Teach Your Children Well: Internet Sources for Kids

With classroom budgets being slashed every year, it’s become incumbent on parents to expose their children to the information they’re not getting in school. Luckily, the Web is full of educational tools — if you know how to search for them. And because children are so ahead of where we were at kids, going online to learn wouldn’t be at all unfamiliar to them. I watched my four-year-old nephew navigate YouTube looking for Cape Kennedy launch videos and footage of tornadoes, so it should be a snap for older children.

There are plenty of opportunities for learning in odd places, for example, in the world of vintage art. Digital old postcards, greeting cards, magazine pages and other “ephemera” contain a wealth of historical information that’s quite revealing. The following vintage images are just a handful of the types you can use for teaching:

Spoonerisms

Spoonerisms hail from the early- to mid-20th Century, created by Reverend William Spooner and made famous by Frederick Chase Taylor, a radio comedian, performing under the name Colonel Lemuel Q. Stoopnagle. These unusual versions of traditional fables swap the first letter or phonetic sound of one word with the next word or a word that falls a few words away. Authentic spoonerisms include “a blushing crow” for “a crushing blow” and “fighting a liar” for “lighting a fire”. In addition to being funny, these funky mash-ups also give children the chance to play with words.

Vintage American Icons Postcards

There was a remarkable selection of postcards printed that featured American statesmen and heroines. In fact, these were all the rage. From George Washington pictures to cards with pictures of Betsy Ross and John Adams to fictional heroes such as Uncle Sam, the online world is filled with these vintage pictorial references. Most tell some aspect of the featured person’s life story, making them mini history lessons.

Historical Sailing Ships Paintings and Photos

There’s a lot of fascinating information to be discovered if kids study historic tall ships. From barqs to Blackwall frigates to the elegant historic vessels that sail in the modern Tall Ships Race, there are interesting details bound to catch any child’s imagination.

Victorian Era Fashions

Fashion isn’t necessarily trivial or just for children who want to become designers, if it promotes an understanding of the way people used to live. Looking at Victorian fashion plates will show kids just how much things have changed since the 19th century. With any luck, they’ll understand just how good they have it now!

And there are also plenty of current topics that can be studied. You just have to watch out for impartiality. Kids are like sponges, so giving them balanced information is important. Keeping an emphasis on fairness will make a big difference to them later in life.