Clearinghouse: Child Cognition
Clearinghouse Homepage
Title: Reading is Fundamental
URL (Internet "address"): www.rif.org
Sponsor: Reading is Fundamental, Inc.; delivers free books to underprivileged children to help start their path to greater knowledge. RIF works through the community and is a non-profit organization centered to help the further growth of a child's learning.
Author/credentials: Nationwide non-profit organization; donators
Date posted: 2006
Description of Site: Parents sometimes need help when it comes to finding literature for their children. This site offers a "Tips and Tricks" section that helps a parent choose what kind of books would be interesting to their child and how to motivate their children to read. It also gives a detailed search engine for parents to choose what they need for their child as well as categorizing by their child's age-group. If parents don't find the information on this site helpful, it contains a list of different web sites, along with an introduction to each site so a parent can find one that fits his/ her needs. The site provides adequate information as to who has coordinated the site as well as their mission of helping underprivileged kids to read. There are sections that pertain to parents as well as teachers to assist kids to obtain the motivation they need to read. There is also an activities section for kids with games and tutorials focusing on improving vocabulary and writing. No other site of particular value uses this site.
Reviewed by: Kayleigh Pandolfi from Dan Lago's Spring 2006 HDFS 129 class.
Title: The Whole Child
URL (Internet "address"): http://www.pbs.org/wholechild/abc/cognitive.html
Sponsor: PBS; throughout the generations, PBS has offered a wide variety of television shows and internet sites devoted to the early and continuing learning of children. They make it their priority to entertain the children while they are learning.
Author/credentials: N/A
Date posted: N/A
Description of Site: The site gives a very in-depth table of the learning "milestones" of a child's life from birth to five years old, the critical stages for cognitive development. The table helps show parents a general timeline of what their child should be doing and what abilities they should possess at those specific years. It provides parents with articles of a wide range of topics regarding how to improve their child's mental health, from caring for their baby to how to help improve their child's vocabulary. Parents are also given a reference section which contains a list of beneficial books and web sites. There is also a section dedicated entirely to teachers and early child care providers, which supplies them with articles, tips and activity ideas for growing young minds. This site is used by A Place of Our Own.org, which is a television show, web site and outreach program which educates those who care for children.
Reviewed by: Kayleigh Pandolfi from Dan Lago's Spring 2006 HDFS 129 class.
Title: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Child Development
URL (Internet "address"): http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/child/childproj.htm
Sponsor: Department of Health and Human Services; CDC is one of the operating components of the Department of Health and Human Services. It is devoted to informing the public about a wide variety of health issues and helping the public to improve its health.
Author/credentials: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
Date posted: September 20, 2005
Description of Site: Much like the PBS website, the CDC's website provides a timeline for children in different age groups, however, the CDC site lists positive tips for parents regarding their child's learning during these set times. They provided information regarding a study performed on children who would have fallen below the national range of developmental abilities to help illustrate the importance of parental involvement in their child's learning. Also provided are links to teach a pregnant woman what they need to know to have a safe and smooth pregnancy as well as a healthy baby. There is even a link to educate parents about the early signs of such developmental diseases as autism and ADHD. The most helpful factor of this website is that it provides a short list of federally founded sites to help parents with such problems with their child as ADHD, birth defects and developmental disabilities. No other site of particular value uses this site.
Reviewed by: Kayleigh Pandolfi from Dan Lago's Spring 2006 HDFS 129 class.
