Fun sites

Two new sites I came across recently through colleagues, which have been a lot of fun for the kids and I:

1) www.tarheelreader.org

A site designed, I believe, for older students who struggle with reading at an elementary level, it's been used quite a bit for young beginners as well. You can search for photos, put a caption for each, and make your own story. Cavan's been doing a nice job reading quite a few all by himself, and it's a great way to learn new vocabulary, as he is good to ask us when he doesn't know a word.

Also, we've been using quite a few from the "Latin" section. He's gaining quite a bit of Latin vocab from some of the easier ones (with me reading and helping to translate, of course), such as this one:

http://tarheelreader.org/2009/05/21/de-bestiis-variis/


2) www.makebeliefscomix.org (carefully note the spelling)

You can make your own simple comic strips! You only have a few images to choose from, but you can give characters their own talk bubble and type in anything. It's been a lot of fun for Cavan, as he is getting better at manipulating the images and exploring the different options. He dictates and I type for him, which fosters a bit of creativity on his part. This is our finest collaboration, thus far:

http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/?comix_id=2853434C108202