Starfall Educational Website

One of the most wonderful things about technology is the way it can be used to supplement your child's education. As parents, we're always ready (and sometimes desperate) to hear about different methods to help our child learn and be more academically successful. Starfall.com is a great supplemental tool for early childhood educators in the home or classroom, and can appeal to all different learning styles.

Starfall.com is an educational website that provides interactive content to help your child with the fundamentals of learning: reading, basic math, shapes, and phonics. The site is broken up into four main sections--ABC's, Learn to Read, It's Fun to Read, and I'm Reading--with each addressing different stages of learning development. Starfall.com is a powerful tool that provides hours and hours of engaging educational content for pre-school and grade school kids. It uses animation and sound to engage children in the learning process. (And they're learning about technology and the web in the process, which is an added bonus.)

Starfall.com is used by early childhood educators, in various settings, either as a key component or a supplement to their classroom learning. It can also be used in Special Education and English Language Development programs. It's frequently used by parents who want an after school educational alternative to a video game, or the TV. Anyone interested in helping young kids engage in learning can benefit from using

There are so many things that are great about this website!

Made by Professional Educators - These folks are top-notch, and they understand the learning styles and needs of young kids. You can trust that the content meets the highest standards, and that your child is going to learn in a safe and interactive way.

Easy to Navigate - It's so easy that even my preschooler can move through the sections without getting stumped.

Fun and Interactive for Kids - The sound and animation are so engaging for young eyes and ears, they can get caught up in the fun and forget they're learning.

Plenty of High-Quality Content - Even if you're just on the free "classic" section, there is plenty of engaging content on Starfall.com to keep your child busy for weeks. So,your child won't get bored with it after only a few visits.

In general, with Starfall.com, you get what you get. What I mean is, sometimes I find myself wanting the lessons to increase in difficulty as my child conquers one section, but they don't. Within the four blocks, there is variety, but no gradual increase in difficulty to match how your child's learning has progressed. Also, the content doesn't go much past second grade level, so if you're educating beyond that, you'll have to look elsewhere. In addition, like any good tool, there's a price to pay if you want to go deeper. To get into the "More Starfall" content, you have to pay for a license, which starts at $35 per year for basic home use. Finally, the iPad and iPhone apps are limited to only replicate certain sections of the website, so being detached from a laptop or desktop is not a great option.

Starfall.com is a rich resource for parents and educators of young kids. It can add depth to any early childhood curriculum. I highly recommend the site because of its engaging format and top-notch content.

All logos and screenshots used courtesy of Starfall.com