Totkare

New Privacy controls for the providers

2010-06-07T18:39:00.003-04:00

Finding childcare requires parents to be able to find the providers easily. Location plays a very important role in this regard. However the childcare provider in wrong hands can be a big problem. To handle this we just introduces two new features to help providers keep their information safe and yet be accessible to parents.

Here is a quick demo:

Easily Shortlist providers

2010-06-05T07:38:00.002-04:00

As parents when we search for a child care providers, it's always time consuming. To find the childcare, shortlist, contact them and so on. Totkare.com already makes it easier to find the childcare, now we also make it extremely easy to create a shortlist.

Here is a quick demo

Providers, take control of your listing

2010-06-05T07:33:00.003-04:00

Hi,

We introduced this capability several weeks back. If totkare already lists your facility, you can now claim it and manage the content directly. More coming soon.

Watch a demo

Introducing Neighborhood safety information

2010-03-08T10:22:00.008-05:00

You would have seen a lot of updates on totkare.com in recent months. There is one more that we want to introduce today. Now when you search for children daycare , home day care or preschool on totkare, along with the child care providers listing you will also see if we find any registered sex offenders around the providers also.

Whether you already have a child care identified or are looking for a child care provider, you'll find this information very helpful.

Here is how it works:

1. Enter your address

2. Use the link to create a free account

3. Confirm your email and you'll see little red dots on the map showing sex offenders

2009-10-08T00:05:00.002-04:00

Pepakura Designer allows you to create paper craft models from 3D data. Note that Pepakura Designer does not contain software to create the original 3D models, but instead translates them to a 2D printable format. A colleague used this to create HALO armor costume for Halloween.

Online Math Adds Up to a Lot of Fun

2009-10-04T21:54:00.004-04:00

DreamBox Learning delivers fun math lessons. Kids can choose from the site's four themes (pets, pixies, pirates, and dinosaurs) and complete math-related tasks to earn objects that help the animated stories progress (earn a hammer to repair a pirate ship, for instance). With about four games per task, six tasks in each story, eight stories in a theme, and four themes ... well, that adds up to a lot of fun math. After finishing a story, players earn a certificate. The site's Parent Dashboard continually assesses and informs parents of kids' progress, all while making real-time adjustment to their math level.
(source: FamilyFun magazine)

A free website for creating comics

2009-09-14T21:15:00.003-04:00

At MakeBeliefsComix.com, aspiring cartoonists can create strips with just a few clicks of a mouse. Select a two-, three-, or four-panel spread, then follow on-screen prompts to tell a tale. The cels play host to one or more of 15 predrawn characters. Choose a mood - happy, sad, angry, worried - for each featured figure, then add word balloons to fill out the funnies. When kids achieve comic genius, they can print their strips or email them to family and friends.

Child directed Play

2009-09-11T13:17:00.002-04:00

Research shows that when you play together you can help your child learn, connect with you and build self-esteem. Child Directed Play(CDP) is a special form of one-to-one play
between you and your child in which your child directs and leads. CDP can be used with
children approximately ages 2 to 10 with slight adjustments for age and/or developmental level. Playing with your child in this way can:
(1) Build a sense of self-direction and self-confidence.
(2) Allow your child to receive focused attention from you without having to misbehave to get it.
(3) Strengthen your parent-child bond.
(4) Help you practice parenting skills.

http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/4286/The-Key-to-Your-Childs-Heart-Child-Directed-Play

9 things to observe when visiting a childcare center

2009-09-01T18:16:00.003-04:00

Here are 9 thing you must consider when visiting a childcare provider:

Kids to teacher/caretaker ratio
This ratio should not really be more than 5 to 1, ideally more in 3 to 1 range. The more the number of kids the more divided the attention from the provider.
Age groups of other kids vis-a-vis your kid
A mixed age setting is actually good for your kid unless the gap is too much. But there should be kids of same age as your kid also.
Cleanliness and Safety - for e.g. are there cleaners lying around ?
You would be surprised when you look at county audits of the licensed day care. One of the most common issues we have seen are where cleaning liquids were lying around in children's reach.
The toys, posters and other such kid items - how and where are they placed
Toys, books and their condition tells a lot about kind of activities as well as discipline that the care take is able to maintain.
Is the care take CPR certified.
In case your kid is an infant there is a separate Infant CPR - ask for the certificates. The certificate should not be expired.
Look at the sleeping arrangements for the kids
Where do the kids sleep, is it comfortable, quiet and safe?
Presence/Absence of television
Lost of provider keep television in the same area as the kids play. There is a just a greater tendency to use the television this way, especially in a mixed age setting.
Backup plans
What happens when the provider has to take a vacation
Provider's flexibility
Time and again you'll find you get late, or leave early. The kids get attached to providers, it's important to choose a provider who is flexible enough that you don't have to ask the kids to adjust to someone else also.

Time with your child

2009-08-15T17:00:00.001-04:00

To a child, LOVE is spelled TIME...

Watch this inspirtional movie taken from Simple Truths website:

http://www.tacmovie.com/

'Mommy bloggers' vow to avoid ethical conflicts

2009-08-10T16:02:00.003-04:00

A nice article at about how mom bloggers found themselves blogging commercially and an ethical conflict. It's important for the authenticity of a medium that it is used truthfully.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/08/10/mommy.bloggers.ethics/index.html

Fun activities for toddlers

2009-07-26T22:07:00.002-04:00

Here is a wonderful site that has some fun ideas to keep your toddler entertained - http://www.toddlertoddler.com/toddler_activities_games.html

Science Projects made easy

2009-07-26T21:49:00.004-04:00

http://www.sciencetoymaker.org/ is a non-commercial site that features projects using easily-available, inexpensive materials, and don't require special skills, tools, materials or facilities.

Keeping kids entertained

2009-07-15T22:07:00.002-04:00

Here is a great site with some wonderful ideas about how to have fun:

http://www.todayisfun.com/blog

You can browse the activities by age and specific topics also. Not the most organized, but does a good job still. have fun!

Create your own cartoons

2009-07-14T21:00:00.003-04:00

Just came across this brilliant sire - http://www.creaza.com - it's free and allow you to create comics and movies - very easy and yet powerful try it out.

Here is what i created in less then 5 min

Storynory: Free Audio Stories for Kids

2009-07-03T11:27:00.002-04:00

Found this nice website - http://storynory.com you can just play audiobooks right on the webpage and totally free. The initial part could be a bit annoying it has advertisement in the beginning but you can quickly go past that. Natasha does a great job!

The other interesting thing (and a hidden one) is if you double click on any of the words -it brings up a translation menu. I think this is very nice and there are quite a few languages available, but usefulness - not too sure

Ever wanted to write stories?

2009-07-01T07:39:00.003-04:00

http://wemakestories.com/ is a unique suite of digital tools for children to create, print and share a variety of innovative story forms. Once you create an account you will be able to create pop-up books, customize audiobooks, design their own comics, produce exciting treasure maps and learn how to create a variety of entertaining adventures.

Unfortunately they do not offer a free service so one needs to pay $9.99/£5.99 but looks very interesting

7 Secrets to Raising a Happy Child

2009-06-30T19:52:00.004-04:00

Nice article at zenhabbits, getting right to it:

Let your child know you are excited to see them when they enter the room.
Teach your child it’s okay to be bored.
Limit your child’s media.
Let your child know they are more important than work.
Let your child make a few of the rules.
Teach your child - don’t assume it’s all happening outside the house.
Model appropriate behavior.

Full article is at: http://zenhabits.net/2009/06/7-secrets-to-raising-a-happy-child/

I would add a 8th one which is always listen to your child. Many times this has happened that my son was doing something and I said no with my own preconceived notions and he comes back with and answer that just surprises me and makes his actions totally valid. Kind of similar to this article - http://www.figarospeech.com/teach-a-kid-to-argue/

Kids’ why questions

2009-06-30T19:26:00.002-04:00

http://whyzz.com/ in an interesting service that offers parents kid-ready answers to how the world works whenever and wherever they are asked.

Like Why does it rain?

Rain comes from clouds, which are themselves made up of lots and lots of tiny droplets of water that are holding on to each other. The water making up the clouds sometimes gets heavy, especially when the clouds encounter colder air. When the cloud's water droplets get heavy enough the droplets can no longer hold on to each other and they fall to the ground as rain!

A nice browser for young kids

2009-06-26T16:34:00.003-04:00

I used to have my 3 year old son try and use Safari browser and he was getting comfortable with Youtube but then recently we tried Kidoz. If you have't heard , it's a nice browser which kids can safely use and I find my son enjoys it quite a lot too

Check it out - http://kidoz.net/

What a mess photo club

2009-06-26T16:27:00.002-04:00

babycenter.com has a pictures of kids at their messiest best :-)

http://community.babycenter.com/photoclubs/a3017305/what_a_mess

What can my baby see?

2009-06-25T16:10:00.001-04:00

very interesting research about how babies see things and recognize shapes colors etc.

"Until recently, many people, even some experts, thought that infants could not see very much. This idea is not new. William James, the great 19th century philosopher and psychologist, argued that the visual world of infants is a "booming, buzzing confusion." Over the last 30 years, developmental and experimental psychologists have intensely investigated visual development. Curiously, many current baby books have not mentioned newer findings. This article attempts to summarize, in non-technical language, some of the most important findings about what your baby can see and when each of these visual abilities develop."

http://www.ski.org/Vision/babyvision.html

Excellent Bike for 3-5 year olds

2009-06-25T12:03:00.000-04:00

Recently we were researching for a great bike for our 3 year old son, looked through many different options and finally found this:

12" Boys' Tonka Mighty Tough Bike

It has a 4 star rating in Walmart with 100+ reviews, Amazon also shows 4.5 star rating with 10 reviews.

It's a solid built, looks cool specially with shockers. Price is great as well, about $65 - walmart is the best deal as of today.