Introducing Edheads - Activate Your Mind, Budding Scientists!

Edheads is a wonderful site that provides free, educational online games focused on science, math, and critical thinking.  Their motto is: "Activate Your Mind." (Which might come in handy if you feel it is turning to marshmallow creme at this point in the summer.)  At Holy Trinity, we use it in the 3rd grade to explore Simple Machines, but the Upper School students particularly love the medical adventures such as Virtual Knee Replacement or Virtual Hip Replacement. (Be warned, however, this is not a site for those who get queasy at the sight of blood!)

Students may choose from a long menu of options - to include designing a cell phone, and each game will have recommendations for grade level appropriateness.  Enjoy, future scientists!

http://www.edheads.org/

A few sample games are pictured below:

If it's too darn hot outside, try Cool Math 4 Kids inside!

Let's face it, with a heat index of 110 degrees, it's too hot to play outside this afternoon.  So, why don't you try your hand at the games and activities on Cool Math 4 Kids?

 

The site is supported by advertising, but the range of games are so amazing that I would recommend it highly.  There are choices for every age group - and even parents might find some of the games a bit addicting. Here is the link: http://www.coolmath-games.com/

A couple of my favorite games are Lemonade Stand and Coffee Shop:

And the favorite among the fourth and fifth graders this year was Meeblings or Meeblings 2:

 

There are dozens of great games to choose from, so grab a tall glass of lemonade, and explore the options!  Comment below if you'd like to share your family favorites:

PBS Kids - A great resource for kids - and parents

It is one of those too-hot to be outside for long kind of days, so I thought I'd introduce you to the PBS Kids Website, which has a tremendous range of games and activities for our younger students.

http://pbskids.org/

As you explore, you will see Sesame Street has a particularly strong site:
http://pbskids.org/sesame/

An Arthur has always been a huge favorite in the Morell home:
http://pbskids.org/arthur/

Be sure not to miss the Cyberchase site, which teaches strong math and problem-solving skills:
http://www.pbs.org/parents/cyberchase/index.html

And parents, if you have a moment, be sure to explore PBS Parents, which has resources on raising kids, education and planning activities :
http://www.pbs.org/parents/

Does your child have a favorite PBS Show?  Share it below! 

Writing Prompts and Games

I had a question yesterday about good sites for helping with writing skills...  The Scholastic Website came immediately to mind:

It has a great game called Story Starters, appropriate for grades K-6.  It generates a creative story starter:

Then your child can pick a format: notebook, letter, newspaper, or postcard.  Your child is then able to print out the masterpiece upon completion.  The link to story starter follows:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/storystarters/storystarter1.htm

The site also has a game page, including writing games:

The link to the games page can be found here:
http://www.scholastic.com/kids/stacks/games/

Really, the whole Scholastic website is a treasure trove of learning ideas for teachers, parents and kids. Not surprisingly, the focus is primarily on reading and authors.  Parents might be interested in exploring the Parents home page:

http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/collection/fun-in-the-sun-activities/

If you are looking for a specific web-based activity, please let me know!  I'll see what I can find...

MB