Parenting & Adult Education
Outreach
AMBER ALERT - From site: "The AMBER Alert™ Program is a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies, broadcasters,transportation agencies, and the wireless industry, to activate an urgent bulletin in the most serious child-abduction cases. The goal of an AMBER Alert is to instantly galvanize the entire community to assist in the search for and the safe recovery of the child."
"Love. Recycled." Founded by Jessica Seinfeld, Baby Buggy is a charity is designed to take donated, gently used baby products and recycle them to needy families in New York City. From site: "Baby Buggy, a 501(c)(3) Accredited Charity founded in 2001, is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing New York City's families in need with essential equipment, clothing, and products for their infants and young children." The organization celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2011, having delievered over five million crucial items to needy families. Celebrity patrons: Jerry Seinfeld, Anderson Cooper, Mark Consuelos & Kelly Ripa, Stephen Colbert, Julianne Moore, Naomi Watts, Melissa Joan Hart and Sarah Jessica Parker. Follow them on Twitter @LoveRecycled. More information here.
Education
- Distance learning is a new concept, but it is quickly being embraced by the vast majority of higher-learning institutions in the United States. Almost all major colleges and universities offer distance learning courses. The E-Learning center provides the most affordable and diverse learning opportunities on the Internet, with over 1800 courses available. From site: "Whether you are a beginner looking for basic Computer skills, or an advanced user looking for a professional qualification, we have the courses you need at the lowest prices. In fact if you find anyone cheaper than us then let us know. You wont find a better price!" I think that this opportunity will be especially valuable for single parents and stay-at-home moms. Distance learning can be a springboard for your career that never requires you to leave your home and family. This service provides a free seven-day trial with a 100% money back guarantee.
- Newspaper Archive provides a wonderful opportunity to read American history as it happened. It is the largest historical newspaper database online, and provides access to tens of millions of newspaper pages from 1759 to the present. From site: "Every newspaper in the newspaper archive is fully searchable by keyword and date, making it easy for you to quickly explore historical content."
- This is a revolutionary website that provides the opportunity to fulfill General Education requirements for some of the lowest prices I've ever seen, with truly flexible schedules. This is another valuable opportunity for single parents and stay-at-home moms to get a jump on their education, but it's also great for incoming college freshman who don't have a lot of money to spend as tuition prices continue to skyrocket. From site: "The StraighterLine program allows students to complete their general education requirements (courses normally taken Freshman or Sophomore year) for under $1000. This translates into a savings of up to 90% on their first year's tuition [...] With flexible online classes students can study when they want, where they want and how they want. There are no due dates or assigned class times [...] StraighterLine courses are real college level courses that receive real credit from accredited universities. StraighterLine courses are recommended for college credit by the American Council on Education (ACE). Most colleges will accept ACE recommended courses for credit. Check with the college in which you would like to eventually enroll."
- THE ALICE PROJECT - An extraordinary project designed to make students' introduction computer science easy and fun, and to attract more young girls to the field. Founded by the brilliant Carnegie Mellon University professor Dr. Randy Pausch (The Last Lecture), Alice is a free download. From site: "Alice is an innovative 3D programming environment that makes it easy to create an animation for telling a story, playing an interactive game,or a video to share on the web. Alice is a freely available teaching tool designed to be a student's first exposure to object-oriented programming. It allows students to learn fundamental programming concepts in the context of creating animated movies and simple video games. In Alice, 3-D objects (e.g., people, animals, and vehicles) populate a virtual world and students create a program to animate the objects."
- ABCMouse is an extraordinary resource for parents and teachers. With over 2000 educational books, songs, games, puzzles and crafts, I think this website can remain handy for parents well into their children's elementary school years. With ABCMouse.com, parents looking for a way to play with your children and educate them at the same time will always find something fun to play! Choose from math, science, phonics, art and music on six different academic levels!
- Founded by comedian Chris Rock's wife, Malaak Compton-Rock, The Angel Rock Project is an organization dedicated to promoting public service to the youngest generation. One of their most successful initiatives has been Journey for Change, a volunteer program for at-risk youth in Brooklyn, NY. Mrs. Compton-Rock takes a group of these children to Africa to volunteer, stressing that for kids who have always been on the receiving end of aid, giving them an opportunity to be on the giving end of service opens their eyes to the opportunities that they do have, strengthens their esteem, and changes their lives for the better. From site: "The Angelrock Project is an on-line e-village promoting volunteerism, social responsibility, and sustainable change. The site serves as a pathway for those seeking pertinent information on how to lead a life of service. The Angelrock Project includes valuable information on how to volunteer, advice on making monetary or in-kind donations, links to life-changing service organizations, recommends wonderful products that you can purchase to sustain third-world artisans, and suggests corporations who donate a percentage of proceeds to worthy non-profit organizations." Follow them on Twitter @ARProject.
- Donors Choose is a purely Internet-based charity that connects donors to classrooms in need. It allows each donor to choose the project to which s/he would like to contribute, and provides photos and updates from teachers and students. From site: "Here's how it works: public school teachers from every corner of America post classroom project requests on DonorsChoose.org. Requests range from pencils for a poetry writing unit, to violins for a school recital, to microscope slides for a biology class. Then, you can browse project requests and give any amount to the one that makes your eye twinkle. Once a project reaches its funding goal, we deliver the materials to the school. You'll get photos of your project taking place, a thank-you letter from the teacher, and a cost report showing how each dollar was spent. If you give over $100, you'll also receive hand-written thank-you letters from the students. At DonorsChoose.org, you can give as little as $1 and get the same level of choice, transparency, and feedback that is traditionally reserved for someone who gives millions. We call it citizen philanthropy." Celebrity patrons: Oprah Winfrey, Stephen Colbert and Jake Tapper.
Make Math Fun! - Lots of math games to make mathematics more fun for your kids. Four e-books chock full of these games for $27.97. 100% money back guarantee.
Jamorama Guitar Method - Specialized techniques for faster learning of how to play the guitar, from a professional guitarist and trained instructor. Offers a free trial in the form of a 6-part introductory e-course.
Rocket Languages
Rocket Languages are an Internet sensation. They contain approximately 13 hours of audio lessons that, once purchased and downloaded, are yours to listen to again and again! They are accompanied by transcripts of the conversations, and 31 illustrated grammar and culture lessons to help you fit into society as seamlessly as if you were a native! Also it comes with three software learning games to aid you in learning pronunciation, vocabulary and verbs. Finally, gain access to the Members Only Learner's Forum where you can chat not only with your fellow learning enthusiasts but with a fully trained team of foreign language teachers as well as native speakers. This is the most comprehensive foreign language learning course I have ever seen offered on the Internet, and it comes with a 60 day 100% money back guarantee, so if you're interested in learning a new language I would definitely give this a shot!
Rocket Spanish, Rocket French, Rocket Italian, Rocket German, Rocket Japanese, Rocket Mandarin Chinese, Rocket Hindi, Rocket American Sign Language, Rocket Arabic
Frugal & Safe Shopping
- Umi Children's Shoes is a special company for your child's precious little feet. This company offers adorable styles that are affordable, and takes care to respect the environment in their manufacturing while also making sure to use non-toxic, gentle materials that will be safe for your little one to wear. From site: "At Umi, all we make are children's shoes, and we believe every step your child takes is as important as their very first. At Umi, caring for little feet also means caring for the earth--which means we set our standards sky-high. Every shoe we make is tested for safety and durability and meets strict guidelines for child-safe materials. We use only non-toxic drum-dyed leathers and other environmentally friendly components. Protected in recycled packaging, Umi's a brand sure to please parents and Mother Nature alike." SAVE 10% ON ALL ORDERS WITH COUPON CODE umi10.
- Customized peel & stick washable labels for all of your children's toys, clothing, lunchboxes, thermoses luggage, sports equipment, etc. Use them to inform people of any allergies your child may have, as well. Photo stickers and holiday sets available. These labels are extremely durable, and machine washable, microwave and dishwasher safe, guaranteed! No sewing, no ironing, no pens. Label the things you love.
Parenting Blogs
Here is a collection of parenting blogs chosen by Forbes.com Best of the Web.
Literary Mama - From Forbes: "A literary blog on the theme of child-rearing, by published authors, academics and poets. Its offerings range from thought-provoking columns and 'creative nonfiction' to poetry and fiction." Read the rest of the review here.
Adoption: Exploring the Many Facets of Adoption - From Forbes: "Adoptive mother Laura Christianson maps out the adoption territory with insightful, informative posts detailing the good (like her own kids' view of their adoption), the bad (people's insensitive comments) and the ugly (adoption fraud). More than just musings, her posts often respond to news or research reports, and are teeming with factoids and statistics." Read the rest of the review here.
Daddy Types: The Weblog for New Dads - From Forbes: "Hip downtown NYC daddy blog. Whether it's 'pimping out' a baby's crib with an iPod® and portable JBL speakers so that dad can listen to 'mad lullabies' or tracking down a kid-sized urinal, author Greg Allen comments on parenting from an urban culture-vulture's perspective." Read the rest of the review here.
FamilyScholars.org - From Forbes: "Much less personal than some parenting blogs, Family Scholars bills itself as a '24/7 research assistant on all things marriage and the family.' And that's exactly what you'll find: succinct commentary from the site's four-person blogging team, each a scholar affiliated with the Institute for American Values, a 'nonpartisan organization devoted to contributing intellectually to the renewal of families and civil society in the US...' Their posts usually respond to recent topics in the media [...]" Read the rest of the review here.
MommaSaid.net - From Forbes: "Think Erma Bombeck with a blog. Jen Singer, author, essayist and mother of two boys, provides comic relief for the stay-at-home set, in both text and video form (the latter called 'Momma-logues'). Singer keeps her tongue firmly in cheek, whether she's dealing with 'post-colic stress disorder' or musing about getting spammed with a 'Why not be a sex machine?' e-mail when she's flu-ridden, deep in dirty laundry and stressed out from planning a Darth Vader birthday party." Read the rest of the review here.
Adventures in Autism - From Forbes: "According to the Centers for Disease Control, one in 166 children is diagnosed with an autism-related disorder. Chandler's Mommy, a former Johns Hopkins-trained family therapist, combines details about her own child's struggle with plenty of news and information about the burgeoning problem." Read the rest of the review here.
DotMoms - From Forbes: "A blogging collective populated by more than 35 moms, DotMoms is as cacophonous and family-oriented as a PTA coffee klatch. [...] Unfortunately, there's no table of contents detailed by subject, so you never really know what you're getting until you're halfway down the page, but thankfully, the posts live up to the 'DotMomafesto' of being smart, fun and focused." Read the rest of the review here.
