Hubby called me from the car today while he was driving to a local meeting for work. “I just heard this thing on the radio about kids and how much they forget from school over the course of the summer! Make sure we get all the books on the kids summer reading list!” Â He was all panicked about our boys forgetting everything they learned during the school year.
I’m a big proponent of the summer (who isn’t!). I have so many great summer memories as a kid and I want that for my children as well but it’s definitely a fact that kids tend to forget a lot of what they learned over the summer after 12 weeks of the sun and play!
What’s nice about 2014 that we didn’t have as kids are all of the awesome online services and sites you can use to help your kids at least maintain a little bit of their education while they are still having fun. One site I was recently pitched and was impressed with is Camp Wonderopolis. Starting June 16th, you can register yourself or your children for daily educational activities that you can do online together or they can do on their own.
The site is brought to you by the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) and they bring you one daily wonder – something small in time commitment but large in educational value. Camp Wonderopolis is going to be an entire online program (and summer camp!) where your kids can play, have fun and learn at the same time. Here’s a bit from the website about it:
About Camp Wonderopolis 2014
Camp Wonderopolis follows a new model this year, enabling programs, families, and individuals to customize their experience to their own particular needs. Campers will explore different tracks of science and build their vocabulary, background knowledge, and literacy skills along the way.
When you register as a Camper (kids of all ages) or a Counselor (parents, library staff, teachers), you will be able to:
- Select your own avatar
- Follow your own path through six tracks of scientific exploration
- Engage in Wonder lessons and test your learning to earn Wonder Cards® (42 in all!)
- Check out what other Campers are doing and share your own experiences on the Wonder Wall
- Keep track of your Camp activities on your personal dashboard (Counselor dashboards will track individual and groups of Campers—perfect for parents, libraries, and summer learning programs)
- Try out fun, hands-on activities with everyday items
- Compete in photo and video contests for a chance to win Camp prizes
– See more at: http://wonderopolis.org/camp-early-registration/#sthash.XLbgmCgG.dpuf
I think it sounds really cool and I’m signing myself and my boys up to check it out. Who’s gonna do it with us?
This sounds great! Another good site for younger children is Starfall & Jumpstart.
Thanks for the recs, Judy, I will check out the other sites too!