Stop the Summer Slide ~ SuperMom Monday

Spring Flowers, 2nd grade Geometry ~ PowerMyLearning

Did you know that children who don’t engage in educational activities over the summer stand to lose an average of 2.6 months of academic growth?  I didn't!  This is called Summer Slide and it is not the type of slide we want our kids playing on now do we?  I found a really easy way I can keep my kiddo's off this slide that they won't complain over!

In the past I have steered clear of most on-line education games for the simple reason of failing to find a site that I really liked.  Don't get me wrong, there are lots of great resources out there but that's just it.  Almost too many resources that I've gotten frustrated in trying to find one site that would fit all my needs.  For instance, I'll find a great 'game' that one kiddo really enjoys but the site might not work for another one in regards to their age or ease of use.  Or the 'educational games' on a site just seem more like games to me.  Not interested.

I was given a great opportunity to try PowerMyLearning.  What's different about this site is that a team of educators evaluated thousands of free activities on sites ranging from PBS, Nick Jr to BBC and identified the ones that are most fun and effective.  Good for kiddo's, great for us parents!  They then tagged each game by subject, grade, Common Core Standard, and more, and made them all easy to find and use. Oh, and did I tell you the site is free!  Yep.  Super Awesome.  

So with my soon-to-be 2nd grade daughter I set out to try it out.  We focused on math and I was excited to see the games were not only sorted out by subject but also focus.  2nd grade Math was broken down into Geometry, Measurement & Data, Numbers & Operations in Base Ten and Operations & Algebraic Thinking.  Impressive!  She really enjoyed the Spring Flower game listed under Geometry which taught halves and quarters.  This game could also be played with a partner so she choose her little sister who is going into Kindergarten.  Although little sis couldn't quite get the answers her big sister helped her!  

Another one of her favorite games was listed under Measurement & Data called 'Time to Move' and found on the PBS site.  She got to catch fish, measure them and then sort them into the 'Big Fish Tank' or 'Small Fish Tank.'  Even little Kindergarten sis was enjoying watching her and even started to catch on!  

My conclusion:  This site rocks.  Really.  No more wasting time searching around all kinds of sites depending upon age or subject matter.  Plus I like knowing that the best games that meet both the educational and fun factors have already been sorted through for me.  My daughter has already asked when she can play on the computer again.  I told her she can earn computer time by doing extra chores and helping me out.  She shouted out "Yay!"  Wow.  That says it all.  Clean house + a smart kid = goodbye Summer Slide! 

Do you have a way to keep your kiddo's off the Summer Slide?  Tell us!  =)