Website Wednesday: Education.com

 
    I have to be honest with you all. While I already had Education.com on my list of websites that I wanted to review for Website Wednesday, I hadn't planned on writing that post for another week or two. I even have another post all queued up and ready to publish. What changed my mind? I was on the site printing out worksheets to help teach my 6 year old how to count money, when I thought it would be fun to print off a couple of Halloween coloring sheets for the kids. Then I discovered it! Halloween Central! I HAD to share it with my readers right away! Education.com's Halloween Central has a ton of fun for kids of all ages. There are Halloween crafts, Halloween party ideas, Halloween activities, homemade Halloween costume ideas, and Halloween coloring pages. They also have a fun Halloween history quiz, and some great articles about Halloween history and culture. Don't forget to check out their Halloween health and safety tips while you are there.

Click Here To Go To Education.com Halloween Central

   

   Okay... enough about Halloween... I want to talk a little bit about what brought me to Education.com in the first place. Being a homeschooling family, I am always on the lookout for great resources, and Education.com is my go-to site for printable worksheets. It is fairly easy to find printable worksheets for preschoolers all over the web, but I have more than just preschoolers. Education.com is like a one-stop shop for me. I can browse through worksheets from a variety of subjects for levels from preschool all the way to high school. I can browse by grade level or by subject, or narrow it down to both. The website is VERY user friendly, and not only do I always find exactly what I am looking for, but I also end up printing out a couple of extra worksheets that just looked fun!

    Did I give you the impression that Education.com is JUST about printable worksheets and coloring and craft activities? Hold on then, and keep reading. Education.com is much, much more! Just go to their home page and mouse over their navigation bar to see all of the other wonderful features the site has. 

For Example:

Just Ask is a place where you can ask or view questions and read answers on a variety of topics from bullying to science fair, to learning and special needs, and many more things in between.

Activities is where you can find a ton of fun family activities, as well as fun activities for kids of all ages.

Worksheets is where you go to find all of the great FREE printable worksheets that I was talking about before.

Videos is THE place to go for awesome little videos of back to school projects (Did you know you can paint with ice?) Be sure to check out their other videos and great back to school tips, too.

Find A School will help guide you to finding just the right kind of school for your children, and answer important questions that you may have.

Colleges has some great resources for those of you who have kids reaching the college level. From schools to test prep, you get a lot of great info here.

Education A to Z is an index of many, many topics relevant to school aged kids.

Click Here To Visit Education.com

Education.com is one of the best all-around education sites that I have found on the web. It is a great resource for any parent or teacher. 

Overall Rating: ¢¢¢¢¢

Website Wednesday: Starfall.com

    Sure, you know how to read, but do your preschoolers know how? Okay, I know that isn't fair. But seriously, if you have young children who are learning to read, you should check out Starfall.com

    Starfall has really great kindergarten reading curriculum and a ton of fun reading games for your early readers. My kids have started with Starfall as young as 3 years old- with help, of course. When they are a bit older, they are able to navigate the site themselves and choose the stories and games on their own. Which is great, because if I need to cook dinner, make phone calls, or just want a bit of quiet time, I can set the younger kids up at the computer on Starfall.com. I know that they are going to be happy and they will be doing something educational at the same time. Best of all, it's FREE!

    From the main index page, you can select your child's reading level. Select "ABCs" for children who are just learning the letters and the sounds that they make. "Learn to Read" has simple, skill building stories and fun supporting educational games for beginning readers. Choose "It's Fun to Read" for some interactive reading fun. "I'm Reading" is perfect for children who know how to read. It allows them to practice what they know and reinforce the skills they have. 

    Starfall has printable worksheets, too. If you ask me, it's a great way to get the kids off of the computer when their turn is over. Because, believe me, once they start on Starfall.com, they won't want to stop! Come on Moms... you know that battle, right? The printables are an excellent bribe solution. When your child's turn is over, simply help him/her choose a fun printable book or worksheet and get them excited about doing it. It makes the transition MUCH easier.

    While you are checking out the site, don't forget to take a look at the Starfall Store. You can order books, CD-ROMs, plush characters, stickers and more!

    There are so many great things about Starfall.com, that I can't list them all here. Please check it out for yourself.    You can access most of the site for free. You don't even have to sign up for a membership. OR for just $35, you can gain full access to "More Starfall", where your children can discover more phonics and reading, math, colors, songs, nursery rhymes, stories, and much more! You will also get access to the Starfall Kindergarten curriculum.

   As I was further exploring the Starfall website while taking notes for this post, I came across their "feedback" link. I decided to contact Starfall and tell them that my kids and I enjoy their site so much, that I am doing a blog post about them. Kimberly, from Starfall, emailed me back right away (impressive!) and guess what!!!
    She is offering all of my readers a FREE 30-day preview membership of their "More Starfall"!!!!
   How awesome is that???  Here is part of what she said:

  "...I am more than happy to offer free 1-month previews of

More.Starfall to you and all your readers.  You can let them know to

email us at starfall.com@gmail.com and we'll send them an access code

good for 1-free month of membership."

    So send them an email, and tell them that you read about them at Smart Cents Review.

And just so that you know, this wonderful offer has no influence whatsoever on my review of Starfall.com. I was going to tell you all how great it is anyway!

    From just starting to learn the alphabet, all the way to reinforcing early reading skills, Starfall.com is a great resource for teachers, homeschoolers,  parents and their young readers.

Overall Rating: ¢¢¢¢¢