With August almost here, we found a few websites that offer educational ways to keep our kids learning and having fun.
Many of these sites are geared for kids with special needs. I have used a few with our son, but learned of some other great options while looking into this, please feel free to share any feedback or sites that we may have overlooked.
1. FunBrain
Created for kids in grades Pre-K through 8, Funbrain.com has been the leader in free educational games for kids since 1997. Funbrain offers hundreds of games, books, comics, and videos that develop skills in math, reading, problem-solving and literacy. Children with learning disabilities are able to watch lesson videos and practice their skills. Directions are conveniently illustrated to assist struggling readers too.
Educators and parents can trust our site to provide a fun and safe experience both at home and at school. Funbrain does not collect personally identifiable information from kids.
2. AAA Math
AAA Math features a comprehensive set of of interactive arithmetic lessons.
There is no cost or registration required to practice your math on the AAAMath.com site.
Unlimited practice is available on each topic which allows thorough mastery of the concepts.
A wide range of lessons (Kindergarten through Eighth grade level) enables learning or review to occur at each individual’s current level. Those with dyscalculia will particularly benefit from this site. Loaded with Interactive pages that make it easy to help tough concepts like division, ratios and graphing.
3. Do 2 Learn
Do2learn provides thousands of free pages with social skills and behavioral regulation activities and guidance, learning songs and games, communication cards, academic material, and transition guides for employment and life skills. In addition, we offer premier products including View2do, JobTIPS, FACELAND, books, and apps for purchase. There are also printable picture cards available to promote functional communication in children with Autism.
4. Adapted Mind
AdaptedMind was created by graduates of Stanford, Berkeley and Harvard to improve the way children learn. We aspire to bring a revolution to education, improving it by pushing the frontier in learning science.
Your child is unique. But the mathbooks and exercises your child does are the same as other children’s. AdaptedMind creates a custom learning experience for your child. A learning experience that identifies your child’s strengths and weaknesses, and delivers a curriculum and exercises that adapts to these needs. That’s adaptive learning.
We created our curriculum in consultation with teachers, parents, and most importantly – children.
The result is a learning experience that significantly improves performance, guaranteed.
5. Starfall
The Starfall Website is a program service of Starfall Education Foundation, a publicly supported nonprofit organization, 501(c)(3). Starfall has been teaching children to read with phonics for well over a decade. Our systematic approach, in conjunction with audiovisual interactivity, is perfect for preschool, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, special education, homeschool, and English language development (ELD, ELL, ESL). Starfall is an educational alternative to other entertainment choices for children.
6. Into The Book
Into the Book is a multimedia package designed to improve elementary students’ reading comprehension, as well as their ability to think and learn across the curriculum.
Based on current research, the project focuses on eight learning strategies: using prior knowledge, making connections, questioning, visualizing, inferring, summarizing, evaluating and synthesizing.
6. Storyline OnlineThe SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s award-winning children’s literacy website, Storyline Online, streams videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations. Readers include Viola Davis, Chris Pine, Lily Tomlin, Kevin Costner, Annette Bening, James Earl Jones, Betty White and dozens more.
7. IXL
IXL Learning creates and supports the best educational technology possible. They have first-of-their-kind products used by millions of learners, from children to adults. People count on them to make learning as effective as it can be, and they are deeply committed to solving the real-world challenges faced by students and teachers around the planet.
They offer adaptive learning for students with disabilities. From Pre-K through senior year, IXL will provide fun exercises for mathematics, language arts, science, and social studies. Kids will be earning awards such as stickers for each lesson mastered.
8. Exploratorium
Science fun brought to your desktop. From the San Fransisco Museum, they have created a website that brings you the fun! So many educational videos that cover planets, robotics, electricity, and more.
Most of these sites offer a free component with options to have a paid membership. Some require an account to be created to secure your info and record activity.
I found a few here that we will be trying later this month. I look forward to your feedback.