Wondering what to do with your children this summer? Need directions to a meeting or the hot new restaurant across town? Want help planning a bicycle trek or a cross-country road trip? Curious about the location of your neighborhood or the small town your grandparents were born in?

Microsoft At Home gives several suggestions on using online mapping tools:

• Find addresses instantly online.
• Help children locate their home, neighborhood, and family members who live far away.
•  Plan detailed trip or jogging routes with map software.
• Use map tools to simplify and enhance your everyday life.

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Want to keep the kids entertained during a long drive? Microsoft at Home provides instructions on how to record TV shows using Windows Media Center, then copy them to a handheld device for use in the car.

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Have you seen the new MormonTimes.com site? They have redesigned their site to make it easier to find all the content that has expanded significantly since its initial launch in 2008. The redesign is part of Deseret Media Companies’ new mission to be “a trusted voice” and to extend its reach beyond Utah to “hundreds of millions of people worldwide.”

The redesigned site also includes some expanded features:

• The site is organized through an advanced tagging system. You can filter articles by tags, making them easier to find. Tags also play into the search tool, providing more accurate results.
• MormonTimes.com has a user-generated section called “YourTimes,” where you can share your stories with other users. All user submissions are moderated to ensure the content is uplifting.
• You can also create a personal profile that allows you to rate stories or save them to a personal archive.

MormonTimes.com invites your feedback so they can continually improve. They plan to introduce more features throughout 2010. Learn more about the redesigned MormonTimes.com.

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Microsoft publishes a list of top 14 Web sites for students and parents. The list includes where to find

• Trusted information on the Web
• Free and shareware programs
• Free translation sites
• Free electronic books
• Summaries of books (like Cliff Notes)
• Math and science sites

These are some great sites you can use with your children. What other sites have you found to be great references?

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I just discovered Readeo.com, which is a site that helps families stay connected through reading, whether they are in the same room or a thousand miles apart. It combines award-winning children’s books with high-quality video chat to create a shared reading experience called BookChat.

A group of BYU graduates created BookChat so that a distant parent or grandparent can share a story with a child from anywhere. It seems perfect for parents who are stationed abroad or on a business trip, or for grandma who wants to connect with the grandkids who live in other cities. It lets them share an electronic book story time as long as they both have high speed Internet and a Web cam.

BookChat also lets you discover books and read with children when you’re in the same room. They have over 50 hand-picked children’s books, and they add more all the time . The service has a small monthly fee and guests can try it out for free. They’re also offering introductory pricing right now for 50% off the first year.

Let me know what you think, as well as other ways you’ve found to stay connected when you can’t be with your kids.

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Last month, I told you about the Scriptures for Kids site. Here are a few other sites you may be interested in:

• Veggie Tales (bigidea.com): Christian stories told through animation.
• Living Scriptures (livingscriptures.com): LDS videos and learning resources based on the scriptures.
• Scripture Bugs (scripturebugs.com): 3D animated musical series based on LDS scripture stories.

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Three nationally-known artists have joined together to share their witnesses of Jesus Christ through beautiful, inspiring art and music. Enjoy the Son of Man Project with your family. It combines the artwork of renowned Christian artist Liz Lemon Swindle, the music of acclaimed composer Kenneth Cope, and the writings of religious scholar Susan Easton-Black.

At completion, the Son of Man project will include a four-volume book series, an original two-volume musical score, and over one hundred paintings and sketches celebrating the life of the Savior.

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is looking for pre-production cast members for a very large film project whose subject is “The New Testament.” Members of the Church and friends of other faiths are invited to apply. Shooting will commence in the Spring of 2011.

More specific information can be found on the More Good Foundation Blog.

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Do you use the Mormon Life Web site?  Their tag line is “We sort through it all (so you don’t have to) and handpick the best (so you don’t miss it). Come to Mormon Life and get informed, uplifted, and connected.”

The idea behind Mormon Life is pretty simple. They sift through all the information swirling around the Web—both good and bad—about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and its members, and direct you to the best, most recent, interesting, uplifting, and engaging that is out there.

Mormon Life is affiliated with Deseret Book Company and seeks to maintain LDS standards.

I’ve enjoyed reading many things that I would have otherwise missed. It is a timesaver and great collection point.

Does this site help you? What other ways do you use to stay connected with LDS news?

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Watch this inspiring video of a girl’s story of courage and strength to overcome the adversity associated with bullying.

Please share this with your friends. If you can’t view the video above, you can watch and rate this video on YouTube.

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