Brain Busters

It’s time to put your brain to the test! These tricky puzzles are designed to get those brain cells working. See how many you and your child can decipher together. Then check back tomorrow to see the answers.
Good luck brainiacs!
(tip: click on each puzzle to enlarge it if you’d like a closer look…)

Halloween Word Search

Here is a little Halloween puzzle to haunt your kids with!  This brain-buster will keep their noggins knocking, despite the large amounts of candy they will be consuming on Saturday.  Just like any word game, word searches are useful in developing a child’s ability to read, recognize, and use words.  This monster-mashed [...]

Make Your Own Spooky Halloween Tale!

Here’s a fun Halloween activity to help your child gain grammar and reading comprehension skills, while seeing the hilarious effects of putting words together that may not necessarily match!
To get started, print out the story template here.  Then, ask your child to provide each of the word types you see in white (adjectives, nouns, etc), [...]

Socialize and Brainercise!

“Nice to meet you,” says Bugsy FlameCloud.
“Where are you going?” asks Jack SlothSprout.
“I am going to explore JumpStart,” Bugsy FlameCloud replies. “Follow me!”
JumpStart.com is taking children’s gaming to new heights with the addition of canned chat! Jumpeez can now communicate with one another using pre-selected words and phrases. We know kids love to chat online [...]

Kiss Your Brain: Avoid Summer Brain Drain- Part 2

-From the Desk of Heather Tuttle, Curriculum Writer-
This year, as the final school bell rings and your kids leave their math books behind, be sure they don’t forget to bring the learning with them. Prevent the infamous summer ‘Brain Drain’ by creating daily learning opportunities at home. From learning on the go to planned educational [...]

Lunchbox Notes: A Fun Way to Promote Reading!

Let’s face it, not all children enjoy reading because many of them view it as work or as something they have to do. But what if there were a way to make reading fun? In fact, what if there were a way to make reading so exciting that children actually looked forward to it every [...]

Reaching for Reading

Stories are a treat for your child, and a great opportunity to spark a lifelong love of learning! By sharing books and tales with your child everyday, you can help build imagination, creativity and more. To get your child started on an adventure in reading and storytelling, try these handy tricks:

Correspondence Captain – Help [...]

More Tips for Learning Reading and Spelling

The following information is from a series of parent tips by Knowledge Adventure. The tips are meant to be used as fun ways of bringing learning into the home and everyday life. We hope you enjoy them!
Make learning fun by practicing spelling with the following tips. With practice, your child will become a better speller [...]

Ask a Teacher: Writing Reports

Question:
My son is having trouble with writing book reports and I was never very good at it myself (he is in 2nd grade). Where can I get some help to help him?
Answer:
You might check with your son’s teacher for any specific instructions on writing a report. The teacher might have certain details that he or [...]

Rhyme Time- Little Learnings

Looking to turn your child into a whiz kid? Rhyming is a great tool to help kids discover and explore alphabets, words, and language. Exposing kids to rhyming early on will help lead them to read and succeed!
Here are some easy rhyming games you can try at home to teach this important skill!

Paper Plate Puzzles: [...]