Issue Date: August 17, 2003
Summer's over. Engage your brain.
Summer vacation is a time for kids to relax and have fun. But unfortunately, somewhere along the way, they start to lose all that knowledge acquired in school the previous year, forgetting it like some loose change wedged under the sofa cushions.
Now that their minds have gone a little mushy and the school bell is ringing on a new academic year, it's smart to assign them some last-minute review options online. These sites, all free, will boost their brainpower, along with their confidence, while giving them an edge over their classmates.
A great site for middle school kids to build basic math skills is aplusmath.com. There are countless fun math games that test your memory, and interactive features such as flashcards and worksheets. At discoveryschool.com, click on "For Students" for links to more than 700 sites for help with topics from science to foreign languages.
Kids in grades 5 and up should check out vocabulary.com. They'll find user-friendly puzzles that make it easy to learn a passel of new words. These Rootonyms are styled like a detective game, with a cluster of clues provided to solve the mystery and help remember the words. Another option is wordsmith.org, where a word is featured like the flavor of the day, along with everything you need to know about it.
Armchair travelers can print out maps from nationalgeographic.com/homework. And students of all ages who want to be in the know can find out what's up in the news at kidsnewsroom.org. The site offers a summary of current events that will impress any teacher.
-- Kathy Baruffi
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