You want a great website?  One of the best for teaching and/or reinforcing reading and pre-reading skills is www.starfall.com!

Although designed with 1st graders in mind, pre-K, K, 1st & 2nd graders will all find plenty of skill-appropriate activities.  Younger readers can start with “ABC” pages that explore each letter and the sounds they make.  Kids beginning to read can easily gain confidence with “Learn to Read” pages.  The next-level-reader can enjoy “It’s Fun to Read” pages which include a book called “All About Me;” music by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and others; poetry; tongue twisters; and more.  Kids who are already reading can follow along with the “I’m Reading” pages, including plays, non-fiction, comics, folk tales, and others.   All the pages have kid-friendly animation and spoken-word help.

If you doubt me — and my 2nd-grade-teacher-friend who recommended the site — you should know that Starfall.com has won accolades from parents and educators alike.  In May of 2006 The Reading Teacher named Starfall.com one of “Five Internet sites too good to miss.”  Homeschool.com has twice ranked it as one of their top five educational sites.

Starfall.com is made possible by the Polis-Schutz family, who founded Blue Mountain Arts publishing company more than 35 years ago.  Father Dr. Stephen Schutz (now a PhD in phsyics who struggled with reading as a child), mother & poet Susan Polis Schutz, and their son Congressman Jared Schutz Polis (CO — yes, my home state!) share a passion for education and teaching which shines throughout this site.

One last thing I really like about Starfall.com: the “Parents” page.  Not only does it explain how to use the site, I LOVE that it urges parents to regularly sit with their child and explore Starfall.com together.  (So do we at KidDesktop…great minds think alike!)  But this paragraph absolutely iced the cake:

Turn off the television and the computer and read to your child. Establish a regular reading time every night. Have fun with the books you read, by giving the characters distinct voices, or acting out scenarios from the stories. Have conversations about what you read. Ask your child questions about the stories and encourage him to ask questions in return.

I urge you to explore Starfall.com on your own and with your child.  It’s a great addition to any child’s Activity Bar.  But even more than that, no matter how young or how old your child is, sit down and read with them.  Both of your “stars” will shine a little brighter as a result.