Tired of having multiple dictionaries in your home? Or having one that isn’t suitable for children? Well, I may just have a website for you that doesn’t discriminate on any one target market. The best online dictionary that I’ve come across thus far is at wordsymth.net.  You may even want to throw out the thesaurus (not literally!) as synonyms and antonyms are also a built in feature.

Once you get to the website, look for the Wordsmyth NOW widget and choose the desired dictionary level that you’ll use most often and drag or add the Wordsmyth NOW link to your Bookmarks bar. Your keiki can look up new vocabulary no matter where they are online. The three levels available are beginner, children, and advanced.

The beginner’s option includes pronunciation (requires audio feature), part of speech, 1 definition, the word used in a sentence and similar and related words. The children’s option adds 2 definitions and synonyms and antonyms to its mix. Added to the advanced option are 3 definitions. Very cool stuff!

Happy defining (and more)!

The Acoreoom (Aquarium)

Iʻd like to share with you a story written by one of my studentʻs before I share the website that this blog is devoted to.  It conveys the important message that we must always start with the child and celebrate their mana`o and experiences before we get to the concepts of the prescribed curriculum.

The Acoreoom

Wen I went to the acoreaum in Mawe it was fun. The frst anumal I saw was a leprd sharc. The secent anamol I saw was a japunes crab. He was snaping at the litol crab. The thrd anumol I saw was a ribin eol. It was scare as godzilla. The forth anumol I saw was a grat wite sharc. It was fast as a cheeta! The fift anumol I saw was a hamr head sharc. It looced like it was eating a rock. The sixt anamol I saw was a watr snak. It was scarey. The last ananol I saw was a hupbac wal. It was sooper fat. I hope I can go t the acoreoom agen. I wish to go agen won day. The end

This was a story written by a student who really doesnʻt like to write, or well, we thought he didnʻt! Go to www.literacyconnections.com and click on the “For Parents” option and find the link “In Their Own Words”. Whatʻll you find there are the ideas that I structured this studentʻs writing on. Youʻll also find this website full of other great resources for parents.

Let me know what you think!

This website not only features parenting topics but also provides interactive sites for children to explore! Also included are educational games and activities for children in Kindergarten through the 8th grade. Go to www.internet4classrooms.com and select “Parent Zone” on the left hand side of the screen and you’ll be set.

Parenting topics incude: homework help, reading and math help, internet safety, and discipline to name a few. Your keiki will explore newspapers for kids, arts and crafts sites, informational sites, and games and activities.

When perusing the site I found it easy to navigate and thought the suggestions given to parents were extremely practical. The games and activities are appropriate and show up on a full screen unlike some other sites I’ve visited.

Happy exploring!

Some of the most dreaded homework assignments for parents to be involved in are the writing ones, probably because you don’t see yourself as a writer. I don’t know if you’ve experienced this, but my son is not too receptive when I provide input on his writing assignments. It’s one of those situations when I need to pick my battles carefully! I seem to think I have found an extremely well designed website for parents of students in grades 3 to 5. I say it’s for parents, because the website can take over when the going gets rough!

Writing Fun, produced by Jenny Eather, an Australian primary teacher, provides instructions, examples, tips, and text organizers to help students write various kinds of compositions. Examples are available for a variety of genres including narratives, discussions, explanations, persuasions, and information. “Everyday” genres are also included such as letters, invitations, and email.  The text organizer helps students to see how each composition type is developed. With each composition type there is also student examples that your child can refer to. All organizers are available in Microsoft Word format for download.

Here’s the website address: www.writingfun.com/  So, what are you waiting for? Bring on the homework!