Five Cool Online Reading Sites and Programs you Probably don't Know about yet - but should!

Pandemic got you and your kids down? Looking for ways to engage them in reading at home? We've got you covered! Check out these online reading sites for things to do with your kids.

The Spitfire Club. Founder Amanda Hazelwood has moved her girls book club online. Because the Spitfire Club knows that children become better readers when they are motivated to read, spitfire’s curriculum uses grade appropriate, high quality children's literature featuring female characters to interest young girls while "also offering a cast of characters as diverse as our society". 

Mo Willems at the Kennedy Center. Who doesn't love Mo Willems and his classic characters such as the Pigeon, Elephant & Piggy, and Trixie and her Knufflebunny. Check out this site for replays of Mo Wllems' pandemic lunch doodles, and his current project, focusing on highlighting people making an difference in their communities.

Starfall. This website has interactive books and activities to help children master the basics of phonics. They have added many other features as well, and it you have to buy a membership for all the features, but the basic phonics books, games, and activities are free. Yes, they *are* cheesy, but they will keep your emerging reader entertained.

Immersive Reader This is not really a reading website; it is a reading tool already built into many Microsoft Projects that I bet you didn't even know was there. Use this tool to highlight text, have it read aloud, or even translate text into different languages. It even breaks words into syllables and highlights different parts of speech.

Poetry4Kids. Who says poetry is boring? Former Children's Poet Laureate Kenn Nesbitt created this site with funny poems kids will love. There's also links to Kenn's podcast and a sign up to receive weekly Poetry4Kids emails.