Fun free online computer games

The classic summer kid biz takes a high-tech twist at this site! Your budding entrepreneurs are quizzed on basic multiplication facts as they determine what to charge their virtual customers.

Surf's up at this fun site, whose online game Fearless Frieda: The Big Kahuna challenges primary kids to spell sight words in order to catch the next big wave. Who knows? Maybe someday you'll have a big kahuna at the National Spelling Bee Finals

Kids can get "Sun-Certified" and print out a colorful diploma after completing the online quiz at this site. Have students click on "Kids" to access the quiz, which covers everything from SPF to cloudy days.

Young stars can go to bat at this simple, multilevel site inspired by our national pastime. Whether your kids are celebrating Little League Baseball Week (June 13-19) or just warming up on math facts, choose between addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, and play ball!

Who knew there was so much learning in this red, juicy treat? Carve into a watermelon science quiz or soak in melon math facts before tackling the word puzzle and coloring pages. Don't miss the video showing how the summer snack is delivered to stores.

June is National Candy Month (as good an excuse as any to study the sweet stuff!). Middle- and upper-grade students can learn all about candy's history here.

Mathematicians on holiday can practice rounding and estimating with this simple seashell-themed game from children's author Jan Brett.

Although you might usually associate our neighbor to the north with winter, Canada Day (July 1) is a great time to learn more about that country's heritage. This site gives gumshoes the chance to solve mysteries while learning about Canada's railroad system.

The "monsters" kinder-garteners can build out of simple geometric shapes are ready for summer fun at the beach! Don't forget to check out the other learning games on the Sesame Street site.

Little ones will love matching up the patriotic symbols in this simple memory game, from the Statue of Liberty to the White House.

Get intermediate students in a patriotic groove with this simple word search. Kids can look for four-syllable, vocab-building superstars such as revolution, independence, and patriotic as a perfect warm-up activity for a language arts lesson.

PBS's Road to Revolution game asks kids to imagine they are colonists outraged by the Stamp Act and other offenses. To win a DVD copy of the Liberty! miniseries, send a postcard by June 15 to Liberty! Giveaway, Instructor, P.O. Box 713, New York, NY 10013. For other PBS teaching tools, visit www.pbs.org/teachersource.