Kids in Mind Website
(see if movies are suitable for you and your kids)
Click HERE for "Your Source for Parenting and Parental Invovement Information" from The Center for Effective Parenting/Arkansas Parent Information & Resource Center.
Click HERE for "Parenting in Arkansas" from Arkansas Children's Hospital.
Click HERE for 10 Ways to Raise a Reader.
Click HERE for 10 Ways to Be a Great Parent.
Click HERE for Ways to Help Your Child Get Ready for Kindergarten.
WEB WATCH
Internet Safety
from Phi Delta Kappan
The Journal for Education
by Mark Hanes and Matt Roll
Staying safe on the Internet is important. But as our online lives continue to expand, we need to ask ourselves, How safe are we? And while Internet safety may start with keeping children safe, everyone in a community needs to be aware of potential problems and on guard against them. Listed below are some useful and informative websites to help all individuals in the community keep themselves and their loved ones safe while they surf.
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This website is a good place to begin learning about cyber security. It is geared toward home users, small business owners, and education audiences. Take a test to answer the question "How safe are you?" The National Cyber Security Alliance hosts the site, and sponsors include the U. S. Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Trade Commission, and a number of corporations and organizations in the private sector. |
http://security.getnetwise.org Created by the Internet Education Foundation, GetNetWise puts Internet users just "one click away" from the resources they need for online security. Users can also learn some basic information, such as what a firewall is and how to activate one, and pick up security tips. GetNetWise even offers a Safe Cyber Surfer Quiz for children.
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Founded in 1998 and endorsed by the U. S. Congress, i-safe bills itself as the worldwide leader in Internet safety education. Its stated mission is to "educate and empower youth to make their Internet experiences safe and responsible." While incorporating classroom curriculum, i-Safe helps students, teachers, and parents to take steps to make the Internet a safer place.
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NetSafeKids, from the National Academy of Sciences, is a site designed to help parents protect children from sexual predators and pornography on the Internet. The site gives an overview of how a child can be contacted by strangers and offers tips to help make your child safer when surfing.
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Wired Safety is one of a number of sites operated by Wired Kids, Inc. This one is designed for use by parents, educators, and law enforcement personnel. It helps with both prevention and investigations of cyber crimes and also provides resources for educators to use with their students. The site is run by over 9,000 volunteers, who are committed to keeping the Internet safe for all. |
Netsmartz is a site that serves as a resource for parents, educators, law enforcement personnel, kids and kids of all ages. Educational resources, videos, and games are all included in this site to help educate children about Internet safety. It is sponsored by an array of public and private nonprofit and profit-making entities.
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This website helps educators and students learn the 21st century skills they need with a margin of safety. Students, parents, and teachers can use the site to become more informed and work on lessons that deal with Internet safety and ethical computing. A number of professional development opportunities are available as well.
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Childnet International maintains this educational, useful, and positive site, which works to promote safety for children on the Internet without losing site of the amazing and creative possibilities that this new capability makes possible.
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Study: Summer Reading Helps Students
Walter Minkel -- School Library Journal, 2/1/2002
Students participating in a summer reading program are more likely to read at their grade level or above than their nonparticipating peers, and those reading above grade level are more likely to retain those skills into the next school year, says a follow-up study by the the Evaluation and Training Institute, a research firm. The survey, which looks at 2001 summer reading programs run by five Southern California public libraries, also confirms last year's findings: participating K–3 students read more books over the summer, and their parents spent more time reading with their children. (See "Taking the Show on the Road ," for a look at how libraries are using outreach techniques to make their summer reading programs more effective.)
Teachers interviewed for the study said about 33 percent of summer reading participants were more likely to read above grade level, compared to about 18 percent of nonparticipants. The teachers, who reported on more than 900 participating and nonparticipating students, say the long-term effects of the program are evident: in surveying second graders, 31 percent of participating students read above grade level, compared to 29 percent of nonparticipating peers. When those students entered the third grade, however, the same percentage of participating students continued to read above grade level, but the number of nonparticipating students reading above grade level dropped to 24 percent.
Penny Markey, youth services coordinator for the County of Los Angeles Public Library, who oversaw the grant project, says public libraries need hard data to demonstrate that summer reading programs make a significant difference in children's reading abilities. Funded by a $350,000 grant from the Los Angeles Times Mirror Foundation, the study looked at the 2000 and 2001 summer reading programs in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties. To request a copy of the study results, e-mail Markey at pennym@colapl.org.