Educational Links

1.       1. Starfall (www.starfall.com) - This website was conceptualized by Stephen Schutz. He has a PhD in physics and is an established artist and publisher. He and his wife, the well known poet Susan Polis Schutz are founders of Blue Mountain Arts publishing company, a greeting card company I personally love. This website is truly amazing! It has four levels, ABC's, Learn To Read, It's Fun To Read and I'm Reading. Each level is packed with interactive games to play, online books, a skills level list, arts and crafts activities, music and so much more. Since it is fully interactive, kids will surely love it. The lessons are fun and engaging and the whole website is very colorful. The website also offers printed materials and phonics kits for a low price. It also has a download center and message board for teachers and parents alike to use. My daughter greatly enjoyed the lessons presented on this website. I believe if you follow through with the suggested lessons, your child will be reading in no time.

2. Studydog (www.studydog.com) - This is another awesome website which offers a complete early reading program that is computer-based. The lessons here are aligned with the National Reading Panel findings so you can rest assured that your child will learn to read. There are three levels, you must first determine what level your child is on before downloading the program. Each level builds on the next one and has over 20 lessons per level covering the alphabet, consonant sounds, vowel sounds, rhyming words, sight words, contractions, consonant blends, complex words, spelling, word families and so much more. Kids will surely love going through the lessons and receiving a prize at the end of each lesson. The games are very entertaining and children will have fun while learning to read on the Internet. My child loved it, especially since the games have castles and princesses on it. If there's one program you should download over the net, this is it.

3. Book Adventure (www.bookadventure.org) - This website was created and sponsored by Sylvan Learning. It is a free reading motivation program for children. Kids and educators can make their own book list from over 6,000 titles. They will then have to get a copy of the book offline and read it. You can either buy the books or if you're budget conscious like me, go to the public library and obtain a copy of the book on your reading list. This reading program motivated me to visit the library often, something that I haven't been taking advantage of for quite some time. it also exposed my child to a whole new world of books. After finishing each book, kids can take quizzes on the website to ensure their comprehension . As a reward they earn points and get prizes. It's really a great idea to motivate kids to read. Although it's not fully interactive like the other websites I mentioned, it is still a great source for your budding or older reader.

      4. HippoCampus.org  (www.hippocampus.org)  Powered by the National Repository for Online Courses.  This site provides digital examples and guides for Middle School, High School, AP, and College Level Courses in the areas of Science, Mathematics, Humanities, and Social Studies.  This is an excellent source for Audio/Visual Learners, Homework Helpers, Reteaching, or for those who might have been absent during the initial instruction.  This is also a great site for teachers to use as supplemental or enrichment to their classroom instruction.