About this Site

Why I created this Web site

My rules for developing this Web site

Who I am, and how my background helped me develop this site

What I've learned from living with my kids

   

Surfing with my kids.  My kids love surfing the Web in search of the things they love -- but there aren't many subject-specific Web sites designed especially for young kids.  This site tries to fill that gap, for at least a few subjects.
  

Reading with my kids.  My kids also love books -- especially picture books about their passions.  These books have inspired many of the features you will find on my Web sites.
  

Meeting other parents.  Every once in awhile I get to talk with other parents who have kids like mine.  By using this Web site as a lure, I hope to reach other parents who support their children's passionate interests in nature, or cars, or whatever.  If you are one of those parents, please e-mail me at Webmaster@SaltTheSandbox.org.
  

Thinking about my parents.  My Mom died a few years ago, and my Dad died ten years before her.  I've been thinking about the things they did to support my childhood passions, and about the ways I've grown to follow in their footsteps.  This site is dedicated to their memories.
   

Thinking about my first mentor:  Bert Fleming.  Elberta W. Fleming started what became the Lake Erie Junior Nature and Science Center in her basement.  For more than a decade, she was my mentor as I first volunteered and then was employed at what we called "The Museum."  Bert helped shape my passions for science and collecting, and she even recommended me for my first "real" job, at the Children's Museum in Indianapolis.  As I sit here in my basement, working on my Web sites, I can't help thinking about Bert!

Tell a story.  Make it a true story, about a real person that the target audience can identify with.
  

Tell it with photos.  Use lots of large, detailed photos, even thought they take time to download.  (In other words, make it like a children's science book!)
   

Use words to support the photos, and not the other way around.
   

Write to be read aloud.  That's not my natural style, so I have to work hard to get it right.  But I really want people to read my words aloud to young children.
    

Keep sentences short, but don't avoid all sophisticated words.  Passionate kids need a large vocabulary, so they can talk about their interests.
   

Keep it simple, but not too simple.  Kids with passionate interests want to know the details, even if they can't always understand sophisticated ideas.
  

Don't be afraid to go deep!  To my way of thinking, the Web was designed to satisfy people with intense interests.
    

Connect to the real world.  Tell stories that give kids and parents ideas about things they can do in their homes and neighborhoods -- and provide background and materials that will give deeper meaning to the things they may have already done.
  

Include activities -- especially things you can print!  My kids love to print out what they find on the computer!
    

Help young kids surf on their own.   Both my kids want to use the computer on their own.  I've been experimenting with a simple, graphical navigation bar that will help pre-readers and early readers explore this Web site on their own (but with parents reading over their shoulders and keeping them out of trouble!)
   

Don't give advice, just share experiences.  Maybe I've read too many books and articles about parenting -- I'm just burned out on the whole concept of getting and giving advice.  I'll tell you what we did, but I don't know you, your kids, or your situation.  It's up to you decide what, if anything, you will do with what I tell you.
   

Learn from experience.  I'm stumbling along with my Canon PowerShot S10 digital camera and Microsoft FrontPage 2000, trying new things and then trying to learn from my mistakes.  Any feedback from you would help make things better.  Again, here's my address:   Webmaster@SaltTheSandbox.org.

Childhood passions are a bridge to learning about the larger world.  When my kids develop an interest, it really dominates their lives.  For months or years, most of what they learn about the world seems focused through the lens of their passion.  One of the few researchers who have studied this topic is Kevin Crowley of the University of Pittsburgh < http://www.kevincrowley.com/ >, who writes about the "islands of expertise" that kids develop when they pursue their passions.  If you can read Adobe Acrobat files, you may want to download Dr. Crowley's first article on this page < http://www.kevincrowley.com/olpubs.html >.  I published an article about Crowley's ideas in the September, 2002, issue of Chicago Parent.  It's called, "Islands of expertise: Why do children become such specialists?"  Here's an online version:
   < http://saltthesandbox.org/ChicagoParentArticle2.htm >
  

A passion for collecting.  Young kids can be the most passionate of collectors.  That's my observation, and I've heard it confirmed informally from a variety of sources.  I published an article about kids' passion for collecting, called "Aaron's Treasures: How to nurture your child's urge to collect (without letting it drive you nuts),"  It was published in the July, 2002, issue of Chicago Parent, and you can read an online 
version here:
   < http://saltthesandbox.org/ChicagoParentArticle1.htm >. 
Here are some online articles about kids as collectors:
   < http://www.sesameworkshop.org/parents/advice/article/0,4125,1027-1-300,00.html >
   < http://flfl.essortment.com/collectablescol_rzzv.htm >
   

Learning names and classifications of things.  After reading some of Howard Gardner's work on the "Eighth Intelligence," I think of Ethan as my "naturalist" and Aaron as my "un-natural naturalist."  Here are some online articles about the naturalistic intelligence:
   < http://www.uwsp.edu/education/lwilson/learning/natintel.htm >
   < http://www.blarg.net/~building/strategies/mi/campbell.htm >
   < http://www.blarg.net/~building/strategies/mi/hoerr1.htm >
   < http://www.blarg.net/~building/strategies/mi/barkman.htm >
   < http://www.blarg.net/~building/strategies/environmental/meyer.htm >
   < http://www.blarg.net/~building/strategies/environmental/wilson2.htm >
    

Preschoolers' fantasy play.   Before Ethan, it had never occurred to me that kids' collections -- shells, polished rocks, whatever -- could play such an important role in their fantasy play.  I wrote about that briefly in my two Chicago Parent articles, and I'll continue to think, read, and write about it in the future.
  

Learning about cause-and-effect by asking questions and by reflecting on the same experience -- over and over and over again!  I had heard about preschoolers' persistent questioning -- now I've lived through it for a few years, and it shows no signs of abating.  This is another topic I want to explore in greater depth.