Archive for the ‘kids learning games’ tag
Kids Learning Games – Sites You Can Be Confident to Let Your Kid Explore
Are you looking online for kids learning games? It can be quite the struggle and challenge to find quality kids sites that they can play on without wreaking havoc on your computer – and even a harder challenge to find those quality sites that actually teach your child something! Believe me, I know. I have 4 children and it’s just about enough to make me want to pull my hair out trying to figure out good places my kids can go online – so I can get a little peace and quiet while I make dinner. 😉
I’ve searched and searched for great sites online that have quality content and games for my children to play. I don’t just want them to play per-say, I want them to learn something while they’re doing it! (In case it’s not obvious, I 100% believe in multi-tasking and killing 2 birds with one stone.)
Below are the sites that I recommend for your child. They have great kids learning games and also I’ve found them to be pretty decent when it comes to ads and pop-ups and all the extra stuff that gets annoying. Of course we can’t get away from that entirely on the internet, but the below sites do a good job at sticking to topic.
Side note : Free websites have to make their money somewhere, so as long as you’re using a free games site, you’ll always have to deal with the ads. If you really don’t want them to show up, you’ll have to spend a little money for membership sites – a.k.a ad free sites.
The top recommended site – Free
Cool Math Games – My kids LOVE this site. They always get on it, and they have a blast! They have spent hours on it (don’t judge me – they’re learning, and at least they’re not watching t.v!) This site has quite a bit of ads, but it’s never been a problem for us. My kids’ school actually recommended it and they play on it at school. It’s a great site if you’re looking for free math games for your children.
2nd top recommended site – Not Free but very much worth it
The next site I recommend is Succeed in Math. Succeed in Math is a membership site and it really delivers what it advertises. It’s a software games site that takes your child’s progress and records it, but even better than that, it assess your child’s skills and builds a lesson plan around their needs. Pretty neat. They have monthly membership costs, but also they have the option of paying in other installments such as annual. The monthly cost is only about $9, so it’s a pretty good deal. Especially if your child struggles in math – the lesson plans really hone in on what your child needs. Children with dyscalculia can benefit from it so much.
Other great sites – Some free, some not
2 other sites that have been pretty good to my kids are Nick Jr and the Disney Channel. They are both obviously well known and established sites and your kids will like playing the games of the t.v characters they watch (my 5 year loves the Dino Dan games.) The only thing I’ve run into with both of these sites is that there really are a LOT of ads, and my kids have clicked on things that they shouldn’t and then I have to come to the computer to X out the box they opened, or whatever.
One other thing I should mention is that they are not completely game sites. It’s the entire site, and there are game tabs. There are also videos they can watch. It can get a little confusing for younger children who think they are going to play a game, and then all of the sudden a video pulls up instead. These 2 sites require a lot of adult supervision, so if you want a “set them and forget them” type deal, you may want to avoid them. They also tend to always want your child to enter your email address and sign up for things, but other than that, they’re alright.
Perfect for Kids – Mini-internet
One site I really like is the Bizzy City. It’s kind of a “mini internet” for children. It’s a membership site, but it has a ton of games, videos, social networking…and it’s completely safe for kids. There’s educational videos and games, and it’s actually a very cool place to let your kids have at it. It’s less than $5 a month, and to me, that’s worth the sanity I lose every time my kids are on the internet.
Always remember – the internet is a sea of information, but we still have to protect our children from it. We never know what lies beneath. Do your research before you let your child just go free in the crazy large world of this thing we call the internet.
Here you can read my review on the Succeed in Math site and get more information on math websites for kids.