Great Websites for toddlers and young children

There are a lot of great websites out there that cater to young children, and while I am not so much a proponent of video games, I am a firm believer in providing kids with various ways of learning. My motto as a teacher was always--By whatever means necessary and/or possible. If they responded better to reviews for a test in the form of a game, so be it. Kids learn best when they don't realize they are learning--if they knew half of the stuff I did was educational they would have said: "Yo, Miss Nelson, this game is whack!" The truth is, if kids are falling asleep from boredom in my class, they can't learn. I take the same approach with my kids. I could let them sit around and watch videos and t.v. constantly, but that isn't really stimulating their brains or their bodies. So when I am asked: Do you let your sons, ages 3 and 5, go online to play games--I say: "Absolutely". Ryan has been on the computer with me since he was 2 and Mikey has been right there with him since he could sit up and peer over his shoulder. As a result, I find that both of them have excellent fine motor skills, can read (and have been reading) simple words, have letter and number recognition down cold, can draw conclusions, make predictions, and just about any other skill that is expected of 6 year olds in kindergarten. That's not to say I leave them sitting on the computer unattended, I always sit down and help them explore the sites. Once they get the hang of navigating them and understand how to play the games, I can safely go about doing the laundry and straightening up. Here is a list of Ryan and Michael's favorite sites. Don't worry parents these sites offer fabulous educational games that your kids will love and that you can trust them to be on without worrying that they will see something inappropriate. Should they be on the computer for hours at a time? No, of course not, but when mommy has to do dishes or just have a moment where the kids aren't treating her body like a jungle gym, these sites offer mom and dad peace of mind and kids the tools they need in school. All of these sites are approved by the American Library Association and appear on theirL GREAT WEBSITES FOR KIDS list. Check out their list on their home page.

Feel free to add some of your favorite sites too. Happy learning!

While you are checking out the websites, also checkout the deals on my ebay capsule found under the comments window, they have some great educational games at seriously low bids right now!--CherylAnne