Kabongo Reading Games Review

Anonymous — Wed, 18 May 2011 11:00:24 GMT

Spring fever is in full-swing and both teachers and students alike are looking forward to summer vacation. Its times like these that call for a little something new to shake things up and keep everybody going for another month (or two). A few weeks ago I stumbled across a site called Kabongo that will help put an end to spring fever in your early childhood classroom. Kabongo isn’t just another online learning game site; it’s THE hot new online learning game site. What makes Kabongo stand out from the crowd? Well, since you asked:

Critical Thinking Skills: Unlike many online games that focus on very basic skills and right or wrong answers the games at Kabongo target the critical thinking skills and problem-solving strategies that are essential for future reading success.
Research Based: Games are designed by cognitive psychologists and learning experts
High Quality: The animation in these games is fantastic- move over PBS and Disney!
Interactive: There is no “osmosis” learning going on here, everything is highly engaging and fun.
Learning Skills Chart: Kabongo provides a Learning Skills Chart that lists the skills covered in each game which is very helpful for teachers and parents.

Kabongo features three different learning habitats; each habitat is broken up into three games that target different skills. Each habitat is offered for a one time flat fee of only $4.95, however you can use the coupon code shown above (LEARN) for free access to everything for a limited time! That’s nine games absolutely free. The habitats are:

Galaxy Gardens
Laughter Lake
Twister Top

How does it work?

Go to Kabongo and click on “play free” at the top of the page.
Next, sign-up to create your free account.
Once you confirm your subscription, log-in and select your habitat to start playing.

Aside from classroom use, Kabongo is also a great resource for parents. Kabongo has many parent friendly features such as a parent dashboard and progress reports delivered directly to your inbox.

Since summer vacation is right around the corner and many parents are looking for rainy day suggestions consider sending out a link to your parents letting them know about Kabongo. Kabongo’s target ages are 4-7 so you can suggest that siblings have a turn too.

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Stepping Stones Together Review

Anonymous — Mon, 02 May 2011 22:00:17 GMT

As a classroom teacher I feel just as much responsibility for my students learning during the summer months as I do during the school year. I want them to have a balanced summer filled with fun and learning support at home so they can begin the next school year right where they left off in my classroom. Unfortunately, research shows that children can experience significant learning loss during the summer months. Imagine if an athlete stopped training, he or she would see a significant decline in performance. The human brain is no different; it needs daily exercise to maintain learning.

In an attempt to prevent learning loss during the summer I provide parents with a calendar listing free or low-cost local activities such as library story times, public pool information, and discount days at the zoo or aquarium. I also send home a folder filled with educational activities for parents to do with their children. However, one skill that I am not able to fully support during the summer is reading. Many parents read to their children but when it comes to helping their children learn how to read parents want to help but often don’t know how.

I was recently introduced to Stepping Stones Together; an online program for parents who want to support their child’s reading abilities at home. I am not a fan of any pre-packaged curricula or “teach your baby to read” programs so you can be assured that Stepping Stones Together does not fall into either of these categories.

The philosophy of the Stepping Stones Together program is research based and focuses on fostering a love of reading in young children ages 3-7 while providing a positive bonding experience between parent and child. The program takes only 15-20 minutes per day so there is still pelnty of time for summer fun. This is not a program where the child sits in front of the computer while mom makes dinner; this is a fully interactive program that provides busy parents with the tools they need to take an active role in their child’s beginning reading skills.

Developed by Dr. Erika Burton, the Stepping Stones Together program provides simple, step-by-step directions that parents can easily follow. The program consists of the following components:

90 High-interest printable books on popular topics such as superheroes, princesses, sports, fairies and more
Printable incentive chart
Daily writing practice
Printable instructions explaining how to introduce the books
High-frequency word games
Printable certificates of completion for each level completed
Printable flash cards to introduce and review high frequency words in each book

While the program is designed with parents in mind, after careful review I believe it can be easily used by classroom teachers. Many teachers are required to teach their students to read but are not provided with all of the tools necessary to do so. Stepping Stones Together offers everything, including the books for a very affordable price. Classroom teachers can also send home the Stepping Stones URL in their summer educational packets for parents who are interested.

Here’s the good news, Stepping Stones Together is offering readers of Pre-K Pages a special one day only discount. This discount allows you to access to the complete program for one year for only $19.99, use discount the code Pre-K Pages If you missed the first day special you can still receive a 5% discount on the program using the same code.

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Kabongo Reading Games Review

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