By Guest Blogger, Chris Weiss, Academic Dean, Trinity Episcopal School
We truly encourage students to spend time over the summer getting lost in their favorite books, writing in their noticing book to plant seeds for future stories, and discovering new adventures and opportunities to create and explore. Here are a few sites that support the spirit of learning during the somewhat quieter months of summer.
– www.mathcats.com: This site is maintained by a parent and teacher and has received numerous awards and recommendations for its fun, interactive ideas and problems for all ages. It emphasizes the logic and beauty of math rather than drills and practice. Go to the site map to see a full listing arranged by category and age group. The idea bank and “older cats” section also offer excellent tips for parents and teachers.
– www.coolmath4kids.com: The front page is colorful and a bit busy, but the site is chock-full of games and practice activities. The geometry/art section is especially appealing-go to the fractal gallery or tessellations activities. The parent support page has helpful info on supporting homework.
– www.mathforum.com: This is a K-12 site sponsored by Drexel University and includes a problem of the week, problem libraries, “ask Dr. Math” and a student center. The collection of problems are grouped by subjects and grades and have detailed solutions, many of which are written by students. Some of my all-time math problems are on this site. You can sign up for a free trial just to give it a go or pay a small fee to have full access.
– www.amathsdictionaryforkids.com: This animated, interactive dictionary contains over 500 commonly used mathematical terms explained in simple language and visual examples. Great page to bookmark on your computer for those tricky terms or concepts.
– www.figurethis.org: Sponsored by NCTM this site offers challenges to families to solve number and spatial problems in a friendly format. Great for the “non-mathematician.”
– www.kidsreads.com: This popular site offers reviews, authors, contests and special features, including a regular section on “Great Reads for Boys.” The latest books are reviewed here and you can connect to the teenreads site, too.
– www.smithsonianeducation.org: In case you can’t make it to Washington DC you can travel there virtually via this site. Click on the “families” section for virtual and interactive activities related to the museum collections.
– www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee: This site has daily quizzes on geography in case kids want to prepare for a GeoBee contest, but it also has a Kids section where you can play games, watch cool, informative videos, learn about animals and countries, and more. There’s even a section for Little Kids.
Have a great and educational summer!
