Web for kid
20 Really Cool and Useful Websites for Kids
Useful websites for kids must be engaging for children, and both safe and offering some educational value for parents to love them as well. The following 20 sites are a bit more off the beaten and well-known path worn by Nickelodeon or Disney!
PEEP and the Big Wide World is a fun and interactive educational site for three- to five-year-olds. The site has plenty to do for the little ones and gives parents plenty of educational resources. There are coloring pages along with games, and the site offers activities for parents and kids to do offline. PEEP and the Big Wide World has plenty to keep toddlers to the preschool aged occupied and is a fresh gateway toward building a true love for learning.
Funology touts itself as being “the science of having fun!” Kids will love the magic tricks, allowing them to impress their family and friends. Parents will love the many crafts pages and the blog that reviews games and more. There are also scientific experiments available for kids to do with parents. One such experiment is to build a terrarium for a child’s favorite dinosaur. Or check out the recipes page for healthy snacks, breakfasts, lunches, or dinners.
The Great Plant Escape is geared toward children in fourth or fifth grades. The site is an extension from the University of Illinois and is geared to teach kids about plants and their systems through problem-solving. Activities are structured to strengthen a child’s math, science, social studies, and even art. Children can work the pages independently, but the fun is enhanced when parents join in. Parents might want to start a small garden or plant a seed to allow children to see the growth of plant life for themselves.
This site is a true joy, even parents may beg for a turn to figure out where a certain species of animal is from. Switch Zoo has plenty of games to keep kids occupied. Parents will appreciate the fact that kids are learning as they play. Kids will delight in making their own animal, building the right habitats, and a great deal more.
There are also educational resources that parents may want to tap into to help their child learn even more.
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The site is owned and operated by none other than ‘Professor Bubbles’ himself. The bubblesphere site is full of recipes for making large and fantastic bubbles or a slew of tiny ones. Kids can experiment and post their experiences in the forum. Kids can add their own recipes, while learning to mix and make bubbles of all kinds. Children can also track the adventures of Professor Bubbles around the world.
Kodable teaches children aged five to six years old how to write computer code. Kids learn through a self-guided game. Children drag and drop computer code to further their creature along on its way. The free application comes with the first 45 levels of the game.
This site is just right for school-aged kids, from kindergarten to the eighth grade.
Funbrain mixes the educational with games that are simply all-out fun. Parents are invited to get even preschoolers in on the action in this site. The books and comics section includes excerpts from that favorite of many kids: The Diary Of A Wimpy Kid.
Have a kid who is struggling to read? Giggle Poetry may be the answer. Children are challenged to rate poems with the ‘giggle meter.’ Word and reading games also abound, each immersed in poetry sure to attract and keep a child’s attention.
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This site is for teens aged 13 and up. The site is perfect for budding programmers. Kids are able to read about programmable languages and to test their new knowledge in a safe environment. Only an e-mail is needed to sign in to post messages or sample programs.
Kids will love the many games in the language arts, math, and more.
Parents will love the fact that there are no downloads, plus the fact that no personal information is required for game play. The games also sharpen a child’s computer skills with typing games.
Here kids learn all about cyphers and making secret codes. Budding cryptographers learn how to scramble messages and passwords. There is no need to provide an e-mail for kids to have fun on the site. There are lots of games that will also test memory. The site was built and is maintained by the National Security Agency.
Invention at Play offers kids the chance to dream, play, and experiment. Kids learn to stretch their imaginations through various games, such as word play or problem solving with virtual blocks. Children are also introduced to inventors and their inventions. In this very cool site, kids learn that play and the use of their imagination can lead to a new invention.
Chillola.com is a way for children from around the world to interact with one another and learn another language.
Educational and fun, Chillola offers the chance to learn English, Spanish, German, French, or Italian. Kids interact through sharing their works of art, poems, and more. Parents will love the fact that the site is not only a great way to learn a new language, but that the tools are entirely free.
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This site will bring the wonders of space right to your child’s computer. The site is better suited to older children, as there are no games. However, kids will be able to see outer space through the Hubble telescope, or catch a glimpse of their own night sky online. The site encourages parents to grab a telescope and share with children the beauty of the sky from their own backyard.
This site is coupled with the Scholastic newsletter that your kids receive at school. There are plenty of games and opportunities to explore the news that’s important to kids.
Kids can also rate and report on sites they find entertaining in the ‘cool spots’ tab. Parents can keep up with what their kids are reading about in the news that is important to their children.
Kids get to learn the ‘dance moves’ from a wise old billy goat and his mates. Kids learn by watching the screen instead of their hands as they learn to type. This is a silly and fun but very educational site offered by the BBC. There are related sites that teach the language arts, history, and math. Educational games in Mandarin, French, and Spanish are also available.
This site is suitable for kids aged K–12. There are games and information about what the CIA does. Kids will have a great time exploring the world, figuring out puzzles, and more. For the little ones there are coloring pages that can be printed. There are resources for parents on how to keep kids safe online, as well as a portal to cool and useful sites for kids.
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The Mr.
Nussbaum site covers a lot of territory. The site has games for preschoolers and all the way up to grade eight. There are plenty of games, along with educational tabs that cover history, math, science, and much more. The goal of the site is to enhance children’s learning from the classroom into an interactive experience on the web.
Brain POP offers movies, games, an experimental arena, and so much more. The site is suitable for kids in grades K–12. Parents will love the fact that the subjects covered in core standards are also available through this site. A separate subscription is available for those who choose to home school their children. Brain POP also serves as a resource for ESL students.
Introduce toddlers to the world of reading with Lil’ Fingers. Lil’ Fingers has big buttons and bright colors to attract a child to stories like Bears In Bed or One Little Rabbit. The site also introduces books that parents may want to add to their child’s collection or pick up at the library.
There are also games and videos to entertain a growing mind.
Kids who are into Manga comics or are simply curious about another culture will love this site. Chocked full of kid-worthy news and what’s popular with Japanese kids, it’s sure to keep them coming back. There are games, virtual culture, and learning activities. There are even animated cards kids can send to those they love. Parents may be surprised at how well their children enjoy this marvelous site.
Featured photo credit: Mads Bødker via flickr.com
20 Educational Websites for Kids That are Free and Fun
Source: https://www.thespruce.com/best-free-educational-websites-for-kids-3129084
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PBS Kids
Each of the educational shows your children watch on PBS has its own learning section through PBSKids.org. Try sing-a-long songs, sorting and counting games, watch videos, and more.
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Sesame Street
Younger children will love everything about Sesame Street’s online home.
They can choose from hundreds of the show’s video clips and play games that help them learn letters, animal sounds, rhymes, colors, and more. -
Starfall
When a mom mentions she’s looking for some great educational websites for her kids, it’s not long before Starfall.com is mentioned. The site has been online since 2002 and works with your children through letter recognition all the way through to reading plays, nonfiction, and comics.
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CoolMath
CoolMath calls itself “an amusement park of math and more.” Children can play online math games that help them with addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, decimals, money and more. CoolMath is geared toward ages 13 and up, but sister site CoolMath5Kids.com is appropriate for ages 3 through 12. CoolMath-Games.com includes math games for preschoolers.
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Make Me Genius
A site that guarantees to make your child a genius has a lot of promises to live up to.
MakeMeGenius.com is filled with videos that cover a variety of subjects, such as physics for kids, photosynthesis, the nervous system, solar system, and electricity. All of the videos are kid-friendly and will keep even your youngest children interested from start to finish. -
TIME for Kids
From the publishers of TIME magazine, TIME for Kids is loaded with interesting articles, photos, and videos. Politics, the environment, entertainment, sports, and health are just some of the topics covered. TIME for Kids isn’t as interactive as most of the other website on this list of educational websites for kids, but the site does tackle subjects that are in the news now while being written for an audience of children.
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National Geographic Kids
Watch animal cameras, learn interesting tidbits about animals, see and share photos of nature, learn about different countries and try science experiments. These activities don’t even begin to scratch the surface of the National Geographic Kids website.
There’s even a “Little Kids” section for the younger explorers in your house. -
The KIDZ Page
The Kidz Page has more than 5,000 pages of learning games and activities. Online coloring pages, jigsaw puzzles and word games are just a few sections of this massive site. Each holiday also has its own section of activities and games to enjoy with your children.
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How Stuff Works
When your child wants to know why the sky is blue, how a tornado forms, or any number of other questions she can come up with on a daily basis, head on over to How Stuff Works. The articles break down subjects like autos, culture, entertainment, science, money, technology and more. Games, quizzes, and videos also round out your children’s learning experience.
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Fun Brain
One visit to Fun Brain and you’ll want to bookmark it for your kids. Math, reading, online books and learning games are just some of the site’s many treats.
Fun Brain caters to preschoolers through 8th graders. -
Nick Jr.
If you can look past the ads, you’ll find printables, games and other activities your kids will enjoy at NickJr.com. The games allow your children to explore their creativity, play dress-up, learn new music, put together puzzles and work on numbers and shape recognition.
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Scholastic
Scholastic is one of the more unique educational websites for kids. This site, from the publishers of the educational books you find in schools, contains activities broken up by grades. Pre-K learners all the way up to seniors in high school can find learning activities geared toward them.
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Disney Jr.
Fans of Mickey and friends will love visiting Disney Jr. Educational. Games, coloring pages, and videos are a few of the highlights. The games focus on memory, hand-eye coordination, color matching and other important skills for developing minds.
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Exploratorium
It’s hard to narrow the list of science websites because there are so many great resources. But San Francisco’s Exploratorium at the Palace of Fine Arts showcases a website that teaches kids about science and art in new ways. The departments let kids tinker with gadgets, go below the sea, rocket into the galaxy and also learn about the science of gardening, animals, and cells, to name a few.
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BBC History for Kids
Games, quizzes and fact sheets take kids on a journey through time. Kids can set off on a learning adventure when they walk through ancient history, world history and histories of specific countries on the BBC History for Kids website.
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Highlights for Kids
The magazine for kids that’s been around for more than 60 years now offers online ways to play, read and craft with your children. Matching games, art activities, animated stories and science experiments are just a few ways kids can learn while having fun on the Highlights for Kids website.
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Discovery Kids
Why do we need trees? Are jellyfish fish? Who travels with the president? These are just a few of the facts your kids can learn on the Discovery Channel’s site for children. Games, puzzles, activities, and quizzes get kids involved in learning something new without it feeling like work.
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Kids Know It
Learn about animals, chemistry, spelling, geography, astronomy, and plenty of other subjects on KidsKnowIt.com. Watch free educational movies, listen to educational music and read fun facts about everything from bats to bones.
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Learning Games for Kids
The name of the site says it all. Learning Games for Kids is all about games that teach kids almost every subject you can think of. Word, spelling, social studies, brain, science, art, vocabulary, literature and keyboarding games will get your kids started on a learning adventure.
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Old Farmer’s Almanac for Kids
It’s learning with a twist.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac for Kids features riddles, puzzles, a question of the day, a timeline of interesting history facts, sky events and weather conditions to track at home with your children.
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Dr.Web anti-virus protection for Windows, Android, macOS, Linux
for Windows for Linux
Caring for the safety of children and loved ones. Internet surfing control and access blocking
Secure Internet traffic
- Check network traffic on all ports.
- Scanning URLs on Doctor Web servers via the Dr.Web Cloud service in real time, regardless of the state of Dr.Web virus databases on the user's computer and update settings (more). nine0011
- Blocking websites by 12 thematic groups (weapons, drugs, games, pornography, etc.
).
Restriction of access to PC and the Internet
- Restriction of the user's time on the Internet and at the computer.
- Blocking changes to the system time and time zone - prevents the child from working at the computer at a time unauthorized by the parents. nine0009 "Interval time limit" (in half-hour increments) - the ability to set the time that a child can spend at the computer during the day.
- Automatic blocking of access to the PC at night.
- Profiles for setting "Time limit".
Blocking access to files and folders
- Blocking the use of individual files and directories is an additional opportunity to protect your data and important information from deletion or theft by intruders.
nine0011 - Configuring the type of access to specified objects (block access or allow read only) - extending the ability to restrict access to files and folders.
Additional features
- Parental Control settings profiles separately for each user.
- Ability to copy settings between user accounts.
- Ability to disable Parental Control for a specific account. nine0011
Find out more
Read about how fragile the cyber world of a child is in the age of digital technologies and why he needs parental protection in the issues of the headings "Caught in the Net", "Psychology of the Net" and "Children in the Net" of the Anti-Virus Truth! project.
Learn more - watch the video
- How to regulate the user's time at the computer nine0011
- How to regulate a user's access to the Internet
- How to protect important files
trends and best practices / Useful / Freelance sites and exchanges. Freelance exchange reviews. News. Tips. Freelance for beginners. FREELANCE.TODAY
Building a website for children is not the same as developing a website for adults. Unlike adults, children do not seek information. They want to have fun and learn, they are interested in games, videos, puzzles, stories or coloring books. nine0003
What's the best way to build a website for potty-sized people who are constantly looking for instant fun? Forget subtle functionality and a restrained color palette.
Now is the time to create something big, bright and bold.
If it's hard to understand, hard to use, and uninteresting to watch, kids will go to the next website or game that can grab and hold their attention. So when it comes to designing websites for kids, unleash your inner child, take age into account, and these tips. nine0003
01. Design for different age groups
Targeting a specific age group of children is crucial. Research shows that children are highly aware of age differences and will not engage in something they consider "too childish" and will find it difficult to interact with what they consider "too adult". Thus, designing for children requires clear approaches to usability and content.
3-5 years
Bright colors and sounds will catch the attention of children aged 3-5, as well as cute characters that children love and nature themes that are familiar. Since such babies have not yet developed reading skills, the text should be limited to a few words.
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Peep and the Big Wide World use all of these elements to appeal to very young children. There are different sections for fun and education, and each one is clearly labeled with more engaging images and obvious titles that parents can help with.
Spot the Dog Adventures has been popular with kids since the 1980s. With images in bright, rich colors and bold outlines, Fun With Spot offers young children fun and learning. nine0003
6-8 year olds
Children aged 6-8 years old want recognition that they have gone beyond websites for young children. Colors remain vibrant but with added depth; graphics and images become denser or layered; and the characters are more like people. Typography should be very simple and easy to read, but with a lot of words.
Starfall is a website dedicated to teaching children to read. There are plenty of images of animals, people and recognizable objects, as well as more densely spaced buttons and words that would be familiar to kids aged 6-8.
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9-12 years old
Children aged 9-12 years old already have good Internet skills and are looking for sites that seem more mature. While typography remains simple and rich in color, palettes become more complex and word structure more traditional.
Children's author Beverly Cleary's website features more realistic illustrations, a description of the book's content, and a palette that includes both rich and muted color schemes.
nine0002 So now we've looked at some general recommendations for websites for different age groups, let's look at some specific aesthetic, functional and interactive features of websites for children.02. Create a colorful world
Colors for kids: use bright colors
Use lots of bright colors to draw attention. Primary and secondary colors - red, blue, yellow, green, purple, and orange - are all lucky colors, and popular choices and color schemes can include all of them, plus more.
Use a limited number of pastels and jewel tones, or pair with rich colors like on the Beverly Cleary website above. First of all, have fun with the color and think about breaking the rules because it's to get the attention of the kids. nine0003
The Speed Kids website uses a palette of bright, saturated colors in the foreground with slightly less saturated tones and gradients in the background. Speed Kids uses a variety of primary and secondary colors, with red, green, and yellow predominating.
Create a Happy Mood
Children want to have fun on a website, so just like colors that are bright and “happy”, the overall mood of a website should be the same. Smiling faces, funny characters, energetic gestures, and positive words will all contribute to enjoyment. nine0003
The kids are very familiar with the Disney characters, and on the site, each of them has a smile from ear to ear. All Disney characters are looking directly at the child - as if they are happy to see a young user.
Active, energetic and busy, these characters are behavioral models for children.
Include familiar elements
The use of recognizable shapes appeals to children, especially younger ones, as it stimulates and reinforces the learning process. Animals, natural forms and household items are familiar and recognizable to children as they make up a large part of their visual and tactile world. nine0003
ABC Kids uses a Ferris wheel image to structure the website with bees, emoticons, scissors and other basic recognizable objects that add color and life.
Breaking away from traditional structure
Designing a website for kids is your chance to break the rules when it comes to grid design, so try an unstructured layout that includes lots of focal points all over the screen. Basically, give the kids plenty of attention to keep their eyes and brains busy. nine0003
PBS Kids has a large selection of websites for kids, all of which are fun, entertaining and educational.
They are examples of breaking the traditional structure of a website and giving kids a lot of highlights.
Create a deep world
Creating a website with visual depth makes the on-screen world more realistic and especially relevant as children get older and more familiar with what a typical website looks like. Shadows, beveled effects, gradients, and 3D images are used to create a more realistic vision. nine0003
This site looks like it will immediately immerse you in the game. PBS Kids' Oh Noah! the site is a fun circus. The site uses shadows, gradients, and different shades to indicate depth and create a 3D world for kids to play in.
03. Features
Navigation, icons, and call to action should be obvious
A website for kids needs to be user-friendly, so make sure the icons, navigation buttons, and call to action are very well thought out. Use large buttons and graphics instead of text, and make them obvious and simplistic to stand out clearly.
It's also helpful to do a usability test and see how kids navigate the site. nine0003
Be aware that it is more difficult for children to move a mouse or use a touchpad or touch screen responsively, so especially for younger children, increase buffering distances and areas that can be clicked on to reduce the number of false clicks.
Keep typography simple
Typography should be as simple as possible, so a few key principles apply:
1) Always use sans-serif fonts to make text as easy to read as possible
2) The typographic palette should consist of only one typeface, possibly two, for older children.
3) Avoid headset effects
4) Check that letters and words are not closed
5) Use a color that will stand out against the background
6) Use 14pt for younger children and 12pt for older children.
04. Interactive features
Plan a story
The storyline will help to engage children and create a connection between them and the site.
This story can be the focus of the website design, including setting and characters, and it can continue across pages, parts, and interactive elements of the site.
Dr. Seuss is the master of storytelling for kids, and the Seussville website develops many of the Dr. Seuss storylines to keep kids entertained. With animation and sound, it's all fun and interactive, and kids (and adults, to be honest) will keep coming back for more. nine0003
Develop characters
Children love cartoon characters, especially happy, friendly, cute ones. These can be newly created characters or characters already known from TV shows, movies or games (note: check all license rights before using trademarks or images). Give them a smile and make them big. You can even give them a voice or sounds.
Club Penguin allows kids to customize and name penguin characters. Colorful characters encourage children to stay on the site. nine0003
Use animation and sound
Stimulate children's senses with interactive sounds, music and voiceovers.
The brighter and noisier the better (although parents may disagree after a while), while familiar sounds and noises are a good way for kids to remember and reinforce what they know about the real world.
Include videos, games and activities
Interactive features should be the main purpose of entertaining and/or educating children. Videos, games and activities can be used to improve listening, reading and arithmetic; and printable activities such as coloring improve creativity, coordination and imagination. nine0003
05. Be Responsible
Encourage Education
Young minds love to learn, and a website is a great opportunity to make that learning fun. Design activities and puzzles, and reward by giving level badges.
Math, reading, puzzles, tic-tac-toe are all fun and easy ways to get kids involved in learning.
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It is important that parents feel confident that this website is safe, secure and age appropriate for their child.
