initial blog offering

My blog, “Kids Play Games,” will research online educational activities (games and quizzes) for elementary school children. Many computer games that are labeled “educational” have minimal educational content while those that have this content often do not engage children. Online activities are free and can be easily tested to see if they are educationally appropriate and match a child’s interests. Parents as well as teachers and friends (grandparents, tutors, child care providers) of elementary school aged children are my audience. They will be interested in finding activities of educational value and determining whether these activities suit the interests and capabilities of their children. Although I can’t always tell whether a child will enjoy an activity, I have good sense of whether materials are grade-appropriate and also can articulate what skills and knowledge they should have before attempting the games or quizzes. In addition, I am familiar with offline educational materials, such as math games, phonics programs, reference materials, book series, and even computer games for children. The questions that I would like to answer are: What are the most reliable sources of quality online educational activities? Can online activities really help children build and reinforce skills? What components of an online activity should a parent consider in determining its suitability?

Keywords will include: “games”; “quizzes”; “elementary school”; and curriculum areas such as “math,” “social studies,” “history,” “language arts.” I will also search the sites of book publishers, children’s television programming providers, and school districts.

Title: PBS Kids - Games
Web address: http://www.pbskids.org/games.html
Brief description: This website features games and activities associated with PBS Kids programs. Children will recognize characters from the television shows and the activities reflect programming content and themes.

Title: Internet 4 Classsrooms
Web address: http://www.internet4classrooms.com/
Brief description: This website is a portal for educational content. Audiences include teachers, parents, and students. Visitors can navigate according to curriculum content and read site descriptions of websites. There are links to games and activities but other resources are also available.

Title: Scholastic Games & Contests
Web address: http://www.scholastic.com/kids/games.htm
Brief description: This sub-section of this book publisher’s site has games with tie-ins to book series as well as other non-related activities. The “If you were President” activity provided a civics lesson with instruction in critical thinking and decision-making.

Title: Seussville Playground
Web address: http://www.seussville.com
Brief description: This Random House website has information about Dr. Seuss and a playground area with games that are suitable for non-readers. The site design is unconventional as you must enter via bandwidth settings and then navigate a pop-up area, which contains the playground.

Title: Funbrain.com
Web address: http://www.funbrain.com
Brief description: This site has quizzes on various subjects. The graphics are very average although the content is sound. My biggest concern is that these quizzes can be difficult.

Title: Sovereign Bank Presents KidsBank.com
Web address: http://www.kidsbank.com
Brief description: This site has information on banking and money using concepts and language understandable by children. I found it from a link on my children’s school website. Games are available but require registration.