An educational and entertaining site for kids and parents-Kids Konnect

Here is the beginning of my post.
'Kids Konnect' is one of those  free sites which can be called educational and entertaining as the same time or edutainment site. It is a valuable link for kids and parents to start searching the net in a safe way as they offer the links and sites which are most appropriate to be displayed on a Web site intended for children

It was first created to fulfill the requirements of a model technology school in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. But later when this site went upto the internet, it was decided to make this site available free worldwide.
Site was created by a retired teacher "Jan Belzer" having a long teaching experience.

Site link: Kids Konnect.com

Primary goal:
To find the best sites available and provide the students with the safest and most effective way of utilizing the Internet. And here is the rest of it.

The main goal behind creating the site can be divided into 4 parts:

- Allowing children to safely and effectively utilize the Internet.
- Site covers the curriculm areas taught in school, so site is also helpful in studies.
- Lots of fun site links for kids to visit.
- Keeping the site free.

Target:

For teachers, students, and parents who utilize KidsKonnect at school and at home.

Achievement: Kids Konnect receives 280,000 unique visitors each month, with an average of 700,000 pages viewed monthly with 2 pages per visit. It has over 413 pages right now, adding more pages whenever needed.
There is very impressive and informative report about internet safety from the Kids Konnect.com. I have taken a part of the article which is about "important facts to think about"

1. In a study of 4 million children between the ages of 7 and 17 who use the Internet, 29% indicated they would give out their home address and 14% would give out their email address if asked (NOP Research Group, 2002).

2. 81% of parents of online teens say that teens aren’t careful enough when giving out information about themselves online and 79% of online teens agree with this (Pew Internet & American Life Project, March 17, 2005).

3. Approximately 89% of sexual solicitations of youth were made in either chat rooms or through Instant Messaging (Pew Study reported in JAMA, 2001).

4. 1 in 5 youth ages 10 to 17 received sexual solicitation or approach in last year (Online Victimization, NCMEC, June 2000).

5. “30% of teenage girls polled by the Girl Scout Research Institute said they had been sexually harassed in a chatroom. Only 7% told their parent because they were worried that their parents would ban them from going online” (Girl Scout Research Institute, 2002).

6. "86% of the girls polled said they could chat online without their parents’ knowledge, 57% could read their parents’ e-mail, and 54% could conduct a cyber relationship” (Girl Scout Research Institute, 2002).

7. Law enforcement officials estimate that as many as 50,000 sexual predators are online at any given moment (Dateline, 2006).

8. 42% of parents do not review the content of what their teenager(s) read and/or type in chat rooms or via instant messaging (The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and NetSmartz, June 2005).

9. 95% of parents didn’t recognize common chat room lingo that teenagers use to let people they’re chatting with know that their parents are watching. Those phrases are POS (parent over shoulder), P911 (parent alert), BRB (be right back), LOL (laughing out loud) and A/S/L (age/sex/location) (The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and NetSmartz, June 2005).

10. 30% of parents allow their teenagers to use the computer in private areas of the house such as a bedroom or a home office. Parents say they are more vigilant about where their teen(s) go online if the computer is in a public area of the household (NCMEC/ Cox5/24/05).

11. Nearly three out of 10 (28%) of parents don't know or are not sure if their teens talk to strangers online (NCMEC/ Cox5/24/05).

12. One-third of youth ages 8-18 have talked about meeting someone they have only met through the Internet (Polly Klaas Foundation, December 21, 2005).

To read full report:
Internet safety for kids and parents

Search at the site, taking time as there is a lot to discover. For example I searched for "stories online and the page came up with 68 site links.

I have searched through some links and providing the page link as well for easy browsing:

* Doorway to the internet providing you with very cool links to other kids sites.
* Online encyclopedia and reference guide
* Fun sites for kids
* Word games sites
* Primary Mathe sites
* Maths sites
* Phonics sites
* Quotables

Online resources for home school parents of children with special needs

You are planning about homeschooling your child with special needs. You may feel that the local public school cannot meet his needs as well as you can. Or that the special resources he needs are just not met by standard special education programs. Or that your child will not thrive in a traditional classroom.

Whatever the reason, there are many parents who are making the same choices you are, and meeting with varying degrees of success.

There are many parents who are making the same choices you are, and meeting with varying degrees of success. If you have come to this new directory on www.iser.com, you are in search of resources, information, curriculum help, special needs software, or some professional consultation to help you and your child.

Please remember to research your special needs options carefully.

Links and resources:

* HOMESCHOOLING CHILDREN AND TEENS WITH SPECIAL NEED

* Phonics Plus Five--the only reading system that teaches your child ALL SIX skills needed for reading success. Great for kids with dyslexia and ADD

* 'Home school resources'

How to start home schooling for your child?

There are a lot of parents who don't want to send their child to a public or privately owned school for some reasons. Many parents are looking for a homeschooling option but don't know where to start?

You can search online for free homeschooling resources and links for this purpose. The key to getting homeschooling free is taking advantage of the resources around you.

The most obvious obstacle in beginning to home school your child is the need to create your own homeschooling curriculum. You may opt to purchase your own books to go over possible material, hire a professional to assist you in the creation of this curriculum, or better yet, go online and find a suitable free home schooling curriculum.