web/homepage/homepage.jsp Print a variety of coloring pages there's an arcade that is great for kids and they've got quizzes related to math and other school subjects
Tweens and Teens! www.addictinggames.com (NOTE more suitable for TEEN aged kids. i.e. ages 10 on up)
There are several crafts the kids can make for friends and family. This site features general crafts & activities, a health & nutrition section and good all-around parenting information. Just a "heads-up" – it’s sponsored by Nestle, so there are lots of plugs for their products.
Preschoolers Numerous printable coloring pages for kids to print out and create custom coloring books for your children! We keep ours in a three-ring binder. www.preschoolexpress.com Check out a variety of stations for tons of ideas of things to do with your preschoolers! Station Names include: Games, Alphabet, Rhymes, Holiday, Inspiration, and Discovery. Your kids will love seeing all their favorite monsters, and you’ll love the educational benefits to each and every game. There’s something for all age groups from lap-baby on up. Also, you can find great ideas and activities to use when you’re not logged on. www.pbskids.org spin the wheel for your favorite character!
Software Suggestion: Thanks to busy mom of three, Sonja Trainor for this great tip: Our kids absolutely love the Putt Putt software games (by Humongous Entertainment). Putt Putt is a little car who has to save the zoo, save the circus, join the parade, etc. Along the way, he has many tasks to complete, problem-solving all the way. The kids will literally sit down and play a Putt Putt game for a solid hour or two, until it’s completed. The I Spy games are great, too. The kids are becoming computer savvy with the mouse and not even realizing it! For helpful software reviews on these and MANY more! Check out: http://www.reviewcorner.com/software/index.html
Welcome to Webkinz World: One Dad's Addiction by Bill Eves My daughter, Sophie, received a Webkinz stuffed animal as a pre-school graduation gift. Her particular doll is a Pegasus (as in a pink horse with wings) that she named Sparkles. Following the instructions, we log onto www.webkinz.com, enter our validation code, and are set loose into the Webkinz world. We start in a room furnished with only a chair, a balloon, and the Webkinz guidebook. Sparkles is there to give us a warm welcome. Sophie loves it. Using the mouse, my daughter moves the virtual Sparkles around her room while the physical Sparkles watches attentively, propped up next to the computer. Clicking on the guidebook gives us a pop-up window with all the help topics we’ll ever need. We’re directed to three status bars at the bottom left corner of the monitor that provide feedback of your virtual pet’s happiness, health, and hunger. The more you interact with your virtual pet, the happier it gets. Your pet’s health increases by exercising and eating healthy food. Your pet’s hunger subsides by eating. Very simple stuff, except that Sparkles appears to be getting hungry and we don’t have any food. The guidebook says we need to go to the W-Store. Let’s go shopping! We click on the W-Store link and find an index of categories (furniture, clothing, room themes, etc.), and within each category there are dozens of choices. Picture the combined inventories of Meijer, IKEA, Menard’s, and Nordstrom all in an attractive, kid-friendly package intended to foster consumerism at the earliest of ages. It’s either brilliant or sinister, depending on your point of view.
The local currency is KinzCash, and we have but 2,000. How much does that sofa cost? Nice window treatments. We need to add-on another room. OK, let’s do a cloud theme bedroom, an underwater theme living room, and let’s get a yard so we have somewhere to put the swimming pool. “Hey, Soph, we can’t afford any of this stuff.” We end up picking out some new clothes for Sparkles, and then getting her some carrots.
So how do you get more KinzCash? There are many options, including the most obvious: go to the Employment Office and get a job. Nothing beats the Wishing Well, the Webkinz equivalent of a scratch-off lottery ticket. A trip to the Arcade lets you accrue wealth while having fun. There are about 30 different on-line games. You can play against the computer or against Webkinz characters (other people). The higher your score, the more KinzCash is awarded. To get the stuff you want, you have to put in the time. It’s a grind. If they’d let you donate virtual plasma for KinzCash, we’d do it.
I’m partial to Quizzy’s Word Challenge, a game where random letters are arranged in a grid and you have to find words using the letters provided. The hard part is that you have to get enough points to clear the level using only 10 words. Longer words score better, used letters are replaced with new random letters, and every 7 points gets you 1 KinzCash. It’s completely addicting, and I catch myself playing after Sophie has gone to bed. Forty-two minutes later I hit the wall, 16 points short of advancing to Level 9, having acquired 347 KinzCash. Not bad, except that I only came in third place in the tournament (someone beat “visages” and “languish”?). Hmmm…there are some really sharp kids on-line.
Now that kindergarten has started, Sophie’s interest in the Webkinz site has waned a bit. After seeing her sister play on-line, Amelia, our 3-1/2 year old, has requested a Webkinz doll. We’ll cross that bridge later. In the meantime, I’ve got a horse to feed.
Bill Eves is a principal at Ketchum & Eves, Inc., an environmental consulting firm. He and his wife, Bronwyn, have been married 9 years, and have two daughters, Sophie, 6, and Amelia, 3-1/2. He also coaches the Springfieldmoms.org 6-year-old soccer team.
Check out our Going Green webpage with info and links on how to make your home safe and integrate a living green lifestyle to make our planet a better and safer place to live. Small changes when made by each of us can yield great long-term results!
Fed up of punching a seemingly random string of numbers to get through to a live person on automated phone systems? You’re apparently not alone. Paul English’s site was recently featured on the Today Show and in People Magazine. This site offers a cheat sheet of "steps to find a human" at hundreds of companies. Give it a try and enjoy those minutes saved!
This government managed website streamlines all recalls in one convenient location. You can find the latest information on cars, medicine, foods, cosmetics, and other consumer products.
Need some motivation to get organized? Want to get a jumpstart on spring cleaning? She may be intense, but the Fly Lady is the right woman for the job. Check out this over-the-top site for more tips on getting your house together than you could ever need. Just one warning: If you sign up for her free e-mails, your inbox will never sit lonely again. She sends 10+ e-mails per day!
We have many more website resources on our Fitness & Health page. Thanks to Springfield Mom, Heather Tega, for sending us this recommendation! " I love using the resource askdrsears.com for medical information for my kids. The medicine cabinet tab is great because you can get dosage requirements and find out what medicine would best treat your child's symptoms. The childhood illness tab is great to determine what your child may have and determine whether a trip or even a call to the doctor is necessary. It’s a great resource for moms like myself who can "overcall" my pediatrician with questions."
Housecall is an excellent weekly e-newsletter sent out by the Mayo Clinic. Springfield Mom Ann Londrigan says you can quickly scan the headers to see if there is something relevant to your family or someone you know. When it comes to medical information sent online, it’s important to make sure it’s from a credible source; Mayo Clinic is certainly at the crème of the crop. The link to healthy recipes is an added bonus.
In the Kitchen
Visit our Mom's Choice Directory for local shopping savvy and print off our coupons to keep in your car and redeems as you go!
Thanks to Beth Waldman, teacher at Westminster Presbyterian Coop Preschool for telling me about this great resource. You don’t have to be a teacher to benefit from the amazing discounts on this site! Our family loves their construction paper, washable paints, paintbrushes, glitter glue, beads, musical toys, and marker holders. The prices are so affordable. Many things you can by just one item; if you have to buy in bulk, I use extras for party favor bags and stocking stuffers for our friends. Sign-up online before your first order, and you will get emails with shipping sales or discounts. - Thanks to Linda House for sending us this! Straight from the Today show! This is a free website that has "Deals" listed for stores all across the US and of course on the internet. They have links to coupons, sales, free shipping offers, and more. While on this site I found a spot in the forum section called Garage Sale. You can list things for FREE on this site that you want to sell. They also have a place to list items you are looking to buy. They do ask you to register, but it is totally free!!
I recently found a great web site with educational items to purchase for our children’s activities for our local arts festival. We ordered the "reading hats" which the kids got to decorate and wear to match our storytime theme (The Cat in the Hat). These would be great for birthday parties too.
Does it seem like sometimes our kids spend too much time with the Gameboy and Video Now and not enough time just playing? This website is chock full of the games we played as kids – before technology took over. There are games for camping, travel, and just to pass the time. Check out the website to dust off that memory and get playing with your kids! |
|
© Springfield Moms 2004-2008 All rights reserved.
|
www.SpringfieldMoms.org Online Family Resources ™ 217-698-4097 Springfield , IL |
