Technology and the web has transformed our lives in so many ways.  My student life was simpler, with fewer options for learning independently and for entertainment.  I, admittedly, watched a lot of TV in my days as a student (think Happy Days), but I could never have imagined a tool that would allow me to play games, watch movies, interact with friends, and find any fact I could have ever wished to know.  My dad tried out selling encyclopedias (remember those?).  Because of that, we had a complete set of encyclopedias in my room.  I loved to pull out a random letter and browse through it.  Today, children have the world at their fingertips.  The amount of free content and entertainment available on the web is mind-boggling.  Here are some that I have come across.

Games

• Starfall (preschool to elementary school) – a great tool for kids learning to read or needing to build their reading skills.
• Mad Glibs (K – 8th grade) – a mad lib-style website with lots of opportunities to create wacky stories and learn more about the parts of speech.  My kids have recently discovered this type of game, and they laugh until their bellies hurt when we play.
• Fun Brain (K – 8th grade) – a smart place to play games of every kind.
• Shockwave (all ages) – Something for everyone on this site created by Nickelodeon.

Videos/Movies

• ZuiTube – funny videos, movies, cartoons, & songs are all geared toward children.
• Hulu (Family channel) – not a huge selection of movies, but enough choices in a pinch.
• You Tube (Animation & Cartoons, Family channels) – again, not a great selection, but I would bet this will grow.
• Netflix (all ages) – this service does require registration and a minimal fee, but has hundreds of movies and TV shows available for streaming over the web.

Community

• Webkinz (preschool to elementary school) – buy a cute Webkinz pal for a child and then let that child connect with friends in the online world they have built for their little buddies.
• Club Penguin – free and subscription levels, children have the opportunity here for some fun social networking.
• Handipoints – children can have fun online while learning about responsibilities offline when they play on this site.
• Moshi Monsters – a very cute website that allows your child to adopt a monster interact with new friends.  This is a free site.

Information

• Fact Monster – contains an almanac, dictionary, thesaurus, and encyclopedia all geared toward kids.
• KidsKonnect – a safe internet gateway for kids.
• 4 to 40 – an encyclopedia broken up by subject.
• Homework Hub by Scholastic – a great place to find some pretty useful and interesting information.

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