Billy Bear's
Alphabet Games
Billy
Bear divides his alphabet games into four lessons. Lesson one is not really
a lesson at all. Its only purpose is to load graphics into cache to speed
up game play. Skip this and move right to lesson two, where your kindergartener
can choose pictures that start with each letter. Notice how you don't have
to click on the pictures? The answer is displayed as you move your mouse over
them. The remaining games (for slightly older kids) involve finding letters
on the keyboard.
Little
Explorers
What
a fun way to surf the Net! Each letter of Little Explorers' dictionary has
dozens of illustrated entries, most of them linked to external sites. Explore
Africa, acid rain, astronomy and more. As you roam onto the Net, the Little
Explorers' alphabet frame remains at the top of your screen, so you can return
at any time. The dictionary is also available in English/Spanish, English/French
and Japanese.
Sesame Street Print and Play
When
you're living on Sesame Street, B is for Bert and C is for Cookie Monster.
Each letter of this alphabet prose is linked to a black-and-white picture
to be printed and colored offline. Remember crayons?
Space ABC's
This
mixed grade K-2 class from Portland, Oregon is studying space and the nine
planets. As part of their study, they created Space ABC's. A is for asteroid
belt. B is for Alan B. Shepard. C is for comet. Each letter is illustrated
and many have audio recordings of the students reciting their entries. I overlooked
a few technical glitches, because, after all, these webmasters are less than
eight-years old. If I had to go back to kindergarten, I'd sure want to be
in Room 100 at Buckman Elementary School.
Surfing
for ABC's
Ms.
Payton's K-1 class from Loogootee, Indiana went surfing for ABC's, and found
airplanes, baseball and crocodiles. Use the back button on your browser to
return after each hyperlink. Kids under twelve are invited to submit their
own favorite sites, along with either a picture of themselves or a drawing
they've made on the computer. For teachers, Ms. Payton includes a lesson plan.
Africam
"Africam
welcomes you to the world's first virtual game reserve." This amazing
site is a treasure trove of thirteen cams located in five South African national
parks and game reserves. Choose from cams at watering holes, wild dog cams,
elephant cams, even mobile cams operated by park rangers. Have you ever dreamed
of going on a photo safari? Snap a picture of any of the cams (use the right-hand
button on your mouse and choose Save Image As) and email it to Africam for
possible selection as Picture of the Day. The competition is tough, however,
as they often receive 500 images a day. (GMT+2)
Animal
Planet
Although
not devoted exclusively to animal cams, Animal Planet (from Discovery Online)
has enough cams to be included in today's list. You'll find four cams listed
in a row near the top of the page — they range from an adoptable puppy in
the Miami Animal Shelter to sharks swimming in the Waikiki Aquarium. Don't
miss the twin baby gorillas from the Oklahoma Children's Zoo (look for the
link in the top right corner). Since the cams are geographically diverse,
each has its own optimal viewing time. (HT, PT, CT, ET)
National Zoo Webcams
From
the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., come nine animal cams and ZooTV with a schedule of live
Webcast events. To savor the entire virtual zoo experience, take in the daily
elephant foot care demo, the weekly Meet-a-Kiwi Webcam, or the naked mole-rat
habitat tour. Some of these live events include chat. The Cutest-and-Cuddliest
Award goes to the three Sumatran tiger cubs born on June 23.(ET)
Wild
Birds Unlimited Bird Feeder Cam
Here is an opportunity to bird watch at a feeder that is never empty and always
seems to have happy customers. (ET)
Arts
and Crafts
Remember the play dough recipe the preschool teacher gave you? When you've
got to have it, but can no longer find it, just log in to Arts and Crafts.
Here you'll find simple recipes for play dough, silly putty, salt clay and
finger paint. For more recipes (sidewalk chalk and 3 recipes classified as
Gooey Stuff) visit Fun
Crafts for Kids. I just couldn't choose between these two recipe sites,
so I had to include them both.
Michaels Kids Club Online
Sponsored by the craft store of the same name, Michaels Kids Club has
an extensive and varied list of crafts. Each project includes a detailed supplies
list (often using specialized items not usually found around the house on
rainy days) and illustrated directions. Patterns are available for printing
from your Internet browser, or can be picked up in the retail stores. Visit
the bimonthly Kids Club newsletter for a story with related crafts. This month's
edition features flying machines with a short history of human flight, a recipe
for Flying Taco Cheese Boys and instructions for party favors with a flying
theme.
Monterey
Bay Aquarium
Cutely called an E-Quarium, highlights of the Monterey Bay site are the Habitats
Path cybertour, the special features and At the CoRE (Conservation, Research
and Education). First stop on the Habitats Path is the live Kelp Cam, which
captures the changing sunlight streaming through the swaying kelp. The newest
feature Fishing for Solutions asks "Are people catching and eating more
than the ocean can produce?" This excellent exhibit takes a thoughtful
look at the problem and suggests three things YOU can do to help conserve
the ocean's bounty.
Photos
of Mystic Aquarium
Photographer Janice Recker has created a delightful photo gallery from
her recent trip to the Mystic Aquarium. If any of the pictures strike your
fancy (as I'm sure they will), a full-size digital copy, suitable for Windows
wallpaper, is free for the asking. Although this is not the official Mystic Aquarium
site, I'm sure you'll agree it is provides a better cybr experience.
Exploratorium Soap Bubbles
What
is so fascinating about bubbles? The precise spherical shape, the incredibly
fragile nature of the soap film, the beautiful colors that swirl and shimmer?
Or is it a combination of all these phenomena? Covering all aspects of the
physics of bubbles, this site explains all. What do beehives have in common
with bubble foam? Go to "Bubble Meets Bubble" to find out. I would
expect nothing less than this terrific site from the wonderful San Francisco
Exploratorium.
Professor
Bubbles' Bubblesphere
He's
traveled the world, entertaining audiences with his bubbles, and now Professor
Bubbles shares his secrets. I especially enjoyed his homemade bubble tools
and appreciated his simple bubble solution recipe. Be sure to read the Bubble
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions). Did you know you can tell a bubble is about
to pop when it becomes colorless? I was unable to play Bubble Tic Tac Toe
and found more than a few typos in the history of bubbles, keeping this site
from getting a perfect score.
Most bubbles pop instantly when you puncture them, but not super bubbles. With a funnel, string and super bubble solution, you can create a bubble that can be pierced with a pencil. Designed with instructions for classroom use, this site contains a couple of bubble experiments.
Learn2
Play Checkers
"A few minutes to learn, a lot longer to master." Learn2 is a great
introduction to checkers. In just three steps, the tutorial takes you from
setting up the board to "emerging victorious." Learn2 hosts hundreds
of other tutorials as well. From the checkers page, you'll find links to the
chess and poker tutorials. A complete listing of "2torial" topics
runs down the left-hand side of the page.
Let's
Play Checkers
This is your chance to play against Chinook, the award-winning checkers program
that defeated the masters. Chinook began in 1988 and quickly became a worthy
opponent for the world's best checker players. By 1992 it had defeated all
of the world's top human players, except Dr. Marion Tinsley, the world champion.
The story of Chinook and the battle between man and machine is fascinating.
You'll be pleased to know you can adjust Chinook's playing level to Novice,
Amateur or Intermediate.
Playsite
Play against human opponents at this Java game site with chat. Playsite includes
rooms for checkers, chess, backgammon, and more. You can play as a guest,
but registered users (registration is free) get a rating that increases or
decreases with play. After logging on, go to the Checkers room to find a match.
Remember, the games includes chat, so appropriate parent supervision is recommended.
My son really enjoyed the scrambled word game, Tangleword. It is fast, addictive,
and you compete against many players at once.
Thinks.com
Play checkers against the computer at this visually-appealing Java checkers
game by Cafesoft. You can set the level of difficulty by deciding how many
moves (from one to ten) the computer can think ahead. You can also choose
who plays first. Other Java games at this site include Connect4 and Blocks
(a version of Tetris).
The
Circus
Although
circus-like performances have existed in many cultures for thousands of years,
the history of the modern circus began in London in 1770 when Philip Ashley
used a circular performance ring for exhibiting trick riding and horsemanship
as a promotion for his horseback riding school. With the advent of a circular
stage, the horses could be seen from all angles, and would never gallop out
of sight. Even the size of his stage, forty-two feet in diameter, is now a
circus standard.
Big
Apple Circus
Founded twenty years ago by two jugglers, The Big Apple Circus is a non-profit
one-ring big-top tent circus. Their educational site is my pick of the day
because it is a treasure trove of delightful circus tidbits. Not to be missed
sections include the downloadable Study Guide in Adobe Acrobat format ("a
resource for students and teachers"), a history of the circus (titled
Classical Circus in the left-hand menu,) and two 360-degree Virtual Tours
(one of the big-top tent, the other of the stables.) And last, but not least,
take a look at the animated tent raising.
Cirque
du Soleil
Since their beginnings in the late eighties as a street festival in Quebec,
Circque du Soleil has performed for more than thirty million people. Currently,
their 575 performers are staging seven shows on four continents. Their animal-less
performances are a tantalizing mixture of dance, acrobatics, and music. Best
bets at their site (besides details on when and where they perform) are the
video previews of their seven shows which you'll find under In the Ring.
Ringling
Brothers and Barnum & Bailey
" Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, the online edition of The
Greatest Show on Earth!" Following the left-hand menu, you can start
your tour with Fun and Games, where you'll find Shockwave arcade games such
as Create a Clown and Morph a Clown, circus-themed e-postcards, and a Ringmaster's
Quiz. Other sections worth clicking are The Magnificent Menagerie (all about
the circus animals and their care,) History & Tradition (a history of
the RBBB circus), and an excellent section for teachers, homeschoolers and
troop leaders titled Circus Works.
Dinosaurs
Although
they certainly never went out of fashion, dinosaurs are enjoying a resurgence
in popularity because of the recent release of Disney's animated Dinosaur movie. If all the related dinosaur hoopla is spurring
a dino interest in your household, here are some educational sites to explore
together.
Bonus:
Dig These Dinosaurs
These twelve fun dino activities from Bonus.com are categorized into three
age groups. The easiest activities are coded with a beach ball for ages three
to six. Those for seven to elevens are marked with stars. And the most advanced
(for ages twelve to fifteen) are labeled with an owl icon. My three favorite
clicks are the Dinosaur Imposters ("It is your job to interrogate them
and weed out the ‘imposter-saurs.'"), Dino Science ("Test your knowledge
of dinosaur anatomy by matching the skeletons with their skulls.") and
Dino Puzzle ("Put together a dinosaur skeleton and make it come alive!")
Sue
at the Field Museum
Who is Sue? "Sue is the largest, most complete, and best preserved Tyrannosaurus
rex. She was discovered by fossil hunter Sue Hendrickson in 1990, in the badlands
of South Dakota." Following a long custody battle, Sue was sold at Sotheby's
auction house October 4, 1997. The Field Museum purchased Sue for nearly $8.4
million – the most money ever paid for a fossil. On May 17 of this year, the
museum revealed Sue. She stands thirteen feet high at her hips and is forty-two
feet long from head to tail.
Walking
with Dinosaurs
There are so many ways to explore this BBC site (my pick-of-the-day!) it's
hard to decide where to begin. I suggest clicking on Today's Choice to view
the Flash episode of the day. And, since fun is such an important part of
learning, don't miss the Games and Quizzes -- which is where you will find
the dinosaur Web cam (the only one of its kind on the WHOLE Internet.) For
a unique collection of dino jokes ("Why did the Apatosaurus devour the
factory? Because she was a plant eater") click on Dig Deeper, then You
Sent Us.
Wanted:
Albertosaurus
"Last seen alive 68 million years ago in an area now called Alberta
in Canada. Has powerful jaws and sharp teeth, but poses no immediate danger.
Evidence of an Albertosaurus mass burial found about 90 years ago, but exact
site not known. Information leading to its whereabouts requested by dino detective
Phillip Currie." Learn how real-life palaeontologist Currie tracked down
the missing burial site. Curie and his team have, so far, unearthed the remains
of twelve Albertosaurs, evidence that these carnivores probably lived in packs.
Easy
Online Games
What
do kids do with computers? Play, of course. And to encourage them, here is
a collection of my online games for
pre-readers. A few of these games require Shockwave,
others require a Java-capable
browser.
Billy Bear's Online Games
Billy
Bear has a large collection of games for preschoolers and early elementary
grades created with Java and JavaScript. This means you don't need to download
any plug-ins, but you do need a newish browser (at least Netscape 3.0 or Internet
Explorer 4.0). Be sure to have both Java and JavaScript enabled in your Netscape
preferences or Internet Explorer options. Some of these games are very cute.
Others are just ho-hum. My personal favorite is the addictive Billy Bear Solitaire:
the aim of the game is to delete as many bears as possible by jumping checkers-style.
Funschool.com
From preschool to sixth grade, Funschool.com is a cornucopia of grade-specific
activities. All are Java-based, so have the same browser requirements as Billy
Bear (see above). At the bottom of each activity screen are buttons to play
another scenario of the same game, to restart the current game, or return
to the grade-level game listings. Learning these will help you get around.
My favorite preschool game is Fishing for Numbers, where the player matches
numbers to sets of fish. For older kids, I like the geography game "Where
in the world?"
Gustown
Games
This gallery of eight games is just right for the preschool and kindergarten
set. You'll find two memory matching games (Ice Going and Haunted Memory Mansion),
three create-a-face games (Macaroni Art, Snow Man and Create-a-Creature),
and two music games (Milk Bottle and Rom's Rock Shop). And at last but not
least, match the animal to its paw print in "Whose Foot is It Anyway?"
Hop
Pop Town
These three ingenious neighborhoods are filled with musical sounds available
for the clicking. Similar to the popular Living Books series (which taught
our children to click on everything), each clicked object animates and plays
a sound. Sequences of sounds can be recorded and played back. For older kids
(or parents who take dictation), they also have writing pages based on material
from the musical games.
JumpStart
Kids Game Center
Based on characters from their line of educational CD-ROMS, this chock-full-of-fun
Java game center has activities for toddlers, preschoolers and elementary
students. For preschoolers, try the Slider Puzzles (very easy) and the Sticker
Book. For early readers, my pick is Pluck a Pearl, where players need to find
words that match vowel sounds. For older elementary-age, I like Lemonade Stand,
which introduces basic business math (gross sales minus expense's equals profits).
Connect the Dots is a variation on the familiar theme, because it incorporates
addition and subtraction and has challenging puzzles for kids up to fourth
grade.
Scrambler
This Scrambler game is fun for the whole family because you are timed as you
play at one of three levels of difficulty. Easy divides the picture into nine
tiles, medium into twelve, and hard into sixteen tiles. There are ten pictures
to choose from, and every time I've visited this site they have added more
Little ones will need help choosing a picture, then pressing "Load"
and "Scramble". But as soon as they see the scrambled tiles, they
will understand what to do next. Can you beat your preschooler? My little
mouse clickers are fast.
Sesame
Street Kidsite
The folks at Sesame Street are experimenting with a clever way to minimize
the wait associated with the Web. Your next game is downloaded in the background
while you're playing the current game. When it becomes available, a blue button
with a yellow arrow will appear in the lower right corner. Click on this button
to proceed to your next game. In the Storybook, your child can create illustrations
for a six-page sticker story. Activities include a puzzle with Ernie, another
with Telly, and a four-page coloring book. This site requires a Java-enabled
browser (no Shockwave), and they recommend a souped-up machine such as a Pentium
with Windows 95.
Time for Teletubbies!
The Teletubbies come all the way from Britain, where they have their own television
show. Play a tune on the voice trumpets (fun for all ages) by moving your
mouse over the flowers, then clicking on the trumpets as they appear. I never
thought vacuuming could be made into a game, but I actually had fun helping
Noo Noo the elephant "hoover" (that's English for vacuum) up the
falling toast. All require Shockwave.
Inside
a Chocolate Factory
The
fascination with chocolate factories is aptly captured by Roald Dahl's classic
Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory. Charlie is the proud winner of a golden
ticket, his entree to the event of a lifetime: a behind-the-scenes tour of
Willie Wonka's chocolate factory. Here are some virtual chocolate factory
tours. No tickets, golden or otherwise, required.
Hershey's
Chocolate Tour
Hershey's plant in Pennsylvania, with nearly two million square feet of manufacturing
space, is the largest chocolate factory in the world. Since opening in 1905,
it's hosted millions of visitors. The public tour, however, was discontinued
in 1973. But today, without even leaving home, you can take the tour that
made Hershey, PA "one of America's favorite destinations." First
I learned that cocoa beans, the primary ingredient of chocolate, grow only
within twenty degrees of the equator. No wonder no one in my neighborhood
grows their own chocolate. Continuing with sugar, almonds, peanuts and milk,
you'll learn about each ingredient and each part of the manufacturing process.
M&M
Factory Tour
"Actually, the story of M&M's began thousands of years ago - the
Mayan and Aztec civilizations of Central America used to make a drink from
the beans of the cacao tree. Spanish colonists brought the drink back to Europe
in 1528, but it wasn't until over 300 years later that a method was found
to produce solid chocolate." After a quick animated tour of the M&M
factory and a tongue-in-cheek monorail tour of the M&M studio, this Web
site is all Shockwave fun and games.
Wonka
Factory
This animated playground created by Nestlé, was inspired by Dahl's Willie
Wonka character. In the science lab, you'll learn about the melting points
of solids such as chocolate, butter, sugar and ice. Or balance the acid and
alkali levels in the sweet and sour candies. In the Inventonator, you can
arrange musical machine parts to create a melody. All the games require Shockwave,
and are designed for the under-ten set. Though obviously designed to sell
their candies, the result is fun and educational.
Interactive
Coloring
Many
of the coloring pages found on the Net are the print-and-play variety. Print
out the black and white picture and use your crayons to color them in. Today's
sites, however, are virtual coloring books — you color, paint and draw right
on your computer screen. These interactive coloring pages are great for preschoolers,
kindergartners and budding artists of all ages.
Coloring.com
This site hits the mark with a large selection of pictures and the ability
to email your completed masterpieces to friends and family with a small personal
note. Coloring.com loses a star, however, for only letting you color within
the lines -- no free form coloring is possible. Pictures are grouped into
topics such as cars (the largest topic), animals, birthdays and holidays.
What a fun way to send electronic art across the Net!
Disney Online Paint & Play
To find the Disney coloring pages, click on "Paint and Play" and
a list of characters (Ariel, Mulan, Lion King and Winne the Pooh) will appear
on the right. Choosing your favorite character will load a Java-based Paint
Center which includes a variety of paintbrushes for free form painting (hooray!),
a paint can tool for filling spaces, lots of colors, an eraser, water to lighten
your paints, a stamp pad with a nice selection of stamps (fun, fun, fun) and
several pictures. Use the arrow or Mickey's pointing finger to advance from
one picture to the next.
Kaleidoscope
Painter
Now for something totally different: Kaleidoscope Painter creates colorful
spiraling fractal designs based on the movement of your mouse. You can change
the effects by moving your mouse or resizing the brush. You can even put it
on Auto and watch as the mesmerizing lacy designs create themselves. Guaranteed
to capture your imagination.
Radicalman's
Coloring Book
These four Shockwave pictures from the cartoonist Radicalman are equipped
with not just one palette of colors, but four that range from pastel to bold.
Another unique feature is Scramble, which automatically colors the picture
with a selection of random colors. Very young point-and- clickers will enjoy
being able to paint an entire picture with a single click -- and watching
the colors change with each subsequent click.
Surfnetkids
Picture Games
From my very own Surfnetkids site, comes this collection of picture games,
including a dozen coloring pages, as well as slider and scrambler games and
the very popular matching games (often called Concentration.)
Zeeks Art & Music
These sixteen Zeek art and music games are my pick of the day. To find the
coloring sites, simply click on Sort by Subject, and you'll find them listed
under Art Tools and Drawing. Which of these games are the most popular? Sort
by Popularity and the number you see listed by each game is the number of
times it's been played. My favorite clicks are Array ("create cool animations
on this colorful lightboard,") Snowflake ("practice your paper snowflake
making technique,") and Coloring Book("Color away! Use our coloring
book or make your own designs.")
Interactive
Dress-Up Games
Today's
youngsters would find these interactive dress-up games appealing. All of today's
sites require the free downloadable Shockwave plugin.
Dunston
Checks In: The Royal Suite
"Dunston's got a whole wardrobe of hip clothing. But, typical of most
male primates, he can't seem to get dressed by himself." Dunston has
found the Royal Suite, and needs your help choosing from a variety of boxer
shorts, dresses, swim suits, hats and cool shades. Each click- and-drag has
a swell coo-coo-clock sound effect, but like Dinorella, Dunston only can wear
his hats on his head, and his sunglasses on his face.
Ricky Racoon and Heidi Hedgehog
Cute little Ricky Racoon can be dressed for the beach, tennis or baseball.
If you correctly match all the right clothes and accessories (for example,
you bring the sand bucket to the beach, and not the baseball glove), Ricky
rewards you with a small animation. Heidi Hedgehog (you'll find her link just
below Ricky) can be dressed as a doctor, a soccer player, for playing outside
or in fancy grown-up dress-up clothes.
Scout in Space
"Scout may be lost in space, but he has plenty of things to wear."
Laugh-Out-Loud
Poems
Do
kids think poetry is stuffy and boring? Selected re these five poetry
collections for their laugh-ability. These funny poems are best when shared
aloud, so go grab your loved ones – and read them a funny poem.
Giggle
Poetry
Bruce Lansky's books are among America's best-selling children's poetry books,
with more than 500,000 copies in print. His site not only includes a large
archive of funny poems (from Lansky and other Meadowbrook Press poets), it
also has fill-in-the-blank poetry activities, advice for would-be poets, and
poems to grade (which ones are good enough to be published?) Here's a familiar
one with a twisted ending, written by Bill Dodd. "Row, row, row your
boat gently down the stream, until you hit the waterfall – then you'll start
to scream."
Grandpa
Tucker's Rhymes and Tales
I can picture Grandpa Tucker in my mind's eye, my imagination encouraged by
his cartoon figure and the bluegrass music playing in the background. Grandpa
Tucker writes an original monthly story in verse, and shares his collection
of fun illustrated poems. He offers this advice to parents. "....I believe
that the most important reading being done anywhere in the world is when an
adult reads to a child. I believe children will leave Nintendo or stop roller
blading for a few minutes to share the closeness of sharing a story."
Poetry
for Kids
Kenn Nesbitt is an young poet (I get to call him that ‘cause he's younger
then me) who writes zany poems with hysterically funny punch lines. Try reading
them aloud to your kids or your class, or better yet, have your children read
them to their friends and classmates. Here's a snippet from "The Amusement
Park." " We went to an amusement park, my family and I. We rode
on rides so scary I expected I would die. We rode a rollercoaster called The
Homicidal Comet. It had so many loop-de-loops it nearly made us vomit."
Seussville
University
"Welcome to Seussville University, where you can have ‘lots of good fun
that is funny' while learning basic reading, math, science, and reasoning
skills." From the Cat's Concentration game to Green Eggs and Ham picture
scramble, Dr. Seuss fans will find plenty to crow about. My don't-miss-it
pick of the day is the Shockwave "Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!"
game (listed under Reasoning.) It is based on the book written by Jack Prelutsky,
inspired by work Dr. Seuss left incomplete at the time of his death in 1991.
The
Verse of Ogden Nash
"God in his wisdom made the fly, And then forgot to tell us why."
I remember Ogden Nash from my childhood ("The Tale of Custard the Dragon"
in particular) and I think this collection of eight animal poems is a perfect
Ogden Nash introduction for a new generation of fans. Click on "Return
to KidzPage" to navigate the rest of this poetry site, which includes
"Critter ABC's," Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky, " and assorted
limericks.
Learning
to Count
Here
are 1-2-3-4-5 recommendations for your littlest point-and- clickers, just
learning to count. But wait, there's more.
Fun
School Preschool
The
preschool section of Funschool.com is a cornucopia of great Java games. Among
the counting activities are Number Matching, Connect the Numbers, What's the
Order? and Teach Me 1-2-3's. Before you begin, spend a few minutes familiarizing
yourself with the buttons at the button of each screen. One will return you
to the grade-level game listing, one will restart the current game, and one
will take you to the next game. My favorite counting game is Fishing for Numbers,
where you match numbers to sets of fish. For older siblings up to grade six,
try The Spot.
Humphrey's
Counting House
Only one of Humphrey's Shockwave games actually involves counting, but Humphrey
the singing, dancing bear is amusing enough to earn his place here anyway.
Click on the cards for a well-implemented game of concentration, matching
the numbers one through six to their appropriate pictures. Other treats are
a coloring book which is better than most I've seen, and a fun music game
(can you repeat a pattern of xylophone notes?) And don't miss Humphrey's opening
dance number, just click on his smiling head.
Kid's
Carnival Numbers
The starting page warns that these Java games take a while to download, and
even at cable speed, they are right. So grab a snack and relax. You'll be
rewarded with five different number games and six Connect-a-Dots. How Many?
and Counting Fun are the easiest of the number games. The other three get
into higher mathematical concepts such as addition and subtraction. Connect-a-Dot
is a perennial counting favorite, but be forewarned the red-on-blue numbers
are difficult to read.
Preschool Numbers with Kylie Kangaroo
Straight forward and fast loading, this site is the easiest of today's selections.
Simply click on a number (zero to nine) for a corresponding picture (four
butterflies, seven soccer balls, etc.) When your little one tires of clicking,
mosey on over to the activities page for additional games such as Build a
Ruler (place the numbers in order) and lots of word scrambles and puzzles.
Paper
Crafts
More
than 2,000 years ago, the Chinese were the first to use fiber from hemp and
the inner bark of the mulberry tree to make paper. Today paper is of our most
important industrial products. Paper, it seems, is everywhere. That's why
paper craft projects are always a popular choice for home or school.
Best Paper Airplane
During
the summer of 1950, eight-year-old Michael O'Reilly watched in amazement as
his sister's boyfriend made the best paper airplane in the whole world. "When
he started folding the paper, I knew this was something different, something
special. He never explained how he did it but every move, every fold, every
detail was burned into my memory." Today, Michael shares the secrets
of the DC-3 paper airplane: how to build it and how to fly it.
How
to Fold a Flying Paper Water Bomb
The kid in me loved this one: an origami kamikaze water flyer. You'll need
a Java-capable browser to view the animated step-by-step instructions. When
finished, the plane can be filled with a small amount of water or chad. Just
don't throw it in the house! (Guess the kid in me just grew up.)
Ken
Blackburn Paper Airplanes
Ken Blackburn loves making paper airplanes and currently holds the Guinness
Book record for time aloft (27.6 seconds.) It all started at age thirteen,
when Ken created a paper plane that could fly over a quarter of a mile. He
kept refining the design, and while in college won his first world record.
It was November, 1983, and Ken's winning entry stayed aloft for 16.89 seconds.
And yes, he does share his plans on how to fold a record breaking plane. Look
for the "Paper Airplanes You Can Fold" link.
Learn2
Make Homemade Paper
"Making your own paper is fun, easy, and a delightful project for the
weekend. Homemade paper lends a distinctive personal touch to any project
from greeting cards to a personal note or letter. And it's much easier than
it sounds once you draw off your first page or two." This seven-step
"2torial" takes you through the entire process from gathering your
materials to drying your papers on a clothesline. Allow about an hour to create
your homemade paper, and then three hours to dry (assuming the weatherman
cooperates.)
MakingFriends.com:
Preschool Paper Crafts
For younger hands, MakingFriends.com gives us fourteen "economical, age-appropriate
paper projects for two to five year olds." All projects include detailed
instructions, and many include printable templates for cutting or coloring.
But don't stop at the preschool paper projects. MakingFriends.com is chock
full of pages and pages of craft ideas for kids of all ages.
Paper
Airplane Hangar
"The most important thing when making a plane is not making the folds
in exactly the right place, although this is important. More important is
making each fold well." The Paper Airplane Hangar is filled with good
advice on how to fix common flying problems such as veering left, right, or
flying into the ground. It also includes safety rules, things your mother
always told you like "Never throw planes at people." Since most
of the danger lies in the point of the plane, Ben Yeomans recommends the sharp
nose be either cut or folded down for kids.
Paper
University
Created by the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI),
Paper University includes not just paper craft projects but also interesting
science activities ("How Does a Paper Towel Absorb Water?") and
an introduction to the ecology of paper manufacturing ("Are We Running
out of Trees?" and "How is Paper Recycled?") Click on Art Class
for five craft projects including a recipe for paper mâché, pulp ornaments
and jewelry made with candy molds, and a stuffed paper bag fish.
Pieces
‘n Creases: A Fun Guide to Origami
"Origami (pronounced or-i-GA-me) is the Japanese art of paperfolding.
‘Ori' is the Japanese word for folding and ‘kam' is the Japanese word for
paper. That is how origami got its name. However, origami did not start in
Japan. It began in China in the first or second century and then spread to
Japan sometime during the sixth century." Pieces ‘n Creases won Best
of Contest in the 1999 ThinkQuest Jr. Internet Challenge, and it's easy to
see why. Enjoy the activities, the history, and the poems. "After you've
visited our Web site, you won't be able to pass up a square piece of paper
without a little folding."
Sabertooth:
A Paper Airplane
Here's another one described as "the best paper airplane there is
... no hassles like paper clips, scissors, or tape." This is a straight-forward
design, with easy-to-follow illustrated instructions.
Phonics
World
Book Dictionary defines "phonics" as "a method of teaching
reading by association of letters and combinations of letters with their appropriate
speech sounds." Rather than enter into the debate about whether children
should be taught to read using phonics or whole language, here are five great
sites to help children learn the sounds of our language.
BBC Education: Words and Pictures
Yes,
they do have British accents and call their mothers "Mum" instead
of "Mom," but this BBC site does a fabulous job of integrating audio
and animation into a really fun learning experience. Try Jim's Crankophone
for practice in distinguishing vowel sounds in Consonant-Vowel-Consonant words.
Use the teacher's panel to control which vowels are tested. I also liked the
ten long-vowel poems ("Mr. Creep is hardly sweet. He's got three legs
and smelly feet.") with voice-over and activities.
Free Worksheets: Phonics
Although offline worksheets sometimes get a bad rap as the symbol of everything
that's wrong with rote learning, I've found that students enjoy them and teachers
appreciate them. And these printable worksheets are top-notch. There are hundreds
to choose from, covering long and short vowels, blends, consonants, digraphs,
and the ever-popular "Miscellaneous." Once you've selected your
worksheet, it appears on your screen in a browser frame, which means that
before you Print, you need to click once on the worksheet to make it the active
frame.
I Know That: Phonics
Now we move from paper worksheets to interactive ones where the word search
puzzles actually pronounce and spell each word as you find it! Phonics is
all about the learning of sounds, and this site has plenty of sound. It's
colorful, fun and has lots of variety, even though it's not complete yet.
For example, short vowels are covered, but long vowels are not. As you finish
each game, you earn certificates that can be printed or e-mailed to friends,
family and teachers.
Phonemic
Awareness
Julie Vickery, a teacher of English as both a second and first language, has
created a page of ten in-real-life activities to help reinforce the learning
of phonics. Activities include Clapping Alphabet Chants ("A says /a/
like apple. A says /a/ /a/ /a/."), Alphabet I Spy ("I spy something
that begins with the letter B.") and Letters in the Sand ("Fill
disposable aluminum pie pans with approximately one-half inch of sand or salt.
Call a letter or word. Students write the letter or beginning letter in their
pans.")
Saxon
Publishers Phonics Activities
"In this activity children are asked to match one of three pictures
with a given word." Saxon Publishers has produced two interactive activities
(Picture-Word Match and Word-Picture Match) that tie-in with their phonics
textbooks, but are useful whether you use their books or not. Start by selecting
a grade level (K, 1 or 2), a lesson number (from 22 to 140) and the number
of problems you want to complete (from five to twenty.)
Sing
Along
Turn
your home computer into a karaoke machine with these fun, sing along sites.
All you need is an Internet connection and your multimedia computer. And although
you can sing without it, a microphone connected to your sound card completes
the transformation.
MIDI
Karaoke!
"The Site Where YOU are the Star! 5,768,412 Singers Can't Be Wrong!"
Although there are no traditional children's songs here, Alan August has a
fun mix of music that includes TV Hits such as Brady Bunch, Scooby Doo, Flintstones
and Gilligan's Island. If you are an Internet Explorer user, try the Scrolling
Karaoke, where the lyrics automatically scroll across your browser window.
With my configuration, however, the words scrolled by so quickly, they were
gone before I needed them. The Traditional Karaoke pages (with their static
lyrics) will work for all browsers.
Lidwina's
Disney Song Collection
Lidwina's collection of 120 Disney melodies with lyrics is sure to keep you
singing for hours. From Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? from the 1933 Three
Little Pigs, to four selections from the 1999 Tarzan movie, this site is a
wonderful romp through nearly seventy years of Disney songs. The songs are
in standard MIDI format.
NIEHS
Sing Along Music and MIDIs
"Music! It's really good for you. Scientists at the National Institute
of Environmental Health Sciences study the impact of our environment on our
health. Even sounds in our environment can have an effect, so scientists have
studied the effects of music on our physical and mental functions for many
years. For example, it has been determined that music in our environment plays
an important role in stress reduction!" Hmmm, and that is supposed to
explain why the NIEHS spends our money on a sing along site? Politics aside,
the site has a nice collection that includes patriotic songs not found elsewhere.
PBS Kids Karaoke
"It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood. A beautiful day for a neighbor.
Would you be mine? Could you be mine?" But that's not all. In addition
to Mister Roger's Neighborhood, there's everyone's favorite purple dinosaur
Barney, and songs from Arthur and Theodore Tugboat. These PBS songs are the
original recordings, not Karaoke melodies. And although some of them (such
as Mister Roger's) include printed lyrics, most do not. Requires Shockwave
and RealPlayer.
Space
Outer
space holds a fascination for kids of all ages, and today's site picks include
material for early elementary ages, as well as high schoolers (and beyond.)
Before we start, here's bonus tip: NASA hosts a multitude of online chats
with astronauts, astronomers and space engineers. For the monthly calendar,
click on over to NASA's Schedule of Live Web Events.
NASA
Kids
With news about current space events and links to age-appropriate reference
material (some of it at external sites), NASA Kids brings us space in a tidy
package. Reference topics are divided into Space & Beyond, Rockets &
Airplanes and Pioneers & Astronauts. Activities are listed under Projects
& Games. Most of the site is easy to navigate, it is organized as a hierarchy
of links, but I did reach a few dead ends where I needed to use my browser
back button to find my way home.
Space
Kids
Landing at SpaceKids.com is like being sent to play in outer space! Filled
with feature stories, questions and answers, contests and interactive games
for the elementary-age crowd, Space Kids is the younger sibling of Space.com.
Middle-schoolers (and older) should visit Space.com (look for the link on
the left-hand menu) for in-depth space news and science. "Our primary
mission is the popularization of space. Our commitment is to a greater public
understanding and enthusiasm about space and space-related subjects."
And I'd say they are hitting their mark.
Space
Place
Space Place is the place for hands-on elementary-age space crafts ("Make
your own jewel in the sky — a model Saturn decoration"), space activities
("Play our Intergalactic Adventures board game and be the first to explore
a black hole and live to tell about it!") and space experiments ("Test
a new spacecraft material.") You'll also find a smattering of fun space
facts, but not exhaustive reference material.
Virtual
Journey into the Universe
If you have Shockwave and Java capabilities, fasten your seat belt for this
exceptional virtual tour of our solar system. Starting in the cockpit, you
have your choice of ten destinations: from the Sun to Pluto and Neptune. Upon
arriving at each planet (or star), you can peruse the illustrated features
(such as Exploration, Surface, and Interior) or explore the interactive component
that might be a game or an explanatory animation. A tip of my astronaut's
helmet to the student team that created this site for the 1999 ThinkQuest
competition.
Story
Hour
Libraries
are wonderful places. We have a terrific one near us, and I go regularly with
my kids. But now there's another library to visit. It's open around the clock
and you'll never incur a fine. It's the Web! When looking for something new
for story time, these sites are worth exploring.
Concertina Books on the Internet
These
four beautifully illustrated books were published simultaneously in print
and on the Internet . My favorite is "Waking in Jerusalem" by Sharon
Katz. It is the story of a young child who arises before his parents and watches
the city of Jerusalem wake up.
Internet
Public Library Story Hour
This page contains five illustrated stories. I enjoyed "Do Spiders Live
on the World Wide Web?" which defines common computer terms by contrasting
them with everyday words. "White mouse: Small squeaky furry rodent. Computer
mouse: A way of telling the computer what to do without using the keyboard."
Read
Along Stories
This site rates a perfect score for it's three original illustrated stories
and the discussion topics before and after each story. Go for a "Jellybean
Adventure" and see where your imagination and a bag of jellybeans can
transport you. This is the only story at this site suitable for small children.
"Rebel Cows" is a parable about being threatened by a gang of cows.
"The steer must have been the leader because he wore his Raider's cap
tilted to the left." It includes an audio narration of the entire story,
but I don't have the patience to download such large audio files. "The
Grindelstark" is a fairy tale about a horrible forest monster who eats
townsfolk, but in the end is outsmarted by a small girl.
Theodore the Tug Boat Interactive Story
"Theodore the Tug Boat" is a Canadian TV series about a cheerful
and friendly tug boat. At the end of each page, your child chooses between
two possible story paths. Should Theodore welcome the big ship or go visit
his friend? With 128 possible story paths, this site can be enjoyed many times
by preschoolers and beginning readers.
Zoos
Offered
here are the best zoos on the Net. The objective, as always, was to find sites
offering a quality educational experience, not just brochure sites listing
hours and admission prices. Here's what was found. Hope you enjoy the lions
and tigers and bears!
Lincoln
Park Zoo
If you have homework to do, a column to write, or any other important business
to get to, do not even think about looking at the live Tiger Cam. Once you
see the tigers, start playing with the zoom, and realize you can move the
camera around by clicking anywhere on the image, you'll be hooked. After you
pry yourself away from the tigers, you can visit the rest of the animals by
taking the virtual tour, or by clicking on the Mammals, Birds or Reptiles/Amphibians
headings.
Los
Angeles Zoo: Zoo Animals
This month's featured resident is Savannah, a baby maned wolf being raised
in the zoo nursery with Elsa, a yellow Labrador retriever. When Savannah's
mother rejected her, the zookeepers were concerned that the hand-raised wolf
might imprint on humans, and never learn to socialize as a dog. So Elsa, on
loan from Guide Dogs of America, is "Savannah's canine companion, helping
her to learn how to act like a dog."
National
Zoo
The National Zoo in Washington, D.C. hosts the best online audio tour I have
seen. It is the same audio wand tour you could rent if you were visiting the
zoo, but on the Web it's free! Other highlights include the Animal Photo Library
(guaranteed to make you smile), and the National Zoo Cinema. Attention all
teachers: you and your students are invited to a free weekly video conference,
hosted in the Elephant House.
San
Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park
Join D.L. Armstrong on a research trek into the Wild Animal Park's newest
exhibit, Heart of Africa. Each day of the two-week journey includes "a
glimpse of what I discovered that day — perhaps a page from my journal, an
animal photograph, or a video clip." Other interesting reports (such
as the first condor birth of 1998) can be found in the What's New section.
While you're cyber-vacationing at the zoo, don't forget your friends and family
back home. Send them a digital conservation postcard!