As a parent, it's sometimes difficult to come up with new and exciting family ideas to keep your child interested in learning.

We've put together a list of Web sites with innovative family home activities to help kids enhance their education outside of the classroom:

  • Family FUNdamentals: This comprehensive site, run by the Michigan Department of Education, has numerous activities for preschoolers through elementary students developed in collaboration with EduGuide. (Preschool through elementary, literacy and math). 
  • Great Websites for Kids: The American Library Association has put together an easy-to-use website with hundreds of links and activities that build on knowledge your child is gaining from school. Most links are marked with recommended age limits. (Pre-kindergarten through middle school).
  • KidsHub: KidsHub is a non-profit website that offers Flash activities in a variety of topics. It is free, and has no advertisements. There are also links to sister sites useful to older students. (Elementary).
  • Kinetic City: A fun online science game. While it's recommended for 8 to 11 year olds, younger children may enjoy it. Missions cover Project 2061's Benchmarks for Science Literacy, a set of recommended science learning goals for children in kindergarten through 12th grade.(Elementary, science). 
  • National Geographic Kids: The popular magazine has a dynamic website filled with informative games and fun experiments for children of all ages. Check out their "Homework Help" section for research material. (Preschool through middle, science, social studies, history). 
  • Scholastic.com: While this site is geared toward teachers, there are lots of lessons and activities listed. You have the added ability of searching by curricular area, by grade level or by learning activity. (Pre-Kindergarten through middle). 
  • Space Kids: Have a budding astronaut in your house? Take a virtual tour of the solar system, or watch the night sky. There are tons of space-related activities here. This site was awarded five stars by Surfing the Net With KIDS. (All grade levels, science). 
  • Web Quest: Written and designed by students preparing to become teachers, this website has a large amount of web-based projects covering a variety of topics and age groups. (Elementary through middle, all subjects).