Organising online resources with Weebly

Do your links get lost in the land of many bookmarks?  

We can sift through 50 bookmark folders to find the link we need, but that's not so quick or easy for young children ... and with so many online educational resources available, the bookmarks tab soon overflows.  To rescue our links I created a Weebly website ... it's a fun way to round up the numerous online resources my children have access to. 

Here's what I did:

*  Named our Weebly site.

*  Chose a basic layout, background picture and style from the free options.

*  Organised our online resources by subject, using drop-down menus and hyperlinks.  

*  Added a text box with ideas of fun things to do and other reminders, easily updated.

*  Made the final menu (on the dashboard) a list without links ... just text to remind us of other apps we use on the computer.  

 *  Made a card for the children with usernames and passwords for sites which require special access.

The initial setup took me a few hours, but it now saves us time and allows the children to use the computer more independently.  

Easy to access:

I made our Weebly page super-easy to find by creating a shortcut tab on my Safari browser bar ... simply clicking the word 'KIDS'  takes us straight to our Weebly page.  One happy customer said, "I love it!  You can easily get to links you'd otherwise have to research and you could accidentally get to a website where you buy something!"

Keeping the page up to date:

I created a bookmark folder labelled "Add to Weebly".  Any time I see something worth adding, I save a bookmark in that folder, then once a month or so (or as needed) I edit our Weebly site to add new links, write ideas and reminders.  I gave myself a shortcut tab to access the Weebly editing page so I'd have no reason to avoid this task (if you have sharp eyes you may see it in my grey bookmarks bar, 'Weebly V')!

Your turn:

If you'd like to create a Weebly website for your children, check out Suji's excellent how-to guide which inspired me to do this last year.  Let your own Weebly adventure begin.

Have fun and let me know how it goes!

Interesting bytes

Just taking a moment to share some of the interesting bits and pieces taking place here recently!

We had a wonderful time at an athletics carnival this week last term.  The kids actually participated instead of shying out at the last minute!  No pressure, they just loved being with their friends and went in running races, long jump (J. won a ribbon), high jump, tug of war, hurdles, throwing and novelty events.  I'd love to share the group photo, but can't be bothered asking a hundred people for permission!

Obviously inspired by watching lots of Bear Grylls shows this year, the kids created a water filter using things they found in the yard and an old t-shirt.  They did it all while I was inside answering an email ... earlier they'd decided to wash toys and scrub pavers just for fun!  They mixed muddy water in a pit they dug in the gravel path, and I heard one child comment that it still tasted a bit dirty after the filtering process ... at that point I joined the conversation to say that although their filter might be great, there could unfortunately be pesticides or chemicals in the ground in which they mixed their water (we live in suburbia).  I didn't manage to catch it on camera.  They are keen to go camping so they can try out some other bush survival skills ... shelters and fire I can get excited about, but I'm not keen to replicate scenes involving snakes, bodily fluids, carcasses or knives!

A friend lent us an Engineering Connections DVD, in which Richard Hammond reveals the secrets behind some well known super-structures.  We spent several days last term learning about bridges, photographing and drawing them and building models ... the DVD increased our understanding of engineering exponentially!

Inspired by Suji, I created a free Weebly website to organise links to the websites the kids use.  The kids can now click on THEIR page, and easily access whatever they need to via neat drop down menus, organised mostly by subject.  MUCH easier and cuter than our shared, crowded Safari bookmark bar.

We discovered Storybird, which is a fun site where you choose from heaps of awesome artwork to illustrate stories you create.  I set up a 'school' for my family, where we have a class library of the stories we write using Storybird.  It's FUN!

E. and I went to Kid's Camp during the holidays ... 5 days of crazy fun and fellowship for about 60 Year 3-6 kids.  I was surrogate Mum for 5 delightful Year 3 girls, whilst E. shared a dorm with 8 other 8-9 year old boys!  Not a lot of sleep was had, but the fun included dawn walks, Gala Night plays, elective activities like Survivor, Bootcamp, Chocolate Making, Beading; a photo challenge.  The Olympics involved lots of water games ... and a flouro porridge war!

I have been reading a stack of highly recommended Home Ed. books ... they deserve (and shall have) a post all of their own.

Our days have been rich in recipe invention, books shared, Bible reading, bike rides & impromptu picnics, family, friends and fellowship.  We're all full of energy and loving the warm, sunny days of Spring.

How are things at your place?