November Website Review: FamilyEducation.com

“We empower learners of all ages to reach their full potential.”

I love this site. I stumbled upon familyeducation.com looking for expert child rearing advice. Family Education has been around since September of 2000. The site was designed to help foster learning in the home and at school with specific content tailored to meet the needs of parents, teachers, and kids.

The Family Education Network’s Parent Channel: Family Education began in 1996. Here parents will find practical advice for parenting, school resources by age group and family activities. Get links to GreatSchools (a website that rates schools), advice from health and fitness to social and emotional issues and family resources. There is enough information to keep you busy for a month. The quizzes are fun and the article on ‘Family Temperament’ was very informative.

Family Education Network’s Teacher Channel:
TeacherVision is a popular site for teachers, featuring tools and resources for students in grades K-12. TeacherVision offers teachers a vast online library of lesson plans, printables, newsletters, quizzes, and printable books. The content is provided by educational associations and children’s publishers including the Council for Exceptional Children, Educators for Social Responsibility, Houghton Mifflin Company, the National Association for Music Education, Penguin Group, Pearson and Simon and Schuster. Each lesson plan is tailored to students ages 0-18 by subject, grade, and theme. There is an annual subscription fee of $39.95. That includes games, printables, complete lesson plans, puzzles, quizzes, graphic organizers, bulletin board ideas, worksheets, classroom management ideas, printable books, clip art images, Funbrain down loadable games (math, vocabulary and strategy games), and 30% off a subscription for MyGradeBook (an online gradebook that manages grades, assignments, and attendance).

Family Education Network’s Kids Channel:
After many unsuccessful attempts I am still unable to log on. I keep getting a notice telling me I need a flash something or other even though my computer is up to date. So according to Family Education the kids channel is the home to interactive educational games, projects, an instant homework help area, access to online references  and current event center. Everything a student needs.

FunBrain:
FunBrain is utilized by kids, teachers and parents. Teachers and parents can customize ready-made quizzes and track the progress of their class or individual student. There are more interactive games to play and a FunBlog for reading divided by age groups.