A Series of Educational Sites: "F"...PBS Kids!

As a Mississippi girl, I'm have enjoyed PBS Kids and PBS Teachers!! Just in case you're not familiar with PBS, I wanted to post about this site because it's pretty darn cool... for all of us--teachers, children, and parents!

This post is so much more than about PBS Kids, as the title includes. 
Let's start with the main site-- PBS.ORG! This site has created PBS Kids, PBS Teachers, and PBS Parents to name the most helpful to you...
Featuring videos, games, shows, and more, there's plenty to entertain students in an educational manner. 
Teachers...See the PBS Teachers--Kids in the Classroom! They offer a "Word of the Day," Early Childhood Resources, and quite a bit more ranging from PreK to 12th Grade. Another tidbit to check out is the Teacher Innovation Awards -Are you an Innovative Educator? See how many winners there are just in 2011! 
Parents will love this site now that school is out (or soon will be) for the summer! Mom & Dad can access activities, advice, and even recipes for quality time spent with the kiddos! Ideas are endless and perfect for those rainy days or TOO HOT days! Sign up for the PBS Parent Newsletter and stay up to date...

Want to know another great feature? 
Mobile apps are available as well! How convenient is that...for kids to watch their top fav PBS shows? A couple of these shows I remember watching when I was little!


In case you missed them, see previous posts of "A Series of Educational Sites" I've blogged about:
Educational Site A: Quizlet
Educational Site B: Arcademic Skill Builders
Educational Site C: Wonderopolis (Free Writing Printable included!)
Educational Site D: EZSchool
Educational Site E: The Problem Site

So, check out PBS Kids...and tell me what your favorite PBS show is (yes, you, the teacher/parent)? 
Was it one you watched as a child too? 
If you don't have one, what are your child's or students' favorites? 
Please share them with us in a comment below! Or, click on my signature to share your comments on my Facebook page! I'd love to see you there too!


Regards,

A Series of Educational Sites: "E"...The Problem Site!

I landed on another fun site you may/may not know about...
The Problem Site!
Students will jump all over extra computer time to play free online educational games! They can also engage in lots of other fun interactive skill-polishing activities on The Problem Site!
Just to give you an idea, here are a few games offered on the site:

• Picture Word Game
• Hangman
• Secret Number 2
• Zero Gravity Connect Four
• Subtraction Triangles
• The Pirate's Map
• Treasure Hunt

My thoughts?

I must say that I am pretty impressed with how many avenues of topics and levels this site covers. It really get students to think, as it did me. There's a lot to gain from extra problem solving activities and good brainteasing challenges.  I love that it also has daily online puzzles, a reference/resource page to use in research and other projects, printables to easily and quickly create, and brainteasers! Just let them explore and see what they like! I think you'll find something for most any student. 

Why use interactive sites in the classroom?
We all have students, or perhaps children, that love interactive games and playing on the computer! Let them utilize the site when extra time allows them use on computers or when you just want to give them some extra challenge time! Computer time is always a great reward or incentive for promoting good classroom behavior or achieving goals academically!

Have you heard about it? Let me know what you think about the site or if you already utilize it! I'd love to know your thoughts on using computer time as a reward or motivator in the classroom too!

Connecting You to a Series of Spectacular Educational Sites: A

Educational Site: "A"

Utilizing fun, interactive, and educational web sites in the classroom and at home is important for engaging children in learning!  "Why?" you ask. Well, besides the fact that it is indeed 2012, our students were born and immediately exposed to "boocoodles" of technology gadgets and gizmos that most of us probably couldn't fathom being invented when we were kiddos! Boy would I have loved some of today's "toys" when I was a tot! MOST importantly, we are all learners and we learn in different manners! I, for one, have to have interactive material and visual material if you want  me to learn and truly understand some things! And...students need stimulation! Since they come to us with a wealth of knowledge in technology by middle school and high school, already exposed to tons of it from birth on up, we have to incorporate it into our lessons today! It's what they know! 

I'm am beginning a series of posts featuring resourceful, interactive, and/or hopefully fun teacher resource sites or student-friendly sites of various sorts that you can use in your lessons and classes for multiple things! 


Today's Post is obviously "Educational Site: A" to represent day #1! It's just a series of posts I've decided to incorporate with the other things I like to blog about here.  (No particular schedule) However, you'll recognize them by the titles! So, if you haven't already, maybe you can keep track by following via email! 


So, Today's Educational Site: A:

QUIZLET

PERKS You'll Love...

• Cool Tool for Mobile Studying
• Teachers can create materials
• Students can create flashcards and other items
• Games
• PDF printables
• Smart Board Options
• You can set up groups
• It offers competitive study games 
• Demo Videos
• AND...there is Quizlet BLOG 
• and on and on and on and on

How many of you knew all this already? If you didn't, then I've accomplished something today, and that was to show you a useful educational site that you will certainly enjoy!

Explore some of the cool features on Quizlet here!

It is packed full of teaching resources/materials and student resources/links/etc. Wow! This site is actually one I always keep on my classroom web site in my student resource list!

If you are a QUIZLET fan already, can you tell us how you use it and your favorite thing about it?

Regards,