The girls have a few websites they can go to when they use the computer.

I have approved of them in advance.  One of the things I look for in a site is that it is not only fun, visually appealing, and easy to navigate, but that it will facilitate intellectual and/or creative growth.

Yesterday, the girls went to Word Girl on pbskids.org and found the Maze Mania game.

The game gives them a main word and as they move through the maze there are other words.  From those words in the maze they click on the ones that are synonyms to the main word.  In and of itself, this is a great game.

But then we discovered other benefits.

As we were discussing words they didn’t know and their meanings, I had my Sweet Pea grab our children’s dictionary and look up the words.

Now the girls are strengthening their understanding of synonyms, learning new words and their definition, increasing their ability to look up words, becoming more familiar with words in alphabetical order beyond the first letter, and improving spelling and reading skills … all while having fun!

There are many other great games and activities on the site as well as a section for parents and teachers with additional activities, lesson plans, etc.  Which means hours of fun and learning!

With summer here, they will have plenty of time for fun and learning!