Free Computer Games For Kids Article

Lemonade Larry

/lemon

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Spell 'n' Surf

.com/gamegoo

Surf's up at this fun site, whose online game Fearless Frieda: The Big Kahuna challenges primary kids to spell sight words in order to catch the next big wave. Who knows? Maybe someday you'll have a big kahuna at the National Spelling Bee Finals (June 1-2).

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Sun Safety Quiz

.org

Kids can get "Sun-Certified" and print out a colorful diploma after completing the online quiz at this site. Have students click on "Kids" to access the quiz, which covers everything from SPF to cloudy days.

Math Baseball

.com/math/

Young stars can go to bat at this simple, multilevel site inspired by our national pastime. Whether your kids are celebrating Little League Baseball Week (June 13-19) or just warming up on math facts, choose between addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, and play ball!

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Watermelon Wisdom

.org

Who knew there was so much learning in this red, juicy treat? Carve into a watermelon science quiz or soak in melon math facts before tackling the word puzzle and coloring pages. Don't miss the video showing how the summer snack is delivered to stores.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Sweet Tooth Trivia

.org/classroom/trivia

June is National Candy Month (as good an excuse as any to study the sweet stuff!). Middle- and upper-grade students can learn all about candy's history here.

Seashell Rounding

.com/piggybacks/#quiz

Mathematicians on holiday can practice rounding and estimating with this simple seashell-themed game from children's author Jan Brett.

O, Canada

.ca/Exhibitions/Trains/English

Although you might usually associate our neighbor to the north with winter, Canada Day (July 1) is a great time to learn more about that country's heritage. This site gives gumshoes the chance to solve mysteries while learning about Canada's railroad system.

Monster Beach Party

.org/sesamestreet/games/?contentld=110241

The "monsters" kinder-garteners can build out of simple geometric shapes are ready for summer fun at the beach! Don't forget to check out the other learning games on the Sesame Street site.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Patriotic Pair-Up

.com/holidays/july4/games/match_up/

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Little ones will love matching up the patriotic symbols in this simple memory game, from the Statue of Liberty to the White House.

Fourth-of-July Find

/holidays/puzzles/

Get intermediate students in a patriotic groove with this simple word search. Kids can look for four-syllable, vocab-building superstars such as revolution, independence, and patriotic as a perfect warm-up activity for a language arts lesson.

Potter Play

.com/

Let the countdown begin for our return to Hogwarts with the sixth Harry Potter book (due out July 16)! After fans have had their fill of .com, send them here to access dozens of literacy games.

Want More Web Sites?

.com/instructor

You'll find links to hundreds of sites, organized by the topics you teach!

RELATED ARTICLE: Freebies for the Fourth

Liberty!: The American Revolution

PBS's Road to Revolution game asks kids to imagine they are colonists outraged by the Stamp Act and other offenses. To win a DVD copy of the Liberty! miniseries, send a postcard by June 15 to Liberty! Giveaway, Instructor, . Box 713, New York, NY 10013. For other PBS teaching tools, visit .org/teachersource.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Hannah Trierweiler is assistant editor of Instructor.