Recommendations for free or cheap on-line reading/math "games" for K-2?

[Gray Matter]

My daughter is really struggling in school (just wrote a wordy post in my journal on the subject).  She's finishing second grade, but her abilities are more in line with a kindergartener.  We are getting her tutoring over the summer, but at three times a week, it feels like there needs to be a lot of reinforcement in between.  I want it to be fun, and she loves being able to get on the computer or iPad.  Any suggestions for website or apps that are fun and that can reinforce basic reading or math concepts?

Thanks!

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

One I've heard of is Cool Math Games, but I don't know much about it.

The most important thing you can do for your daughter over the summer is READ. And not on the iPad--studies on that aren't looking too good. Sure, an occasional math game is fine, but a trip to the library is going to be way more bang for your buck (where buck is time).

[Counting Down]

Have you tried Reading Eggs? You can get a free 5 week trial online. I did this last year with my daughter and every so often they send me emails with deals or free ipad apps.

[NinetyFour]

I highly recommend Ken Ken.  You can go to kenken.com, or there is a free app.

They are puzzles, involving computational skills and problem solving.  But they can range from quite easy (involving only the numbers 1, 2, and 3) to quite difficult.  They can also involve anywhere from just one operation up to all 4 operations.

There are also books of these and page-a-day calendars.  Some of my college students love them!

If you questions about Ken Ken, let me know.

(I have taught math skills to preservice elementary teachers for many years.)

[CarDude]

For reading, your best bet is simply to read with her daily and give her the opportunity to read to herself on a daily basis. Stephen Krashen has written lots about this:

http://www.sdkrashen.com/articles.php?cat=2

Basically, kids become strong readers by reading a lot. You don't need online gimmicks or iPads or pretty much anything but books. And those are free at the library.

[Jenga]

Teach Your Monster To Read is going over really well with the five year old around here, and seems to be a big hit with her classmates too.  The teacher actually recommended it for them.  http://www.teachyourmonstertoread.com/ 

Don't underestimate the power of offline games either!  We used a Sight Words Bingo game with her older brother, who got off to a slow start with reading, and made "Treasure Hunts" with the clues printed neatly (at the level he could mostly read) on index cards.   He loved that, and as his reading level increased, we used more complex language and more clues...I don't think he ever realized he was working on his reading! ;)

[Crygreen4]

http://www.time4learning.com      and        http://www.starfall.com/

These are both websites that you should look into.  Time4learning may be best if she is at a K level but both sites have games and fun puzzles.  If she likes playing on your ipad than this could be your answer.  Both offer free lessons and a one month trial.

Starfall focuses on reading and can be a great way to keep kids interest.  Change between books and the computer to keep it interesting and keep her attention.

[Thegoblinchief]

Not a direct answer, but reading time one on one paid far greater dividends than any formal instruction.

For math, flash card drills are good for reinforcement. For help learning basic concepts, a lot of people swear by "manipulatives" versus digital games. Look up Courvoisier rods for an example.

[Indio]

I agree with the other comments about focusing on reading. When my kids learned to love to read, math started to come naturally to them. My approach was to get rid all of the infotainment in the house and load up on books. I cut the cable and now only have 1 TV with 1 channel. It's in the living room so no secret viewing going on. Also, all of the ipads, iphones were all put on password lockdown so no one could access them. While some might call this draconian, it was the best thing for my family. My kids see me read and they read. If they need entertainment, we play outside or read if it's dark or rainy.
Now that the youngest is in 3rd grade, I've allowed Math games only on the ipads. they have access to Blue ribbon, sumdog and Math bingo. If you search math in itunes, check the ratings and you will find lots of worthy games.

[crazy jane]

Go to the library and let her pick out her own books. Read them together and spend time having conversations with her. Go on an adventure together and take pictures. Print the pictures and put each one on a piece of paper. Ask your daughter to tell you what happened in the picture and you write the words on the page. You now have a book that you wrote together. Repeat and read them together.

[Unique User]

For math I'd say Kahn Academy, hands down.  My daughter really liked it and still uses the website when she doesn't understand a concept.  I think there is an app also.  Second the other posters on reading, just make reading a priority.  We make weekly (sometimes more) trips to the library and always have.  When my daughter was younger, I'd check out big stacks of books and kept them in the designated library bag in the kitchen.  I still do that now just only check out a couple at a time so she can never tell me she doesn't have anything to read. 

[JPinDC]

My nephew is really into http://www.pbskids.org

[NeverWasACornflakeGirl]

My daughter's school uses this one, and she enjoys it so much she does it at home for entertainment:  http://www.abcya.com/

[whiskeyjack]

If you suspect there might be something else going on, like dyslexia or an auditory processing disorder, there is a (somewhat costly) computer program called "Earobics" which can be helpful, but I think an even better option would be music and dance; either formal lessons,  casual instruction from a parent, or even the Dance! Revolution game.   (I can provide references for why this is helpful, but it's also just fun.)

Most of the commonly available online programs like Starfall, Learning Odyssey, and Reading Eggs moved too fast in our household and I wound up doing most of it hands-on anyway.   The LeapFrog videos were great, as are classic Sesame Street, if you can get a hold of those.

For my oldest we wound up using an Orton-Gillingham trained tutor and I was allowed to sit in on the sessions, which meant that for child #2 and #3 I knew pretty much what to do. I'm also more confident about just letting the process unfold on its own.

I'm a fan of playing cards:  Blackjack teaches addition.   If you bet pennies on it there is also extra motivation.  There is a website called 'arcademic skill builders' that lets kids play against other kids (but no chat function) that can be useful for drilling practice.

Also I think another poster meant "cuisenaire rods" as a hands-on math tool.

HTH

[oldtoyota]

Khan Academy.

[TrMama]

We're having a similar issue with both kids. It's somewhat complicated by the fact that both kids are in a language immersion program so they're being taught in French, but speak English at home. I've also found the basic advice of "just read to them" to be insufficient. Some of the things I've done:

- banned all TV except Sesame Street (available on Netflix and YouTube).

- Bedtime stories involve them reading me a story and then me reading them a story. For my Kindergartner, she "reads" me a simple book of farm animals where each page is just the name of the animal with their picture. She's not actually reading the word, but just looking at the picture. It's still a helpful exercise and it great for her confidence.

- We do Echo reading (Google it). Both kids love this.

- When I read my kindergartener a story, I let her read the name of the protagonist (or another frequently repeated word) every time we come to it in the text.

- There are tons of great blogs written by teachers that list a million and one fun games to play at home. Worth a browse.

- Check out the Elephant and Piggie series by Mo Willams from your library. Easy readers and super entertaining stories. In fact, we've loved all his books.

- The most important thing I've learned is to just shut up and listen when my 7yo reads to me. Yes, she makes mistakes. She tends to guess at a word she doesn't know rather than trying to sound it out. That's OK. At the end of the page I just ask her, "Did that make sense?" Then she'll go back and figure out the tricky word.

- For learning numbers, I like to use the microwave. Want to warm up your food? OK, put it in for 23 seconds. Not hot enough? Try 42 seconds. They get good quickly since those numbers are now super relevant to their life. 

[Badass by 41]

For super basic letter, word, sentence, and math concepts, our son has loved the "Endless" series of games by Originator Kids. http://originatorkids.com