Teach Your Children Well: Web Resources for Kids

Because of all the school budget cuts, parents have to pick up the slack and expose their children to learning opportunities. Fortunately, the online world is filled with educational materials — if you’re savvy about searching for them. And since children are so hip, going online to learn wouldn’t be at all unfamiliar to them. I watched my 4-year-old nephew navigate YouTube looking for NASA launch videos and footage of tornadoes, so older kids should have no problem.

There are plenty of opportunities for learning in odd places, such as in the world of vintage art. Digital versions of old postcards, greeting cards, magazine pages and other “ephemera” contain a view of history that’s fascinating and revealing. The following vintage images are great examples of online materials that can be used for teaching:

Free Vintage Travel Posters

Kids can learn a lot about the world from vintage travel art. These views of travel from days gone by not only teach about the destinations, but also about how people used to view them.

Historical Sailing Ships Paintings and Photos

There’s plenty of interesting information to be found if children study historic tall ships. From sloops-of-war to caravels like Columbus sailed, there are interesting details bound to catch any child’s imagination.

American Icon Postcards

There were quite a few postcards printed that featured American statesmen and heroines. In fact, these were all the rage. From Abe Lincoln pictures to greeting cards with illustrations of Betsy Ross and John Adams to make-believe American heroes like Uncle Sam, the Internet is full of antique pictorial references. Many tell stories along with the pictures, making them mini history lessons.

Spoonerisms

Spoonerisms for children hail from the early- to mid-Twentieth Century, brought forth by Reverend William Archibald Spooner and made famous by Frederick Chase Taylor, a radio comedian, performing under the name Colonel Lemuel Q. Stoopnagle. These unusual versions of traditional fairy tales swap the first letter or phonetic sound of one word with the next word or a word that falls a few words away. Some supposed authentic spoonerisms include “cattle ships and bruisers” for “battleships and cruisers” and “a blushing crow” for “a crushing blow”. Besides being funny, these mangled mash-ups also give children the chance to play with words.

Victorian Era Fashions

Studying fashion doesn’t have to be frivolous or just for kids who want to become designers, if it reveals a piece of history. Looking at Victorian fashion plates how different life was almost two centuries ago. At the very least, they’ll get a better perspective on just how good their lives are now!

You can also find plenty of current topics that make fine teaching materials. You just have to watch out for impartiality. Kids are like sponges, so giving them balanced information is important. That impartiality will make a big difference to them later in their lives.

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Tagged with: Abe Lincoln pictures • Abraham Lincoln postcards • George Washington pictures • tall sailing ships • vintage travel posters

Filed under: Family Topics

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