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. Among other things, this site has banner ads which are clickable and for really little kids, the ad content will be indistinguishable from the game content. Young kids will get a kick out of playing games, coloring printable pages, and singing along to music videos all featuring their favorite TV characters such as Dora, Oobi, and Franklin. Some of the games don't have any educational value, but most of them encourage counting, finding missing letters in an alphabet, sequencing, imagination, and creativity. Kids don't really need to know how to read to use this site, as mere mouseovers usually prompt a response that says aloud where a link will take you.
Families who visit this site can talk about their favorite characters. Who are your favorite characters? What are some of their qualities that you admire? What don't you admire about them? Do you think you would like playing the games as much if your favorite characters weren't featured? What if the star was someone you didn't recognize?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Jean Armour Polly and Heidi Kotansky
Noggin is a commercial-free TV network for preschoolers, developed by the same people responsible for Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. Its companion site includes information and activities on all the shows, including the biggies, Blue's Clues, Dora the Explorer, The Wonder Pets!. Kids need few reading skills to use this site, as mere mouseovers usually prompt a response that says aloud where a link will take you. When you get there, a character tells you what to do.
The featured shows have at least one game staring its characters. Come play Maisy's Blocks, Dora's Music Maker, and Franklin's Dancing Game, just to name a few. (There's also a link to Nick Jr.'s site with its slew of games -- and online store!) While some games involve early reading or counting activities, others are just for fun and involve activities that are better to do offline. For example, in Oobi's Bubbles kids drag a bubble wand next to Oobi's "mouth" so he can blow bubbles. This just teaches tots to click and drag. Wouldn't it be more fun to do this with real wands and soapy water?
Move to the Music is the music section where kids can watch happy videos from kid favorites, Lisa Loeb, Dan Zanes and Laurie Berkner. When you're done swaying and dancing to the beat, you can click on the Printables tab to an area that offers cool printouts of Noggin's characters to color.
For other educational preschool sites, check out SproutOnline.com or IKnowThat.com.
Reviewed: 06/15/2007
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Social BehaviorThe characters teach accpetance, teamwork, and creativity. |
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CommercialismSome banner ads and a link to Nick Jr. and its online store. |
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Educational ValueMany of the games are eductional and enhance reading, counting, and artistic skills. |
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