About Cicada Hunt!

Why I created this Website

My rules for developing this Cicada Hunt!

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

   

I learned something new!  Last year, for the first time in my fifty years, I went hunting for live cicada nymphs.  I had been picking up shed skins for most of my life, but I never realized what great fun it could be to catch live nymphs, until my kids and I started finding them on the sidewalks near our home.
   

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

Reading with my kids.  My kids also love books -- especially picture books about their passions.  However, we couldn't find many children's books about cicadas.
  

Meeting other parents.  Every once in awhile I get to talk with other parents who have kids like mine -- but I haven't found too many in my neighborhood.  By using this Website as a lure, I hope to reach other parents who support their children's passionate interests in nature.  If you are one of those parents, please e-mail me at Webmaster@SaltTheSandbox.org.
  

Thinking about my parents.  My Mom died recently, 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.  My Dad, for instance, took me on a special trip to see 17-year locusts when I was in my early teens.  This site is dedicated to their memories.

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.  (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 deep interests.  But I'm finding that what's deep for a young child is much different than what's deep for an adult professional -- it's much more about depth of experience than about depth of professional knowledge.
    

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 already be doing.
  

Include activities -- especially things you can print!  My kids love to print things using 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 Website 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.