More of the same...

I do not feel like I did much justice to the whole technology thing yesterday.  Technology can be overwhelming sometimes.  We just did not have to worry about that growing up.  Somehow, I feel like we missed out.  We just did not know it at the time.  The opportunities for fun learning are endless nowadays.  That is not to say that good old fashioned board games and learning the nitty gritty are obsolete. They are not.  I whole heartedly feel like there needs to be a balance of these things.  That being said, if it can be fun...Why not let it?  Tonight I am going to give you a list of web-sites that rock my world.  This is in no way whatsoever an exhaustive list.  It is just a few that are cooler than cool.

http://www.funbrain.com/
I love this one.  Lots of fun for the brain to be had here!
http://www.brainpop.com/
We used this one in school for some really neat tutorials.  It is pretty darn cute! It is not free but you can get a free trial.
http://www.pbskids.org/
Who doesn't love PBS?  Not much to say here except check it out.
http://www.starfall.com/
There are some pretty good online phonics games to be found here.  This is good for the younger learner.
http://www.readingeggs.com/
I have not done much with this one but it is one we will certainly delve into further.  It looks really neat. It is geared for ages 3-7.  This is not a free site but they are offering a free trial.
http://www.bookadventure.com/home
Again, not too familiar with this site.  I just perused it and was really impressed.
http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/interact-read.htm
Oh my goodness, this site.  I fell head over heals in love when I entered this place.  There is a wealth of games and leaning sites in this one spot.  It covers Reading, Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, and assessments.  It is amazing!  This is a must visit site whether you homeschool or not! You will love it!
http://www.abcya.com/
This is another excellent site for interactive learning games.  I love this one also!
http://www.storyplace.org/storyplace.asp
This site is way too cool for words.  Kiddos can read books and take quizzes on this site. This is another five star site!
http://www.freetypinggame.net/
http://www.onlytypinggames.com/
http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/keyboarding_games.html
http://www.gamequarium.com/keyboarding.htm
These sites are really good for keyboarding.  There are lots of tutorials and typing games on these sites.
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/geography.htm
http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/
http://maps.nationalgeographic.com/map-machine
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/web_games.htm
Here are some really good sites for online and interactive maps.  Some of them even offer map quizzes. I had fun playing with these maps.

The next two sites are sites I used while teaching.  I can not say enough good things about them.  There is video streaming and tutorials galore.
http://www.unitedstreaming.com/
United Streaming is not a free service.  I love this site though.  Discovery manages this site and it is loaded with lots and lots of goodies.

 
 
  
Teacher Tube is free.  It is good.  It is a division of Youtube.
 
I hope you will find a lot of useful things on these sites.  I also want to tell Amy and Annie thank you for your advice on my last post. Oh and, I want to add the Wii to my list of useful technology.  The possibilities are endless folks. 
 
I could go on and on about technology.  Like I said, it can overwhelm you or me if we let it. 
 
Much love,