January is National Hobby Month

Beat the Winter Blahs with a new hobby or family activity. Whether its learning a new game to play with your child, picking up that project that has been waiting for a rainy (or snowy) day or finding a new volunteer opportunity, now is a great time to get involved in something new. Now is also a great time for children to explore the web and discover new hobbies and interests!

Topic ideas:

Activities for Children

• Toy Safety Coloring Book – This safety-themed coloring book is intended to help children learn toy safety concepts. It is written in both English and Spanish. There are twelve different pictures to color.
• Child and Family Canada - Play – This Web page offers links to articles on play, all aspects of play, as well as ideas for fun things for children.
• Finger Plays and Action Verses for Children – This publication has fun verses for children to sing, and finger actions along with them.
• Help! I'm Bored! – This publication suggests some activities for caregivers to use when children get bored.
• Amazing Space – Collect solar system trading cards; view the birth, life and death of a star; or discover the wonders of space history from Galileo to the Hubble Space Telescope. Amazing Space offers great on-line activities for 3-12 graders complete with lesson plans.

Fun Websites for Children

• Cyber Camp – This Web site is a virtual camp where children can meet friends, do activities, and be assigned to a cabin. You will learn about forests and the plants and animals that live there, as well as traditional camp activities, from making crafts to telling ghost stories, pulling pranks to writing home!
• Exploratorium ExploraNet – The Exploratorium offers science activities, on-line exhibits and much more for all ages.
• KIDLINK – This Web site empowers youth to build global networks of friends. It has great links to activities and places that children will love. This Web site is also educational and has information for teachers and parents.
• Kids on the Web – This web page is an on-going list of sites that offer information for and about kids. Among other things, it includes a lot of stuff for them to play with, information for adults, and info about schools and education.
• Notable Children's Web Sites – This Web site lists notable Web sites for kids where they learn and have fun at the same time.
• Crayola – Crayola.com is a great site for kids, parents and educators to get creative ideas and have fun with activities.
• Kid's Space – On this Web site, children will be exposed to high quality learning and activities on an educational internet site. This Web site seeks to break down cultural, religious, ethnic and racial barriers by promoting cross-cultural collaboration in creative projects. It also encourages artistic expression and serves as a place for students and teachers to interact online.
• KidsClick – This Web site is a Web search for kids created by librarians. There is access for kids to over 600 subjects including activities, science, math, art, health, sports, reading, literacy, religion, government, computers, geography, and more.
• Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood – This Web site for children has fun facts, activities for "neighbors" of all ages, and for teachers and parents.
• National Geographic for Kids – This Web site has lots of fun and learning for kids. There is a book club, experiments, activities, animals, cartoons, coloring book, games and much more. Also resources for educators and teachers.
• Scholastic for Kids – This Web site offers lots of activities and fun for kids. There are games, contests, books, software, and links to things such as Clifford, The Magic School Bus, Clifford, Captain Underpants and more.

Activities and Projects for Teens:

• Bagheera – From Rudyard Kipling's "Jungle Book" this site is dedicated to raising awareness about endangered species and encouraging action to save the animals. "Student Activities" offer ideas and activities for 9-12 grade youth.
• EM*Power – Environmental Management Power is an issue-to-action curriculum for 6-9 graders. Through games and activities youth identify a local waste management concern, gather the facts and opinions surrounding the concern and then plan and carry out their action project.
• Event-Based Science – Middle school students will use newsworthy events to discover science in the public eye. Using inquiry-based science activities and exploring the Internet for relevant information, youth explore topics such as earthquakes, hurricanes, toxic leaks, etc. Review Event-Based Science and then order the curriculum packets on-line.

Crafts and Projects the Whole Family Can Do Together

• Family Crafts – This Web page provides resources for all kinds of art and craft projects and possibilities for the entire family.
• Build a Birdfeeder – This publication shows how to build a birdfeeder.
• Chippewa Dream Catcher – Description: This publication describes how to make a dream catcher. This piece of art is native to the Chippewa Native Americans.

Volunteer opportunities in your community

• Volunteer Match – A website for VolunteerMatch, which is a nonprofit, online service that helps interested volunteers get involved with community service organizations throughout the United States. Volunteers enter their ZIP code on the VolunteerMatch web site to quickly find local volunteer opportunities matching individual interests and schedules.
• Habitat for Humanity – A webpage and overview of Habitat for Humanity, an organization which seeks to build quality affordable housing. It includes general information about the organization, how to get involved, how to find your local Habitat for Humanity, etc.
• Experience Corps – A webpage for Experience Corps, which serves to place older adult volunteers in schools and youth-focused organizations in their communities.
• Senior Corps – Program overview and information webpage for The Senior Corps, which is the national service program that puts the experience and talents of seniors across the country to work getting things done in their communities. It includes information about becoming involved, resources for programs, contact information for programs in various states, etc.
  

For Other Hot Topics, check here.

Back to CYFERnet Home Page