Interactive Sites for Parents and Kids

MATH

Aunty Math	A collection of fun math activities for kids, a new problem solver is posted every 2 weeks.
FunBrain Numbers	A variety of games related to numbers and mathematics. A great site for ages 7-12!
Math Hunt	Part of the Scholastic website, this wonderful interactive site connects math with science and social studies, and take students on a journey on the web to find math facts. Particularly suited for older elementary students.
Figure This! Math Challenges for Families	Figure This!, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, offers challenging math puzzles for the family and illlustrations in literature in which the plot turns on a mathematical understanding. The site is also in Spanish.
Cool Math for Kids	Cool Math For Kids offers games, puzzles, and teasers for families. This is a great site with a variety of activities.
Web Math	This web-based tool provides calculating and instructional support for solving math problems from elementary through graduate school.

Art

Destination Modern Art	From the Museum of Modern Art in New York, this is a great site for students to be exposed to the color, movement and stories of modern art. Designed for children ages five to eight, the site features a visitor from outer space who is sent to Earth on a mission to explore modern art. At MoMA, the friendly alien investigates Vincent van Gogh's The Starry Night (1889) and other works and then looks for "art in unusual places" at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center.
Arturo's Art Stories	From the Dallas Museum of Art, this site features interactive activities with sound and movement, designed to help children become familiar with artists, their art and the stories behind them.
Getty Games	On this site, sponsored by the Getty Museum, children can play online games that feature Getty Museum art. They can test their memory, play detective, or solve a puzzle -- all while using and viewing amazing pieces of artwork!
Meet Me at Midnight	From the Smithsonian Museum of American History, this site is amazing! But hang onto your backpack! This is one wild ride. After a field trip to the Smithsonian American Art Museum, you are magically taken to the galleries at night. Artworks are mixed up—all because of the troublesome Root Monster! To get back home, you have to solve mysteries—and help your new friends find their artworks. Through interactive games, visitors learn about visual art and experience the fun of museum-going. There is a teacher and parent guide to help grown-ups get the most from this mystery tour.
National Museum of Wildlife Art Games	What a unique idea for a museum website! Children who visit this site select an animal and connect to the activity unique to that animal. Interactive games help children understand facts about the animals.

READING AND EARLY LITERACY

Storyplace: The Children's Digital Library	StoryPlace, presented in both English and Spanish, offers children the opportunity to view online stories, participate in interactive activities, and print activity pages. Requires Flash plug-in.
The Literacy Center	This site offers free, high-quality, research-based literacy lessons. The activities are colorful and interactive, and feature concepts such as colors, letter recognition, shape recognition, keyboarding skills, and numbers. The site also offers a section for parents and teachers which discusses various literacy concepts and offers links to the activities related to those concepts. This site is perfect for preschool, first and second grade students, as well as students learning English. The site can be viewed in multiple languages.
Get Ready to Read!	This site is an early literacy program from the National Center for Learning Disabilities. Its all-inclusive website contains a screener (in both English and Spanish) as well as skill-building games and activities for parents, children and teachers.
BBC Schools: Words and Pictures	This site from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), provides numerous activities and for early literacy, including online phonics games. Some activities can be printed right from the site, while others are online. The games are organized by word type, including consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words, consonant clusters, and long-vowel sounds. While this site is designed to tie in with a BBC television show, the site also stands alone well.
Chateau Meddybemps	Chateau Meddybemps has collected learning activities for preschool and primary early learners in addition to guides for parents about child development. The site's activities and games help preschool and primary students learn to read and write, listen, use language, think, develop social skills and understand math concepts.
Starfall	This site designed to promote early reading and literacy, offers a wealth of games and reading activities for the very early reader (teaching letter sounds) to the advanced reader. Activities help students practice reading, letter sounds and language skills. An excellent site to promote reading fluency!
StoryTime Online	This amazing site, sponsored by the Screen Actor's Guild, features well-known actors and actresses reading current children's literature. With selections read by such actors and actresses as Camryn Manheim, Jason Alexander, Elijah Wood, Lou Diamond Phillips, and others, this site offers expressive reading, excellent imaging and a wealth of related activities. Highly recommended!
Story Tymes	Site offers Aesop's fables in mp3 format with music and sound effects that help bring the characters to life, children's stories audio. Features fables include: The Lion and the Mosquito; The Bears and the Bees; The Boy Who Cried Wolf; The Tortoise and the Hare; The Donkey and the Small Dog; The Robin and the Fox; The Axe and the Trees; Venus and the Cat. Excellent site for pre-readers to listen to stories, although animations are somewhat distracting.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Colonial Williamsburg for Kids	An important place in the early history of our country was Williamsburg, Virginia. Visit his fun and interactive site to learn more about the colonial period of our country's history. Interactive games help teach about the different jobs and tools people of the colonial period used in everday life.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Kids	This is a great site to learn lots about the wonderful state of Texas! Play games and activities that teach about Texas wildlife, regions, indians, plants, and lots more. Check it out!
Texas Beyond History for Kids	Want to learn about the Indians of Texas? Want to learn about prehistoric people of Texas? Want to learn about Texas frontier forts? Want to play lots of games and activities which teach about all these things? Then this site is for you. Sponsored by the University of Texas at Austin, this great site is filled with interesting facts, photos, drawings and activities for all ages.
Plimouth Plantation -- You Are the Historian	This amazing site is sponsored by Plimouth Plantation, the site of the first Thanksgiving and now a living history park. This activity has students take the role of either a Pilgrim or a Wampanoag indian, and offers interactive activities to help children understand the role of both the indians and the Pilgrims at the first Thanksgiving. You will need sound and FlashPlayer. A definite must-visit site!

SCIENCE

Dolphins in Depth	Want to learn all about dolphins? Visit this site to play an interactive game that will teach you lots about these friendly creatures of the ocean! Parents: You will need to register for a password to play these games.
The Great Plant Escape	Help Detective Leplant and his partners unlock the mysteries of plant life. Through a series of mysteries, students will improve their understanding of plant science and how foods grow.
Kids' Health	Good interactive activities on this site, particularly dealing with the human body and the various systems, as well as emotional health. Try the microscopic activity and the Time for Bed Game. Lots of activities for different ages!
Ologoy -- Astronomy, Our Place in Space	Sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History, this kid-friendly site explores galaxies, planets, Mars, the sun and more. Go on a space scavenger hunt, explore Mars, build a mobile, or play the many games and activities relating to space. The site also contains links to NASA, as well as to imagery from the Hubble telescope. Colorful, educational and fun!
Exploratorium	The Exploratorium museum, the museum of "science, art and human perception," has created an area for parents and kids to learn together. Watch a total eclipse from Turkey, explore the science of baseball, skateboarding and hockey, see stem cells at the virtual imaging station…..this site explores a range of science topics which parents and students can explore together.
Wonderville	Wonderville, developed by the Science Alberta Foundation, has its own cast of cartoon characters to help with home-grown science activities for families. The site also includes a section designed for educators.

VARIETY:

Whyville

At Whyville, sponsored by the Getty Foundation, visitors can search the world for art treasures, develop a cure for WhyPox, or rescue and retrieve aliens from earth. Take a look!

MATH

Figure This! Math Challenges for Families