Word UP It’s WordGirl :: New Season Starts August 4th

Get ready to embark on electrifying, brand-new, word-fueled adventures when WordGirl, the Emmy Award-winning animated TV series from Scholastic Media, makes its Season 7 debut, Monday, August 4, on PBS KIDS (check local listings)!

WordGirl is one of our favorite PBS Kids shows! I really like that she teaches children about the meaning of words through her adventuring. Each episode we find WordGirl fighting off some evil doings with her sidekick Captain Huggy Face, while spotlighting a vocabulary word and using it in different situations to help children understand the meaning of the word and how it is used. Make sure to check out our interview the creator of WordGirl, Dorothea Gillim.

The new season begins with a week of five “brain-ier” than-ever episodes -each inviting kids to join WordGirl and her friends as they fight the “cheesy” tactics and dastardly tricks of local villain Dr. Two Brains, while learning new vocabulary words all along the way! To help keep kids’ minds in gear and their vocabularies growing all summer long – and to get them set for all-new word-driven hijinks – here are some tips inspired by WordGirl’s Word of the Month for August: CLEVER!

Vocabulary Games:

Find the word! – Turn reading into a fun game for your child! Host a reading-based scavenger hunt and ask them to find the nouns, adjectives, or rhyming words in a book. And, before embarking on your road trip this summer, give your kids a list of words and challenge them to check off each one as they spot it from the car window.

Solve the puzzle! – It’s important to keep your child’s mind working, especially during the summer months, and one super way to do it is by working on logic puzzles together. Purchase crossword puzzles and word search books, find free printable puzzles online – or even create your own!

Make it a reading challenge! – Reading is rewarding for kids of all ages. Create a log of the books your child reads this summer. During the school year and all year long, continue to track the titles your child completes. For each book they finish, reward them with a special sticker. Add to the challenge by asking them to pick out a word they don’t know from each book they read and look it up together in the dictionary. See how many books they can read – and new vocabulary they can learn – in just one week or month!

Spell it out! – Throwing a mini spelling bee into the mix is a great way to test your child’s spelling ability. Say a word and ask them to spell it out. Then, go around the home, the park or the supermarket asking them to spell each item you point out!