Best Online Games for Your Little Ones.

I am in awe of my four year old daughter’s capability to use the computer.  She started messing with it at age two, and now at four, she understands how to use the mouse with proficiency, how to scroll, minimize, close, and understands the links and icons.  I have saved some of her favorite sites on the favorites menu and although she does not read, she is able to go to her favorite sites by looking at the graphics.

Here are some of her favorite sites that I too suggest:

Games:

http://www.noggin.com/games/index.php

From the Noggin channel.  I particularly like this one because it has A LOT (from videos, to print out activities, to games).  Many games and videos also encourage your child to get up from the chair and exercise or dance. 

 http://www.agkidzone.com/games.action  *Updated: this link was previously not working. It works now.

This site is for those that love the two classic cartoons, The Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake.  They have been modernized on this site however, for your little one.  There are not as many games here as there are on Noggin, but the graphics are nice and bright and the games are fun.

http://pbskids.org/

This site is a great place to start if your child is only beginning to learn the basics of using the mouse.   Even the older kids (8-11) will find something to enjoy if you click on the pbskids Go link located on the right side of the page. 

http://www.qubo.com/games.asp

My daughter liked only some of the games on the site (particularly the Babar games), but I noticed that the fifth graders I worked with last semester really loved this site, so I imagine your older child will too.  I think some of the games might be a bit too difficult for the younger kids (under 5) but the over 6 crowd may enjoy them. 

http://atv.disney.go.com/playhouse/games/index.html

Of course, we couldn’t have a child’s list without including Disney.  There are loads of things to do on this site, your little ones will love seeing their most beloved characters (Mickey, Pooh, Tigger, Goofy) interact with them.

http://www.buildabear.com/buildabearville/#/playground/

Another of my daughter’s absolute favorites.  There are many simple games on here that she loves playing.  Like pbskids.org, this is a good place to start if your child needs practice with the mouse (click, drag-and-drop, scroll).

www.nickjr.com

This site, like Noggin or DisneyPlayhouse, also has a lot of things to look through, but I find it is not very user friendly.  It is organized more-so by shows rather than games, activities, or videos, but it is fine if your child likes to browse through his/her favorite cartoons.  

http://www.cogcon.com/gamegoo/gooey.html

This site is educational! YAY, we all love that.  It is probably best for a child aged 5 and over.  There are different levels of achievement (beginner, intermediate, and advanced), but even the beginner requires some level of letter/word  awareness.

http://www.bigcomfycouch.us/

Another site dedicated to teaching preschoolers.  There are not many games on here, but they are educational and fun so your little ones won’t mind the limited choices.  There are games on letters, shapes, and colors. 

http://www.uptoten.com/kids/uptoten-home.html

This site has loads of games with Boowa and Kwala. They are the cutest characters that your kids will fall in love with.  However, it is a bit difficult to navigate through SO much! This requires a bit of time to look through what is best for your child, but it is really a top notch site.  If you click the Search link you’ll be able to describe a game you may want for your child, or you can choose either a game or educational category and browse.  You can then choose the game that is best for your child’s age.  This site has games for all ages! !
Your first visit – Boowa and Kwala’s favorite games

Those are just a few of a long list of games.  I chose these because they are 1)fun, 2)user-friendly, 3)educational, and 4)FREE! . 

There really are so many wonderful things your child can do and learn with the wonderful computer.  However, remember to limit his/her use of the computer as dirt and sunshine are a necessary component to your child’s growth.  Please monitor your child’s use of the computer, and remember there are now loads of free software you can download to block unwanted websites.  I will draw you up a list of those necessary things to safeguard your children from on-line predators and inappropriate websites in a future blog.

Enjoy.