Updated 26 Jul 2017
Links
We post links to sites about education and accessibility as we happen across useful ones. These are service-oriented or educational sites. (If you are looking for products to buy, see the links above.)
Educational Activities
Cooperative Games
The website CooperativeGames.com is devoted to promoting cooperative games and sells them as well. Their free blog has reviews, rationales and observations. A recent article reviewed the exhibit, The Science of Sharing, Investigating Competition, Cooperation, and Social Interaction which was previously on display (but apparently not anymore) at The Exploratorium in San Francisco.
(You can also find books on the subject.)
Literacy
The Measured Mom website has a wealth of free “sight word printables.” These would be extremely easy to turn into Montessori-style nomenclature cards (aka “classified cards” or simply “3-part cards”)1. You will find some great ideas for using them at the website.
Mathematics
The “Visual Fractions” website presents fraction concepts and operations visually. It includes fun interactive online practice, worksheets and tests. Read more in my blog post.
Educational Alternatives
General Resources
Alternative Education Resource Organization (AERO)
Founded in 1989, AERO provides resources to “advance student-driven, learner-centered approaches to education,” including conferences, training, consulting, and publications. Their “network includes Montessori, Waldorf (Steiner), Public Choice and At-Risk, Democratic, Homeschool, Open, Charter, Free, Sudbury, Holistic, Virtual, Magnet, Early Childhood, Reggio Emilia, Indigo, Krishnamurti, Quaker, Libertarian, Independent, Progressive, Community, Cooperative, and Unschooling” (from their website).
I attended the 2012 AERO conference in Portland, Oregon and can attest to the wealth of knowledgeable and inspiring speakers. The 2014 conference near New York City included Ron Miller (educational researcher, writer and activist), Zoë Neill Readhead (of Summerhill School), Lenore Skenazy (“America’s Worst Mom”), Jerry Mintz (involved in starting over 50 democratic schools, many still in existence), Justo Méndez Arámburu (co-founder of Nuestra Escuela), teachers from the Brooklyn Free School, and Ramchandra Das (founder of three Ashrams in Nepal that serve and provide learner-centered education for about 170 underprivileged children and 80 adults).
Many recordings from their conferences, as well as books and other materials, can be purchased through their bookstore.
International Democratic Education Network (IDEN)
IDEN is a network of people and organizations that share common ideals about trust, respect, equality, responsibility and freedom for children as well as adults. Children learn about democratic governance by practicing it. Children and staff work together and the child’s vote is equal to the adult’s.
Institute for Democratic Education in America (IDEA)
IDEA promotes “meaningful educational change based on democratic values and human rights.” They encourage discussion and joint action with youth, schools and communities to better meet children’s needs. Rather than focusing on blame, they practice restorative justice to create a better world.
Montessori
There is no single “official” Montessori organization. The Association Montessori Internationale is the oldest. They have resources for parents as well as teachers and can help you locate Montessori schools in your area. Some Montessori schools are not affiliated with any of these. However, the school is more likely to be of high quality if the school and/or its teachers are certified by at least one of these.
American Montessori Society (AMS)
Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), USA: Association Montessori Internationale/USA
Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education
North American Montessori Teachers’ Association
Educational Thought
Articles
The 21st Century Learning Initiative
The 21st Century Learning Initiative’s website has over 400 articles, interviews and presentations that synthesize educational and human brain research, how societies function, and other normally disparate subjects that all have a bearing on how we educate. Articles span over 30 years, starting in 1983. These are sorted into folders that represent a timeline of educational thought. “Each folder has a key document, and a number of supporting documents sorted by a star rating ranking their importance to the story as a whole.”
Healthy Children
Ergonomics
StandUp Kids
Concerned about children’s sedentary lifestyles, StandUp Kids wants to help them move throughout the day by encouraging schools to get standing-height work stations. Their website has good information about why this is so important.
Parents, Newborns and More
Fearless Parent™
Societal pressures on parents may scare them into complying with “expert” decisions that are not always in their individual child’s best interest or, at the very least, undermine the parents’ self-confidence. Fearless Parent™ counters unquestioned assumptions and media scares with good research, while helping parents to help each other.
From their “About Us” page:
Fearless Parent™ is the thinking person’s daily dose of unconventional, evidence-based news about health, wellness, green living, and holistic parenting choices.
Toxic Baby
At this website, the movie trailers for the film by the same name will scare you into learning more. Every year, thousands of new chemicals come into our world in the form of industrial waste, pesticides, and products. In the USA, these bypass the FDA because they are not food, and the EPA cannot possibly catch up. But it’s not just what’s outside. We poison ourselves and our children with what we put into our mouths, on our skin and in our homes. Toxic Baby gives us the hope that we can reduce our children’s and our own exposure to toxins by learning what to consume, what to avoid, what to buy and what to boycott.
Specific Conditions: Diabetes
Diabetes Motion
The Diabetes Motion website gives free tips on managing blood glucose levels during and after exercise for those with diabetes. Learn how to synchronize eating, exercise and medicine to optimize glucose and insulin levels and work toward greater health. Although aimed at adults, the website’s explanations will also help parents of diabetic children to understand the body’s energy cycles so they can manage diabetes better. The website’s founder, Dr. Sheri Colberg, is an exercise physiologist who received her Ph.D. from U.C. Berkeley. She has written a number of books, including (affiliate links go to Amazon): Exercise and Diabetes: A Clinician’s Guide to Prescribing Physical Activity (2013), Diabetes-Free Kids (2012), Diabetic Athlete’s Handbook (2008), and 50 Secrets of the Longest Living People with Diabetes (2008). She has also written a number of articles both for scientific research journals and for the general public.
Special Needs
Articles
Blog at Disability Helper
This website is fairly new, so there are not many articles, but they are worthwhile:
- Types of Vehicle Modifications Available for Disabled Individuals
- Job Options Available for Disabled Americans
- Introducing a Disabled Family Member to Friends
- Helping Children Understand Disability
Legal Guide for Newly Disabled and Disabled Seniors
Summary of legal rights and resources.
How to Save on Adaptive Equipment As You Care for Disabled or Senior Loved Ones
A good overview about assistive technology, adaptive equipment, prioritizing, finding reliable vendors, getting reimbursed and more, with many links to useful organizations.
Home Organization for Seniors with Disabilities and the Newly Disabled
Links to many different organizations along with ideas for modifying the home to enable disabled people to live as independently as possible.
Home Modifications and Selling Your Home
Another list of modifications that may help a person with disabilities. The article also points out that when you sell or rent your home, the modifications will be seen as an asset to the growing population for ageing adults as well as to those with disabilities.
List of Hobbies, Interests and Activities at CerebralPalsy.org
This is just a list without details or instructions, but it is worth looking over when you are looking for new ideas to engage your child.
Teaching the Art of Cooking to People with Special Needs
How to set up a kitchen and get started. Besides providing fun learning experiences, cooking skills help individuals live more independently.
Parent Organizations
Center for Parent Information and Resources
Serves Parent Training Information (PTI) Centers and Community Parent Resource Centers (CPRCs). These organizations are all over the USA and can be found by visiting the Center’s interactive map. The Center is also compiling a library of resources.
Technology to Assist People with Special Needs (Assistive Technology)
Assistive Technology Industry Association
As their website states, “The Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) is a not-for-profit membership organization of manufacturers, sellers and providers of technology-based assistive devices and/or services.” You do not have to be a member to attend one of their conferences or online webinars (though there is a fee for the latter). They hold a conference in Orlando, Florida every year. I went a few years ago and found it a great opportunity to learn about a number of products and talk to vendors. Their website has pictures and statistics from the 2015 conference. The 2016 conference will be held from February 2-6, 2016.
Bookshare
A wealth of accessible books and periodicals (including audiobooks) for people with disabilities that adversely affect their ability to read printed materials. Membership is free for qualifying individuals and institutions that serve them (and $75/year for everyone else).
Easter Seals @ Crossroads
Abundant videos, podcasts and other information about assistive technology.
Travel
The Society for Accessible Travel & Hospitality (SATH)
A non-profit organization whose “mission is to raise awareness of the needs of all travelers with disabilities, remove physical and attitudinal barriers to free access and expand travel opportunities in the United States and abroad.” Their website includes a page of links to disability travel websites.
Miscellaneous Resources
Public Domain Art
Reusable Art
Beautiful old artwork. The copyrights have expired and the artists have long since passed on. You can use these in your own projects or on your website for free. However, check the “About Us” page at the site, because copyright protection times vary in different countries, and some of the works may still be under copyright protection in your own country.
Footnotes
1 Montessori Print Shop has good instructions for how to make these 3-part cards.