Try out this website for math games that use virtual manipulatives: http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/grade_g_2.html or http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html

Other cool sites are: http://www.gamequarium.com/math.htm or http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivitySearch.aspx

Other things you can play or do to keep those math skills sharp:

Play card games, or board games (i.e. Chess, Sequence, Cranium, Sudoku), practice filling out Sudoku puzzles in the newspaper or online, or pick up a book of puzzles at the store.

Buy or make flash cards for addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and simplifying fractions.

Have your student make and keep a budget for the summer using his/her allowance.

Science-

Visit a museum:

• Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts
• The Franklin Institute (Philadelphia)
• The Science Museum (Baltimore)
• The Smithsonian (Washington, D.C.)
• Carnegie Science Center (Pittsburgh)
• Children's Museum of Pittsburgh
• The State Museum (Harrisburg)

Visit a garden:

• Hershey Gardens (Hershey)
• Longwood Gardens (Philadelphia Area)

Visit a zoo or aquarium:

• The National Zoo (Washington, D.C.)
• ZooAmerica (Hershey)
• Lake Tobias (Harrisburg Area)
• Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium (Pittsburgh)
• The National Aquarium (Baltimore)

Participate in children's activities at local libraries or garden centers (Ashcombe's has regularly planned activities for children).

When you plan your vacation, look for activities geared for children and learning.

Have your student keep a journal of observations that s/he can make when traveling. Let them focus on a topic that interests them (i.e. If they like birds, have them describe and try to identify any birds that they observe.)

Reading and ILA:

Mrs. Fahnestock's and Mrs. Earnest's book picks for the summer:

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
• Continue reading the Chronicles of Narnia Series by C.S. Lewis

- Ask a librarian about (or check the Internet for) some of the Newbery Award/Newbery Honor winning books.

Also participate in the Summer Reading Challenge. Look for details in the Patriot News or your local library.

Revive the art of writing letters - write letters to your friends and tell them about what is going on in your life (Or how about writing to your teachers? We'll write back!)

Religion:

Review your prayers and remember to go to weekly Mass and the Mass on August 15^th for the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a holy day of obligation.

Most parishes offer the Sacrament of Penance on Saturdays. Check your weekly bulletin to be sure of the time.

Try to say the rosary a few times during your summer vacation and offer it up for someone in need: the sick, the poor, the souls in Purgatory, world peace.

Social Studies:

There are lots of things you can find online that deal with topics we studied this year. Try finding some of your own and let me know what you like.

Here are some websites you can try this summer:

www.harcourtschool.com (then click on "The Learning Site")

www.historychannel.com

http://bensguide.gpo.gov

http://www.besthistorysites.net/

http://www.civilwarinteractive.com/

http://americanhistory.si.edu/

http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/cwarhp.html

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/

http://www.kids.gov/

There are lots of fun (and educational) places to visit over the summer. Many of them are related to topics we've studied throughout the year.

Day trips:

National Civil War Museum (Harrisburg)

State Museum of PA (Harrisburg)

Gettysburg National Military Park/Battlefield

Antietam Battlefield (MD)

Valley Forge Military Park/Battlefield

Independence Hall (Philadelphia)

Fort McHenry (Baltimore)

Smithsonian Institute/Natural History Museum/ White House/ Capitol/ Supreme Court Building (Washington, D.C.)

Trips a little bit further away:

Jamestown, VA

Yorktown, VA

Williamsburg, VA

Civil War battlefields in MD, VA, etc.