Although I've covered Preschool Games in the past, I'm revisiting the topic because it continues to be one of my most requested subjects. But this collection of games is not only for preschoolers; each site also includes fun stuff for early elementary ages. A few of these games require Shockwave, others require a Java-capable browser (as explained in the first review).
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.
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?"
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.
"Here's lots of games for you to play, to keep you entertained all day." 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. It is based on the newest Seuss book, written by Jack Prelutsky, inspired by work Dr. Seuss left incomplete at the time of death in 1991.
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.
The following links are either new discoveries or sites that didn't make it into my newspaper column because of space constraints. Enjoy!
Big Top Circus SideshowMr. Rogers Neighborhood Game |
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