funtools2

Fun Tools for Students and Their Families!

===Thank you for visiting my wiki page! I hope that you find it to be easy to use, informative, and fun. The wiki page should serve as a bridge from your child's home to their educational program. My goal is to empower you as the most important advocate for your child and their education. Please take advantage of the wonderful resources listed on this page, and make sure to have fun with it! ===

=Informative Early Childhood Websites for Parents = [|www.earlychildhoodnews.com] ===This is a website that is targeted for infants to children age 8. It includes current articles on developmentally appropriate practices, and child health, safety, and behavior. The website also includes fantastic networking opportunities with other parents. Along with all of this important information, the website also includes great activities and crafts for you to do with your child! ===

[|www.earlychildhoodmichigan.org/Parenting.htm] ===This is a great website to start out with when you are not quite sure what you are looking for! It gives a great list of some of the most popular subjects that parents have questions about. Click on the links that are of interest to you and it will take you to the website that supplies that information for Michigan. ===

[|www.bridges4kids.org/HelpForKids.html] ===Michigan has developed this website to point parents in the right direction as to where to get the appropriate services for their child. Click on the appropriate county for your child and you will be presented with a huge amount of services from that county. Some of these services include; education programs, child care, United Way programs, places to go/things to do with your child, resources that are specific to that county, and other general links to statewide public resources. ===

=Literacy Based Websites to Help You Help Your Child = [|www.cramberry.net] ===This is a website that targets vocabulary for all ages. It assist you in making flash cards to help your child focus on and practice targeted vocabulary. It offers the option of making your own flash cards or using an already developed set. The website includes many topics such as farm animals, letters, and numbers! ===

[|www.magickeys.com/books] ===This website supplies a variety of childrens books that are read aloud online with pictures and animations. The website gives the option of reading each individual word out loud, or page by page. It is easy to use and guides children to click on the hands to turn the page or go back to the previous page. The selection is smaller but includes some great books. ===

[|www.biguniverse.com] ===Big Universe has the largest selection of online books that I have found. They have over 1840 fiction and non-fiction online books. They are easy to use, have great illustrations, and include some of the favorites that are read in your child's classroom. Simply click on the read option at the top of the page and you will be presented with the books. However, in order to use the little extras on the website, there is a slight fee to become a member. But without paying the mebership fee, you still get a large amount of features. ===

[|www.starfall.com] ===Starfall is a website that I use in my classroom on a daily basis. They have fun and engaging computer games for young children that work on colors, shapes, numbers, letters, and other kindergarten readiness skills. I enjoy their literacy games and online books. The games are easy to use and use a lot of cause and effect to interact with the game. The other appeal for me about this website is that it does not only consist of online books, but it includes comic strips and plays. ===