Websites for Summer Learning

We have our son go to www.funbrain.com or www.primarygames.com Both of those he played in school. Another safe website for kids that has educational and just fun games is www.kidzui.com it is a compilation of websites that are all safe for kids. (There is one website 'A games' that has things of a sexual nature we found out the hard way and on kidzui those games are blocked and only the positive kid friendly games are allowed)

We also bought the JumpStart World game and our son loves it (he's going into 2nd grade too). It is a little expensive because in the store you only get the starter pack and have to buy additional lessons but it wasn't bad. I think total it cost 80-90 for all 12 lessons and in each lesson there are about 20 activites the child has to do (reading, math, social studies, science) and with each activity they try to earn a gem and with the gems they can buy stuff in the world and there are missions they go on, races, art stuff, they can buy a pet to take care of .... very in depth. My son has had it for a couple months and is on lesson 4 and plays it quite a bit, some of the activities are pretty tough but are made fun. They are all done in game form. Anyways it's really cool and worth the money to keep they focused at their level.

I've taught elementary for several years and would suggest looking at www.scholastic.com and also doing some hands on activities. Make a game of flashcards (Have your child make some using index cards and markers). Work on addition/subtraction facts and counting by 2's, 3's,5's, 10's and 25's (money). When counting, remember to teach counting up by 10's when starting with any number: 14, 24, 34, etc. Get a Judy clock and practice telling time. Pull out a handful of coins and separate, name, and count. Use the Scholastic website to find reading leveled books. Many books on the back cover state the reading level, such as RL2.0 or RL2.5 Each school year is divided up by 9 months. 2.0 is the first month of second grade and 1.9 is the last month of first grade and also the summer months. Your child's teacher should have given you some idea of where your child's level falls. Use it and any lower levels to work on fluency. If your child is above these levels, start working on easy chapter books. The Magic Tree House series is fantastic for boys and girls!
Good Luck!
Email me if you need any other suggestions!
J.

I got my son the Summer Bridge Activities book. It bridges the kids from the grade they've left to the one they're going into. It's got some great lessons and ideas for summer learning and you can go at whatever pace you want to. I think you can get them at any bookstore (they run around $12.00). I know that I saw them beginning in preschool to kindergarten and I think the highest I saw was 7th to 8th grade. There are good ideas for the parents and even suggestive reward programs you can do to inspire them.

As a second grade teacher, I applaud your efforts. Thank you-I wish there were more parents like you! I recommend the website www.edhelper.com. You have to pay a yearly sub for some of the worksheets, but it is SOOO worth it. I get a sub every year for my class and use it a lot. You can choose any subject, grade, activity and it gives you tons of ideas. Good luck!

I am a K teacher and I use Starfall with my students...it starts out at an early K level but there are 1st/2nd grade stories and activities as well. www.starfall.com She should be able to work on most of it on her own. The kids really like it.