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 November
2000
More
Internet Resources for
Catholic Families
Get
it online, use it
offline!
In
my December 1999 column
I offered suggestions
for Family
Safety and Fun on the
Internet. Since
then, a lot has happened
in cyberspace. The
Internet is growing at an
astronomical rate.
Currently 52% of U.S.
households have access
to the Internet,
and by 2005 some experts
predict that as many as
one billion people
around the world will be
on the Internet. It
really is a
jungle out there!
It
is no surprise, then,
that resource sites for
families are also
growing. Let's take a
look at some of the new resources for Catholic
families on the
Internet.
Spirituality
Resources
An email update from St.
Mary's Press (www.smp.org)
led me to a great new
site, homefaith.com.
This site is sponsored
by the Claretians, the
same folks who put U.S.
Catholic, Salt
of the Earth and
other great magazines
online. It describes
itself as
"spiritual help for
families". The site
offers everything from
tips for celebrating the
seasons and Church
feasts with your family,
to good parenting ideas,
to guides for using
media and the Internet.
You can register for a
free weekly email
meditation, too. This is
a site worth
watching.
Catechetical
publishers offer some
great sites for
families, too. One great
example is the "Family
Front Porch"
page offered at Faithfirst.com,
sponsored by RCL -
Resources for Christian
Living. This site offers
family stories, prayers,
games and activities,
articles just for
parents, a
question-and-answer
forum, and more. William
H. Sadlier Company
offers numerous
resources for families
on its Cyberfaith.com
site, including
questions and answers
about church teaching
and a "Family
Faith" page
where parents share
ideas each month on how
to nurture faith.
Finally, Benziger (http://www.glencoe.com/benziger)
offers a small but
worthwhile Family
Activity Center.
You can also find some
fun activities in the
section of their page
devoted to their Kitchen
Table Gospel series.
Notice
that most of the
activities suggested in
these sites are done away
from the computer and
the TV. The
implicit message? Take
time for family-time!
Other,
secular sites that are
fun for families
My nephew set a
family project in motion
by establishing a free
family web site at myfamily.com.
This site offers a
place to post messages,
photos, recipes, track
family birthdays and
special events and any
number of other fun
things. It sends out
regular reminders to
everyone from the family
who is placed on the
mailing list. When I
posted a picture of my
daughter on the site,
everyone on this list
was automatically
informed that this new
photo was available.
Another such site is superfamily.com.
This could be a fun
family project.
NationalGeographic.com
offers an intriguing Family
Xpeditions page
where families explore
the world through
reading, suggested field
trips, games, and
crafts. The site changes
every two weeks or so.
This is great for
families with school age
kids.
When
using or viewing these
secular sites, parents
and families will have
to use discretion. While
the content is
"G" rated,
these sites have
corporate sponsors. You
may object to the
principles under which
that company operates,
or you may not like the
implicit values that you
find in that site's
advertising. It is
always best to spend
some time with a site
yourself before making
it "open fare"
for your family.
And
the Internet continues
to grow...
How have you used the
Internet to resource
your family and promote
family life? Do you see
this medium as a
positive influence upon
family life? Share your
ideas, criticisms, or
perspectives in the CEM
Center's Discussion
Forum. We would
love to hear from you!
Chris
Weber
Director
Catholic Education Ministries
of Central Maryland.
Copyright © 2000 by the
Catholic Education Ministries Center of Central Maryland, Emmitsburg, MD
21727. All rights reserved.
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Most
of the activities
suggested in these sites
are done away from the
computer and the TV.
The implicit message? Take
time for family-time!
New!
Click
here for
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(Adobe
Acrobat format)
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family handout
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