A Walk in the Woods website conveys information in simple and easy to follow steps that can be followed by even the youngest child. The Teachers' Guide can be used by parents and teachers as an opportunity to explore the environment.

The word is A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson is a wonderfully funny and engaging tale of Bryson's walk on the Appalachian Trail. Follow him on his walk and prepare to laugh out loud.

Knowledge gained from fishing for fun as well as tournament fishing is collected and organized relative to fishing various waters for a variety of species. Their Knowledge center comprises the work of many anglers who wish to share their knowledge and fishing experiences with others. Included in "AA Fishing" are tips, techniques and secrets for all aspects of fishing.

Two years later, in September, 1783, after much diplomacy, the Treaty of Paris was signed and the former 13 colonies were recognized as an independent nation; the United States of America was born.

Read about the American Revolution through different perspectives, written at different times in history, by different historians. Historical works used as a source for this section, may be accessed online and read in its entirety.

The American Revolution
Learn about The American Revolution and its several phases, including: Causes of the American Revolution; Outbreak of the American Revolution; Formation of the Continental Army; the Invasion of Canada and Fall of Boston; and The New Nation.

The above topics are followed by a brief summation of The Winning of Independence, 1777-1783.

The American Revolution: Causes
"The American Revolution came about, fundamentally, because by 1763 the English-speaking communities on the far side of the Atlantic had matured to an extent that their interests and goals were distinct from those of the ruling classes in the mother country. British statesmen failed to understand or adjust to the situation. Ironically enough, British victory in the Seven Years' War set the stage for the revolt, for it freed the colonists from the need for British protection against a French threat on their frontiers and gave free play to the forces working for separation.

"In 1763 the British Government, reasonably from its point of view, moved to tighten the system of imperial control and to force the colonists to contribute to imperial defense, proposing to station 10,000 soldiers along the American frontiers and to have the Americans pay part of the bill. This imperial defense plan touched off the long controversy about Parliament's right to tax that started with the Stamp and Sugar Acts and ended in December 1773, when a group of Bostonians unceremoniously dumped a cargo of British tea into the city harbor in protest against the latest reminder of the British effort to tax. In this 10-year controversy the several British ministries failed to act either firmly enough to enforce British regulations or wisely enough to develop a more viable form of imperial union, which the colonial leaders, at least until 1776, insisted that they sought. In response to the Boston Tea Party, the king and his ministers blindly pushed through Parliament a series of measures collectively known in America as the Intolerable Acts, closing the port of Boston, placing Massachusetts under the military rule of Maj. Gen. Sir Thomas Gage, and otherwise infringing on what the colonists deemed to be their rights and interests.

"Since 1763 the colonial leaders, in holding that only their own popular assemblies, not the British Parliament, had a right to levy taxes on Americans, had raised the specter of an arbitrary British Government collecting taxes in America to support red-coated Regulars who might be used not to protect the frontiers but to suppress American liberties. Placing Massachusetts under military rule gave that specter some substance and led directly to armed revolt."

This information has been sourced from The American Revolution: First Phase, Extracted from: American Military History, Center of Military History, United States Army, Washington, DC 1989. The Army Historical Series can be accessed online and read in its entirety.

Two years later, in September, 1783, after much diplomacy, the Treaty of Paris was signed and the former 13 colonies were recognized as an independent nation; the United States of America was born.

Read about the American Revolution through different perspectives, written at different times in history, by different historians. Historical works used as a source for this section, may be accessed online and read in its entirety.

The American Revolution
Learn about The American Revolution and its several phases, including: Causes of the American Revolution; Outbreak of the American Revolution; Formation of the Continental Army; the Invasion of Canada and Fall of Boston; and The New Nation.

The above topics are followed by a brief summation of The Winning of Independence, 1777-1783.

The American Revolution: The Outbreak
"The First Continental Congress meeting at Philadelphia on September 5, 1774, addressed respectful petitions to Parliament and king but also adopted nonimportation and nonexportation agreements in an effort to coerce the British Government into repealing the offending measures. To enforce these agreements, committees were formed in almost every county, town, and city throughout the colonies, and in each colony these committees soon became the effective local authorities, the base of a pyramid of revolutionary organizations with revolutionary assemblies, congresses, or conventions, and committees of safety at the top. This loosely knit combination of de facto governments superseded the constituted authorities and established firm control over the whole country before the British were in any position to oppose them. The de facto governments took over control of the militia, and out of it began to shape forces that, if the necessity arose, might oppose the British in the field.

"In Massachusetts, the seat of the crisis, the Provincial Congress, eyeing Gage's force in Boston, directed the officers in each town to enlist a third of their militia in minutemen organizations to be ready to act at a moment's warning, and began to collect ammunition and other military stores. It established a major depot for these stores at Concord, about twenty miles northwest of Boston.

"General Gage learned of the collection of military stores at Concord and determined to send a force of Redcoats to destroy them. His preparations were made with the utmost secrecy. Yet so alert and ubiquitous were the patriot eyes in Boston that when the picked British force of 700 men set out on the night of April 18, 1775, two messengers, Paul Revere and William Dawes, preceded them to spread the alarm throughout the countryside. . .

" . . . Before Congress could assume control, the New England forces assembled near Boston fought another battle on their own, the bloodiest single engagement of the entire Revolution. After Lexington and Concord, at the suggestion of Massachusetts, the New England colonies moved to replace the militia gathered before Boston with volunteer forces, constituting what may be loosely called a New England army. . .

" . . . Late in May Gage received limited reinforcements from England, bringing his total force to 6,500 rank and file. With the reinforcements came three major generals of reputation: Sir William Howe, Sir Henry Clinton, and Sir John Burgoyne; men destined to play major roles in England's loss of its American colonies. . .

" . . . The British scorned such a tactic, evidently in the mistaken assumption that the assembled "rabble in arms" would disintegrate in the face of an attack by disciplined British Regulars. On the afternoon of the 17th, Gage sent some 2,200 of his men under Sir William Howe directly against the American positions, by this time manned by perhaps an equal force. Twice the British advanced on the front and flanks of the redoubt on Breed's Hill, and twice the Americans, holding their fire until the compact British lines were at close range, decimated the ranks of the advancing regiments and forced them to fall back and re-form. With reinforcements, Howe carried the hill on the third try but largely because the Americans had run short of ammunition and had no bayonets. . .

" . . . Bunker Hill was a Pyrrhic victory, its strategic effect practically nil since the two armies remained in virtually the same position they had held before. Its consequences, nevertheless, cannot be ignored. A force of farmers and townsmen, fresh from their fields and shops, with hardly a semblance of orthodox military organization, had met and fought on equal terms with a professional British Army. On the British this astonishing feat had a sobering effect, for it taught them that American resistance was not to be easily overcome; never again would British commanders lightly attempt such an assault on Americans in fortified positions. . . Bunker Hill, along with Lexington and Concord, went far to create the American tradition that the citizen soldier when aroused is more than a match for the trained professional, a tradition that was to be reflected in American military policy for generations afterward."

This information has been sourced from The American Revolution: First Phase, Extracted from: American Military History, Center of Military History, United States Army, Washington, DC 1989. The Army Historical Series can be accessed online and read in its entirety.

Two years later, in September, 1783, after much diplomacy, the Treaty of Paris was signed and the former 13 colonies were recognized as an independent nation; the United States of America was born.

Read about the American Revolution through different perspectives, written at different times in history, by different historians. Historical works used as a source for this section, may be accessed online and read in its entirety.

The American Revolution
Learn about The American Revolution and its several phases, including: Causes of the American Revolution; Outbreak of the American Revolution; Formation of the Continental Army; the Invasion of Canada and Fall of Boston; and The New Nation.

The above topics are followed by a brief summation of The Winning of Independence, 1777-1783.

The American Revolution: Formation of the Continental Army
"The response of George III and his ministers to the events at Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill was a determined effort to subdue the rebellious colonists by force. It took time to mount this effort, and after Bunker Hill the Americans enjoyed a respite lasting almost a year. . . Military preparations were designed for a short struggle, to endure no longer than the end of the year 1776. Nevertheless the Americans took advantage of the respite to create a national army, to consolidate their hold on the governmental machinery throughout the thirteen colonies, to invade Canada, and finally to force the British to evacuate Boston.

" . . . The creation of a Continental Army was in the long run perhaps their most significant achievement. . .

" . . . The next day, June 15, Congress chose George Washington, a Virginian, to be Commander in Chief. The choice was made for geographical and political as much as for military reasons. . . His impressive appearance, quiet and confident manner, and good work in the military committees of Congress had impressed all.

"The choice proved fortunate. . . He brought to the task traits of character and abilities as a leader that in the end more than compensated for his lack of professional military experience. Among these qualities were a determination and a steadfastness of purpose rooted in an unshakable conviction of the righteousness of the American cause, a scrupulous sense of honor and duty, and a dignity that inspired respect and confidence in those around him. . .

" . . . The army of which Washington formally took command on July 3, 1775, he described as "a mixed multitude of people . . . under very little discipline, order or government." Out of this "mixed multitude," Washington set out to create an army shaped in large part in the British image. Basing his observations on his experience with British Regulars during the French and Indian War, he wrote: "Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable;

"While establishing discipline in the existing army, Washington had at the same time to form a new one enlisted directly in the Continental service. Out of conferences with a Congressional committee that visited camp in September 1775 emerged a plan for such an army, composed of 26 regiments of infantry of 728 men each, plus one regiment of riflemen and one of artillery, 20,372 men in all, to be uniformly paid, supplied, and administered by the Continental Congress and enlisted to the end of the year 1776. Except for the short term of enlistment, it was an excellent plan on paper, but Washington soon found he could not carry it out. . . Washington found that he had only slightly more than 8,000 enlistments instead of the 20,000 planned. Returns in early March showed only a thousand or so more.

" . . . With enlistments falling short, the only recourse was to continue to use short-term militia to fill the gaps in the lines. A Continental Army had been formed, but it fell far short of the goals Washington and Congress had set for it."

This information has been sourced from The American Revolution: First Phase, Extracted from: American Military History, Center of Military History, United States Army, Washington, DC 1989. The Army Historical Series can be accessed online and read in its entirety.

Two years later, in September, 1783, after much diplomacy, the Treaty of Paris was signed and the former 13 colonies were recognized as an independent nation; the United States of America was born.

Read about the American Revolution through different perspectives, written at different times in history, by different historians. Historical works used as a source for this section, may be accessed online and read in its entirety.

The American Revolution
Learn about The American Revolution and its several phases, including: Causes of the American Revolution; Outbreak of the American Revolution; Formation of the Continental Army; the Invasion of Canada and Fall of Boston; and The New Nation.

The above topics are followed by a brief summation of The Winning of Independence, 1777-1783.

The American Revolution: Invasion of Canada and the Fall of Boston
"The major military operations of 1775 and early 1776 were not around Boston but in far-distant Canada, which the Americans tried to add as a fourteenth colony. Canada seemed a tempting and vulnerable target. To take it would eliminate a British base at the head of the familiar invasion route along the lake and river chain connecting the St. Lawrence with the Hudson. Congress, getting no response to an appeal to the Canadians to join in its cause, in late June 1775 instructed Maj. Gen. Philip Schuyler of New York to take possession of Canada if "practicable" and "not disagreeable to the Canadians."

"Schuyler managed to get together a force of about 2,000 men from New York and Connecticut, thus forming the nucleus of what was to become known as the Northern Army. In September 1775 Brig. Gen. Richard Montgomery set out with this small army . . .

"Montgomery, advancing along the route via Lake George, Lake Champlain, and the Richelieu River, was seriously delayed by the British fort at St. Johns but managed to capture Montreal on November 13. Arnold [Col. Benedict Arnold] meanwhile had arrived opposite Quebec on November 8, after one of the most rugged marches in history. One part of his force had turned back and others were lost bystarvation, sickness, drowning, and desertion. Only 600 men crossed the St. Lawrence on November 13, and in imitation of Wolfe scaled the cliffs and encamped on the Plains of Abraham. It was a magnificent feat, but the force was too small to prevail even against the scattered Canadian militia and British Regulars . . .

"Nowhere did the Canadians show much inclination to rally to the American cause; the French habitants remained indifferent, and the small British population gave its loyalty to the governor general. With the enlistments of about half their men expiring by the new year, Arnold and Montgomery undertook a desperate assault on the city during the night of December 30 in the middle of a raging blizzard. The Americans were outnumbered by the defenders, and the attack was a failure. Montgomery was killed and Arnold wounded.

"The wounded Arnold, undaunted, continued to keep up the appearance of a siege with the scattered remnants of his force while he waited for reinforcements. The reinforcements came. . . but they came in driblets . . . Meanwhile, the British received reinforcements and in June 1776 struck back against a disintegrating American army that retreated before them almost without a fight. By mid-July the Americans were back at Ticonderoga where they had started less than a year earlier, and the initiative on the northern front passed to the British.

" . . . Washington finally took the initiative at Boston. On March 4, 1776, he moved onto Dorchester Heights and emplaced his newly acquired artillery in position to menace the city; a few days later he fortified Nook's Hill, standing still closer in. On March 17 the British moved out. . . The stores of cannon and ammunition the British were forced to leave behind were a welcome addition indeed to the meager American arsenal."

This information has been sourced from The American Revolution: First Phase, Extracted from: American Military History, Center of Military History, United States Army, Washington, DC 1989. The Army Historical Series can be accessed online and read in its entirety."

Two years later, in September, 1783, after much diplomacy, the Treaty of Paris was signed and the former 13 colonies were recognized as an independent nation; the United States of America was born.

Read about the American Revolution through different perspectives, written at different times in history, by different historians. Historical works used as a source for this section, may be accessed online and read in its entirety.

The American Revolution
Learn about The American Revolution and its several phases, including: Causes of the American Revolution; Outbreak of the American Revolution; Formation of the Continental Army; the Invasion of Canada and Fall of Boston; and The New Nation.

The above topics are followed by a brief summation of The Winning of Independence, 1777-1783.

The American Revolution: The New Nation
"The Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, established a new nation and transformed a limited revolt to secure rights within the British empire into a far-reaching one, aimed at complete independence from British control. Since the king and his ministers had determined to restore British rule, the Americans now faced a long, hard struggle for independence requiring a sustained national effort such as they had not expected in 1775.

"The new nation was still a weak confederation of thirteen independent states. Such national feeling as existed was a new phenomenon growing out of common opposition to British measures. Colonial tradition, divided loyalties, the nature of the economy, and the spirit of a revolt born in opposition to the use of military force to suppress popular liberties, all worked against the creation of any new strong central authority capable of mobilizing resources effectively for the long struggle that lay ahead.

"The thirteen states proclaiming their independence in 1776 possessed a total population of about two and a half million people, but not all the males of military age were part of the military potential. . .The genuine patriots still provided a far larger potential of military manpower than the British could possibly transport and supply across the Atlantic, but most of the men of military age were farmers who married young and immediately started large families. Whatever their patriotic sentiments, few were ready to undertake long terms of military service, fearing that if they did their farms and families at home would suffer. . .

"The economy of the thirteen new states was neither self-sufficient nor truly national. The states were essentially a collection of separate agricultural communities, accustomed to exchanging their agricultural surplus for British manufactured goods and West Indian products. Manufacturing was still in its infancy. . . While the country produced foodstuffs in ample quantity, transport from one area to another was difficult. The normal avenues of commerce ran up and down the rivers, not overland; . . .

"The governmental machinery created after the Declaration was characterized by decentralization and executive weakness. The thirteen new "free and independent states" transformed their existing de facto revolutionary governments into legal state governments by adopting institutions. . . Articles of Confederation stipulating the terms of union and granting Congress specific but limited powers were drawn up shortly after the Declaration, but jealousies among the states prevented ratification until 1781. . .

"The decentralized structure provided no adequate means of financing the war. The state legislatures, possessing the power to tax that Congress lacked, hesitated to use it extensively in the face of popular opposition to taxation, and were normally embarrassed to meet even their own expenses. . . paper money was a useful expedient in the early part of the war; indeed the Revolution could not have been carried on without it. But successive issues by Congress and the states led to first gradual and then galloping inflation, leaving the phrase "not worth a Continental" as a permanent legacy to the American language."

This information has been sourced from The American Revolution: First Phase, Extracted from: American Military History, Center of Military History, United States Army, Washington, DC 1989. The Army Historical Series can be accessed online and read in its entirety.

Two years later, in September, 1783, after much diplomacy, the Treaty of Paris was signed and the former 13 colonies were recognized as an independent nation; the United States of America was born.

Read about the American Revolution through different perspectives, written at different times in history, by different historians. Historical works used as a source for this section, may be accessed online and read in its entirety.

The American Revolution
Learn about The American Revolution and its several phases, including: Causes of the American Revolution; Outbreak of the American Revolution; Formation of the Continental Army; the Invasion of Canada and Fall of Boston; and The New Nation.

The above topics are followed by a brief summation of The Winning of Independence, 1777-1783.

The American Revolution: The Winning of Independence, 1777-1783
"The American victory in the War of the Revolution was a product of many factors, no one of which can be positively assigned first importance. Washington, looking back on the vicissitudes of eight years, could only explain it as the intervention of "Divine Providence." American historians in the nineteenth century saw that "Divine Providence" as having been manifested primarily in the character and genius of the modest Commander in Chief himself. Washington's leadership was clearly one of the principal factors in American success; it seems fair to say that the Revolution could hardly have succeeded without him. . .

"Today many scholars stress not the astonishment that Washington felt at the victory of a weak and divided confederation of American states over the greatest power of the age, but the practical difficulties the British faced in suppressing the revolt. These were indeed great but they do not appear to have been insuperable if one considers military victory alone and not its political consequences. The British forfeited several chances for military victory in 1776-77, and again in 1780 they might have won had they been able to throw 10,000 fresh troops into the American war. American military leaders were more resourceful and imaginative than the British commanders, and they proved quite capable of profiting from British blunders. In addition to Washington, Nathanael Greene, Henry Knox, Daniel Morgan, and Benedict Arnold showed remarkable military abilities, and of the foreign volunteers Steuben and the young Lafayette were outstanding. The resourcefulness of this extraordinary group of leaders was matched by the dedication of the Continental rank and file to the cause. Only men so dedicated could have endured the hardships of the march to Quebec, the crossing of the Delaware, Valley Forge, Morristown, and Greene's forced marches in the southern campaign. British and Hessian professionals never showed the same spirit; their virtues were exhibited principally in situations where discipline and training counted most.

"The militia, the men who fought battles and then went home, also exhibited this spirit on many occasions. The militiamen have been generally maligned as useless by one school of thought, and glorified by another as the true victors in the war. In any balanced view it must be recognized that their contributions were great, though they would have counted for little without a Continental Army to give the American cause that continued sustenance that only a permanent force in being could give it. It was the ubiquity of the militia that made British victories over the Continentals in the field so meaningless. And the success with which the militia did operate derived from the firm political control the patriots had established over the countryside long before the British were in any position to challenge it; the situation that made the British task so difficult in the first place.

"For all these American virtues and British difficulties and mistakes, the Americans still required French aid; money, supplies, and in the last phase military force, to win a decisive and clear-cut military victory. Most of the muskets, bayonets, and cannon used by the Continental Army came from France. The French contested the control of the seas that was so vital to the British, and compelled them to divert forces from the American mainland to other areas. The final stroke at Yorktown, though a product of Washington's strategic conception, was possible only because of the temporary predominance of French naval power off the American coast and the presence of a French army.

"French aid was doubly necessary because the American war effort lacked strong national direction. The Revolution showed conclusively the need for a central government with power to harness the nation's resources for war. It is not surprising that in 1787 nearly all those who had struggled so long and hard as leaders in the Continental Army or in administrative positions under the Congress were to be found in the ranks of the supporters of a new constitution creating such a central government with a strong executive and the power to "raise armies and navies," call out the militia, and levy taxes directly to support itself.

"Strictly military lessons of the Revolution were more equivocal. Tactical innovations were not radical but they did represent a culmination of the trend, which started during the French and Indian War, toward employment of light troops as skirmishers in conjunction with traditional linear formations. By the end of the war both armies were fighting in this fashion. . .

"Since both militia and Continentals played roles in winning the war, the Revolutionary experience provided ammunition for two diametrically opposed schools of thought on American military policy: the one advocating a large Regular Army, the other reliance on the militia as the bulwark of national defense. . . The real issue, as Washington fully recognized, was less militia versus Regulars; for he never believed the infant republic needed a large standing army, than the extent to which militia could be trained and organized to form a reliable national reserve. The lesson Washington drew from the Revolution was that the militia should be "well regulated," that is, trained and organized under uniform national system in all the states and subject to call into national service in war or emergency.

"The lesson had far greater implications for the future than any of the tactical changes wrought by the American Revolution. It balanced the rights of freedom and equality, proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence, with a corresponding obligation of all citizens for military service to the nation. This concept, which was to find explicit expression in the "nation in arms" during the French Revolution, was also implicit in the American, and it portended the end of eighteenth century limited war, fought by professional armies officered by an aristocratic class. As Steuben so well recognized, American Continentals were not professional soldiers in the European sense, and militia even less so. They were, instead, a people's army fighting for a cause. In this sense then, the American Revolution began the "democratization of war," a process that was eventually to lead to national conscription and a new concept of total war for total victory."

This information has been sourced from The Winning of Independence, 1777-1783, Extracted from: American Military History, Center of Military History, United States Army, Washington, DC 1989. The Army Historical Series can be accessed online and read in its entirety.

It's no coincidence that apples are the symbol of good health. In the Middle Ages, the English said "To eat an apple before going to bed will make the doctor beg his bread." We now know that there's a sound basis for the familiar "apple a day" rhyme. Take a look at the nutritional benefits of a medium size Apple Country® apple.

Nutritional Facts: Apples are absolutely fat-free. One apple provides as much dietary fiber as a bowl of bran cereal. Apples are loaded with pectin, a soluble fiber that aids digestion and may help reduce cancer and heart disease. The complex carbohydrates in apples give your body a longer, more even energy boost compared to high-sugar snacks. Snacking on apples can keep you going throughout the day. Apples provide boron, an essential trace element that helps harden bones and help prevent osteoporosis.

Learn:
Apple education and see the Kid's Section on apples.
Where to pick you own apples.
Major health benefits of eating apples.
Variety, flavor and best use of each type of apple.
Apple recipes.

Ask for Kids combines human editorial judgment, age-appropriate feature content and filtering technology to enable kids to find both relevant and befitting information on the Web. Press Blue Button to explore Ask For Kids.

Inspired and funded by the John Templeton Foundation, Cogito is being developed through a collaborative effort by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth and eight partners; all highly renowned organizations that serve gifted youth.

Parents' Choice Awards
Fall website 2009
Ages: 12 - 18 yrs
Publisher: Cogito, Center for Talented Youth, Johns Hopkins University

Press Blue Button to find a local Farmers Market. Select a county and view the markets in Westchester, Rockland, Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn or Queens.

Farmers markets provide a means for local producers of agricultural products to sell those products directly to the consumer. Many communities throughout New York State view farmers markets as a positive avenue for supporting local agriculture, providing a source of fresh fruits and vegetables to the residents of their community, and as a means of drawing people into their community aiding in the economic redevelopment of an area.

Comments: Press Blue Button to find a local Farmers Market. Select a county and click that county on the New York State map.

FirstGov for Kids is divided into educational subjects that you might have in your school. Within each subject, we have also divided the sites into these categories: Government, Organizations, Education, and Commercial. The Government sites could be Federal, State, or Military sites. Government sites generally do not sell anything. They are simply sharing information with visitors. Organization sites are developed by groups that have an interest in a special topic - sometimes these sites sell products. Education sites are developed by schools. They can be developed by colleges/universities or high, middle, or elementary schools. These sites usually do not have products to sell. Commercial sites are developed by businesses. Commercial sites share information, but they also have products to sell. Press Blue Button to explore Ask For Kids.

Each week, The Lunch Lab web site will release a new animated short video as well as a corresponding recipe for kids and parents to enjoy. Monthly food/nutrition themes will help guide the program's message, and the animated videos will reinforce concepts pertaining to the featured theme. This will make it easy for parents to extend the learning into the home.

KidsHealth is more than just the facts about health. As part of The Nemours Foundation's Center for Children's Health Media, KidsHealth also provides families with perspective, advice, and comfort about a wide range of physical, emotional, and behavioral issues that affect children and teens.

KidsHealth has received its share of recognition — among them, four Webby Awards, including for Best Family/Parenting Site and Best Health Site on the Web , the Parent's Choice Gold Award, the Teacher's Choice Award for Family, and the International Pirelli Award for best educational media for students.

With age-appropriate content in archaeology, astronomy, biodiversity, genetics, marine biology, paleontology, and physical science, OLogy makes science learning rich and engaging. Educators can find suggestions and tips on how to use the OLogy website in the Educator's Guides.

". . . BGC is a "first mover" in demonstrating how these two issues are intrinsically connected now and in the future. It is a holistic approach to children's media that reminds us that we're all connected, and that taking good care of ourselves and each other can lead to better care of our planet as a whole."

Parents' Choice Awards
Fall website 2009
Big Green Rabbit
Ages: 2 - 8 yrs.
Publisher: Slice of Lime

Playhouse Disney Preschool Time Online is a subscription service that supplements children's pre-kindergarten learning in a fun, safe, and personalized interactive environment that is secure and advertising-free.

The word is Advertising is displayed on the non-subscription sections of Disney Online.

One hundred years ago, children learned to read with one book. Today, they are exposed to a dizzying array of objects, toys, and games that purport to be educational. The only thing these products have in common is that they are confusing.

At the LiteracyCenter.Net, we believe that learning to read in a first language should be as natural as learning to speak. Learning becomes clear and concise. Our system offers alphabets, numbers, and words in clear and concise formats . . . Our lessons allow children to have fun, concentrate, and remember.

The word is Teach children how to read with this clear, concise, and easy to use online educational guide - provided with no ads.

Press Blue Button for hours of fun, entertainment, learning and enrichment for your child.

Learn about each instrument: The violin is the smallest member of the string family. Because its strings are the shortest, it produces the highest sound. There are more violins in the orchestra than any other single instrument. The violins play in two different groups, with the first violins playing the highest-pitched part and the second violins playing the second-highest. Learn how an may be held: Rest the violin on one shoulder and hold it in place using your chin and left hand. Hold the bow in your right hand and draws it across the strings. This changes the pitch in two ways: by drawing the bow across different strings, and by pressing on the strings with the fingers of your left hand. The shape of the violin has stayed pretty much the same ever since the 1500s. That's almost 500 years! The modern violin has four strings, but the earliest ones had only three.

At Playmusic.org you can also learn how to write your own music! Press Blue Button and enjoy.

Sesame Workshop provides information about children's activities and tips for parents. This site is helpful and informative - whether you're visiting with a child in search of educational fun or looking for resources to help guide a child through a particular challenge -See how Elmo is comforted when "Visiting the Doctor" or during the "First Day at School".

The Sesame Street website is rich in Games, Stories, Art, Music, Mail, Elmo's World and more. Take the time to explore and find your favorites sections. Play Dot-To-Dot or Letters Big Bird Gets a Letter, Keyboard-o-rama, Bumper Cars, Ernie's Window Box or Numbers Keyboard-o-rama, Cooking with Rosita, Walking the Dogs or Shapes Clouds, Make-a-Monster, Prairie Dawn in the Science Lab, Elmo's Road Trip or Sorting Zoe's Pet Shelter, Bert's Bottle Caps, Oscar's Trash Collection, Things in a Car or visit the Special Section Snuffy's Magic Garden, Zoe's Pet Shelter, Big Bird Gets a Letter, Limbo Elmo, Elmo's Mixed-Up Farm, Your Amazing Body, Footprints and more. See Pinky Dinky Doo designed for children ages 4 to 7, to encourage literacy through the power of storytelling.

For 35 years, Sesame Street has been embraced by millions of viewers through PBS in the U.S. and around the world. You may not know it, but Sesame Workshop is much more than Sesame Street. Sesame Workshop is guided by the conviction that all children deserve a chance to dream and discover, to understand the world and their place in it, to reach their highest potential.

If you're a parent, revisit Sesame Street with your child and watch their joy as they experience your childhood favorites: Bert, Big Bird, Ernie, Elmo, Oscar the Grouch, Grover, Cookie Monster, Zoe, Rosita and Count Von Count. Play along with Elmo at Elmo's World or visit Sesame Street's Music Zone. Go ahead - sing along!

Sesame Street has helped generations of children around the world to learn ABCs, to understand the meaing of letters and letter sounds, and to use these means to begin making sense of the world. "Press Blue Button to explore the website of Sesame Street - possibly the most wonderful and certainly the most innovative concept in children's education.

Through the use of innovative technologies to create musical instruments and compositional tools designed for an individual of any skill level, as well as weeklong workshops culminating in an integrated performance with children and professional musicians, Toy Symphony is designed as an utterly inclusive experience, one that will infuse the orchestra with youthful and enthusiastic collaborators, and the instruments, sounds, and ideas of the 21st century.

Press Blue Button and enjoy an exploration into the world of music.

Press Blue Button to explore this website. Learn all about our environment through interactive games and more. Learn how you can show your commitment to keeping our planet clean for everyone.

KidSmart answers many questions such as:

How can I use a computer to encourage early learning in our home?
How can I make the computer a part of our household routine?
How can I make sure that the computer serves my child?

KidSmart offers many helpful features including:

KidSmart Comics
Comic strips featuring parents discussing learning, computers, and kids


Things You Can Do
A list of useful ideas and suggestions to help you get the most out of your family's PC


School Link
Concrete teacher tips, overviews of classroom issues and other tools that your child's teacher may use. The text and audio features of this site will help you discover that the computer is just one of many rich, varied materials found in a good learning environment.

The richness, variety, and flavor of our communities, food systems, and diets is in jeopardy. The exclusive focus on economic efficiency has brought us low prices and convenience through large supermarkets chains, agribusiness and factory farms, while taking away many other aspects of our food lives, like our personal relation with our food and with the people who produce it. More and more people are realizing this and actively working to turn the tide and to preserve a food industry based on family-owned, small scale businesses. They are our best guarantee against a world of styrofoam-like long-shelf-life tomatoes and diets dictated from corporate boardrooms.

The Buy Local movement is quickly taking us beyond the promise of environmental responsibility that the organic movement delivered, and awakening the US to the importance of community, variety, humane treatment of farm animals, and social and environmental responsibility in regards to our food economy.

Press Blue Button to find locally grown farm products. Also, look for restaurants that buy from local farms. Just enter your zip-code on the Local Harvest website and find farms and restaurants nearby.

LocalWineEvents.com offers a user-friendly city search feature in the state or country of your choice, making it easy to find out what’s going on in your part of the world. Once you have selected the specific city, you simply choose those events of interest or select the subject pages such as “Wine & Food Educators,” “BYOB Restaurants” or “Food, Wine and Lodging” located at the top of the city webpage. LocalWineEvents.com users may also sign up to receive “The Juice” newsletter and e-mails about local wine events happening in their area. . . Tom DiNardo, Wine Adventure Magazine.

Press Blue Button to for the Local Wine Events.

Games such as "Stop Light Green" help children to develop control over their bodies. Playing “stop and go” games helps them practice control, so that they may be more likely to have self-control and be able to stop in other situations.

Songs such as "It's Such a Good Feeling" or "Its You I Like" teach children that they are important, "not the things you wear or they way you do your hair" . . . Press Blue Button and listen to a few songs . . . be sure to watch the smile on your child's face as they hear:

It's you I like
It's not the things you wear
It's not the way you do your hair
But it's you I like.
The way you are right now
The way down deep inside you
Not the things that hide you
Not your toys
They're just beside you
. . . It's you I like.

MouthPower is an interactive learning experience about oral health. There are six modules within MouthPower, each focusing on a different aspect of oral health and dentistry. In each one, a character named Mouthie serves as guide . . . to help children explore and learn about oral health.

The Food Station introduces the Food Pyramid, explores combination foods, and demonstrates healthy portion sizes of common foods.

The Tobacco Experiment Station demonstrates some dangers of tobacco use in terms of oral health. Older children and teens can drag cigarettes or chew tobacco into Mouthie's mouth and see the dangerous consequences. Explore peer pressure and media influences.

The Cleaning Experiment Station examines the consequences of various levels of personal dental hygiene, revealing the long-term effects of poor hygiene.

Your Tooth Story shows typical development of teeth from birth to adulthood. This demonstration eases concerns kids have about losing teeth and engages them in a discussion of how their mouth develops with their body. Younger kids may enjoy a lesson about the tooth fairy and tooth traditions around the world.

The Dental Time Warp lets children compare dental instruments and practices from the 19th century and today to see how the focus has shifted from painful intervention to painless prevention. Discuss the types of instruments the students are looking at and what they might be used for.

The Creativity Corner lets children and teens design a poster or product packaging to share their new knowledge about the dangers of tobacco with their peers. Kids can use a simple drawing program to make a poster about peer pressure, or tobacco packaging that tells the true story about tobacco addiction.

Online Tours
Online Tours presents a collection of tours. Choose a tour by school or medium and explore the National Gallery's collections of painting, sculpture, works on paper, photographs, and decorative arts.

NGA Kids
An interactive area where fun and learning are combined in The Art Zone. Topics include: Collage Machine, Mobile, PixelFace, 3-D Twirler, Cubits, and more.


Faces and Places
Faces & Places encourage children of all ages to create portraits and landscape paintings in the style of American artists. By combining visual elements borrowed from more than 100 works in the National Gallery's permanent collection, this two-part interactive activity offers an overview of American folk art of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Photo Op
This interactive activity introduces you to digital photography and image editing. Use the virtual camera to snap photos, then edit the images or add special effects to create your own works of art.

Still Life
Still Life allows you to create an interactive Still Life that mirrors the paintings of the old masters. Children of all ages can learn about the world of "Still Life" art by creating their own masterpiece.

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Get a drink, get a snack, sit back and relax - to a new movie or your favorite classic.
"It's great to watch a movie in your own space with no time restrictions"

Press Blue Button to learn all about Netflix.

Meet famous composers at The Composer's Gallery or meet the musicians in the Musicians' Lounge. Learn about different categories of instruments in the Instrument Lab; you can even make your own instrument. Kids can also create their own music at the Composition Workshop.

The New York Philharmonic KidZone is a must for anyone interested in music. Press Blue Button to hear and see this unique website.

The Pride of New York Program was developed to promote and support the sale of agricultural products grown and food products processed within New York State. The Program’s growing membership now includes farmers and processors, retailers, distributors, restaurants and related culinary and support associations, all working together to bring you wholesome, quality New York State products.

Be part of the Pride. Look for products displaying the Pride of New York logo when you shop and support your neighbors, the generations of family farms and food processors who have made New York State one of America’s leading suppliers of food and agricultural products. Press Blue Button to find your local Farmers' Markets, Products produced in New York, Harvest Dates, Events, Recipes, and more.

The Pride of New York Program was developed to promote and support the sale of agricultural products grown and food products processed within New York State. The Program’s growing membership now includes farmers and processors, retailers, distributors, restaurants and related culinary and support associations ­ all working together to bring you wholesome, quality New York State products.

Be part of the Pride. Look for products displaying the Pride of New York logo when you shop and support your neighbors – the generations of family farms and food processors who have made New York State one of America’s leading suppliers of food and agricultural products.

Following is just a small sample of the wealth of information that can be found on the "Pride of New York State" website. Find Local Farmers' Markets, NY Product information, NY Product standards and guidelines for "healty and safe products", Products grown and produced in New York State, and much more.

Read about New York’s commodities including: Honey, Maple Syrup, Poultry and Poultry Products, Shell Eggs, Wine, Bottled Water, Christmas Trees, and Fresh Produce.

Vegetables Asparagus, Fresh Beans, Beets, Broccoli, Brussels Spouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Corn, Sweet, Cucumbers, Greenhouse Eggplant, Endive, Escarole or Chicory, Garlic, Greens, Horseradish Roots, Kale, Lettuce, Greenhouse Leaf Lettuce, Mushrooms, Onions, Parsley, Parsnips, Peas, Fresh, Peppers, Sweet, Potatoes, Radishes, Rhubarb (Field Grown), Spinach, Bunched Spinach Leaves & Plants, Squash, Tomatoes & Tomato Plants, Turnips or Rutabagas and more.

Fruits Apples, Apricots, Blackberries, Blueberries, Cantaloupes, Cherries, Sweet Cranberries, Grapes, Melons, Peaches, Pears, Plums and Prunes, Raspberries, Strawberries, Watermelons and more.

Looking for expert advice on the latest parenting issues? Check out the Expert Q & A blog on our Issues and Advice page. Post comments, ask questions, share stories — be part of the conversation.

PBS Parents is committed to providing valuable educational resources for parents and caregivers. Our Education section offers strategies for building literacy and math skills, tips for Going to School, and recommendations from children’s book experts in our Booklights blog.

"Visit Fun and Games for engaging, age-appropriate games from your child's favorite PBS KIDS programs. And, be sure to put a PBS KIDS character in a photo with your child with our Photo Factory. There's also a field guide with activities that encourage children to explore the wonder of the world around them. Our Parties page has fun party ideas and activities too.

To enhance your online experience, visit My PBS Parents, where you can customize the site to see TV schedules from your local PBS station and get activities from your child’s favorite PBS KIDS programs.

Parents' Choice Awards
Fall website 2009
PBS Parents
Infant - 12 yrs
Publisher: PBS Parents

Press for First Aid

Nutrient Dense Farming The Next Frontier
Every time we harvest crops from a field, we are strategically mining minerals from the soils. If we do not replenish the minerals removed up to the level where everything that we need in our bodies is present in our crops, we are not fully optimizing our crop production. That's where Nutrient Dense Farming becomes a profound yet simple solution, presenting easy to incorporate practices to enrich our soils, our food and our selves.

Nutrient Dense Farming (NDF) aims to create a highly functioning soil ecosystem in which the crops that are harvested have a measurably greater quantity of a broad spectrum of minerals, vitamins, phyto-nutrients, and antioxidants than either conventional or many certified organic crops. These nutrient components also need to be in appropriate ratios to each other in order to maximize absorption and use by the body. This series draws from cutting edge research and long proven techniques that build the ideal soil environment for crop growth and production. Highly functional and robust soils translate into peak nutritive levels, peak yields, and peak pest, disease and extreme weather resistance. Press Blue Button to learn more about The Regional Farm & Food Project .

Starfall includes a lot of ABC animations, animated interactive books and other reading exercises. There are also a lot of downloadable materials such as handouts for home or classroom use and print-outs for learning activities. This site can be used to teach both younger and older children to read. It teaches simple alphabets and sounds for the younger child and phonics based reading for an older child.

Meetup Groups Help Moms

Find others who share their interests
Get involved locally
Learn, teach, and share things
Make friends

Awards & Acknowledgements

Chosen by the American Library Association as a Great Web Site for Kids.


Chosen by PBS Teacher Source as a recommended resource for teachers.


Selected as a featured site by Lightspan’s StudyWeb as one of the best educational resources on the Web.


Selected as a Best Bet on the USA TODAY Education Web Site for educational value.


A+ rating by Education World as an outstanding site for Pre-kindergarten through 2nd grade.


Net-mom approved as one of the best sites for families on the Net!


Selected as Web Site of the Month by School Library Journal for providing quality content appropriate for family viewing and participation.

Deep in the surrounding countryside, where the Great Western Railway main line climbs steadily uphill for 2 miles, a tank engine from Box station is steaming away, helping a heavy goods train up the hill. To the little boy tucked up in bed, listening to the engines struggling up the incline, it sounds very much like they are talking to each other.

The young boy is Wilbert Awdry - later to become the Reverend W. Awdry, the creator of Thomas. Listen to the story of how Thomas became "the most famous tank engine in the world".

Press Blue Button for wonderful stories that reinforce friendship, loyalty, and "being a useful engine". Thomas entertains your child with Games, Videos, Activities and more fun.

If there are one or more “Wine trails’’ active in the region, we have provided links to their sites as well. Wine trails are groups of wineries that are related geographically and work cooperatively to encourage visitors to learn about the fine products they are bringing to the market. Many of the wine trails have special event programs that feature wine and food pairing events throughout the year. These events are listed along with the winery-specific events in the Calendar of events for the individual regions.

Map Center To see a statewide map indicating the location of the various regions. You can easily identify how to move from one region to another if you have time for an extended visit. By then clicking on the specific region of interest, you will get a more detailed map.

Hudson River Valley Wine Region
North of New York City, graced by the beauty and temperature-moderating effects of the majestic Hudson River, lies one of America's most historic wine regions. Even more important than the water's effect on the air, the steep palisades funnel maritime breezes through the region, which today hosts more than 20 wineries building on the tradition of the oldest vineyard and winery in America. A pioneering region for French-American grape varieties such as Seyval Blanc and Baco Noir, the Hudson River Region has also proved hospitable to the more delicate European grape varieties such as Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc.

Within the larger Hudson River Region, on the West side of the Hudson River enjoy the "Shawangunk Wine Trail," named after a nearby mountain range. On the East side of the Hudson River is the "Dutchess Wine Trail". Press Blue Button to view Uncork New York".

Watchknow makes it easier to find good educational videos for children by subject. You can easily access quality educational videos for kids by age, subject, and sub categories.Parents and Teachers may select videos for kids to learn from, by category and by rating. The best rated videos are sorted at the top of the page.

Videos for kids are categorized and easily found by subjects. Find videos by language arts, literature, math, science, history, social studies, and many more topics. Once you've selected your category, just drill down to sub-categories such as chemistry within science. Watchknow is excellent for children that need extra help or for gifted children that want to expand their learning experience in a particular subject.