Keeping your children entertained online
Ellen Whyte, Contributor, Malaysia, ellenwhyte@lepak.com
There are lots of resources for keeping kids entertained online but the problem with many is that they are so complex you spend hours waiting for a page to download. And that's time wasted before you know if it's what you're looking for.
The following entertainment hot spots online are accessible, quick to download and frequently updated. They require just a PC, a browser, an Internet connection and a few free, easily available plug-ins.
All You Need To Know About Plug-Ins
Plug-ins are small programs that allow you to play interactive games, listen to audio files and watch videos online. Plug-ins tend to be free, easy to download and install. Two of the most commonly used for making kids sites colorful and interactive are Shockwave Player and Flash Player. Both are made by Macromedia and are available at www.macromedia.com/downloads. If you've bought your PC recently, chances are you already have these. Don't worry if you don't have them. Sites that require plug-ins usually offer a free download link and easy to follow instructions.
Downloading and installing Shockwave and Flash players will take about 10 to 15 minutes.
Print Your Own Coloring Pages
Free Coloring Pages at www.freecoloringpages.com and DLTK's Coloring Pages at www.dltk-kids.com/coloring.htm are two directories offering free colouring pictures for you to print out. Dozens of categories organized by subject including Pokemon, Sesame Street, Nursery Rhymes, Insect, Ancient Civilizations and Fire Safety make these easy to navigate. Just find the pictures you like and hit the print button.
Pictures files are small and optimized so the average picture takes less than 10 seconds to download and about 30 seconds to print. Note that many of the sites listed here also offer interactive games that you may like to bookmark for later use.
Stories and Songs Online
PBS Kids Music at pbskids.org/fun_and_games/music_movies.html has a collection of links to web pages with activities, music videos you can sing along with and clips from shows featuring characters like Noddie, Teletubbies, Mr Rogers' Neigbourhood, Barney, Jay Jay the Jet Plane, Dragon Tales and others. Great fun and easy to explore, get the best out of this site by bookmarking your favorite pages for a fast return.
Lil' Fingers at www.lil-fingers.com is a site dedicated to entertaining toddler-age children. There are six online interactive storybooks with sound here as well as nine plain stories presented in slide format for you to read out loud and various games and colouring pages.
Hiyah.com at www.hiyah.com/library.html has more than a dozen sound enhanced fairy tales on offer including The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Three Little Pigs and The Tortoise and the Hare. You can listen to the story or switch off the sound and read for yourself.
Great Games Online
Kidsdomain Games at www.kidsdomain.com/games/index.html has hundreds of free interactive quizzes, puzzles and games of all types, including games designed by kids for other kids. Organized according to computer requirements and keywords, this site is very easy to navigate. Most games are so user friendly and intuitive that even very young kids can learn to play these on their own. Each game takes less than a minute to download.
Create A New Animal
In the mood to create a new species like a Zebrelephog or Pigdogglezelephant? Visit Switcheroo Zoo at www.switcheroozoo.com and make new animals by putting together over 6500 possible combinations of heads, legs and tails from giraffes, zebras, gorillas, chicken and hundreds of other animals. Afterwards you can name your animal and write a story about it.
Home Cooking
Get away from the computer and become deliciously creative in the kitchen. Food for Tots at www.foodfortots.com has recipes for snacks, beverages, breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert that are easy and quick to prepare including Apple Cinnamon Dutch Baby pancakes and Chicken Haystacks.
For more variety, Kid's Chef at www.kidchef.com has tons of recipes organized into a directory with headings like One Dish Lunches, Soups, Cookies and so forth. If you are looking for something in particular, you may search by keyword. Click on Cooking Basics for general tips about measuring, cutting and heating and Cooktionary to find a definition for food related words like Al Dente.
Finding Similar Resources
To find resources like the ones discussed in the article, visit the children 's search portal Yahooligans! at www.yahooligans.com and browse through the directory or search by keyword.
Alternatively, visit Google at www.google.com, enter in the URL of the resource you like and then ask Google to present you with Similar Pages.
Note: If in your search for other resources you come across sites that offer interactive games where you play with others online, be aware that these sites often come hand-in-hand with online chat. This sort of unrestricted and anonymous communication is not generally recommended for young children without strict supervision. Happy surfing!