You know your grandkids love to spend time on their “screens.” They already know how to play complicated games requiring great eye/hand coordination, they know how to create stories and comic books online, code and do lots of other things we grandparents can only imagine.
However much of the time spent on their screens is a dead-end in terms of learning. It’s definitely fun and challenging, but not truly educational. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could guide them to some engaging websites designed for children that really pack an educational “punch”?
Here are some great sites for kids. You’ll be amazed at some of the learning that can take place when your grandkids interact with these top-notch educational websites.
Art/Museum Websites
www.metmuseum.org (scroll down to #Metkids) is a great site for exploration of art pieces around the world. This interactive site allows kids to search the world via a time machine and see artifacts from time periods in a given location.
www.nga.gov/kids/ is the National Gallery of Art’s website for children. It provides an introduction to art and art history and offers many interactive art activities in which children can create their own art pieces in a variety of styles.
Math Websites
www.mathpickle.com is a unique site designed to introduce math problem solving skills to children. Adults can watch videos of children doing math problems and puzzles, then download the games that teach the skill and introduce the games to their children.
www.coolmath.com has games and activities for math skills from beginning numbers to pre-calculus. Very kid-friendly and fun. Great for practice in basic math skills such as multiplication tables.
Reading and Literature Websites
www.pbskids.org is an award-winning website for young children. Games, stories and activities are related to the PBS programs for children, but can be used without the input of the television shows. Great for reading skills.
www.starfall.com is a super site filled with early reading activities and games for pre-schoolers through second graders. It’s also easy to use with special students and those learning English as a second language. Very user friendly.
Science Websites
www.ExtremeScience.com is a site with information on a wide variety of science topics—all extreme. What is the tallest mountain in the world? The biggest fish? The largest carnivore? Read about extreme weather and study the coldest place on earth.
http://askdruniverse.com Dr. Universe is one smart cat! Children write to him with their science questions and then the fun begins. How are bones made? What is the smallest insect on earth? Click on the question and move into the world of science with all its wonder and mystery.
General Learning
www.sheppardsoftware.com is a great site with hundreds of games in every subject imagined from chemistry to nutrition to animal lore. Games are leveled in each subject area and offer games for all ages from pre-school to adult. The games are free of cost and ad-free.
www.Zoodles.com is a website specifically for younger children. It has free games in all subject areas including creative development and cognitive development. For a fee more games are available. Set to kid mode for safe play.
www.abcya.com is another site filled with games in a wide variety of subjects from math, to science, reading and much more. Games are leveled from pre-kindergarten up to fifth grade.
www.thekidzpage.com is filled with puzzles, color pages, games and information on many subjects. It’s great for holiday fun plus it has valuable information on subject matter such as animals, math and more.
www.cookie.com is a site filled with learning games for children. You’ll find math, reading, science, geography, writing and much more.
