Hooray! A guest post! Thanks to Heather Chou for sharing her article, Kids on the Internet.

Is it okay to let my kids play on the internet? Sure. As soon as your toddler is able to manipulate to mouse or press keys on the keyboard, he can begin interacting with the computer. By the time children are preschool age, they can navigate the internet with confidence. While some kids might not show much interest, others may want to play on the internet all day. You’ll most likely want to limit their time on the computer. With that in mind, make time on the internet a positive and educational experience.

The key is to provide your child with developmentally appropriate computer activities. A number of studies have demonstrated the positive effect of early computer use on children’s physical and psychological development. Computers seem to be most beneficial for children when they are able to relate their experiences in the real world to those on the computer. It seems, also, that structured curriculum on the computer enhances the experience.

The first thing to keep in mind when starting off your little one on the computer is his health and safety. Set up the computer to be kid friendly and then set some rules. If possible, put the computer in a central area where you can easily monitor its usage. Next, set up a user account for your child (don’t forget to password protect your own user account). Both PCs and Macs will allow you to set up personalized accounts for each user. As the administrator, you can set limits on usage, allowing access to only certain applications. Set up strict restrictions on web page viewing. You can always allow access to pages later if needed. Set up time limitations; set both the maximum usage for your child as well as what time of day you will let him be on the computer. 

Once you’ve made the computer kid friendly, it is time for you to research which websites you’re comfortable with him visiting. You’ll want to preview the sites and put the ones that you want your child to visit on the bookmark bar for him. For the first few times, and occasionally later on, sit with him while he navigates the sites. Be familiar with what your child is learning and ask him about it later.

If your curious kid is asking questions about how things work, use the internet to show him. There are plenty of great resources on the internet for learning. Don’t limit yourself to pages designed for preschoolers, either. When your child show an interest in dinosaurs, for example, check out the website for the American Museum of Natural History. While some of the information is presented for kids at this site, it is for older kids. But, your preschooler can still enjoy it if you help navigate the site and explain some of the concepts to him. And, don’t discredit YouTube. After a visit to a grain mill last summer, my daughter was confused as to how the water made the wheel turn (it wasn’t turning when we were there.) On YouTube, I found at least a dozen videos of mill wheels turning and even a kinetic energy water sculpture, using the same principles as the water wheel. Watching that helped her to understand more and we were able to relate it to her real visit in a way that I could not have done without the internet.

Remember, that the internet is not a replacement for real life learning. Your child still needs time to play, alone and with others. After all, it is the work of children to play. The computer does not replace quality time with you, either. For most of us this is intuitive, but worth saying again.

Resources

• Effects of Home and School Computer Use on School Readiness and Cognitive Development Among Head Start Children: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial by Li, Xiaoming, Atkins, Melissa S, Stanton, Bonita
  findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3749/is_200604/ai_n17187489/
• Safety on the Internet
  www.safechild.org/internet.htm
• A Parent’s Guide to Internet Safety
  www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/parent-guide/parent-guide
• Child Safety on the Information Highway
  www.safekids.com/child-safety-on-the-information-highway/
• SafetyNet
  safetynet.aap.org

Kid Friendly Websites

My favorite sites have little or no ads, are easy to navigate, and have enough material that my child can dig deeper into interesting subjects.

Babies & Toddlers (with a parent)

• www.jacksonpollock.org
  
• www.pdoodle.com/funhouse/mmatch.html
  
• kids.niehs.nih.gov/catgame.htm
  
• www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=2602&e=gamesLanding
  
• www.kneebouncers.com

Preschoolers (and some early grade school)

• www.pbskids.org
• www.sparky.org
• www.starfall.com
• www.storylineonline.net
• disney.go.com/disneyjunior
• teacher.scholastic.com/commclub/index.htm
• www.sproutonline.com
• kidsblogs.nationalgeographic.com/littlekids
• www.pocoyo.com/play.html
• www.uptoten.com
• www.nickjr.com
• www.abc.net.au/abcforkids/
• www.seussville.com
• www.ricekrispies.com/Playground.aspx#/Playground
  
• www.benjerry.com/fun
  
• teacher.scholastic.com/activities/dinosaurs/buildadino/

School-aged Kids

• www.edheads.org
• www.dsokids.com
• urbanext.illinois.edu/kids/index.html
• www.usfa.dhs.gov/kids/flash.shtm
• www.kidsknowit.com
• www.dole.com/DoleHTMLSuperKids/tabid/1173/Default.aspx
• thefactortree.com
• www.miamiopia.com
• kids.niehs.nih.gov/home.htm
• www.amnh.org/ology/
• www.crayola.com
• www.hhmi.org/coolscience/forkids/
• scienceview3.lhs.berkeley.edu/kidsite/

Last week’s buzz about Leesburg’s 4th place ranking on Money magazine’s best small towns list, and the video clip on why kids love Leesburg got me thinking. What do I love about living here? What do my kids love about living here?

No place is perfect, but there are more than a few things I love about living in Leesburg:

• Watching the sun set at Ida Lee
• Community Garden plots where we don’t have to worry about someone stealing our tomatoes
• Live music downtown on summer nights
• Hiking to the Potomac River at Balls Bluff and Red Rock Wilderness Overlook Regional Parks
• Spotting turtles on logs at Olde Izzak Walton park
• The W&OD trail
• The Rust Nature Sanctuary
• The Leesburg Dog Park
• Awesome library system
• Exploring Goose Creek at Kephart Bridge Landing
• Walking or driving through downtown Leesburg

Most of the things on my list are free, but all but one of the kids on the video clip have favorite things about Leesburg that cost money. Did someone coach those kids? Did they put the video together to favor certain businesses and town programs? Or is the slant of their answers determined by the fact that they look like campers at Ida Lee? As a test, I asked my kids what they love about living in Leesburg. They both immediately named chains that we rarely visit and that could be found almost anywhere: Chuck E. Cheese (in Sterling!) and Pump it Up. Hmm… NOT what I would use to talk our town up.

I guess I’d better fess up. I admit I do love spending money at plenty of places in Leesburg:

• The Salvation Army Thrift Store & The Resourceful Woman Thrift Store – I take The Story of Of Stuff pretty seriously…
• Loudoun Learning (It is educational! We get a special exemption to allow for a little materialism, right!?)
• The Farmers Market
• Picking blueberries at Eagletree every year
• Wegmans
• Fireworks Pizza, Aiyara, Thai Pan
• South Street Under, Shoe’s Cup and Cork, King Street Coffee
• Razzle, Milwaukee Frozen Custard, and the newest addition Cultured

(Don’t worry, none of these places paid me to mention them!)

Put my experiential and material lists together, and you have one mom’s somewhat balanced list of what makes Leesburg special. What do you like about living in Leesburg, Virginia?

February is a great time to make snowmen and drink hot chocolate start thinking about summer camp. Dulles Town Center is hosting a summer camp and activities fair on Saturday February 26 and Sunday February 27, 2011. It’s a perfect opportunity for those who wish to meet representatives from many local camps at once.

If you like to do your researching online, here are a few local options to check out:

YMCA Summer Camp

My six year-old tried a week of nature day camp at Camp Highroad last August and he loved it. I signed him up thinking a full day camp experience might be helpful in the transition to first grade, and he came home completely exhausted and missing some item he had taken with him (lunch box, socks, towel, etc.) every day. I’m not sure I’ll send him again, but he can’t wait to go back. They offer before and after care, which allows for working parents to drop off and pick up without taking time away from the office.

Audubon Society Nature Camps

The Audubon Nature Society (ANS) is my go-to source for nature-based early education in the DC Metro area. They offer camps at the Broadlands Nature Center in Ashburn, the Rust Nature Sanctuary in Leesburg, and the Woodend Nature Sanctuary in Chevy Chase, MD. Both my kids enjoyed first camp experiences at the Rust Nature Sanctuary in Leesburg. The camps are small enough to be intimate, true to ANS’ mission of connecting people with nature in the DC Region, are lots of fun, and manage to stay low key enough not to overstimulate and exhaust the average child to the point of meltdown. To preview the ANS style of working with kids, I encourage you to stop by their annual Spring Nature Fair.

Vacation Bible School (VBS)

I know very little about the many vacation bible school options, but from what I hear the local churches often offer summer camps quite cheaply, so if budget and/or faith are a top priority, VBS might be a fit for your family. The following churches have offered vacation bible schools in past years. You can check their websites for 2011 information as summer approaches.

• Ashburn Presbyterian
• Bethel Presbyterian (Leesburg)
• Blueridge Bible Church (Purcellville)
• Cornerstone Chapel, (Leesburg)
• Hamilton Baptist Church
• Loudoun Bible Church (Ashburn)
• Our Saviour’s Way Lutheran Church (Ashburn)
• Purcellville Baptist Church
• St. Francis deSales Catholic Church (Purcellville)
• St. James Episcopal (Leesburg)

There are many other options!

• C3 Cyber Club (Ashburn)
• Destiny Preschool for the Arts (Leesburg)
• Ida Lee Summer Camp (Leesburg)
• Loudoun County (guide available online 3/4/2011 includes camps @ Douglass and Claude Moore)
• Red Gate Farm (Hamilton)
• Sportrock (Sterling, ages 9+)

You can also search the American Camp Association database of ACA accredited camps if you are looking for camps for a specific activity or age group.

Please don’t hesitate to use the comments feature to share your Loudoun County area camp offerings or camp experiences. The more local families who post, the better this resource becomes for all of us!

I wrote about these concerts in greater detail a couple years ago, but just wanted to remind you about them and post a link to this year’s schedule. The end up summer is sneaking up — only five more Wednesday evening concerts left. Enjoy!

8-4-2010 ETA — Blueberry season is long gone in Northern Virginia. Mark your calendars to start looking into local farms next May!

Hooray! It is blueberry picking season again! We picked 10 pounds Saturday morning to restock our freezer and are still eating fresh berries by the handful.  Everyone I know who visits seems to be complaining about the gnats and recommending dryer sheets to keep them away. Otherwise, they still come away raving. We were excited to find a port a potty on site this year… potty access is always a plus on any adventure with little kids.

Here’s the scoop from previous years:

Eagletree Farm & Vineyard
15126 Harrison Hill Lane
Leesburg VA 20176 (map it)
(703) 777‑5954 or
(703) 851‑0699

Loudoun Valleys Office of Rural Economic Development says:

Eagletree is a private setting with a personal touch.

These folks are right. Located off Rt. 15 north of Leesburg — you turn off 15 like you are going to Temple Hall Farm and then follow the U-PICK signs — the setting is so private that I at first felt like I was trespassing in someone’s back yard, but that is exactly what makes the picking experience so wonderful.

Eagletree’s pick your own blueberries are $4 per pound this year and worth every cent. They are tasty and the experience of picking is perfect. I have been twice and both times it was a serene experience. No chaos, no crowds, no shortage of blueberries… just a nice little family experience and some yummy blueberries to boot.

If you are looking to round out your blueberry picking experience with some literature for little people, check out Robert McCloskey’s Blueberries for Sal. It’s been a favorite since my childhood… so much so that I feel I am shortchanging my children if I don’t manage to hunt down their little metal buckets so that they can hear their blueberries go “Kerplunk!”

Now that we are fostering a dog I meet local families at adoption day each weekend and some have shared stories of recently losing a pet. I tear up when I hear them. Our wonderful vet is involved in a Pet Remembrance Candle Lighting Ceremony in Leesburg next week, and I offered to help get the word out. The event will be held at St. James’ Episcopal Church (14 Cornwall Street NW Leesburg 20176) at 6:00 P.M. on Friday March 5th. The deadline to include your pet’s photo in the slideshow has passed, but you and your family can still attend to remember a pet together and put a picture of your pet on the Memory Board. Here are some details straight from the flier:

If you have questions you can reach Dr. Krisi Erwin of the Leesburg Veterinary hospital at this email address.

Info about the upcoming Ashburn MOMS Clubs’ preschool forum is quickly spreading through various moms groups throughout the county. The announcement follows.

The MOMS Clubs® of the Ashburn Area are pleased to present:

Ashburn Preschool Forum

Saturday, January 23, 2010
9:00am – 12:00pm
The Mills Recreation Center
43895 Grottoes Drive in Ashburn Village

Are you considering preschool for your child?

Come get the parents’ perspective on our local schools!
Information about the preschools in our area will be available and moms with children in the various schools will be speaking about their personal experience with the teachers and schools.
Open to ALL Ashburn Area parents!

For more information, please contact MOMSClub@tjdjmail. com

**** We’re currently looking for parents of children in the preschools to speak at the forum. This is the 4th year we’ve held the forum and the people attending always seem very grateful to have some “inside knowledge” about the schools.
Here are the schools we hope to include at the forum, so if you’d like to volunteer to speak for about 5 minutes about your experience with one of these schools please email momsclub@tjdjmail. com. We also hope to have some of the special needs programs represented so if you are willing to share your experience with those we’d love to have you. Your participation would be very much appreciated!

A Child’s Place Preschool
Arcola Christian Preschool
Ashburn Children’s Center
Ashburn Village Country Day School
Audubon Nature Preschool
Bean Tree Learning
The Boyd School
Briar Woods Early Learning Lab (Preschool at the Woods)
Broad Run Early Learning Lab
Busy Bees (Kari Vance)
Celebration
Chesterbrook Academy
Christian Fellowship School
Classroom of Discovery
Claude Moore Preschool (formerly Sterling Annex)
Discovery Oaks Academy
Dulles South Preschool
Fit 2 Learn
Goddard School (Belmont Greene)
Goddard School (Ashburn)
Golden Pond
Growing Minds (Judi Ratcliffe)
Heaven Sent Christian Preschool
Hope Christian Preschool
Kids Under Construction
KinderCare Learning Center
KinderWorks in Brambleton (formerly Winwood)
Little Learners Academy
Little Sprouts Preschool
Loudoun Country Day School
Minnieland
Montessori Academy at Belmont Greene
Montessori Children’s House of Loudoun
My Favorite Place Preschool
Open Arms Christian Child Development Center
School of Spanish (Magnolia Inmon)
Sha’are Shalom Rosie Uran Jewish Education Center
South Riding Children’s Center
St. David’s Episcopal Preschool
Sterling Annex Preschool
Stone Bridge Early Learning Lab
Virginia Academy/Ark Preschool
Willow Montessori
Winnie the Pooh
Winwood Children’s Center

‘Tis the season for giving, but it can often be hard to know how to help or where to start. Here are a few ideas on how to spread the love beyond your own family.

Donate to a local nonprofit

If your mailbox looks anything like mine this week you know that there are many community based, not for profit organizations around who need our financial support to continue their important work. I am supporting the Loudoun Literacy Council this year and invite you to join me. The Loudoun Literacy Council’s dedicated team of volunteers and staff are committed to improving English literacy skills of at-risk adults, children and families in Loudoun County through ESL course offerings, story times in local homeless shelters, book donations, community events, individual tutoring, and working with the county Head Start program. Each of these offerings affects individuals, and their stories drive me to help the Loudoun Literacy Council in any way I can. Plus, gifts in December 2009 will be doubled up to $10,000 by an anonymous donor and I like the idea of doubling my gift.

Consider giving “alternative gifts” to the idealists on your list this year

You and your loved ones can create alternative gift registries with help from the folks at a New American Dream. Imagine the impact you can have on a young child by helping them develop an other-centered alternative holiday gift list.

You can shop at one of the local Alternative Gift Fairs which allow you to donate to local nonprofit organizations on behalf of someone on your shopping list. Much better than a lump of coal.

If you are globally inclined, there is always Heifer International which promises to help you “choose a meaningful gift to give a loved one and help children and families around the world receive training and animal gifts that help them become self-reliant.”

Short on cash? There are still many ways you can help our community!

Donate Blood

The Red Cross is ALWAYS looking for blood donors. This is not a kid-friendly task (you should have seen the looks they gave me when I tried to sneak the kids onto the blood-mobile a few years back!), but could be a nice escape on the weekend if you are not bothered by needles and blood. If you are not eligible, maybe you can babysit for a friend while s/he donates.

Help the Ashburn Volunteer Fire & Rescue Department

By participating in a short fire safety survey between now and December 21, 2009, you can help the Ashburn Volunteer Fire & Rescue Department win a $10,000 grant. I just did this and promise to revisit this post if I start getting oodles of junk mail. Of course, by then it may be too late.…

Provide a foster home for a homeless animal

There are many animal rescue organizations here in Northern Virginia that need help from dedicated, experienced animal lovers who are willing to train, socialize and love pets seeking new forever homes. Here are some of your options:

• HART (Homeless Animal Rescue Team)
• 4Paws (cats only)
• Friends of Homeless Animals
• Paws Rescue (dogs only)

I have not personally fostered for any of these organizations. I recommend contacting an agency to see if it feels like a fit, and seriously considering whether fostering is right for your family before you start. It is a big commitment!

Volunteer to post fliers for a local nonprofit

This is a fun project to involve the kids in as you can traipse through your local community center, post office, gym, and library together and talk about the folks you are helping as you go. But, watch out! You may get so attached to their mission you end up volunteering in other capacities…

Conduct your own community clean up

Look for it and you will find trash, dog feces, cigarette butts and other messes in our shared spaces. Teach your kids a lesson and work together to help clean a little piece of it up. Don’t forget to wear gloves and wash your hands! If you need a little literature to connect the dots for younger kids, check out the book All the Way to the Ocean by Joel Harper.

Leverage your grocery bill

If your frequent shopper club card at your store of choice is not already connected to a scrip program supporting your local schools or favorite nonprofit consider supporting the Georgetown Child Life program through the Giant Bonus Bucks program. The thought of spending the holidays away from home in a hospital is difficult for many of us to imagine, but for some it is a constant reality. Having a few toys around sounds like a good thing.

And if all else fails, just count birds

Seriously! You can join the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy at their 13th annual Christmas Bird Count on December 27, 2009.

The volunteer rescue departments in both Leesburg and Ashburn have published schedules for Santa’s upcoming joy rides.

He’ll be in different parts of Leesburg each night December 6th through 12th and in Ashburn December 12th only (rain date Dec. 13th).

Please remember that the routes could change if the departments are called for emergencies!

I just received this email from Loudoun County and thought I would share. My kids have always loved stopping to watch the skateboarders at the Catoctin Skate Park in Leesburg and are hoping to skate with the big kids someday soon. Maybe your kids feel the same way?

The Loudoun County Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services and the South Riding Proprietary are pleased to announce the opening of the new Dulles South Skate Park on Saturday, December 12, 2009 at 1:00 p.m.

The skate facility represents a collaborative effort by the county and the homeowners’ association to provide safe recreational skateboarding opportunities for community youth. The original concept, presented to the public in August 2008, called for skate spots along a planned trail near the Dulles South Multipurpose Center. An alternative location adjacent to the center was later identified, which required only minimum site preparations, and a new design was created by SITE Design Group, Inc. of Solana Beach, California.

The 5,600 square-foot park accommodates skateboards, inline skates, and non-motorized scooters with concrete features including ramps, rails, stairs, stacked ledges, floating quarter pipes, and a pump bump.

Under a memorandum of understanding, the South Riding Proprietary assumed one hundred percent of the costs associated with construction of the skate area. California Skateparks from Upland, California was the general contractor on the project. The property is owned by the county, which will be responsible for the maintenance, operation, oversight, and administration of the facility.

The Dulles South Multipurpose Center is located at 24950 Riding Center Drive.

For more information, call 703–777-0343 or visit www.southriding.net.