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Help - Page 2

© Cheryl Lewis

There are a couple of options when navigating in the help feature as well. I have found that we use both of them so you should make a note about this as well. You can of course point and click with your mouse. However, I think it will be essential for you to show them the forward and back button on the toolbar in the help window. It will save time and typing effort to be able to use this handy dandy little toolbar. If you find that you are looking for something but what you have clicked on is not the answer you are looking for you can go "back" to where you were originally without having to start completely over. I must confess that I neglected to show my kids this at first and happened to overhear my son fussing about something he was looking for. That was my first realization that what may seem like simple sense may not seem that way to a beginner.

Another wonderful perk to the Help feature is that you can Print out the information that you need. I have found that for my kids it is sometimes easier for them to print out the information and have it in hand when they are trying to do something. It seems that if they are trying to do something with the Help window open it is very distracting for them. For kids I also think that having it on paper where they can make notes or draw pictures sometimes is the best helper. You of course can save these directions as well. We put ours in a manilla folder marked Help Files. We eventually added tabbed dividers that were labeled with each subject in the help files. This provides a quick reference when they know they know something but just can't quite seem to remember a little something about it. These can also come in handy for Mom or Dad when they want to teach something but they are not sure if they are doing it exactly right or if they are missing some little tip that could be important. I have found that by going through our help file before I sit down to show them something that I find I feel a little more secure about what I am talking about.

I would also like to stress the importance of making sure that when you are trying to teach your child something on the computer that you are both seated and have at least a few minutes to devote to the lesson. You will both benefit from the time spent together and you will get the satisfaction of watching your child learn something new. In this Mom's opinion there is nothing like watching the "light bulb" go on in your child's eyes and knowing you helped them. They of course will get one of their favorite things, your attention. Take your lessons in small increments to avoid overload, which can do more harm than good, and above all else, ENJOY!!

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