Links

Links that may be useful Preschool Families:

Great Websites for Kids

KidGrid- safe-sites-only fast fun safe internet links for kids

Preschool

Count Us In  - games designed to help children understand basic number concepts. 

Giraffian Alphabet  - click on a letter at the top of the page and see it in capital and lower case. , includes pictures to help your child associate the letter with the word.

FisherPrice  - designed for infants, toddlers, or preschoolers activities to help them learn letters, numbers, colors and shapes – includes color pictures online and play a variety of fun games.

Letter TV   – click on a letter to hear the sound and see pictures. Upper and lower case letters. Coloring pages and songs.

Jazzles  - alphabet sing along songs for fun and learning.

Story Books

Children Storybooks Online  - is a wonderful place for young children to read or be read to. All books include colorful illustrations that are sure to keep your child interest.

Story Place   – a digital library where children can listen to interactive children stories, play on-line activities, print out take-home activities, reading list and more.

Coloring Pages

Printable Alphabet Coloring Pages  - print picture to color offline.

Ivy Coloring Page Search Engine   – specialty search engine that searches the web only for printable and online coloring pages. 

Doodle  - pick a color and draw a picture. Lets you post it online for others to see.

Songs and Nursery Rhymes

Rebus Rhymes  - preschoolers and kindergartners can enjoy reading along by recognizing the key words that are illustrated by pictures. Fantastic site for parents that are teaching their child to read.

Animal Sites

Animal Planet
Games and interactive features for kids at Animal Planet.

Dino Dictionary
Profiles of over 300 known Dinosaurs, fun games.

Kids Planet
Facts, games, a teacher’s section,information on saving endangered species. Fact sheets on over 50 species of Animals.

National Geographic Kids site
Great site for kids with games and information about animals and nature at National Geographic Kids.

National Wildlife Federation
Fun facts and games about wildlife and their environment on a kids level. Home of Ranger Rick.

A must see site for animal lovers of all ages. Kratts Creatures   – an educational site intended to make learning about animals a fun experience.

Crafts for Kids

Makestuff.com – offers easy projects and fun activities for kids of all ages. Also has a section for holiday crafts and cooking for kids. Requires a $1.00 per month membership.

Kids Domain – Crafts   – an index of craft projects submitted by parents, teachers, and kids.

Crayola Creativity Central   – lots of easy, kid-friendly crafts. Requires a free membership to access craft ideas.

Kids Kreate   – step-by-step projects for kids of all ages.

Learning

Little Explorer   – Finding the meaning to words have never been so much fun. Little explorer is an illustrated online dictionary intended for young children. Each word is illustrated and used in a meaningful example sentence.

Learning Planet   – Fun, interactive activities to help children learn math, languages, problem solving and grammar. Learning activities for Preschoolers to grade 6.

Sci4Kids   – a fun place for your child to learn science – includes information, fun projects and games.

Time Machine   – great learning site for kids that have an interest in coins, the Mint, and U.S. history.

AAAMath – illustrate and provide interactive arithmetic exercises and problems for children in Kindergarten to grade eight.

A Walk in the Woods   – take a walk in the woods – see nature and find out about the different types of trees and plants that live in them.

PC, Mac and Demo Downloads

Kids Domain   – offer a mixture of educational and fun shareware, freeware and demos for Kids. All software is recommended by families and teachers.

Games and Activities

PBS Kids – Selection of fun games for young children – include learning the alphabets, numbers, adventures games  and puzzles.

UpToTen   – Over 500 games and activities in a safe and fun learning environment plus links to other sites for kids.

Kaboose Kids Domain   – All kinds of online games for kids.. Some work with any browser, some use Java, Shockwave, Cocoa or Roadster. Everything from arcade games and puzzlers to multiplayer games. Child Safe Site.

Great Websites for Parents

The websites listed below are great resources to use whether you are a parent looking for after school activities, looking for lesson ideas or for fun, educational sites.

Brain Connection

www.brainconnection.positscience.com

This site contains cutting-edge information on brain development as it pertains to child development, early reading, education, and thinking and problem solving from the embryonic stage through adulthood.

Child and Family WebGuide

www.cfw.tufts.edu

An essential directory to hundreds of sites containing child development research and practical advice on topics selected on the basis of parent recommendations, professional feedback, as well as support from noted child development experts.

Child Fun

www.childfun.com

Child Fun is a family website with many things of interest to adults and kids—craft ideas, coloring pages, newsletters, and forums.

Create-A- Reader

www.create-a-reader.com

Technology, online games, and exercises are combined to encourage the development of early literacy skills.

Early Reading First

www.ed.gov/programs/earlyreading/index.html

The overall purpose of Early Reading First is to prepare young children to enter kindergarten with the necessary language, cognitive, and early reading skills to prevent reading difficulties and ensure school success. The site contains features such as parent checklists, tips for parents, and a toolkit for Hispanic families.

Everything Preschool

www.everythingpreschool.com

This site really does have everything—thematic units, lesson plans, alphabet ideas, coloring pages, message boards, and much more of interest to educators, caregivers, and parents.

Great Ready to Read

www.getreadytoread.org

A web site that provides parents, educators, health-care professionals, and all advocates for children with information to build early literacy skills by integrating emergent literacy screening and learning activities into routine early childhood education, child care, and parenting practices.

Kids in Danger

www.kidsindanger.com

This is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting children by improving children’s product safety. Links to product recalls and hazards are included.

PBS Parents

www.pbs.org/parents/issuesadvice

PBS, the world’s leading authority in children’s television programming, presents a site dedicated to parenting. Parent guides to children’s media, early math, and raising boys are just a few of the ones available online. Click on Fun and Games for a wealth of activities to do with your child.

Preschool Express

www.preschoolexpress.com

From Jean Warren, one of the best known publishers of children’s songs and activities, comes a website designed for parents, teachers, and grandparents of young children. It is an online activity newsletter of activities, games, music, rhymes, etc…

Preschool Rainbow

www.preschoolrainbow.org

Preschool Rainbow provides information and resources on preschool activities and lessons, as well as, parenting tips and products.

RIF-Reading is Fundamental

www.rif.org

RIF prepares and motivates children to read by delivering free books and literacy resources to those children and families who need them the most. Parents can click on topics such as motivating your child to read, choosing good books, reading aloud, activities and articles. Kids can find games, online books, and activity labs.