There’s a new virtual world for preschoolers and their parents to check out. Wiggletime.com, based on preschool favorite The Wiggles. Wiggletime.com is designed as a safe online environment for children to learn and play.

The website features interactive play for children, and helps you as a parent introduce your child to the Internet, without the risk of children communicating with strangers. The new website is also completely free of advertisements.
The Wiggles are big on getting children up and moving, so Wiggletime has  a “take a break” feature that encourages children to get up an wiggle every twenty minutes.

“We wanted to take …read more

PBS Kids Play is a new online learning software tool for children ages 3 to 6. The PBS Kids Play games are designed to help kids prepare for school with skill-based activities that align with national educational standards. The software works on both Windows and Mac.  Children learn with the help of their favorite educational PBS shows like Curious George and Super WHY!
The games have can be adapted to your child’s skill level, then grow more challenging as your child learns, a personalized chart shows your child their learning progress with the games.
The PBS Kids Play Software includes:

Three …read more

I remember Mr. Rogers, and visiting his neighborhood when I was a kid. PBS Kids has just launched a new Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood at PBSKids.org, it’s a new neighborhood for Mr. Rogers’ fans of all ages. The website is loaded with activities, videos and fun geared toward preschoolers and their parents.
In addition to the new website 26 of the favorite Mr. Rogers’ episodes of all time will be part of the national PBS Kids Saturday morning broadcast lineup beginning on September 12. Check your local listings for the time in your area. The show will also be available to …read more

I’m a Rubik’s cube fan from way back. It’s another favorite toy from my childhood. I used to have it down so I could solve it in a few minutes. Not too long ago my nephew challenged me to a contest to see who could solve it quicker. He won hands down. I’m not nearly as quick as I used to be.
Now there’s a new program that uses the Rubik’s Cube to increase children’s self-esteem. The program is called You CAN Do The Rubik’s Cube®!

The You CAN Do the Rubik’s Cube! Program helps 8-to-18 year-olds unlock the secret of solving …read more

I remember hearing Smokey Bear when I was growing up reminding everyone, “Only you can prevent wildfires.” Smokey Bear has been reminding Americans about wildfires since August of 1944. Smokey’s still out there 65 years later reminding a new generation how to prevent wildfires.

His message has made a big difference, from about 22 million acres burned in forest fires in 1944, to an average of 7 million today. Smokey Bear still works to get his message out. Many Americans believe lightning starts most wildfires. On average, 9 out of 10 wildfires across the nation are caused by people. Most are …read more

Operation Planet Savers is an Earth friendly game that challenges kids to mental and physical missions tied to the new Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ G-Force 3D movie, coming to theaters on July 24th.
As an OPS Player kids complete weekly training missions that require real-world activity. The missions train the young game-players to become G-Force agents. Players can earn virtual prizes, like new G-Force holograms – unique to Humana and Disney – and sneak peeks at G-Force movie clips.

Operation Planet Savers players also compete each week for prizes like an iPod nano and the grand prize – walking …read more

Souptoys is a collection of over 100 virtual toys for your PC, your child can create a playroom right on your desktop, and all the games are free. The virtual toy box was created with children in mind, so there’s no reading, other than in the tutorial to get started.

Kids can go online and upload their ‘playset’ creations to the website from their desktop toy box to play with others in the sandbox. They can also comment on the playsets of other players.
Souptoys has over 20,000 “kid created playsets” uploaded on the site.

Souptoys is built on the real-world nature of the toys, …read more

I have a couple favorite learning websites for kids, and Starfall is at the top of the list. It’s a great website for preschoolers through first or second grade, depending on the level of the child.
Starfall starts at step one, teaching children the alphabet, and goes through helping children read easy stories on their own.

If your child is ending the year a little behind where they should be in reading, or you just  want to give them a little extra practice over the summer (while they’re having fun), check out Starfall.
Shhhh! Don’t tell your kids they’re learning, let them think …read more

Back in February I told you all about a doodle contest Google was having, where your child could create the next Google logo. Over 28,000 children drew doodles for Google’s home page, that’s a bunch of doodling!

Now you can vote for your favorite Google doodle from the regional finalists, and there are some amazing doodles to choose from! The doodles are broken down by age (grade) groups, so you can pick the age group you want to check out.
I was lost in there for quite a while checking out all the kids great doodle ideas. I wish I had some …read more

PBS KIDS® and PBS KIDS GO!(sm) have Earth friendly episodes of Curious George, Arthur, Cyberchase, and more lined up for Earth Day on April 22nd. They’ll be celebrating their fourth annual “PBS KIDS Share the Earth Day” and a new Web-based Earth Day Channel on pbskidsgo.org.

The celebration will also include favorites from Super Why!, and Sid The Science Kid.
From Leslie Rotenberg, SVM, Children’s Media at PBS:
“As the future leaders of our world, children need to understand the importance of cultivating a healthy environment for themselves and generations to come,” said Lesli Rotenberg, SVP, Children’s Media, PBS. “With our online, …read more