Edutainment sites for kids and parenets!

Edutainment is a term deriving from two words "Education" and "Entertainment" and it is well understood that the sites which are educational based but provide entertaining stuff are called "Edutainment" sites.

"Circle 1 Network" is an edutainment company, Combining learning with laughing and growing by sharing.
"Circle 1 Network" specializes in Web sites for parents and teachers looking for appropriate and educational online play to capture the interest of kids of all ages.
It was established in 1995. They have 3 sites,


1- KidsCom Jr., a Web site for kids and preschoolers. There are kids' games, educational and learning games, online coloring books, preschool activities and other games for preschoolers. (For kids 3-7 age)

Tips for internet safety from KIdscomjr.com

* Always have good manners and be polite when talking to someone else online.

* Ask your parents to spend time with you while online so that you can show them some of the neat things you can find online.

* Only use the Internet when your parents tell you it's OK, and only for as long as you are supposed to.

* Don't give out personal information like your address, telephone number or school name to anyone unless you have permission from your parents.

* Never meet with a cyberfriend or key pal unless your parents go with you or you have their permission to go alone.

* Don't break copyright rules by taking words, pictures or sound from someone else's Web site without their permission.

* Don't respond to any e-mail messages you get if they are strange, mean or upsetting to you, and tell your parents or teachers right away.

* Don't send pictures of yourself or your family to anyone unless you have permission from your parents.

* Stop right away if you see or read something on a Web site that upsets you and tell your parents or teachers about it.

* Don't put words, pictures or sounds on other people's Web sites without their permission.


2- "KidsCom" has kids games, chat rooms for kids, a virtual world, virtual pets and other child activities. kids' games focus on fun, learning and Internet safety. (For kids ages 8-15)
Link to the site: Kidscom.com

3- The third site is Parents talk which is a parenting magazine with parenting tips, family activities, crafts for children, help with a difficult child and other parenting information. Get parenting advice from parent experts. Share your stories and insights on the parent message boards.

If you want to ask any question go to the Link
- Register at their message board section to share your feelings on everything from parenting to health and well being.
Message board link

You may read articles about variety of topics like:

- Building self esteem, foundation for learning

"Make Stuff"- A site for hobbyist and crafters!

This is one of the site, where you can get a lot of "Do it yourself" ideas. People having interest in making crafts would like browsing these kind of sites, as there are a lot of projects, crafts to start working on. There is a lot of stuff at each page of the site, and it is distributed on topics basis, so its easy for you to search for your interest item.

Topics:

Crafts & Projects Great ideas for all kinds of crafts and projects for any season.

Cooking Recipes, and cooking tips.

Kid Stuff Easy art, crafts and cooking projects your kids can do.

Gardening For people who love to grow stuff!

Formulas & Remedies Homemade insect repellent, fertilizers, lotions, potions, bath salts.

Recycle It! Make something with it!

Sewing, Knitting, crochet, quilting and sewing projects.

Holidays Valentine, Easter, Mother Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas

I liked the page where there is a list of resources or ingredients used in different projects. And site has also guided where you can find those things.

* Resource list

* Link Pages takes you to the other craft or hobby sites.

Search at "Ask for KIDS" for educational stuff!

"Ask for Kids" (formerly known as Ask Jeeves for Kids) is an educational based search engine.

* Ask for Kids allows kids to ask questions and perform web searches, such as "When did Hawaii become a state?" or "What's it like to live in space?"or even "Convert 122 inches into feet" in the same way they would ask a parent, friend or teacher.

* The home page provide you with a picture of a pile of books with the names: Dictionary, Thesaurus,Almanac,Biography,Science,Clip art,Astronomy,World Atlas,Math help and history. So easily you can search for your subject.

* You can click on the link "Fun & Games", if you have finished searching and now want to relax, and play some online free games.

Why "Ask for Kids" was created?
In their own words:

"Kids have great imaginations and are curious by nature. That's why Ask for Kids has created a fast, easy, and safe way for kids to find information and answers online. Ask for Kids is primarily an educational Web site that kids can use for homework help and research for school projects.

Each Web site included in Ask for Kids is carefully selected by an editor. We include only "G-rated" pages and those written specifically for children. We select sites for the quality and depth of their content, and for safety. This criteria extends to the content of the pages presented on the Ask for Kids search results page, as well as the content of pages directly linked to on those results.

Ask for Kids focuses on modernizing its search engine technology, and giving kids tools that would make their searches experience better and more satisfying."

Create a free Islamic blog!

I have been blogging from few years, but could not get in touch with good Islamic blogs. But as blogs are getting popularity I could see many quality blogs which are created within year or so. And I like browsing blogs, due to a personal touch, but web sites providing same information don't attract my attention. The main reason of blog popularity is the freshness of content, recent news and thoughts, relevant to today's modern life.

I was really impressed to see My Minaret, which is a blogging network, providing free WordPress blog. If you have a little knowledge of WordPress or blogging, you can start blogging now at: My Minaret

Some features:

* There are 32 exciting Islamic themes, and you are free to choose any one for your blog.
* You can post content, images, video and audio links that can be played inside the blog.
* You can use this blog for Dawah purposes.





Manage content at your site: Guide to manage content

*** My blog at MyMinaret

Few Islamic blogs of note!

I usually check the Islamic sites, but as there is a professional touch, and most of the informations are alike, I rather prefer to read blogs. I am starting a new series of posts about Islamic blogs with some description. Here are few blogs of note:

1- Islam-Way for a perfect life:
Created by Yaasir Nazeerally, who is from a middle-class family from camp de masque pave. Currently employed in the Municipal Council of Beau Bassin Rose Hill - IT Section. Yaasir is a young active muslim, who have just started this blog in September. But being a youth, his articles are really very impressive.

* This is the article I liked at this blog Islam and youth a reality check

I hope that more posts would come, so keep checking the blog for updates.

Blog link: Islam-way for a perfect life


2- A glimpse into the life of a Muslimah: Created by "Umm Yusuf" . I am quoting the introduction of blogger and blog in her own words:

"I am an American convert to Islam, Alhamdullilah (all praise and thanks be to Allah. I was born and raised in the southern US. So, you can probably guess that I enjoy many outdoor activities. Such as: traveling, sight-seeing, and just generally spending time outdoors. I also enjoy learning how to cook (it’s a definite work in progress). Most of all, I like to learn and share my religion, Islam.
My goal for this blog is to share my thoughts and experiences as a muslim convert. If you are looking for debates then this is not the place for you as i will not indulge in debating or arguing my religion or way of life. However, if you are here to share your ideas and experiences in an intelligent way and with an open mind then welcome and enjoy!

I am not a writer. I do not profess or aspire to be one. My entries probably have plenty of gramatical errors and while I use spell check, I’m sure there are some misspelled words. But try to look beyond the writing to the core message of my posts. My mission is to get the ideas across as bumpy as the writing may be."

The posts I liked at the blogs are:
* 19 Things Sisters can do for Islam in America(or anywhere in the world really)

* Islamophobia Test- Will People React To Woman Being Abused While Wearing Hijab??

3- "For The Students, From The Students, By The Students." Yes this is the motto of an Indian school site Aymen's page, run by two MBHS Students - Aymen Mohammed and Aamer Ali,(now managed by Bestkids Web Solutions)

Aymen's Perception On Schooling:

"A school should not be a preparation for life. A school should be life."


Note: More sites would be added in future!

Sites and links providing help for safe internet use!

Whenever I log on to "internet explorer" and start browsing, as a parent often this question strikes my mind "how can we save our new generation from bad sides of internet?". Because the Internet offers kids many opportunities for learning, constructive entertainment, and personal growth. At the same time,there are risks, kids face online. Our duty as a parent or teacher is to educate themselves and our children about how to use the Internet safely.

My son is only 8 years old, but I am really worried about him, when he would start browsing the internet. And being a teacher I think this is my duty to spread the knowledge to everyone who want to learn "safe internet use" and want to safe their children from misuse of internet. So this post is part of my articles providing you links and resources where you can get information about this topic.

* Microsoft is also concerned about this fact that some guidance is essential at family level. So go to this link:
This post is about social networking sites, which have become a hot trend among teens. Guidelines from Microsoft

* Another detailed guide provides you information about:
- Age-based guidelines for kids' Internet use

- Kids and gaming: Help kids play it safe

- Help kids deal with hateful content

Get it here: Parental supervision and age-based guidance

* Get Net Wise.org is a public service brought to you by a wide range of Internet industry corporations and public interest organizations. This site provides you safety tips for kids, teens, and families. You also get information about "Risks relating internet use, technology risks, and privacy informations.

- Online Safety Guide where you
learn about the risks kids face online, based on age levels or types of activities. Concerns about privacy are addressed as well. Also: Quick tips for kids, teens, and families.
- At Tools for family you can search or browse for Internet safety products, including those that filter explicit or violent content, monitor a child's Internet access, or limit time online. See sample contracts for kids' Internet use.

- At Web sites for kids you can check out links to great sites families can visit together! Explore educational or entertaining Web sites for kids, teens, and families.

- Reporting trouble section is where you learn how to identify online trouble and get law enforcement contact information. Find national child advocacy groups that can help you recognize and report online trouble.

More useful links and sites:

* Great web sites for kids

* More internet safety sites

* A discussion board where you can get in touch with the like minded people who are also concerned about safe internet use.

- Connect Safely forum

* Few more links: Click here

Review: SafeKids.com helping you makes the internet safe for you!

Many days ago, a parent asked me that she wanted to have internet access at home, but feared that her teenage son might misuse it. At that time I was not sure about if there are sites to help parents helping the parents and teens for safe internet use. But I was happy to get link to many sites, which provide sufficient stuff for safe use of internet.

When creating this blog, this topic came first in my mind that I would be reviewing the site about “learning to use internet safely” ,SafeKids is the first site I am reviewing here. Where parents, teachers and teenagers can learn how to use internet safely.




SafeKids provides you information about the dangers of children using the internet. Rules, advice, and tips relating to child security and the web. This site can be considered family guide which helps us in making the internet and technology safe and productive.

* Tips and tools section contains the topics:
* Child Safety on the Information Highway
* Video & Audio Slide Shows
* Kids Rules for Online Safety
* Safe Blogging Tips for Teens
* Guidelines for Parents
* Family Contract for Online Safety
* Chat Room Safety
* Think Safety When Posting Online Video
* Privacy Issues

Every topic takes you to another article window where it is discussed in detail.
This part of the site provides you new articles update.
I want to write tips from one of the article. I have chosen this article, because I know a lot of teens are taking interest in having an online diary (blog) which is very easy to create.
Safe Blogging Tips for Teens:
• Be as anonymous as possible. Avoid postings that could enable a stranger to locate you. That includes your last name, the name of your school, sports teams, the town you live in, and where you hang out.
• Protect your info. Check to see if your service has a “friends” list that allows you to control who can visit your profile or blog. If so, allow only people you know and trust. If you don’t use privacy features, anyone can see your info, including people with bad intentions.
• Avoid in-person meetings. Don’t get together with someone you “meet” in a profile or blog unless you are certain of their actual identity. Although it’s still not risk-free, if you do meet the person, arrange the meeting in a public place and bring some friends along.
• Photos: Think before posting. What’s uploaded to the Net can be downloaded by anyone and passed around or posted online pretty much forever. Avoid posting photos that allow people to identify you (for example, when they’re searching for your high school), especially sexually suggestive images. Before uploading a photo, think about how you’d feel if it were seen by a parent/grandparent, college admissions counselor, or future employer.
• Check comments regularly. If you allow them on your profile or blog, check them often. Don’t respond to mean or embarrassing comments. Delete them and, if possible, block offensive people from commenting further.
• Be honest about your age. Membership rules are there to protect people. If you are too young to sign up, do not attempt to lie about your age. Talk with your parents about alternative sites that may be appropriate for you.
Source link: Safe Blogging Tips for Teens

Get the answer of your questions at "WikiAnswers"

Everybody have some questions at some times, and people who have internet are lucky to get the answers by just writing their questions in the search box and clicking it. Within seconds you are taken to hundreds and evern thousands of relevant sites, where the topic is discussed.

I use the google search engine for the purpose and despite of the fact that it takes hours to check different links for proper answer of my inquiry, I get the answer of my inquiry. But there are some helping sites at the net where you can save your time by just submitting your question and getting specific result within seconds.

WikiAnswers is one of the site, where people from all walks of life share their knowledge. This site is equally helpful for teachers, and students.

Some facts about the site:
* 346,772 free members are now working on 1,001,250 questions.
* According to analysis using ComScore data, WikiAnswers is second-fastest growing domain of the top 1,500 Web domains. For the first nine months of this year, WikiAnswers unique monthly visitor count in the U.S. has grown 317%, to over four million.

* According to a very recent report, WikiAnswers, has reached one million questions.
* To date, WikiAnswers currently contains over 2,100 categories of questions.

Mission of the site:

"Their mission is to grow a collaborative answers resource. In WikiAnswers, anyone, anywhere, is encouraged to ask a question on any topic and get a cooperatively written human-generated answer. We believe that two heads truly are better than one, and together we can provide fuller, richer answers.

Everyone has knowledge to share, whether it's about health insurance, digital cameras or the meaning of life. Everyone should have the opportunity to contribute their expertise with the world, and on WikiAnswers that opportunity is free and available for the curious to explore."

* Speciality of WikiAnswers is about creating a collaborative directory of questions and answers. They encourage everyone to add to and improve each other's answers instead of asking and answering the same questions over and over again.

* Anybody can contribute, any knowledge, to help answer other people's questions

To start:

1. Sign up and be recognized for your expertise. Sign up link

2. Ask a question on anything you're curious about. Ask a question link

3. Answer a question with your relevant, accurate knowledge of the topic. Answer a question link

4. Improve others' answers if you have relevant, accurate information to add. Improve others answers

Ask a question right now via this search box!

Ask a question: