Being a parent can be great fun, with many opportunities for love and excitement. It also brings challenges and hard work. Building a coalition of support for your family and knowing where to go for help when needed is important for you and your children.
Below we display links to a variety of websites where you will find a wealth of resources to enhance your understanding of parenting and child development.
There are many ways that a parent can be involved in a child’s education. AKPIRC has developed a guide that shares 38 different ways a parent can volunteer to help out the school.
Ideas for Parents
At AKPIRC we understand how busy parents are these days. Below you will find some resources that will provide parents with little things they can do with their child that will have a positive impact on the child.
- Calendar with great ideas for parents of elementary school children, middle or high school children.
- Activity Guides for babies, toddlers and preschoolers.
www.bestbeginningsalaska.org/index.php/Families/English-language-Early-Learning-Activity-Guide.html
Educational Links for Parents
Alaska Association of School Boards
http://www.alaskaice.org/
This Alaskan web site covers information from early childhood through the teen years.
Alaska Department of Education and Early Development
http://www.eed.state.ak.us/
Parents will find lots of information about Alaska’s education system, school districts across the state, information on state testing, and much more.
Alaska PTA
http://www.alaskapta.org/
Wanting to get involved in your local PTA? Don’t have a local PTA? This site can help you get connected with PTA.
Anchorage Public Library Ready to Read Resource Center
The Anchorage Public Library offers free literacy resources to anyone who works with infants and toddlers statewide. Click here for a brochure that gives further information.
http://www.besstbeginningsalaska.org
Best Beginnings supports early learning and literacy statewide. The site includes Early Learning Activities, Imagination Library, current issues, and tips and guidelines.
Colorin Colorado
http://www.colorincolorado.org/
A bilingual site for families and educators of English language learners.
Great Schools.net
http://www.greatschools.net/alaska/
This web link features information about School Report Cards, as well as information about public, private, and charter schools in Alaska, (although parents in other states can access information for their state as well through here). Parents can get profiles of schools in their area based on Standards Based Assessments and compare them against other schools. There are also tips on a variety of school-related issues (tips on math and reading, college prep, learning disabilities, etc.) that parents can access. Lots of great information.
Nine Star Education and Employment
http://ninestar.com/
Nine Star is a non-profit dedicated to developing Alaska’s workforce. They are a resources for GED, high school completion, trades math, and more.
Parents as Teachers
http://www.ruralcap.com/
Parents as Teachers (PAT) is an early childhood parent education and family support program designed to empower parents to give their children the best possible start in life. To get more information, click on ‘child development’ on RurAL CAP’s home page.
Project Appleseed
http://www.projectappleseed.org
A wealth of information on parent involvement and school improvement.
Reading is Fundamental
http://www.rif.org
Reading is Fundamental (RIF) is the nation’s largest child literacy organization. Parents can find tips and activity ideas for different age groups on this site to help motivate their children to read. Resources are also available in Spanish.
Reading Rockets
http://www.readingrockets.org/
This site is full of great ideas on how to help your child be a stronger reader.
Stone Soup Group
http://www.stonesoupgroup.org
Supporting families who care for children with special health needs. They offer a wealth of resources, programs, and workshops for families.
The Learning Connection in Juneau
http://www.serrc.org/learning-connection/tlc
After-school programs for children and family support.
SERRC – Alaska’s Educational Resource Center providing K-12 services throughout the state, and adult education and families services in Southeast Alaska.
Thread
http://www.threadalaska.org
This Alaskan resource can help connect you to early childhood care and education. Thread is also hosting a Parent Action Center that allows parents to be kept up to date on legislative issues of interest.
Washington Learning
http://www.walearning.com
This site has resources that include twenty home and community activities for adults and children birth to three that encourage early language and literacy development. They are appropriate for children with disabilities as well as children who are developing typically.
The materials are specifically designed to address the three key skills of 1) language development, 2) sounds and rhythms, and 3) general book and print awareness.
The files are in PDF format to allow easy and secure downloading and are available in several languages.
General Parenting Information
Association for the Education of Young Children – Southeast Alaska
http://www.aeyc-sea.org/parentpage.htm
This Alaskan resource has information on brain development, importance of reading to and with children, positive discipline, and more.
Baby Sign Language
http://www.babysignlanguage.com/
This site is a collection of free resources created for parents to teach baby sign language to their child.
Child and Family Web Guide
http://www.cfw.tufts.edu/
The WebGuide is a directory that evaluates, describes, and provides links to hundreds of sites containing child development research and practical advise.
iVillage Parenting
http://parenting.ivillage.com/
This web site contains lots of great parenting tips from parent educators as well as other parents. It also includes a message board that will allow you to chat with other parents on comment topics.
Kid Source
http://www.kidsource.com
Topics include update articles on health and wellness issues, parenting, education, recreation and more. Also breaks age groups of children down.
Parenting.org
http://www.parenting.org
Free tips, advice, resources, and guidance on parenting issues. This site is sponsored by Boys Town.
PBS Parents
http://www.pbs.org/parents/
A resource of parenting tips and parenting advice, also includes activities to help your child do well in school
The National Parenting Center
http://www.tnpc.com
Includes lots of articles ranging from pregnancy through adolescence along with a connection to the CafeMom.
Family Fun Sites
Hands on Banking
http://www.handsonbanking.com/en/
A great site to help your child develop skills in being financially aware.
National Geographic
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/
Includes science experiments, art projects, games, and more all of which are high quality.
Specific Mother Sites
Working Mother
http://www.workingmother.com
Designed for mothers who work outside of the home, this site offers articles of interest to working mothers, as well as strategies, questions & answers, personal stories and additional links.
Financial Help for Single Mothers
URL: http://www.financialhelpsinglemother.com
Contains information on over 30 financial grants & assistance
for single moms including college aid, housing subsidies, food stamp
benefits, childcare insurance & more.
Specific Father Sites
Fathers.com
http://www.fathers.com
Fathers.com is the premier online resource for every day dads. Created by the National Center for Fathering, fathers.com provides research-based training, practical tips and resources to help men be the involved fathers, grandfathers, and father figures their children need. Also contains information on Urban Dads and Watch DOGS.
http://www.fathersnetwork.org
This site targets fathers of children with special health care needs and developmental disabilities. The site features articles, links, information about medical needs, bulletin boards, and a segment in Spanish.
New and Expectant Parents
http://www.babycenter.com
Expectant parents can access this web site to obtain lots of article on various topics related to expectant and new parents. It also features a due date calculator and pregnancy calendar to track baby’s development week by week through pregnancy and beyond.
http://pampers.com
Besides Pampers trying to sell some products on this site, there is a lot of useful information from pregnancy through preschooler years.
Single Parents
http://www.parentswithoutpartners.org
This is the official site for Parents Without Partners program. It includes a wide assortment of resources on being a single parent, news and events, newsletter, and a chat room for members.
Grants for Single Mothers
http://grantsforsinglemother.org/
This site includes education grants for single moms, along with other resources and supports available.
Medical Information
http://hss.state.ak.us/dhcs/DenaliKidCare
Denali KidCare provides excellent health insurance to children of working and non-working families.
http://www.healthfinder.gov
This site is sponsored by health and human services, a department in our government. It has an easy to use search engine, offers the latest health news, events and press releases, and provides links to online journal publication. It also supplies links to toll free numbers, self-help, and support group information.
http://www.kidshealth.org
This site is divided into sections for parents, kids, and teens and each section covers a wide assortment of topics.
http://www.mayoclinic.com
The Mayo Clinic’s web site contains information about children’s health issues, pregnancy, and family life located all under healthy lifestyles. One can also search easily by topic of interest. This site also has a tremendous amount of articles.
Scholarships for College
Alaska Performance Scholarship Information
All Alaskan students are eligible to recieve a scholarship to attend an institution of higher learning as long as they meet the criteria. Please find the year a student is graduating from high school to learn of the requirements.
Requirements for students graduating in 2011
Requirements for students graduating in 2012
Requirements for students graduating in 2013
Alaska Performance Scholarship fact sheet January 2011
Afognak Native Corporation
http://www.afognak.com/
Includes a wealth of information on scholarship within their corporation and other scholarship opportunities.
American Indian Graduate Center
http://www.aigcs.org/
This is a source of funding for Native American students for high school students or adults wanting to earn an undergraduate or graduate degree.
Bering Straits Native Corporation
http://www.beringstraits.com/foundation/scholarships.html
Along with their scholarships, there is information on other scholarships in the Nome area.
Bristol Bay Native Corporation
http://www.bbnc.net
Includes short term vocational education and long term vocational education and college.
Calista Corporation
http://calistacorp.com
Includes information on the scholarships they offer to students.
Financial Aid for Students
http://murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=FinancialAid
Senator Murkowski’s staff has compiled a wealth of information on how to pay for college including scholarships and grants.
Koniag Incorporated
http://www.koniag.com
Along with their own scholarship opportunity, this site list many different scholarship opportunities for Native American students.
Pell Grants
http://www.pell-grant-eligibility.com
Provides information on federal Pell grants.
Special Needs Children
http://www.familyvillage.wisc.edu
This site is hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison and includes a wide assortment of disability-related resources.
http://www.LDOnLine.org
This site is for parents, teachers, and children with learning disabilities and/or ADHD. Lots of great information.
The National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
http://www.nichcy.org
Seeking information on IDEA, early intervention providers, or information on disabilities. This site covers these and much more.
http://www.stonesoupgroup.org
An Alaskan resource that supports families of children and youth with special needs.
Twins
National Organization of Mothers of Twins
http://www.nomotc.org
This site is geared toward sharing information with mothers on twins and multiples. This serves as a clearinghouse for information.
Internet Safety
Net Cetera — OnGuard Online
http://www.onguardonline.gov/topics/net-cetera.aspx