About This Site

This Website is a work-in-progress about my son, Aaron's, passion for cars. I hope it will be interesting and useful to families with young children who share Aaron's deep interest in cars.

I'm Eric Gyllenhaal, Aaron's Daddy. On this page I talk to parents about three topics:

	How parents might want to use this site
	Why I created this Website
	How I developed this Website

How parents might want to use this site

I hope that at least some parents are able to use this Website with their children. My assumption is that there are other kids who, like Aaron, will sit still as long as you show them lots of pictures of cars. I'd like to imagine other parents sitting at their computers with squirming three-year-olds on their laps. If this Website works, the squirming will stop for at least a minute or two.

If this site is really successful, these parents and their kids will grab a newspaper and a pair of scissors, build highways with blocks, bury cars in play dough, or take a trip to the local railroad crossing at rush hour.

Here are some ways parents might want to explore this site with their children:

Read the short version of Aaron's story, told in seven photos on the "Let's Start the Day!" page.

Read the long version of Aaron's story, told over seven separate Web pages. You can link to these story pages from the "Let's Start the Day!" page. ("Next" links at the bottom of each page let you continue the story without returning to the "Start the Day" page.)

	Explore Aaron's car collection.
	See the many ways that Aaron plays with his model cars. Maybe you can use some of his ideas!
	Look for more ideas for things to do with cars, including watching real cars, crafts with car pictures, and car birthday parties.
	Visit Websites with pictures of cars.
	Visit the library to find books about cars.

If you try to explore this Website with your child, please write me at AaronCarBoy@aol.com and tell me how it goes.

Why I created this Website

My inspiration came from several sources:

Aaron loves looking at pictures of cars on the Internet, but I've never found an automobile Website designed for preschoolers. I shaped this site around Aaron's interests, so that it can be used by Aaron and other kids who share his passion for cars.

Other parents must be living with kids like Aaron -- I just haven't found any in my neighborhood! By using this Website as a lure, I hope to reach out to other parents who support their children as they live out their passions for cars, trucks, bugs, or whatever. If you are one of those parents, please e-mail me at AaronCarBoy@aol.com.

My Mom died recently, and my Dad died ten years before her. I've been thinking about the things they did to support my childhood passions, and about the ways I've grown to follow in their footsteps. This site is dedicated to their memories.

How I developed this Web site

This was my first major Website. I first designed it using AOL's Easy Designer program, and then I modified it and moved it to its current location using Microsoft FrontPage 2000. Both programs took over all of the HTML programming chores, so I was able to concentrate on developing Aaron's story with pictures and words.

Here are some rules I've been following as I develop this site:

Tell a story -- and make it a true story, about a real person.

Make sure that person is someone the target audience can identify with (i.e., my son, Aaron)

Keep it simple, but not too simple -- kids with a passion for cars will want to know the details.

Use lots of large, detailed photos (even thought they take time to load)...

...but don't use other graphics (because they add download time and visual clutter without contributing to the story).

Use words to support the photos (not vice versa).

When possible, let Aaron tell the story with his own words.

Keep the sentences short, but don't avoid all sophisticated words. (Kids with a passion for cars need a large vocabulary, so they can talk about their interests.)

Collect

Play

Link

Home

Aaron Likes Cars is part of the Salt the Sandbox Web.
For more information visit the Salt the Sandbox home page.

This page was created on March 12, 2001, and it was last updated on March 3, 2002.