Recommended Links

Information and Inspiration for Parents:

• PlayLearnParent
  PlayLearnParent was developed by developmental psychologist Dr. Alexis Lauricella "to provide parents with information about child development in one space and to create a forum where parents can ask questions..."



• Parent Cortical Mass
  "Parent Cortical Mass is for parents looking to increase their knowledge about kids' learning and education both in and out of school." The information on the site focuses on sharing research in learning science; American education policy; and technologies, toys, and more that strengthen children's learning.



• Top 10 List to Improve Children's Memory Or How to be Your Child's Memory Coach
  From neurologist and teacher Dr. Judy Willis: "...we now have is neuroimaging and brain-mapping studies to view the working brain as it learns. These memory tips are derived from my background as a neurologist. I review the neuroimaging research. I then use my experience as a classroom teacher to make connections between the research and strategies that are NEURO-LOGICAL."



• jbm thinks: A Mom's journey of faith, family, sports, and life
  "Janis was brought up in a sports family, married a man who has coached for 26 years,and has had three kids play sports from age 5 to college. She sees issues a bit differently, with a perspective of life from both sides of the bench--as a coach's wife and as an athlete's parent."



• ParentFurther: E-Parenting
  "E-Parenting is the term used to describe modern parenting in a digital world. Today's parent is one who sometimes feels overwhelmed in the ever-changing, ever-growing worlds of technology and media, and works to find a proper balance between keeping up, and staying ahead of the kids. With things like cell phones that can access the Internet, and video game consoles as powerful as yesterday's home computers, how can you keep up with how your kids are using technology? And with all of this increased exposure to media, can you make sure that your child is only being exposed to appropriate content? "



• Reviews from Common Sense Media
  Common Sense Media provides reviews of movies, games, apps, websites, TV, books, and music. They are "dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in a world of media and technology."

Computer Game-making Tools for Kids:

• Gamestar Mechanic
  "Gamestar Mechanic empowers kids to have fun while they explore their passion for games and game design. In addition to being a fun game, Gamestar Mechanic was also designed as a learning platform to foster the development of 21st Century skills while teaching the principles of game design."



• Scratch
  "Scratch is a programming language that makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art -- and share your creations on the web. As young people create and share Scratch projects, they learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also learning to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively. Scratch is developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab, with financial support from the National Science Foundation, Microsoft, Intel Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Google, Iomega and MIT Media Lab research consortia."