The Virtual Woman: A Woman's
Weekly Guide To Cyberspace
Sites That Make the Grade for Kids K-6
We're heading towards September and you can easily envision the leaves on the trees threatening to change. The sun starts to set earlier. Indeed, Fall is within our sweaty grasp. As an adult I've always loved Fall-my favorite season by a long shot. However, as a kid, there could be no other three word combination more horrid than Back To School. This meant one thing and one thing only: a black hole of scholastic nothingness stretched out in front of me for as many pages of the calendar I could stomach looking at. And perhaps I was a bit neurotic (clearly I've left all that behind) but I strongly believe heading back still remains traumatic for most kids. And of course bordering somewhere between Heaven-on-Earth and Nirvana for most parents. Regardless, check out this week's column for some cyberadvice on making everyone's life easier for that day when the yellow school bus comes a calling for your little bundles of sweetness and light.
Dear Virtual Woman:
My children are having a hard time
getting back into the swing of things after their summer vacation and I'm worried that
they'll get off on the wrong foot with their schoolwork. Are there any online sites that
can help me get my kids' minds off of summer and onto their homework?
- Worried in Wisconsin
Dear Worried:
Poor kids-have they tried my favorite ploy, running away from home? If not, set them down at the computer. There are a growing number of websites designed just for kids that can really help to get them in the right mindset for school. Don't be fooled either - some sites might appear to be all fun and games but there are some like The Alphabet Highway located at http://www.ash.udel.edu/ash/index.html which is a great resource for learning. Your kids can visit the Exhibit Hall link to gather information on all sorts of topics, or they can visit the Library section to gain access to a searchable database and reference books like dictionaries and encyclopedias. Schoolwork.org (http://www.schoolwork.org/) also offers invaluable homework help to students. A fully searchable database and a well-organized list of topics make this site easy for the kiddies to navigate and learn from. And, if they don't need an answer right away, they might want to visit the KidsConnect site, found at http://www.ala.org/ICONN/AskKC.html. KidsConnect is a division of the American Association of School Librarians, and the site encourages kids to do their own research with the help of a librarian. An average query is usually responded to in two school days.
Dear Virtual Woman:
Now that my kids are going back
to school, I'm not looking forward to hearing them whine about the bad lunches served in
the school cafeteria, yet I don't have a lot of time to prepare lunches for them to take
from home. Are there any sites online that can provide me with some fast recipe ideas that
my kids will actually eat?
- Angela Wallace, Albuquerque, NM
Dear Angela:
I say definitely bag those cafeteria lunches and check out A, href="http://family.go.com">Family Fun Magazine. To get there, got to http://family.go.com. Next, enter "Lunches Kids Love" next to the Search option at the top of the page. After you press Search, follow the first link titled Lunches Kids Love. Be sure to click on all three recipe links, including "11 Lunch Box Winners" that gives healthy and unique recipes; "Easy Lunch Box Stuffers," which has great suggestions for surprises to add for a bit of fun. Also, check out the "Peanut Butter And..." link. There you'll find ten great ideas that'll make your everyday PB&J sandwiches rock!
Dear Virtual Woman:
I work at home and
am in need of a way to keep my children busy for a couple hours after they get home from
school so that I can finish up my work for the day. Any suggestions?
- Paula (mother of 3), San Francisco, CA
Dear Paula:
For maximum afterschool fun have them visit Mama Media's colorful site at http://www.mamamedia.com (note: the site is musical so if you're working on the phone you may want to have the volume turned down on your system). There are plenty of things to keep them busy on this site, including games, prizes, surprises and even links to other great kid-approved websites. More A+ site for kids include: Chiquita Kids at http://www.chiquitakids.com/ and Kidz Draw (which is divided into age groups) is perfect for your budding child artist at http://www.kidzdraw.com/. For one of the best learning yet entertaining sites, log onto JuniorNet at http://www.juniornet.com Trust me -- there's more there than even the most energetic child could check out in a couple hours! All the sites listed above have parental control settings and are guaranteed to be safe for kids of all ages!
Happy Surfing!
Find these links and more at WWWomen.Com (http://www.wwwomen.com) the web's largest search directory of topics for women online. Email the Virtual Woman with your Internet questions or send snailmail to: WWWomen.Com, Attn: Virtual Woman, 3701 Geary Blvd., #325, S.F., CA 94118. Copyright, 1998-99. WWWomen, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Contributing Editor: Mary Bergner
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