Being Left Handed

Hi All,

Left-handedness. Its not all that common - but about 10% of the population is left handed.  Click on this link from Wikipedia which talks about 'Handedness' - that is being both left-handed and right-handed people.

So about 10% of the population is left-handed.  That's pretty rare!  Click the links below to learn about the various issues related to left-handedness.

Teaching Resources To Help Left-Handed Children

Left Handed Children.org - On this website you will find all the information and advice you'll need to help left-handed children from nursery right through their school days to overcome the annoyances and frustrations of living in a right-handed world.

6 Tips For Raising a Left Handed Child

Language Rocks -  articles on the phenomenon of being left-handed

Left Handed Resources - somewhat dated look of the webpage but the sources are invaluable

Rosemary West's Left Handed Page 

Left Handed Resources - Anything Left Handed

Famous Left Handers 

Advantages of Being Left-Handed

20 Little Known Facts About Being Left-Handed

Enjoy the lefty links and resources!

Regards,
Stu

Things To Do In the Summer With Kids On Long Island

Hi All,

Its summertime and the livin' is good - as they say.  But wait...you've got kids and you need to keep them occupied - you don't want them on a tablet or a phone or a tv or a computer screen all day!  What's a person to do?

Great question and we've got some answers at least.

This first link is from Click on this link from Mommypoppins for an article titled Summer Fun Guide For Long Island Kids. There are some great ideas lurking in there!

The next link is  also from Mommypoppins - this link is titled 50 Free Things To Do With Long Island Kids This Summer.  Awesome resources and ideas. 

A website called TripSavvy got into 'let's keep kids busy during the summer racket' with a link on their site called 'Top 10 Children's Attractions on Long Island'. 

Mommypoppins seems to be a getting a lot of play on the blog today.  Here's another valuable article titled '25 Things We Can't Wait to Do With LI Kids This Summer' - note that the article is very, very recent - as in from June 2017.

Finally the Long Island Press wrote an article titled '43 Things To Do With Your Kids on Long Island' some time ago.  The article is well worth taking the time to peruse if you want to keep the little ones busy this summer!

So there you have it - a bunch of websites that'll help you keep the kids busy this summer.  Remember there are about 65 or so days left until school starts! :)

Enjoy the resources and if you think that I've missed any good ones send me an email at fdaleref@nassaulibrary.org and I'll include them in an upcoming blog post!

Regards,
Stu

Fun at the Library?

Hi All,

Fun at the library?  You bet!  Read on. (A list of fun things to do in the library...)

1000+ images about Library fun and ideas on Pinterest.

Fun activities @ you library! 

8 awesome ways libraries are making learning fun 

LibraryGames.com - making libraries fun!

Fun websites - Broome County Public Library

Fun and games at the library

Games for kids - Monroe County Public Library

Free to play games in Steam library

Games - NYPL Kids

Library Learning Games - Media Center

Enjoy the links.

Regards,
Stu

Safercar.gov

Hi All,

Lots of folks drive cars.  And lots of cars have airbags.  Takata is a major manufacturer of driver and passenger side air bag inflators and they have decided to recall nearly 34 million air bag inflators (yes, million).  Click on this link from Safercar.gov for more information about this massive recall.  Also, click on this link for press releases, defect reports and more from Safercar.gov about this recall. 

Use this link to find out if your car has been part of a safety recall in the last 15 years...

As a sidenote, the Safercar.gov site has a very interesting set of links on topics like Crash Test Ratings, Recalls & Investigations, Complaints & Defects (link wasn't working when I wrote this blog entry), Car Seats, Safety Technologies and Tire Safety.

At the top of the page is a link called Parents Central which has links for Car Seats, On The Move, Teen Driving, In and Around Car, Seat Belts and more.

Enjoy the site - its a surefire winner - and you're bound to learn something from it!

Stu

National Gallery of Art - Kids Section

Hi All,

Betcha you didn't know that the National Gallery of Art (NGA hereafter) has a section just for kids!  Well, it does...This next link comes from TechLearning.com and is dated March 10, 2015 so it is a current article.

This is the gateway to the NGA site Kids Art Zone - what a fancy site.  And btw, the site is formally known as the NGAkids Art Zone - so there!  Note also that the NGAKids Interactives sections requires Adobe Shockwave Player - which can be downloaded from this link.

Once on the site kids can click on links for Sea-Saws (craete seascapes or abstract compositions), Brushster (brushes, palettes and specials effects let kids make abstract paintings) or Faces & Places (students can create animated portrais and landscape paintings) and many, many more. (Examples of the many more include  jungles, still lifes, Dutch Houses, Collage Machine, Flow, Paintbox, Swatchbox, Wallovers, 3-D Twirlers, Mobiles and Pixelfaces....)

Further down on the page are links for Learning Resources, Children's Guides and Family Programs (if you are in the Washington, DC area!).

So there you have it - a world renowned museum that has made its resources available to kids and children - in the hopes of fostering the love of learning (with an artistic twist).

Regards - and enjoy the site!

Stu

Disaster Preparedness Kits

Hi All,

Disaster preparedness kits (DPK).  We've all heard about them from either radio, tv or magazines and books.  But what actually good are they?  Well, they are great resources when you need to leave your house at a moments notice because of some natural emergency (think flood, fire, tornado, hurricane, etc...)

Ready.gov is a great place to start planning for an emergency.  Besides for DPK's, there are links for making a plan during an emergency, and to learn what protective measures to take before, during and after an emergency.

Click on this next link to learn about building a basic DPK. Also, click here about how to maintain your DPK so that you you'll have the necessary supplies when you need them.

Fema is an excellent place to learn about emergencies and how to survive them.  Click on this link to learn - again - how to put together a DPK.  This next link is a document that opens in Adobe's pdf format.  It is basically an emergency supply list that you can check off.  Good stuff!  Fema also created this video on how to create a DPK. 

And not to be outdone the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has created this next page titled Emergency Preparedness and Response.  This is an extensive summary of everything you need to know about DPK's. 

And for readers who want to see the article that got me thinking about DPK's and using the idea for a blog entry, click on this link from the DIYNetwork.com.  

Finally, you can go on the web and buy a DPK if you don't (or can't) prepare one for yourself.  Click on either of these links to visit sites where you can buy a DPK.  EmergencyKits or Costco Wholesale American Preparedness Kit.

Regards,
Stu

The Parenting Entry

Hi All,

Just a few links to possibly help the harried parent....I've found a bunch of them that are useful, easy-to-read, and not too hard to enforce. 

Defiance: Why It Happens and What To Do About It - Babycenter.com

Consider the Consequences For Toddlers - What to Expect.com

Rewards Charts For Kids - KidPointz.com

Is Your Child Spoiled? Who's Ruling the Roost? - WebMD.com

Bedtime Battles - How to Nip them in the Bud - Babycenter.com

How to Stop Yelling At Your Kids - Use These 10 Tips - EmpoweringParents.com


Eight Steps to Anger Management For Kids - Empowering Parents (Child Behavior Help)

Hope these sites are a good starting point for you and your child or children.

Regards,
Stu

Taking Pictures of Your Kids

Hi All,

Now that summer is 'officially' over, school has started and the Fall is right around the corner.  With all that happening, there are sure to be lots of chances to take wonderful pictures of your kids (think soccer games, playgrounds, Halloween, playing in the backyard in a pile of leaves - yep...there are lots of different opportunities to take great photos). 

Click on the following links to take more awesome pictures of the little ones, young ones, toddlers, teens and more!

Cut the Cheese -  5 Tips For Photographing Kids - Digital Photography School
Photographing Children - Composition - Digital Photography School
Ten Way to Take Better Photos of Your Child - Lexar (esp suggestion #1, #5 and #7)
Tips From a Pro: How to Take Better Photos of Your Kids - PopPhoto.com
Three Tips for Taking Photos of Kids - Olympus
8 Tips for Photographing Uncooperative Children - ClickinMoms.com

So there ya have it...anybody can take even better pictures of their kids!  And now you know how to do it - without having to take hundreds of pictures in the hopes of getting 3-4 good pictures in the bunch!

Regards,
Stu

Parenting Books - Titles of books in no particular order...

Hi All,

Here is a list of parenting books that might help you parent your child...or not.  Its worth a look at least...At the time of writing the Farmingdale Public Library owned all the titles listed.

Parenting a Defiant Child: A Sanity-Saving Guide to Finally Stopping the Bad Behavior - Philip S. Hall

Parenting Gifted Kids: Tips For Raising Happy and Successful Children  - James R. Delisle

Sh*tty Mom: Parenting Guide For the Rest of Us - Laurie Kilmartin

Parenting Inc.: How We Are Sold on $800 Strollers, Fetal Education, Baby Sign Language, Sleeping Coaches, Toddler Couture, and Diaper Wipe Warmers and What It Means For Our Children - Pamela Paul

Parenting: Illustrated with Crappy Pictures - Amber Dusick

Parenting the Strong Willed Child: The Clinically Proven Five-Week Program For Parents of Two-to-Six Year Olds - Rex Forehand

Parenting Without Power Struggles: Raising Joyful, Resilient Kids While Staying Cool, Calm and Connected - Susan Stiffelman

Parenting Without Borders: Surprising Lessons Parents Around the World Can Teach Us - Christine Gross-Loh

Many of these books can be found in the Children's Room in the Parents Collection of material.  This collection of material is dedicated to help parents 'parent'.  Topics include discipline, teaching children how to potty train, sleep issues and much, much more. It is a very, very helpful collection of material that new parents would do well to visit.

Enjoy the books and the material in the Parents Collection. 

Regards,
Stu

American Academy of Pediatrics' website: HealthyChildren.org

Hi All,

The umbrella organization for Pediatricians' is called the American Academy of Pediatrics.  Click here for their awesome website.  Click here for the parents version of the website (HealthyChildren.org) - which is the subject of todays' blog entry.

The parents version/edition of the site is HealthyChildren.org - and what a site it is! All parents should visit this current, comprehensive, unbiased, remarkably reputable website.  It is the gold standard for infant, toddler, pre-schooler, school-aged and teen-aged children. 

So, what makes the site worth the visit?

Well, for one, there are multiple ways to get to the same information. For example there are links with headings like Ages & Stages, Healthy Living, Safety & Prevention, Family Life, Health Issues, News, Tips & Tools and the ever-present 'About Us' and 'Contact Us' links'.  And that is just the ribbon at the top of the website. 

An interesting part of the site is the link 'HealthyChildren Bookstore'. Clicking on the link brings the user to a page where they can browse the bookstore by child's age and other ways to search.  There are links for Baby, Toddler, Preschool, School Age, Teen, Illnesses and Conditions, Fitness and Nutrition, Health and Wellness, Spanish, Child Care Centers and Schools and more. Users can click on a particular title and you can actually purchase the book on the website using your credit card.

When users scroll down a bit on the homepage, you can enter a phrase or keywords in the searchbox to search the whole website for children related material.  The homepage has a section where a scrolling box changes every 3 seconds or so.  Topics vary daily, and on the day that I wrote this blog entry the topics varied from 'How Pediatrician's Screen For Autism?', Autism Spectrum Disorder, 'Alcohol and Pregnancy: It's Just Not Worth the Risk', 'Breakfast For Learning' and 'Is Your Child a Budding Artist'?

Further down on the page is another with rotating topics.  This section is called 'Ages and Stages' - and rotates between GradeSchool, Teen, Young Adult, Baby and Prenatal.  All titles on the list link to other pages on the website.

On the right side of the page is a box titled 'Hot Topics'.  Users can click a tab to go to 'more hot topics' related to children. 

Toward the bottom of the page is a section called Your Family Health Center where new users can register for the site in order to receive up-to-the-minute pediatric health information and a monthly HealthyChildren.org newsletter.  It is very well worth the time spent signing up for the site!!!!

Last, but certainly not least is a link on the right side of the page that enables users to 'Find a Pediatrician'.  Users enter a zip code to generate a list of pediatricians in their area.

Finally, and this is a not-so-shameless plug for the Farmingdale Public Library!!!!

Did you know that we have an absolutely wonderful collection called the Parents Collection at the library?  If not, you do now.

The collection is housed in the Children's room and material is in print and DVD and book-on-CD format.  Topics include, children's physical and emotional needs and growth, health and wellness, school-related issues, potty training and much, much more.

New parents, experienced parents and parents in-between would do well to take a look at this comprehensive, current and well-organized collection.

Enjoy the links and the site! You'll be happy that you visited the site

Regards,
Stu

Taking Great Pictures of Your Kids

Hi All,

So if you have kids, one of the things you'll want to do is take memorable pictures of them.  By doing this, you'll be able to look back at all the great times that you've spent with your little ones when they are, well, 'big ones'. 

This blog entry will discuss 3 websites that will help you learn to take better pictures of your kids.   I'll also link to the Farmingdale Public Library card catalog so you can find some excellent photography books to help you take even better pictures of your kids - from reading.

Brought to you by Lexar.com comes this site - entitled '10 Ways to Take Better Photos of Your Child'.  Neat stuff - I actually knew about numbers 1, 3 and 4 in the list...(Get Low, Let Them Be Themselves, Show them he Pictures on the Camera).  Had no idea about 7 and 9 (Get Close and Watching the Background).  Go figure...I bet I'll take better pictures already this weekend.

From a website called Digital Photography School comes this entry, entitled, 'How to Get the Best Shots of Your Kids'.  Some of DPS's ideas include 'Immerse yourself in their world and let your camera see what they see',  and 'Use reflections to captures yourself with kids and catch their expressions when they don't realize the camera is trained on them'.   Good stuff - and it is a doable skill for parents who want to take pictures of their kids.

Finally, the third site in today's coverage is an article from Pop Photo.com entitled, 'Tips From a Pro: How to Take Better Photos of Your Kids'.  This article covers concepts like framing the child and using the light to your advantage when you take pictures of the little ones.  The entry also discusses the use of vantage points when the children are playing sports like soccer, baseball and football. 

There are many, many other photography and photography related websites on the web.  Some are good - some are not so good.  Caveat emptor and readers of this blog should know by now that I'm a proponent of being skeptical when viewing and evaluating websites...doing a Google search for 'How to take great photograph's of children' resulted in many, many results.  Click on this link to see the massive results of the search. 

Now, that all said, sometimes it is useful to use a book so you can read and look at pictures that explain a certain technique....click here for a link to the Farmingdale Public Library card catalog for a search query of 'children's photography'. 

Enjoy the results and the great pictures you are about to take of your children.  

Regards,
Stu

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Babysitting - But Were Afraid To Ask...

Hi All,

Babysitting - ah yes...time to get away from the children and take some time for yourself.  That's good stuff - and necessary when you take care of an infant or toddler or pre-schooler.  You needs some time for yourself - and that's where todays' blog entry comes in.

The topic: babysitting.  And we'll discuss how to find a babysitter, the going rates for babysitters and some books on how to interview potential babysitters.

Click on this link from the FarmingdalePatch for an article entitled 'What's the Going Rate For Babysitting?' Just to save you some time and reading - but it is still worthwhile to click on the link and read the article! - the 'average' rate for babysitting is currently $10/hour...

The above mentioned article from Farmingdale Patch mentions a very useful website called Care.com. Essentially Care.com acts as a conduit for caregivers and for parents.  In other words, parents can find babysitters that are located near there home AND babysitters can upload a profile and search for babysitting jobs.  What a site! And just as a heads up, users can look for 'care' for children, for parents, for pets and - believe it or not - for your home...

Furthermore, the type of care can be identified - babysitters and nannies, child care centers, special needs and tutoring and lessons can all be found very easily. 

This next link comes from Kidshealth.org and is very useful for the teenager in your life who wants to start babysitting.  With topics like 'Having a Business Plan', 'Thinking About the Kids You Want to Care For', 'Safety of the Children While Babysitting', 'Preparation in Babysitting', and 'How to Behave With the Children While You are Babysitting' the article is comprehensive, well-worded and an easy read for the future babysitter in your life. 

So now that you have a list of potential babysitters, what are you going to ask them when you meet them for the first time? Think no further and surf no further - the following links will be helpful when the time comes to interview prospective babysitters.

From MamaOT.com comes this link filled with "22 Questions to Always Ask a Potential Babysitter".  From About.com's section on Child Care comes this link for 'Questions To Ask a Potential Babysitter'.  Finally, from a source that comes with 'street credentials' comes this link from Boston.com/Moms - article is called '15 Questions To Ask A New Babysitter'.

The American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP) is one of the foremost organizations in the world that concerns itself with Children's health and well-being issues.  They have a very user friendly website called HealthyChildren.org which can be accessed by clicking on this link.  In addition, users can click on this link which goes to a page filled with 'Babysitting Reminders'.  Note that the whole darn site is chock filled with informative, current, modern parenting advice and suggstions.  Don't miss it!

And finally, the Farmingdale Public Library has books on 'How to Babysit?'.  Click on this link to go to the library card catalog and see the titles we own.

Hope the links are useful and the topic was interesting.

Regards,
Stu

Gently Used Children's Clothing

Hi All,

I was recently introduced to stores that sell gently used children's clothing. At the time I had no idea that the trip to the store would result in a blog entry...but her we are!

Click on this link to About.com's site entitled 'Long Island Thrift Shops'. Shops on the page included Island Thrift in Brentwood, Selden Thrift in Selden, Junior League of Long Island Thrift Shop in Roslyn, Twin Pines Consumer Association Thrift Shop in Port Washington, Unique Thrift Store in Westbury and Unique Thrift Store in Levittown. Along with contact information there is a brief summary for each store which is pretty helpful.

The next link is the store that started this whole children's clothing thing...I went there a few days ago - the stores' name is Once Upon a Child - click here for the link. Their tagline is 'we buy and sell gently used clothes, toys & equipment'. Fair enough and, since I've been to the store, it is certainly accurate enough. I saw rows and rows of clothing ranging from newborns to toddlers to 4T's. And, as advertised, the clothes and toys and accessories were gently used. For real - so there was NO misadvertising.

Now, as I drive to the library every morning, I see a store on Merrick Road in Seaford called Fun Stuff Toys. I haven't been in the store yet, but I plan on making it a road trip with the family very, very soon. So, as the FSToys site says, they 'specialize in kids' toys - infant, preschool and kids of all ages'. Fair enough, but the store really can't be considered to be a thrift shop type retailer.

That being said, the store might be a good alternative to a Toys r Us or a Wal-Mart or a K-Mart...

To round out this blog entry, I found a link to a site called CitiDex Long Island. Essentially this is a 'Yellow Pages' wanna be for the internet. Even the sites' background color is yellow - similar to the Yellow Pages. Anyway, click on this link to CitiDex Long Island - the topic of the link is Children's Clothing on Long Island.

In particular there is a link to 'Used Children's Clothing'. There are three links - Cows Harbor Kids Consignment in Northport, GiGi's Kids in Hampton Bays and Little Angels Thrift Shop in Bay Shore. Click here for the link to the Used Children's Clothing site on CitiDex.

Enjoy the links - and I hope your shopping ventures prove to be fruitful, cost effective and fun!
Regards,
Stu

Birthday Parties - For Kids

Hi All,

It is a gloomy, dreary, wet Monday morning. And it is for that reason that I want to brighten the day , get hearts thumping and racing and get the sounds of childrens' laughter in the air.

What better way to do that than to talk about how to throw a spectacular, fiscally prudent (read inexpensive), lively, fun birthday party?

Forthwith a few very helpful links on how to throw a birthday party for a child!!!

From ehow.com comes this article on 'How to Throw a Child's Birthday Party on a Budget'. Click here for the link. There are two things of note about the entry: 1. The entry has step-by-step instructions on how to throw the party - neat. Also, the last piece of advice in the entry is to make sure to write thank-you's - which is excellent and polite advice.

Click here for another article on the same topic - and nearly has the same title - but offers different advice - 'How to Throw a Birthday Party on a Budget'. The thing to note about this article is that they suggest having a theme for the party...interesting idea. And it makes sense. One thing that I would suggest is that you should take into account your child's likes and dislikes. In other words, don't have a NY Mets theme if your child is a NY Yankees fan.

Finally, you might want to click on this link from Wisebread. Entitled 'How To Throw a Kid's Birthday Party That's Fun, Happily Memorable, and Not So Expensive'. Again, same idea but this article has excellent subject headings. For example, there is a section entitled, "It is the charm of the hosts and the pleasantness of the guests that matter'. Sounds corny doesn't it - but it does kind of make sense. Another applicable section deals with counting all the costs (both in terms of time and effort to organize, coordinate and host the party) to have the party.

Some basic themes are in all the articles that I've found on the web Parents who are thinking about a child's birthday party need to think about:

• Venue
• Activities
• Food
• Decorations
• Treat bags

Finally, don't forget about this link from About.com on Children's birthday parties. Okay, one last piece of advice - don't forget about the Related Links at the bottom of the About.com article I just mentioned. There are even more articles and links about Children's birthday parties. Wow!!!! Great stuff.

Regards and I hope you have a great child's birthday party!

Stu

Click here to friend us on Facebook for all the right reasons...like: free books, free DVD's, free downloadable books and programs and free reference questions answered fast and accurately and with a smile!

Follow us on Twitter so you can make all 140 characters in your Tweet

count!!!