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2010/07/26
Best Online Learning Websites for Kids
For some, summer is almost half over, for others…school will be starting soon. It is never too early or too late in the summer to review and strengthen skills learned in school this past year. It seems that over the summer weeks, kids let their brains take a vacation, too! I see all too often kids may know their math facts or know how to read, but they don’t know how to analyze and synthesize information or understand the importance of financial literacy. Critical thinking skills such as these can be enhanced in many fun ways. Here are five fun online learning websites that do just that with educational games, activities, and more!
Free Fun Learning Websites
Cyberchase on PBS Kids Go!
Vacation, camp, beach trips, and amusement parks are often part of a child’s summer break. But how can they keep from losing the math skills they developed during the school year? Cyberchase online offers fun episodes, web games and hands-on activities and events and free, fun resources to strengthen children’s math skills over the summer.
Visit Cyberchase online at www.pbskidsgo.org/cyberchase with your child or grandchild…or on Facebook, www.facebook.com/cyberchase… to access sneak peeks at the new episodes, fan events, exclusive behind-the-scenes videos, photos and more related to the Cyberchase Summer Challenge. Cyberchase Summer Challenge gives kids opportunities to get points and earn rewards three ways: make games for others to play, play cyber trivia, and do fun activities at home. Watch Cyberchase on your local PBS Station and visit the website, too, for summer learning fun!
Reading is Fundamental – Reading Literacy
A wonderful, interactive website for fun summer learning and continued fun learning throughout the year has been created by Reading is Fundamental, a literacy non-profit. The RIF website is developmentally age appropriate for babies starting at age 0, toddlers, and preschoolers. On the RIF website, parents and grandparents can listen with your youngest children to lullabies, songs, nursery rhymes, and stories along with appropriate reading games and finger plays. Preschoolers can be guided as they interact in reading activities, singing, playing, doodling, and exploring. The Grown-ups section offers advice, additional reading activities, and featured articles supporting children’s literacy.
“Motivating children to read throughout the summer is essential to building lifelong readers,” says Carol H. Rasco, president and CEO of Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), the nation’s largest children’s literacy nonprofit. “And reading is the doorway to all other learning.”
At the end of the day, it all boils down to this: read. Read together, read separately, read aloud, read silently, read everywhere. Read signs, cereal boxes, advertising, comics, directions, magazines, too. It’s the surest way to make certain that your kids will start the school year off right. I love this site. I spend time on RIF.org with all of my grandkids each time they visit. We all enjoy it! The oldest grandchild (9) likes to help her younger sister (pre-k) and brother (toddler). (more…)
2010/07/18
Summer Time is Fun Learning Time
Summer is here and going too fast for me. As a teacher, I know how important it is to keep the learning momentum going throughout the summer. But, I also know how difficult it is to motivate the kids to spend some time on their studies when the temptation to ride their bike, hang out with friends, swim, or spend time on things they can’t normally do when they are in school. What makes learning special in the summer? It can be fun because it allows more time for exploration and discovery.
Fun Summer Learning Tips for Parents and Grandparents
| Take a fun approach to learning and you and the kids will enjoy your time together. Children learn best when they enjoy their activities. Don’t you? And, as I’ve said many times before, fun activities together help create a closer bond and create long-lasting memories. |
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Fun learning activities also build self-esteem and self-confidence when they are well-planned for success at your child’s level of learning.
Ana Homayoun, author of That Crumpled Paper Was Due Last Week – Helping Disorganized and Distracted Boys Succeed in School and Life (Penguin, Jan. 2010) – (www.thatcrumpledpaper.com), offers interesting tips and tricks to keep your kids stimulated and on their mental a-game this summer as they unwind and get prepared for the next school year.
- Detach your kids from the video console and live in a non-virtual world as much as possible.
- Stop overscheduling – an overscheduled kid can feel that there is never enough time to re-energize, regroup, and have unstructured free time. Downtime is critical for kids today and it’s vital that a child is actively engaged in things they’re passionate about, not just time fillers that cause burn out and stress.
- Nutrition: more water, more calcium, more SLEEP. Summertime is the ideal time to rejuvenate.
- Lemonade stands – it’s OK to work over the summer and be independent particularly outside of any family business.
Tips to Keep Your Kids Engaged and Learning (in a fun way)
Ana Homayoun is also the founder of Green Ivy Educational Consulting (www.greenivyed.com). Exclusively for my readers, Ana has contributed the following fun learning tips to help you help your children:
- Working on Penmanship and Fine Motor Skills – Have them create a comic strip.
- Works on artistic creativity, humor, fine motor skills and writing skills.
- New technology does not always give kids the ability to practice their hand/eye coordination. Writing skills and activities like these can make a big difference and help them get engaged in a fun way.
- Plan a Weekly Outdoor Outing – Visit your local library or go online.
- Have your kids get online or use guide books to plan a weekly place they want to explore.
- Set aside a half day and have them work with you to plan the journey – you will be amazed what happens once kids get engaged!
- Have them pick places (if you have several kids, they can each rotate a week) and get involved with all stages of planning – getting directions, finding ticket prices, planning lunches, etc.
- Get them into the Kitchen – Plan and prepare a meal.
- This summer, have your kids pick their favorite breakfast, lunch and dinner and learn how to make the recipe.
- Pick something challenging but not overwhelming. Their goal should be to make it on their own (with parent supervision if the stove or oven is involved!).
- They can also create a recipe box for themselves with all their favorite creations. If they love spaghetti sauce, have them learn how to make it from scratch. Pancakes and smoothies, same thing.
- Again, if they write it down, it encourages them to practice their handwriting in a fun way!!
My next post will be Summer Learning Fun, part 2 – additional fun summer learning resources – free and inexpensive.
2010/06/28
4th of July: Celebrate with a Bike Parade!
The 4th of July is almost here! It’s not too late to organize a neighborhood bike parade for kids or plan on participating in one. All you need are some easy red, white, and blue kids’ crafts to decorate anything on wheels – trikes, wagons, scooters, kid size cars, strollers, and of course bikes. Add to the fun and make mini-floats to pull behind the decorated bikes. Even if you plan on standing on the sidelines to cheer on the paraders, you’ll enjoy making some of the 4th of July craft ideas and printables listed below to adorn yourself and family members to show your patriotic spirit!
How to Decorate Bikes for a 4th of July Parade with Easy Crafts for Kids (more…)
2010/06/25
Fun World Cup Activities for the Kids
Summer is here and that means more time for fun with the grandkids. One of the best things about summer is that it allows time for grandparents and grandkids to come together for creative, fun learning opportunities. With millions of people around the world currently following the FIFA World Cup Soccer competition, it can be a wonderful theme for fun, creative learning activities.
Fun World Cup Activities Using the Internet
By using the Internet, fun FIFA World Cup Soccer activities are possible for Grandparents and Grandkids to do together, whether living near or far:
- On the FIFA website, look at the list of countries competing and choose one to cheer for – or choose one for each family member and make it a family competition.
- While deciding which countries might win your family members’ support, use Google and Google Maps to learn about their locations, flags, photos, and other information the kids want to know. Be sure to include South Africa since it is also the host country. Zoom in closer to see photos of homes, schools, vegetation, recreation sites, etc, if possible.
- Once teams are chosen, design custom t-shirts using their colors and images to represent the FIFA World Cup.
- If you don’t have the time, you can purchase soccer t-shirts to represent your favorite soccer team. (more…)
2009/07/13
Our family vacation on Long Beach Island was great! After having weeks of rain since our son’s wedding the weekend after Memorial Day, our LBI vacation was especially enjoyable with 8 days of sunshine!
While on vacation, there was a potential disaster in the making back at our daughter’s house. Our oldest daughter and family stayed with us through Monday. They had planned on going home after dinner because her husband had to be at work the next day. Since Poppy was planning on going home to water flowers, etc., the plan changed. He drove our son-in-law home (only 25 minutes away) and Lori and kids were able to enjoy Long Beach Island another day. After our son-in-law had been home for a short while, he heard a noise in the backyard. He looked out and found a couple of neighborhood boys attempting to get the above ground pool gate open. Because our daughter still had one car in Long Beach Island, the boys thought no one was home. Their plan, obviously, was to enjoy a swim in the above ground pool. Luckily, our son-in-law thwarted their plan…I don’t think they’ll be back…ever! And, he’ll be buying a mesh safety cover, ASAP! No telling what might have happened if those boys got into the pool. (more…)
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