Parenting Links

Babygarten - A fun and exciting program for infants (birth to 18 months) and their parents or caregivers.  Learn how nursery rhymes and songs, along with books, can enrich your children's lives from the very beginning and provide them with a foundation for later learning success.  Classes last about an hour and include fun projects for parents to make and a free play period for both babies and caregivers.  Check out the Babygarten classes at the Portsmouth Library.

Children's Literature Web Guide - A guide to Internet resources related to books for children and teens. Includes links to discussion groups; best books and awards lists; authors; stories; journals; parent, teacher, storyteller, writer, and illustrator resources; and more. From David K. Brown of the Doucette Library of Teaching Resources, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

ChildStats.gov - Provides statistical reports on the status of U.S. children and their families. Coverage includes population and family characteristics, economic security, health, behavior and social environment, and education. From the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. Some reports require Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Get Ready to Read! - A site of the National Center for Learning Disabilities, this is great for all children. A strong feature of this site is the one on one activity cards. There are several cards for each of the three skills levels, arranged around linguistic awareness, print knowledge, and emergent writing. Parents can download and print the cards to use with their child. Great ideas for literacy development!

Get Set 4 Kindergarten - This website has a monthly kindergarten skills development page with great and yet simple ideas for parents and caregivers who wish to help their child learn skills for kindergarten success. Along with each monthly skill is a list of preschool books that also feature that skill, such as "work values and persistence" with The Little Engine that Could, Inch by Inch, etc. The site includes conversation topics, books for reading aloud, and activities for parents and children.

Kids Priority One - "A one-stop shop for information about programs, services, and resources available to local children and families."

National Parent Information Network - Information on Home Schooling, Tutoring, Homework, Learning disabilities, Attention deficit, and more...

A Rhyme a Week : Nursery Rhymes for Early Literacy - This site builds phonological awareness through nursery rhymes. It features 30 rhymes that contain 500 out of the 1400 words commonly spoken by children in primary grades, along with weekly rhymes and lesson plans. Would make a great storytime segment.

"The more that you read,
the more things you will know.
The more that you learn,
the more places you'll go."
--Dr. Seuss