Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that although kids younger than 4 can probably use this site with some simple pointing and clicking, we don't recommend having kids online who are that young. The good news is that there's no advertising on the site to confuse young kids. Instead, kids get treated to simple games and fun information about favorite characters.
Families can talk about dressing for various seasons, have fun memorizing short lists, and learn facts about animals and insects.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Jean Armour Polly
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation offers this terrific site for preschoolers. Enter the "Let's Play" section and visit the toy room. Strewn about the floor are items that animate when clicked, such as a jack-in-the-box or a dump truck. The room has lots of magic, too, such as a window shade that changes the seasons outside each time it's pulled down. Sometimes when you visit the site, the toys are different, or they've been moved around the room. If your child is desperate to play with the mysterious exploding soccer ball, just keep reloading until it appears.
In the games drawer, try "Tractor Tom Paint" for an online coloring book with a difference. Each time you pick a color, a voice tells you what it is. Like painting but want something a little more challenging? Click "Art Machine" -- it's a robotic arm that's a combination spray painter and sticker applicator. You can select a picture to color yourself, watch the robotic arm's autocolor antics, or change to sticker mode and plaster the picture with colorful "adhesives." You can get new colors and new stickers by clicking one of the controls. When you finally click "Play," you'll see a surprise.
Use the Sitemap to jump around to other games, like "Nana's Helper," in which you help Nana find items for a "yummy" snack or tools to work on a doghouse. It starts with having to remember a short visual list and progresses to having to listen carefully.
"Lunar Jim Missions" is a driving game in which players steer their lunar vehicles around obstacles to gather little stalk-eyed creatures, moon melons, or crystals.
"Poko Pippety Pop" is a cute dot-to-dot drawing and dress-up game, while "Sticker Park Explorer" is a combination art and science experience. Select a part of the park, like the pond. Click on animated stickers to place in or near the pond, like a mallard duck or a water strider. Click on facts to learn more about each animal or insect. Audio instructions will help pre-readers navigate. The only problem with this one is that squeamish kids may never want to go near a real sandbox again after they fill the online one with virtual jumping spiders, earthworms, and stinkbugs!
Reviewed: 05/02/2006
Rate It!
| Content | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CS | adults | kids | ||
Sexual Content |
 |
|
||
Violence |
|
|
||
Language |
|
|
||
Message |
|
|
||
Social BehaviorThe site makes learning seem fun. |
 |
|
||
Commercialism |
 |
|
||
Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco |
|
|
||
Educational ValueLots of educational games that teach and reinforce many skills. |
|
|
||
