Homework Help Online
by Angela Chastain

Now that school’s in full swing, my children have daily homework assignments. When my eldest son was in 5th grade, I realized I wasn’t quite as smart as a fifth grader. Even though I have a master’s degree, fifth grade math proved to be a challenge for me. Odds are that you or your child may need help with homework too! I’ve found the following websites to be great resources for homework help and suitable for all age levels. But I strongly recommend you preview or sit with your children if they visit these sites as content may change.

http://www.answers.com Type your homework question or phrase into the box and the answer appears.

http://bbc.co.uk/languages A great resource if your child is taking a foreign language.

http://bookadventure.com An excellent resource if your child participates in the Accelerated Reader reading program. If not, it’s a fun tool for helping kids understand what they’ve read.

http://factmonster.com This site is like a mini-encyclopedia with facts about all subject areas for a variety of grade levels.

http://homeeducationresources.com/FREEphonread.htm Printable phonics and reading worksheets.

http://homeeducationresources.com/FREEhandwriting.htm Free printable handwriting practice pages for both print and cursive.

http://kidinfo.com/SchoolSubjects.html If you can’t find it here, it probably doesn’t exist on the Web. Provides links to every conceivable subject area.

http://math.com Offers assistance with everything from basic math to calculus.

http://mathfactcafe.com/ Touts itself at the “Fact Sheet Factory.”

http://refdesk.com/homework.html A wealth of info for all grade levels and subject areas.

http://school.discovery.com/homeworkhelp/ This site is for basic math: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Videos and tutorials explain operations.

http://sitesforparents.com/ A gold mine with links to sites for all curriculum areas. Download worksheets, create flashcards or play educational games.

ABC’s of Internet Safety for Children

Awareness — Always be aware of what your child is doing on the computer. Parents should work with younger children on the computer or in very close proximity. For older children, being in the room will deter most curiosities, but let your child know you’ll be checking up on them.

Bookmark – Bookmarking your children’s favorite sites will keep them from searching and surfing and reduce the risk of them seeing inappropriate material. Install a filter on your computer, such as Covenant Eyes – accountability and filtering software to help your kids surf safely.

Caution – Let your child know what dangers lurk on the Internet and that they should never give out personal information.

Angela Chastain created Got Kids Newsletter, a monthly publication for families in Connecticut, where she lives with her husband and three sons.