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100 Fun Free Things To Do in Los Angeles with Kids

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Free family fun in LA is budget-friendly bliss!

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SI Kids: Sports News for Kids, Kids Games and More

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SI Kids: Sports News for Kids, Kids Games and More

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SI Kids provides a kid-first perspective of sports. Find sports news for kids, scores, kids games, photos and expert analysis of the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, soccer, and more.

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SI Kids: Sports News for Kids, Kids Games and More

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SI Kids: Sports News for Kids, Kids Games and More

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SI Kids provides a kid-first perspective of sports. Find sports news for kids, scores, kids games, photos and expert analysis of the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, soccer, and more.

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SI Kids: Sports News for Kids, Kids Games and More

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SI Kids: Sports News for Kids, Kids Games and More

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SI Kids provides a kid-first perspective of sports. Find sports news for kids, scores, kids games, photos and expert analysis of the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, soccer, and more.

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2nd Grade Books, Games & Videos Online | Funbrain

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Continue your child's educational development with fun and challenging games. Check out Funbrain's Grade 2 online learning content today.

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3rd Grade Books, Games & Videos Online | Funbrain

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Your kids will love learning with our interactive and engaging games, books and videos. See how Funbrain makes Grade 3 educational content fun for all, here.

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Games, Books, and Videos for Kids in Grade 4

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FunBrain is the #1 site for online educational games for kids of all ages. (math, grammar, science, spelling, history)

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Phonics and Decoding: Activities for Your Kindergartener

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The goal of phonics instruction is to help children learn the alphabetic principle — the idea that letters represent the sounds of spoken language — and that there is an organized, logical, and predictable relationship between written letters and spoken sounds.

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Free online games to practice reading skills

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Free online games to practice reading skills

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Free online games to practice reading skills

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Free English uppercase and lowercase (by default) interactive alphabet arc to help students learn letter names, order, and shape.

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Free English uppercase and lowercase (by default) interactive alphabet arc to help students learn letter names, order, and shape.

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Free online games to practice reading skills

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My family has a few long road trips planned this summer and let's face it... the kids get bored! Although we allow the luxury of some electronics during long car rides, I also try to come prepared with a few fun learning activities to keep them entertained.

This Word Building Activity Travel Kit is one of my favorite ways to incorporate learning into travel with young children.

The best part is you can customize it with sight words, color words, word families, or whatever your child is currently learning!

Making the Word Building Activity Travel Kit
This post contains affiliate links to the products mentioned. Read our disclosure policy for more information.
Supplies Needed for this Kit:

Instructions for Word Building Travel Activity:

1. Start by gathering all of your supplies. We found our metal pencil box at Walmart. I've included a link above where you can buy them on Amazon, but a metal lunch box will work as well.
Feel like something different? Learn how to draw a heart!
2. Use permanent markers to write words on the jumbo craft sticks. I made a few different sets of words for this word building activity. I started with basic sight words and CVC words, as well as word families for -at, -ig and og, but you can literally customize it however you like... number words, animals, days of the week, etc. This is a great way for early readers to build vocabulary and improve spelling.

3. Use a hot glue gun to attach a small piece of magnetic tape to the back of each stick. Even though the magnetic tape has adhesion on the back, I recommend using a hot glue gun as an extra precaution. Magnets are extremely dangerous for children if swallowed, so using the hot glue will help reduce the risk of them falling off.

4. Place the finished words in the metal pencil box, along with a set of lowercase magnetic alphabet letters. Now the Word Building Activity Travel Kit is all ready for play!

Playing with the Word Building Activity Travel Kit:

There are lots of different variations of this word building activity. The simplest way is to choose a word out of the pile that you want to build. Place the craft stick onto the top section of the metal pencil box. Then build the word by finding each of the corresponding magnetic letters and place them in order above the word.

Spend some time saying each letter sound and blending them together to sound out the word if you are able. If not, simply name the letters and any corresponding alphabet sounds you do know! Continue working your way through the craft sticks, building all of the words.

This travel kit can also be used with a pair of children as a Reading Guessing Game. One person holds the craft stick covering up the letters and reads the word aloud. The other person spells the word secretly inside the metal box. When they finish, each person reveals their word to see if they match!

Another alternative word building activity is to have one person read the letters slowly, one at a time, off of a craft stick. The other person builds the word in the metal box, letter by letter. As soon as they think they know what word they are spelling, they can shout it out. The person with the word stick should show them if they guessed correctly.

The great thing about this Word Building Activity Travel Kit is that it can be used in so many ways, with a variety of ages and stages, in pairs or independently!

It's a great way to get in some hands-on word work and it isn't even limited to road trips! Try bringing it along to a doctor's appointment or a restaurant to keep the children entertained and learning while you wait!

A quick organization tip- if you make multiple sets of words, try keeping all of the different word types in different sandwich baggy. Label them clearly and then each time you pull out this travel kit, your child can choose a different bag to work with for a little variety!
What fun activities do your children love during long road trips? Looking for more fun summer crafts and activities to make with your children this year? You might enjoy this list of over 50 zoo animal crafts for kids.

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Word Building Activity Travel Kit - I Heart Crafty Things

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My family has a few long road trips planned this summer and let's face it... the kids get bored! Although we allow the luxury of some electronics during long car rides, I also try to come prepared with a few fun learning activities to keep them entertained.

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Phonics is the science of sounds, a technique used to teach young readers to pronounce words and read by learning the sound of letters, group of letters, and syllables.

Phonics is a foundational reading approach that focuses on the relationship between letters and the sounds they represent. It helps kids decode words by recognizing the sounds of individual letters or groups of letters.

Example: We blend the different sounds in a word together (individual sounds and their corresponding letters), such as 'h', 'a', and 't' to make the word 'hat.'

Phonics aids in reading fluency and spelling accuracy, enabling kids to independently decipher new words by applying their knowledge of letter-sound connections.

Online Phonics Games for Kids

Phonics is taught to preschoolers and kindergarteners at a young age to help them decode sounds from letters. This helps them subsequently to start reading and recognizing unfamiliar words. Somewhere between pre-K and grade 2 are the ages where children pick up phonics. These four years are crucial to draw attention to words and letters and help children pick up the sounds based on which they are formed.

Online phonics games for the classroom help children to learn and practice phonics with ease. Games like letter sequence games, letter sounds games, reading words games, rhyming words games, letter names games, vowel teams games, trigraphs games, diphthongs games, three letter blends games and more can help your little one master the concept of phonics.

Other ELA games you can explore are: reading games, writing games, sight words games, letter tracing games, etc.

How Do We Introduce Phonics to Kids?

Phonics helps children to master the art of identifying alphabets, string alphabets together to form words, and understand sounds in order to make verbal speech. They basically help students to spell, read, and write.

Phonics can be introduced to kids with interactive phonics games online. These games allow children to identify and sequence letters, identify letter sounds, and practice reading and rhyming words. Children also get to work with trigraphs, initial and ending consonant blends, bossy R, soft sounds, three letter blends and much more. They learn how to form words and sentences and learn the meaning as well as the pronunciation of words. These games can be utilized to introduce the concept of phonics to kids to help them develop a long-lasting relationship with language.

How Can We Make Phonics Fun for Kids?

Interactive phonics games online do a great job of combining learning with fun. Parents and teachers often look for exciting and engaging ways to enable kids to learn phonemes to improve their reading and spelling fluency. Since the English language contains 44 phonemes derived out of 26 letters, many letters have different sounds.

The idea behind 'learn phonics games' is to bridge the gap between academic struggle and fun learning. These games are interactive, engaging, and digitally vibrant. They help children easily segment sounds to identify words.

How Can Games Help in Better Understanding of Phonics?

Recognizing sounds and words are essential for children as most of the things they read, even as they grow older, are unfamiliar. Phonics go a long way into building a foundational construct towards a child's reading, writing, and speaking abilities.

While flashcards and books are excellent to help children learn words, incorporating a unique set of educational learning games can be very successful to help kids understand phonics in an engaging and interactive way.

What Are the 5 Best Phonics Games and Activities for Kids?

Here are 5 fun and engaging Phonics games and activities for kids by SplashLearn:

1. Can you Find the Letter B Game

2. Practice A and its Sounds Game

3. Guess the Word: Whiz and Thin Game

4. Explore the Words with the Second Sound of C

5. Listen and Master Rhyming Words Game

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Phonics Games for Kids Online - SplashLearn

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Explore interactive phonics games for kids and help your child enhance their ELA skills with these fun phonics learning games with ease. Get Started for Free!

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Click to find a variety of free programs, books, and resources at LA County Library that support parents in all stages of parenting.

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National Parent Teacher Association | National PTA

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National PTA comprises millions of families, students, teachers, administrators, and business and community leaders devoted to the educational success of children and the promotion of family engagement in schools.

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Explore parent resources to help you raise kind, curious and resilient children. Find parenting tips, hands-on activities, games, and apps featuring your child’s favorite PBS KIDS characters.

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From classic online games like chess and checkers to space and miniature golf games, kids will love these fun games. As they play kids will develop strategy, reasoning, and spatial reasoning skills.

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Games | Educational Games for Kids | Toy Theater

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Teachers & parents trust our games to be a safe place for kids to enjoy cool games like chess, checkers, reversi, Tic Tac Toe, Balloon Pop, Quest & more! Kids have so much fun, they don't even realize that they're building skills in numeracy, turn-taking, logic, & problem solving.

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From classic online games like chess and checkers to space and miniature golf games, kids will love these fun games. As they play kids will develop strategy, reasoning, and spatial reasoning skills.

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Games | Educational Games for Kids | Toy Theater

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Teachers & parents trust our games to be a safe place for kids to enjoy cool games like chess, checkers, reversi, Tic Tac Toe, Balloon Pop, Quest & more! Kids have so much fun, they don't even realize that they're building skills in numeracy, turn-taking, logic, & problem solving.

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From classic online games like chess and checkers to space and miniature golf games, kids will love these fun games. As they play kids will develop strategy, reasoning, and spatial reasoning skills.

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Games | Educational Games for Kids | Toy Theater

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Teachers & parents trust our games to be a safe place for kids to enjoy cool games like chess, checkers, reversi, Tic Tac Toe, Balloon Pop, Quest & more! Kids have so much fun, they don't even realize that they're building skills in numeracy, turn-taking, logic, & problem solving.

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From classic online games like chess and checkers to space and miniature golf games, kids will love these fun games. As they play kids will develop strategy, reasoning, and spatial reasoning skills.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Games | Educational Games for Kids | Toy Theater

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Teachers & parents trust our games to be a safe place for kids to enjoy cool games like chess, checkers, reversi, Tic Tac Toe, Balloon Pop, Quest & more! Kids have so much fun, they don't even realize that they're building skills in numeracy, turn-taking, logic, & problem solving.

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A Sample of What Your Child Will Be Working on in 4th Grade

Describing the basic elements of stories - such as characters, events, and settings - by drawing on specific details in the text

Paying close attention to key features of informational books and articles: these include understanding the main and supporting ideas; being able to compare and contrast information; and explaining how the author uses facts, details, and evidence to support particular points

Comparing ideas, characters, events, and settings in stories and myths from different cultures
Writing summaries or opinions about topics supported with a set of well-organized facts, details, and examples

Independently conducting short research projects on different aspects of a topic using evidence from books and the Internet

Paraphrasing and responding to information presented in discussions, such as comparing and contrasting ideas and analyzing evidence that speakers use to support particular points

Reporting orally on a topic or telling a story with enough facts and details

Writing complete sentences with correct capitalization and spelling

Relating words that are common in reading to words with similar meanings (synonyms) and to their opposites (antonyms)

Mathematics

In 4th grade, your child will gain important new skills while continuing to build on what he or she learned the previous year. One of the main areas studied in 4th grade is arithmetic and applying it to solve problems. This is an important life skill, and your child should make significant strides in this area during the year. Your child will also build knowledge and skills with fractions to prepare for mastering this topic in 5th and 6th grades. These skills will help ensure your child is ready for algebra and advanced math.

A Sample of What Your Child Will Be Working on in 4th Grade

Using whole-number arithmetic to solve word problems, including problems with remainders and problems with measurements

Adding and subtracting whole numbers quickly and accurately (numbers up to 1 million)

Multiplying and dividing multi-digit numbers in simple cases (e.g., multiplying 1,638 × 7 or 24 × 17, and dividing 6,966 by 6)

Understanding and applying equivalent fractions (e.g., recognizing that 1 ⁄4 is less than 3 ⁄8 because 2 ⁄8 is less than 3 ⁄8)

Adding, subtracting, and multiplying fractions in simple cases (such as 2 3 ⁄4 − 1 1 ⁄4 or 3 × 5 ⁄8), and solving related word problems

Understanding simple decimals in terms of fractions (e.g., rewriting 0.62 as 62⁄100)

Measuring angles and finding unknown angles in a diagram

Help Your Child Learn at Home

English Language Arts & Literacy

Urge your child to use logical arguments to defend his or her opinion. If your child wants a raise in allowance, ask him or her to research commonsense allowance systems and, based on that research, explain reasons why, supported by facts and details.

Talk about the news together. Pick one story in the news, read it together, and discuss with your child what it means.

Keep books, magazines, and newspapers at home. Make sure your child sees you reading.

Mathematics

Look for "word problems" in real life. Some 4th grade examples might include:

Ask your child to compare numbers using phrases like "times as much." For example, if the family cat weighs 8 lbs. and the family dog weighs 56 lbs., how many times as much does the dog weigh?

Ask your child to help you compare fractional amounts - for example, if one recipe calls for 2 ⁄3 of a cup of oil, but another recipe calls for 3 ⁄4 of a cup of oil, which recipe calls for more oil? (In 5th grade, your child will learn ways to determine just how much more oil.)

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Building the stamina and skills to read challenging fiction, nonfiction, and other materials is fundamental in 4th grade. Your child will continue to learn about the world as well as build vocabulary skills by reading more complicated stories and poems from different cultures and a range of books.

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A Sample of What Your Child Will Be Working on in 5th Grade

Summarizing the key details of stories, dramas, poems, and nonfiction materials, including their themes or main ideas

Identifying and judging evidence that supports particular ideas in an author's argument to change a reader's point of view

Integrating information from several print and digital sources to answer questions and solve problems

Writing opinions that offer reasoned arguments and provide facts and examples that are logically grouped to support the writer's point of view

Writing stories, real or imaginary, that unfold naturally and developing the plot with dialogue, description, and effective pacing of the action

Coming to classroom discussions prepared, then engaging fully and thoughtfully with others (e.g., contributing accurate, relevant information; elaborating on the remarks of others; synthesizing ideas)

Reporting on a topic or presenting an opinion with his or her own words, a logical sequence of ideas, sufficient facts and details, and formal English when appropriate

Expanding, combining, and reducing sentences to improve meaning, interest, and style of writing

Building knowledge of academic words with an emphasis on those that signal a contrast in ideas or logical relationships, such as on the other hand, similarly, and therefore

Producing writing on the computer

Mathematics

Fifth grade is a milestone and a pivot point for students. The classroom focus on arithmetic during the elementary grades will develop into a more formal study of algebra in middle school. To be ready for algebra, students must have an understanding of fractional arithmetic, in part because even simple equations cannot be solved without fractions. Because of this, whole-number arithmetic comes mostly to a close in 5th grade, while multiplying and dividing fractions becomes a major focus.

A Sample of What Your Child Will Be Working on in 5th Grade

Adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators (e.g., 21 ⁄4 - 11 ⁄3), and solving word problems of this kind

Multiplying fractions; dividing fractions in simple cases; and solving related word problems (e.g., finding the area of a rectangle with fractional side lengths; determining how many 1 ⁄3-cup servings are in 2 cups of raisins; determining the size of a share if 9 people share a 50-pound sack of rice equally or if 3 people share 1 ⁄2 pound of chocolate equally)

Generalizing the place-value system to include decimals, and calculating with decimals to the hundredths place (two places after the decimal)

Multiplying whole numbers quickly and accurately, for example 1,638 × 753, and dividing whole numbers in simple cases, such as dividing 6,971 by 63

Understanding the concept of volume, and solving word problems that involve volume

Graphing points in the coordinate plane (two dimensions) to solve problems

Analyzing mathematical patterns and relationships

Help Your Child Learn at Home

English Language Arts & Literacy

Invite your child to read his or her writing out loud to other family members. Ask questions about your child's word choices and ideas.

Discuss your family stories and history. Encourage your child to ask relatives questions about their lives. Put the information together in an album or brainstorm different ways to tell family tales, such as poems or short stories.

Go to a play or musical with your child. Discuss the way the actors bring the words to life.

Mathematics

Look for "word problems" in real life. Some 5th grade examples might include:

Doing arithmetic with decimals, for example when balancing a checkbook.

Multiplying with fractions - for example, if you used about 2 ⁄3 of a 3 ⁄4-cup measure of vegetable stock, then how much stock did you use? About how much is left?

Using the length, width, and depth of a garden plot to determine how many bags of garden soil to buy.

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In 5th grade, your child will read from a range of high-quality, increasingly challenging fiction and nonfiction from diverse cultures and time periods. Building knowledge about subjects and responding analytically to informational sources will be key to your child's continuing success.

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English Language Arts & Literacy

Learning new language skills is a hallmark of kindergarten. Your child will learn about the alphabet and its role in reading. Your child will practice rhyming, matching words with beginning sounds, and blending sounds into words. Practice with these types of activities is a powerful step toward learning to read and spell correctly. The size of your child's vocabulary is another key factor in his or her ability to read and comprehend books and stories. Your child also will begin to experiment with writing and will be encouraged to use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing letters to share information, ideas, and feelings.

A Sample of What Your Child Will Be Working on in Kindergarten

Naming upper- and lower-case letters, matching those letters with their sounds, and printing them

Comparing the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories, such as fairy tales and folktales

Retelling familiar stories and talking about stories read to them using details from the text

Using a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to describe an event, including his or her reaction to what happened

Stating an opinion or preference about a topic or book in writing (e.g., "My favorite book is . . .")

Taking part in classroom conversations and following rules for discussions (e.g., learning to listen to others and taking turns when speaking)

Speaking clearly to express thoughts, feelings, and ideas, including descriptions of familiar people, places, things, and events

Asking and answering questions about key details in stories or other information read aloud

Understanding and using question words (e.g., who, what, where, when, why, how) in discussions

Learning to recognize, spell, and properly use those little grammatical words that hold the language together (e.g., a, the, to, of, from, I, is, are)

Mathematics

Young children arrive in kindergarten with widely varying knowledge in math. By the end of the year, your child must have some important foundations in place. One of the most important skills your child should develop is the ability to add and subtract small numbers and use addition and subtraction to solve word problems. This will rely on gaining some fundamentals early in the year, such as counting objects to tell how many there are. Addition and subtraction will continue to be a very strong focus in math through 2nd grade.

A Sample of What Your Child Will Be Working on in Kindergarten

Counting objects to tell how many there are

Comparing two groups of objects to tell which group, if either, has more; comparing two written numbers to tell which is greater

Acting out addition and subtraction word problems and drawing diagrams to represent them

Adding with a sum of 10 or less; subtracting from a number 10 or less; and solving addition and subtraction word problems

Adding and subtracting very small numbers quickly and accurately (e.g., 3 + 1)

Correctly naming shapes regardless of orientation or size (e.g., a square oriented as a "diamond" is still a square)

Help Your Child Learn at Home

English Language Arts & Literacy

Read with your child every day, books like Are You My Mother by P.D. Eastman or Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. Ask your child to explain his or her favorite parts of the story. Share your own ideas. To find more books for your child to read, visit www.corestandards.org/assets/Appendix_B.pdf.

Encourage your child to tell you about his or her day at school. Keep paper, markers, or crayons around the house for your child to write letters or words or draw a picture about his or her day. Have your child describe the picture to you.

Play word games like I Spy, sing songs like Itsy Bitsy Spider, and make silly rhymes together.

Mathematics

Look for "word problems" in real life. Some kindergarten examples might include:

Play "Write the next number." You write a number, and your child writes the next number.

Ask your child questions that require counting as many as 20 things. For example, ask, "How many books do you have about wild animals?"

Ask your child questions that require comparing numbers. "Who is wearing more bracelets, you or your sister?" (Your child might use matching or counting to find the answer.)

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Learning new language skills is a hallmark of kindergarten. Your child will learn about the alphabet and its role in reading. Your child will practice rhyming, matching words with beginning sounds, and blending sounds into words. Practice with these types of activities is a powerful step toward learning to read and spell correctly.

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First Grade Parents' Guide to Student Success

English Language Arts & Literacy

In 1st grade, your child will become a more independent reader and writer. Your child will continue to learn and practice rules for recognizing the sounds that make up words and will be able to sound out more complex words. Such foundational skills are necessary and important components of developing proficient readers with the capacity to comprehend a wide range of materials. Students will learn to think about what they read and talk about the main ideas of simple stories. As they write and speak, 1st graders will learn to use language appropriately; this includes using complete sentences and spelling words with increasing accuracy

A Sample of What Your Child Will Be Working on in 1st Grade

Using phonics (matching letters and sounds) and word analysis skills to figure out unfamiliar words when reading and writing

Describing characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details

Getting facts and information from different writings

Writing about a topic, supplying some facts, and providing some sense of opening and closing

Participating in shared research and writing projects (e.g., exploring a number of "how-to" books and using them to write a sequence of instructions)

Taking part in conversations about topics and texts being studied by responding to the comments of others and asking questions to clear up any confusion

Describing people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly and with complete sentences

Producing and expanding complete simple and compound statements, questions, commands, and exclamations

Identifying the correct meaning for a word with multiple meanings, based on the sentence or paragraph in which the word is used (e.g., deciding whether the word bat means a flying mammal or a club used in baseball)

Learning to think about finer distinctions in the meanings of near-synonyms (e.g., marching, prancing, strutting, strolling, walking)

Mathematics

In 1st grade, your child will build on last year's work and gain important new skills. One of the most important outcomes for the year is to improve speed and accuracy adding with a sum of 20 or less and subtracting from a number 20 or less (e.g., 17 - 8). Another important goal in 1st grade is adding with a sum of 100 or less; this will rely on understanding what the digits mean in a number such as 63 (namely, 63 is six tens and three ones). Working with multi-digit addition this year will set the stage for 2nd grade, when your child will be working with three-digit numbers and adding and subtracting with larger numbers.

A Sample of What Your Child Will Be Working on in 1st Grade

Solving addition and subtraction word problems in situations of adding to, taking from, putting together, taking apart, and comparing (e.g., a taking from situation would be: "Five apples were on the table. I ate some apples. Then there were three apples. How many apples did I eat?")

Adding with a sum of 20 or less, and subtracting from a number 20 or less, for example by using strategies based around the number 10 (e.g., to solve 13 - 4, one can start with 13, subtract 3 to reach 10, and then subtract 1 more to reach 9)

Quickly and accurately adding with a sum of 10 or less, and quickly and accurately subtracting from a number 10 or less (e.g., 2 + 5, 7 - 5)

Understanding what the digits mean in two-digit numbers (place value)

Using understanding of place value to add and subtract (e.g., 38 + 5, 29 + 20, 64 + 27, 80 - 50)

Measuring lengths of objects by using a shorter object as a unit of length

Making composite shapes by joining shapes together, and dividing circles and rectangles into halves or fourths

Help Your Child Learn at Home

English Language Arts & Literacy

Encourage your child to read to you books such as Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik. Help him or her sound out difficult words. To find more books for your child to read, visit www.corestandards.org/assets/Appendix_B.pdf.

Act out stories together from books, television, or your child's imagination.

Pick a "word of the day" each day starting with a different letter. Have your child write the word and look for other things beginning with the same letter.

Visit the library with your child every week. Have your child sign up for a library card.

Mathematics

Look for "word problems" in real life. Some 1st grade examples might include:

If you open a new carton of a dozen eggs, and you use four eggs to cook dinner, close the carton and ask your child how many eggs are left.

While putting away toys into bins, count the number of toys in two bins and ask your child how many more are in one bin compared to the other.

Play the "I'm thinking of a number" game. For example, "I'm thinking of a number that makes 11 when added to 8. What is my number?"

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In 1st grade, your child will become a more independent reader and writer. Your child will continue to learn and practice rules for recognizing the sounds that make up words and will be able to sound out more complex words.

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Second Grade Parents' Guide to Student Success

English Language Arts & Literacy

Students in 2nd grade will gain more skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. They continue to learn and practice rules for matching sounds to letters that make up words, and they learn new concepts - such as words that share the same root (e.g., add and additional) - that help them figure out the meanings of new words. Writing will become an exciting way for your child to use newly learned words and phrases to express ideas. As they write and speak, 2nd graders will be more attentive to the formal and informal uses of English and will spell most words correctly in their writing.

A Sample of What Your Child Will Be Working on in 2nd Grade

Paying close attention to details, including illustrations and graphics, in stories and books to answer who, what, where, when, why, and how questions

Determining the lesson or moral of stories, fables, and folktales

Using text features (e.g., captions, bold print, indexes) to locate key facts or information efficiently

Writing an opinion about a book he or she has read, using important details from the materials to support that opinion

Writing stories that include a short sequence of events and include a clear beginning, middle, and end

Participating in shared research projects (e.g., read books on a single topic to produce a report)

Taking part in conversations by linking his or her comments to the remarks of others and asking and answering questions to gather additional information or deepen understanding of the topic

Retelling key information or ideas from media or books read aloud

Producing, expanding, and rearranging sentences (e.g., "The boy watched the movie"; "The little boy watched the movie"; "The action movie was watched by the little boy")

Determining the meaning of the new word formed when a known prefix or suffix is added to a known word (happy/unhappy; pain/painful/painless)

Mathematics

In 2nd grade, your child will build on last year's work and gain important new skills. One of the most important outcomes for the year is to add and subtract two-digit numbers quickly and accurately (e.g., 77 - 28). Another important goal in 2nd grade is to understand what the digits mean in a three-digit number such as 463 (namely, 463 is four hundreds, six tens, and three ones). Your child also will build expertise with solving addition and subtraction word problems. Mastering addition and subtraction at the 2nd grade level is important so that your child will not have to review and repeat this material in 3rd grade, when the study of multiplication, division, and fractions will start.

A Sample of What Your Child Will Be Working on in 2nd Grade

Solving challenging addition and subtraction word problems with one or two steps (e.g., a "one-step" problem would be: "Lucy has 23 fewer apples than Julie. Julie has 47 apples. How many apples does Lucy have?")

Quickly and accurately adding with a sum of 20 or less (e.g., 11 + 8); quickly and accurately subtracting from a number 20 or less (e.g., 16 - 9); and knowing all sums of one-digit numbers from memory by the end of the year

Understanding what the digits mean in three-digit numbers (place value)

Using understanding of place value to add and subtract three-digit numbers (e.g., 811 - 367); adding and subtracting two-digit numbers quickly and accurately (e.g., 77 - 28)

Measuring and estimating length in standard units

Solving addition and subtraction word problems involving length (e.g., "The pen is 2 cm longer than the pencil. If the pencil is 7 cm long, how long is the pen?")

Building, drawing, and analyzing 2-D and 3-D shapes to develop foundations for area, volume, and geometry in later grades

Help Your Child Learn at Home

English Language Arts & Literacy

Read at home every day and assist your child by reading every other paragraph. Encourage your child to read to younger siblings, cousins, or other children you know. To find recommendations of books for your child to read, visit www.corestandards.org/assets/Appendix_B.pdf.

Have your child write a thank you note or letter to family members or friends.

Ask your librarian to suggest books about people or places that are important to your child or family that you can read together. Encourage your child to explain what he or she has just read.

Mathematics

Look for "word problems" in real life. Some 2nd grade examples might include:

When saving for a purchase, compare the cost of the item to the amount of money you have; then ask your child to determine how much more money he or she needs to buy the item.

When measuring your child's height, ask how many inches he or she has grown since the very first measurement.

Play "draw the shape." For example, ask your child to draw a hexagon with one side longer than the others, or ask him or her to shade in a quarter of a rectangle.

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Students in 2nd grade will gain more skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. They continue to learn and practice rules for matching sounds to letters that make up words, and they learn new concepts, such as words that share the same root.

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Third Grade Parent's Guide to Student Success

English Language Arts & Literacy

Third grade is a pivotal year for your child. Learning to read with fluency and confidence will serve as a foundation for the reading demands in later grades. By practicing with learning-to-read strategies, your child will reliably be able to make sense of multisyllable words in books. He or she will come to appreciate that words have meanings that are not literal (e.g., a piece of cake) and have relationships to other words (e.g., company and companion). Recognizing and understanding words will help your child read increasingly challenging stories and books and build knowledge about the world around him or her. By the end of the year, your child also will be writing clear sentences and paragraphs on a range of topics, drawing on an expanding vocabulary.

A Sample of What Your Child Will Be Working on in 3rd Grade

Reading closely to find main ideas and supporting details in a story

Describing the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in stories (e.g., first, second, third; cause and effect)

Comparing the most important points and key details presented in two books on the same topic

Writing opinions or explanations that group related information and develop topics with facts and details

Writing stories that establish a situation and include details and clear sequences of events that describe the actions, thoughts, and feelings of characters

Independently conducting short research projects that build knowledge about various topics

Asking and answering questions about information he or she hears from a speaker or while participating in classroom discussions, offering appropriate elaboration and detail that build on what others have said

Reading stories and poems aloud fluently, without pausing to figure out what each word means

Distinguishing the literal and nonliteral meanings of words, such as something's fishy and cold shoulder

Spelling correctly and consulting dictionaries to clarify meanings of words

Mathematics

In 3rd grade, your child will learn important new ideas and gain important new skills. One of the most important topics this year is multiplication and division. Another is fractions. Multiplication, division, and fractions are the building blocks for many life skills that students will learn in later grades, such as percentages. Students also need to master these topics to be ready for algebra and advanced math, so it is essential to get a good start with these topics in 3rd grade.

A Sample of What Your Child Will Be Working on in 3rd Grade

Multiplying and dividing up to 10 × 10 quickly and accurately, including knowing the times tables from memory

Solving word problems using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division

Beginning to multiply numbers with more than one digit (e.g., multiplying 9 × 80)

Understanding fractions and relating them to the familiar system of whole numbers (e.g., recognizing that 3 ⁄1 and 3 are the same number)

Measuring and estimating weights and liquid volumes, and solving word problems involving these quantities

Reasoning about shapes (e.g., all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares)

Finding areas of shapes, and relating area to multiplication (e.g., why is the number of square feet for a 9-foot by 7-foot room given by the product 9 × 7?)

Help Your Child Learn at Home

English Language Arts & Literacy

Make reading for fun a part of your child's daily routine. Set aside quiet time, with no phones, computers, or other distractions, when your child can read for pleasure, books such as Amos & Boris by William Steig or The Fire Cat by Esther Averill. To find more books for your child to read, visit www.corestandards.org/assets/Appendix_B.pdf.

Encourage your child to find a picture from a newspaper or magazine, cut it out, paste it on paper, and write a story about it.

Start a family vocabulary box or jar. Have everyone write down new words they discover, add them to the box, and use the words in conversation.

Mathematics

Look for "word problems" in real life. Some 3rd grade examples might include:

Notice those everyday occasions when you find yourself using your times tables - such as to determine how many days there are in four weeks. Ask your child for the answer.

Involve your child when you notice yourself using division to "work backward" in the times tables - such as determining how many candies each child will get if 36 candies are shared equally among nine children at a party, or determining how many six-inch lengths can be cut from a string 18 inches long.

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Third grade is a pivotal year for your child. Learning to read with fluency and confidence will serve as a foundation for the reading demands in later grades. By practicing with learning-to-read strategies, your child will reliably be able to make sense of multisyllable words in books.

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Designed for the elementary school classroom, these fun online language arts games help kids master literacy skills including letter recognition, reading, spelling, learning the alphabet, and writing.

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Language Arts Games | Spelling & Reading Comprehension | Toy Theater

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Designed with the elementary school classroom in mind, these fun language arts activities are trusted by teachers to help kids learn the alphabet, spelling, reading, & writing. Activities include word finds, word searches, doodles, word scrambles, original & classic stories & more! Free to play, priceless for learning.

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Designed for the elementary school classroom, these fun online language arts games help kids master literacy skills including letter recognition, reading, spelling, learning the alphabet, and writing.

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Language Arts Games | Spelling & Reading Comprehension | Toy Theater

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Designed with the elementary school classroom in mind, these fun language arts activities are trusted by teachers to help kids learn the alphabet, spelling, reading, & writing. Activities include word finds, word searches, doodles, word scrambles, original & classic stories & more! Free to play, priceless for learning.

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At First 5 Orange County, we believe that all young children deserve to reach their full potential. But sometimes we all need a little help, and that's where First 5 Orange County can point you in the right direction.

Whether it's concerns about a child's health, development and mental well-being, or finding child care, early learning activities and food assistance, here are some resources to help families and children.

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Parent Resources - First 5 Orange County

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At First 5 Orange County, we believe that all young children deserve to reach their full potential. But sometimes we all need a little help, and that's where First 5 Orange County can point you in the right direction.

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Family Guide: Tips & Strategies | Scholastic

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Explore the Scholastic Family Guide for strategies & reading tips for families to improve children’s reading attitudes & behaviors.

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Free 4th Grade Math and Reading Activities | eSpark

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Browse and search eSpark’s library of online Math and Reading games, videos, songs, stories, and texts for 4th Grade.

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Free 5th Grade Math and Reading Activities | eSpark

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Browse and search eSpark’s library of online Math and Reading games, videos, songs, stories, and texts for 5th Grade.

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Free Kindergarten Math and Reading Activities | eSpark

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Browse and search eSpark’s library of online Math and Reading games, videos, songs, stories, and texts for Kindergarten.

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Free 1st Grade Math and Reading Activities | eSpark

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Browse and search eSpark’s library of online Math and Reading games, videos, songs, stories, and texts for 1st Grade.

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Free 2nd Grade Math and Reading Activities | eSpark

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Browse and search eSpark’s library of online Math and Reading games, videos, songs, stories, and texts for 2nd Grade.

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Common Sense Media: Age-Based Media Reviews for Families

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Common Sense Media is the leading source of entertainment and technology recommendations for families. Parents trust our expert reviews and objective advice.

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Quizzes, trivia, puzzles and games for kids in Grade 5. Topics range from Math to Books to Science, Geography and more!

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Learn touch typing online using TypingClub's free typing courses. It includes 650 typing games, typing tests and videos.

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Learn touch typing online using TypingClub's free typing courses. It includes 650 typing games, typing tests and videos.

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Learn touch typing online using TypingClub's free typing courses. It includes 650 typing games, typing tests and videos.

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Virtual field trips are a great way to expose kids to new places all from the comfort of home. In this age of technology, so many museums, zoos and aquariums have set up virtual tours and webcams of their facilities. Now more than ever, is it easier to visit destinations around the world from the comfort of your couch.

The last couple of years has shown us how much we take being able to visit places for granted. Even something as ordinary as a school field trip became rare. So, we came up with a list of places you could visit using technology for those times when you can't be there in person. Virtual field trips are a fun and educational way to visit places virtually and and "travel" without leaving home or school.

I've rounded up 20 virtual field trips that you can take with your kids. There are also lesson ideas, activities and book suggestions to extend the learning for each type of destination.

Art Museums

Visit some of the best art galleries in the world virtually. From Paris to New York to Amsterdam, kids can see priceless works of art from the world's most famous artists.

Activities and Resources

Choose a favorite painting or sculpture and create a copycat piece of art.

Research an artist. This is a great book about some amazing artists kids should know about https://amzn.to/38QWQGf (affiliate link).

Choose a piece of art to focus on. Describe it, tell why you chose it and how it makes you feel.

Choose 2 works of art to compare.

Zoos

Zoo webcams have allowed visitors to drop in on the habitats of some of the zoo's favorite animal exhibits. Here are some highlights. Want more? Here is our complete list of virtual zoo field trips.

Activities and Resources

Aquariums

Just like with zoos, aquariums have used webcams to let you visit their exhibits virtually. In addition, some aquariums have set up virtual tours led by their staff to give visitors a more in depth look at their facility.

Activities and Resources

Travel the World

In this day and age, it is easier than ever to travel the world without leaving home.

Activities and Resources

Plan a trip to a new destination. What would you do, see, eat?

Make a travel brochure for the destination you visited.

Write a postcard from that destination. Include details about the place and what you can see there.

More Stuff to Do at Home:

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20 Virtual Field Trips to Take with Your Kids - Adventures in Familyhood

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Explore zoos, aquariums, museums and destinations around the world without leaving home. Here are 20 virtual field trips you can take with your kids.

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ABCya! • Fourth Grade Learning Games, Ages 9 - 10

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Kids LOVE our free online games! Hunt for jewels, fly to space, and explore while practicing times tables, verb tenses, and more 4th grade skills. Play now!

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ABCya! * Kindergarten Learning Games, Ages 5 - 6

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Kids LOVE our free online games! Race cars, meet cuddly penguins, and explore while practicing counting, sight words, and more kindergarten skills. Play now!

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ABCya! * Preschool Learning Games, Ages 3 - 4

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Kids LOVE our free online games! Navigate mazes, befriend unicorns, and explore while practicing numbers, letters, and more preschool skills. Play now!

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ABCya! * First Grade Learning Games, Ages 6 - 7

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Kids LOVE our free online games! Fly dragons, build dream houses, and explore while practicing addition, reading, and more 1st grade skills. Play now!

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ABCya! * Second Grade Learning Games, Ages 7 - 8

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Kids LOVE our free online games! Launch rockets, rescue cute critters, and explore while practicing subtraction, spelling, and more 2nd grade skills. Play now!

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Here are activities and online resources to support your child's learning at home.

Now more than ever, parents are looking for ways to keep their children safe, entertained, and learning at home as we continue to shelter in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. With all the resources shared with families, it can be challenging to figure out which ones are best for your child.

Of course, talking, reading, and singing together are still easy, free activities always available for you to do with your child - but coming up with new ways to engage in these activities can be a challenge when you're home all day with your child while balancing work or other obligations.

We've compiled some fun learning resources that are ideal for children 0 to 5 years old. Be sure to also visit our Activity Center for more age-appropriate ideas for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers.

Scavenger Hunt - have your child find things around your home that are certain colors, shapes, sizes, and descriptions. For example, ask your child to find something round in your house. When your child finds it and brings it to you, talk to your child about what they found, where they found it, and all the ways to describe it.

To make this a bit more challenging for older children, make your child find something with two characteristics. For example, ask your child to find something red and long.

Trying to work from home right now? Write out a list of the things you want your child to find (use markers to specify colors, draw the shape, write the word, etc.), then have your child put the things he finds on the list. When he is done finding all the things on the list, then you can talk to your child about all the things he found.

Hide and Seek with Toys - children love finding hidden things. Hide toys or other objects around the house and have your child find them.

Trying to work from home right now? Draw out a list of the things you hid and have your child put the things she finds on the list. When she is done finding all the things on the list, then you can talk to your child about all the things she found.

To make this a bit more challenging for older children, tell your child how many things you hid and have your child keep count as she looks for all the hidden things. Encourage your child to keep looking by referring to the number of hidden objects. For example, "You found four toys and I hid five, so you have one more to find!"

Obstacle Courses - get your child's body moving by creating an obstacle course in your home (make sure to keep it safe!). Your child can jump over a pillow, walk along a line in the floor, and circle around a chair. Learn more here.

To make this a bit more challenging for older children, time your child to see how fast he can do the obstacle course and encourage him to speed up each time he does it. Children love being fast!

Trying to work from home right now? Make sure the obstacle course is safe and doable for your child. Then, have your child do the obstacle course several times before coming back to you.

Sensory Activities - Children love getting their hands in things and feeling new textures. Water, sand, dirt, and bubbles are all great sensory textures for kids. In a safe, contained area (sink, plastic box, or bucket), place a few small toys in water, sand, dirt, or bubbles. Give your child a big spoon and a small bowl to scoop the small toys and move around the sensory material. Funnels and slotted spoons are fun ways to watch the sensory material fall and move in a different way too. Learn more about sensory activities here.

To make this a bit more challenging for older children, have your child put the toys in certain containers and sort them by color, shape, and/or size.

Online Movement and Interactive Activities

Go Noodle has lots of free videos that are fun and silly that will get your child moving. Teachers often use these videos in their classrooms, so your preschooler may already know the character

Cosmic Kids has free videos designed for children. The videos have different activities including yoga, relaxation, mindfulness, dance, and stories.

Highlights Kids offers educational games, podcasts, and activities for children. From interactive hidden picture games to puzzles and science lessons, this kid-friendly website has a lot for you and your child to explore.

Noggin offers educational content that is aligned with the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework. The app, which is currently available for First 5 California families at no charge for 90 days, allows you to choose from hundreds of developmentally appropriate books, games, songs, and other engaging content for preschoolers led by characters kids know and love.

Khan Academy Kids is an educational app that leads your child through a variety of interactive, learning activities specifically designed for your child's age. The characters guide your child through the activities by giving instructions and reading words. In addition to the activities chosen for your child, there is a library of additional activities including read-aloud books, letter and number videos, and problem-solving games. For children 3 to 5 years old, the app is kid-friendly so you child can navigate it on her own.

Scholastic Learn at Home has daily activities for preschool and kindergarten children. The daily activities are themed and packed with activities that range from movement exercises to online books with questions.

PBS Kids offers a variety of age-specific activities including crafts and experiments, coloring pages, and more. You can select specific areas to focus on, like social skills, math, science, and literacy.

Cbeebies is an educational website designed for children 0 to 6 years old. Activities include coloring, educational games, and outdoor activities.

Virtual Field Trips are a great way for you and your child to "get out" while still being at home. You can pick where you want to go - from zoos and aquariums to volcanos and national parks. With live-stream videos to educational videos about the locations, you and your child will learn about places you may have never been.

DREME (Development and Research in Early Math Education) seeks to help families with young children by offering free, research-based early math resources. Check out DREME's at-home early math learning kit, filled with ideas for supporting young children's math skills during coronavirus and beyond.

For Spanish-language resources, click here.

For more age-specific activities, be sure to visit our Activity Center. And, for even more tips and ideas, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

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At-Home Learning: Activities & Online Resources | First 5 California

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Here are activities and online resources to support your child's learning at home. Now more than ever, parents are looking for ways to keep their children safe, entertained, and learning at home as we continue to shelter in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.