K-12 Educational Websites
for Kids
by
Gina Otto

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ALPHY - http://alfy.com/index1.asp?FlashDetect=True
Just for fun or reward, every grade loves this site. There are hundreds of games to play, but there are many ads (actually a good way to teach them how to get out ofads).

ALTAPEDIA ON LINE - http://atlapedia.com
Atlapedia Online contains full color physical and political maps as well as key facts and statistics on countries of the world.

BONUS.COM - http://www.bonus.com
Games, sports, fun -- lots of sites for kids.  The site is self-contained and all open in another window.  cllick on curriculum enhauncers for games for each of the core areas; history, science, math, language, etc.Try the quiz lab too.

CARTOON NETWORK - http://www.cartoonnetwork.com
Click on your favorite cartoon character and you are directed to his/her website where great interactive things are happening.

nCOOLMATH4KIDS - http://www.coolmath-games.com/
Numberous games for kids include ArithmATTACK, Concentration, HiLo, IQ Game, Lemonade Stand, Lunar Lander, Number Monstger, Simon Says, and others.

CYBERKIDS - WHAT'S HOT - http://www.cyberkids.com/we/whatshot.html
Games, contests, downloads, and lots of goodies for kids.

nDISNEY ON LINE, WHERE THE MAGIC COMES TO YOU - http://disney.go.com/kids/today/
Kid's Island has games, interactive sites, music and much more.

80'S GAMES AND TRIVIA - http://www.80s.com/Trivia/
This site lets you select from the homepage select trivia titles such as Manic Medley, Freeze Phrase, and rewind, all geared toward the 80's.  after you register for each game, your score is kept and you can become eligible to win prizes. 

<>FIN, FUR AND FEATHER BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (FFFBI) HEADQUARTERS - http://www.fffbi.com/hq.html
This is so cute!! The site uses interactive stories and original thinking games to get kids to solve mysteries and learn crucial skills such as using the Internet for research and investigation, reading, and writing. The project encourages exploration of a wide range of subjects from math and science to geography, genetics and history. Admittedly, it's also, as one kid wrote, "freaky weird." Thank goodness, there is a section for teachers which helps explain what's going on.  

FUN BRAIN GAME FINDER - http://www.funbrain.com
Math baseball, brain bowl, connect the dots, dare to be square.  Just find your age and subject and click.  Great math practice.

FUNBRAIN NUMBERS - http://www.funbrain.com/numbers.html
Seventeen original games based on baseball, soccer, car racing and other fun things will intrigue even the most stubborn elementary-age math students.  Favorites include Cookie Dough (learn to spell numbers up to 10,000 and don't forget that compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine  use a dash), Change Maker (in four different currencies) and Tic-Tac-Toe Squares (not your usual Tic-Tac-Toe.)  Some of the game pages were a little slow to load, but the quality of the games overshadowed this one drawback.

THE GREY LABYRINTH -  http://www.greylabyrinth.com/index.htm
Math and perceptual puzzles.

HARRY POTTER WORD SEARCH - : http://www.funorama.com/wfharrypotter.html

INTERACTIVE EDUCATIONAL GAMES - http://www.csudh.edu/soe/faculty/pt3/gamesb.html
Battleship, Minesweeper, WebReversi, and WebMaze.

LEARNINGPLANET.COM - http://www.learningplanet.com/
For fun, interactive, educational activities, check out LearningPlanet.com's Kids Pages. Choose a grade level for a list of elementary games that cover several  subject areas. Language arts games include word searches, crossword puzzles, and a unique "word catching" game called "Rats." You'll need the Shockwave plug-in to play LearningPlanet.com's games.

LITTLE PLANET TIMES - http://littleplanettimes.com/
The Little Planet Times is a newspaper for kids and by kids, with a little help from the characters on the Little Planet. Each issue has a central theme for children to read about, to write about, to discuss, and to learn. The ideas, the stories, and the creations that young writers submit are published and folded into every new issue.To begin, first read the front page story --- and then click on the Activities Button at the bottom of the first page.  Kids love it!

MISS MAGGIE'S EARTH ADVENTURE - http://missmaggie.org
A great language arts and math site for kids, with great games.

NICKELODEAN ON LINE - http://www.nick.com
A cool site with fun games and great animation.  New games all the time for all ages.

PBS KIDS - http://pbskids.org/
From Arthur to Zoom, this site has a bunch of kids' sites with games, videos and other great stuff.

PRESCHOOL EDUCATION - http://www.preschooleducation.com/
Many ideas to help with theme planning for home or classroom. There is a theme page and a list from alphabet ideas and arts and crafts to music and recipes. Check it out. 

<>PRESCHOOL EXPRESS - http://preschoolexpress.com/
Jean Warren's Preschool Express includes the toddler and preschool activity calendars with a different mini-activity nearly every day of the month. From self-stick paper to balloon science, there is something for everyone.

PUZZLE CLONZZ - Computer Printable Jigsaw Puzzles - http://www.compozapuzzle.com/compoz-a-puzzle.htm
There is a small COST for these.

SEARCH ENGINES JUST FOR KIDS - http://www.kids.net.au/

<>STARFALL.COM (LEARN TO READ) - http://www.starfall.com/
Primarily designed for first grade, the website and companion printed materials are designed to be fun and to instill confidence in young children as they learn to read. They recommend beginning with "ABCs" which helps learners recognize the relationship between letters and sounds. "Learn to Read" features one vowel to listen to, manipulate, read, and eventually move toward mastering sound-spelling. "It's Fun to Read" explores a variety of genres and topics to expand reading vocabulary and comprehension. The advanced section, "I'm Reading," transitions from learning to read to reading to learn. Primarily designed for first grade. Make sure to scroll down to view entire page; some content is below the Flash player and might be overlooked.

STORY NORY: FREE AUDIO STORIES FOR KIDS - http://storynory.com/
Wonderful audio stories, all narrated by Natasha Gostwick,Story Nory is an archive of stories old and new, with a brand new recording released every week. These can be listened to on the computer, easily transferred to an iPod, or copied to a CD for listening in the car. The stories are classified as Original, Fairytales, Classics, Educational and Junior (which are the simplest stories specifically for toddlers and ESL students.)

STORYPLACE PRE-SCHOOL LIBRARY - http://www.storyplace.org/preschool/other.asp
Full of great activities, choose from one of many themes: Animals, Babies, BathTime, Colors, Crocodiles, Fire-fighters, Fish, Gorillas, Monkeys, Music, Pets, Shapes, Teddy Bears, Trains, and Wheels. Each theme has the following sections: On-line Story, On-line Activity, Take-home Activity, Suggested Reading, and Parent's Activity First-School Preschool Activities and Crafts. Adaptable for ages two to six, these crafts, lesson plans, themes and activities can be used at home, in the classroom, or at day care. Check the basic materials list, which includes construction paper, tempura paints, tape, crayons, and the ever important cover-up such as an old t-shirt. The activities themselves are divided into printable activities and themes (such as alphabet, colors, numbers and so on.)

TIME FOR KIDS - http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/specials/parks/0,12405,364766,00.html
Entertainment, news, games -- a great site.  Even a research site for homework. CHECK OUT we protect the parks.

WILD WORLD OF WONKA - http://www.wonka.com
Educational games for kids, space, inventions, animal trivia.  Great graphics and user friendly.

WORKSHEETS - http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/math/index.shtml
Math worksheets pages with links to vocabulary builders, logic games, reading corner, movie corner, and software.

ZIGGITY ZOOM - http://www.ziggityzoom.com/
For kids age two to eight, created by Kristin Pierce Fitch and her mom, illustrator Sharon Pierce McCollough, has online activities (games, stories and coloring pages), and plenty of offline activities such as crafts, printables, and fun kid recipes like Mermaid Bananarama. For a quick overview of the site, check out the Parent's Guide.

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Created March, 2002 - based on a presentation by Dan Castle, teacher at the California School for the Deaf at Riverside.  These sites were chosen for their educational value and classroom usefulness for the K-12 teacher.  The sites are visually stimulating and effective. (http://www.dcastle.com) This link has ASL Shows, Sign Song Shows, Benefits, Mac Consultant, ASL Book, Software Reviews, Family Tree, Links

Checked and added to August, 2011.

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