Using the Internet to Teach Your Children
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. Fortunately, the Web is full of teaching materials — if you know how to search for them. And because children are so ahead of where we were at kids, using the Internet for teaching is natural for them. I watched my four-year-old nephew navigate YouTube looking for Cape Kennedy launch videos and tornado footage, so it should be a piece of cake for older kids.
You can often find learning opportunities in unusual places, such as in the world of vintage art. Digital antique advertising, postcards, greeting cards, posters and other ephemera contain historical information that’s quite revealing. The following vintage images are just a handful of the types you can use for teaching:
Spoonerisms
Animal spoonerisms hail from the early- to mid-20th Century, brought forth by Reverend William Archibald Spooner and made famous by Frederick Chase Taylor, a radio comedian, performing under the name Colonel Lemuel Q. Stoopnagle. These unusual versions of traditional fairy tales 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 “fighting a liar” for “lighting a fire” and “cattle ships and bruisers” for “battleships and cruisers”. Besides being entertaining, these mangled mash-ups also teach children to play with words.
Vintage Historical Figures Postcards
There was a remarkable selection of postcards printed that featured American presidents, statesmen and even strong female role models. As a matter of fact, these used to be all the rage. From free Abraham Lincoln pictures to cards with pictures of John Adams and Betsy Ross 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 bite-sized history lessons.
Tall Sailing Ships Paintings and Photos
There’s plenty of interesting information to be discovered when studying sailing ships. From sloops-of-war to caravels like Columbus sailed, there are interesting details bound to catch any child’s imagination.
Victorian Fashion Plates
Fashion isn’t necessarily frivolous or just for children who want to become designers, if it reveals something about the way people used to live. Looking at Victorian fashions will show kids just how much things have changed since the 19th century. At the very least, they’ll understand just how good they have it now!
But history isn’t the only place you’ll find subjects suitable for teaching online. You just have to make sure the materials, or at least your presentation of them, is impartial. Children absorb the attitudes around them, so you’ll want to make sure they receive balanced information. That emphasis on fairness will make a big difference to them later in life.
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