Great learning educational websites for children
Submitted by: Kevin Chertkow

Starfall - http://www.starfall.com/
This has been a fantastic educational site for my 5 year and 6 year old!  When my 2 year old gets older he'll be playing on this site too. For now he just enjoys watching his brother and sister play, which is also introducing him to letters and sounds.

Starfall.com opened in September of 2002 as a free public service to motivate children to read with phonics. The systematic phonics approach, in conjunction with phonemic awareness practice is perfect for preschool, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, special education, home school, and English language development (ELD, ELL, ESL). Starfall is an educational alternative to other entertainment choices for children. In May of 2009, they released Starfall Kindergarten Reading and Language Arts Curriculum. The lesson plans motivate kindergarten children by creating an atmosphere of fun and enthusiasm, providing opportunities for child-directed instruction, and facilitating the needs of English language learners and struggling readers learning alongside their peers.

PBS Kids - http://pbskids.org/
Children between 4 and up may not need much help getting around this site. It's pretty straight forward with plenty of pictures your children can navigate with.

Nick Jr. - http://www.nickjr.com/games/index.jhtml
Here your children will have fun playing and learning with some of the characters they may be watching on TV. Navigation is also very easy on this site so not much assistance is needed.

Sesame Street - http://www.sesamestreet.org/home
You really can't go wrong when it comes to Sesame Street and learning.

Learning Games For Kids - http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/
Learning Games are a great way to build the foundation skills that today's elementary school curriculum requires. These learning games and songs are fun, teach important skills for preschool and elementary school kids and they're free. Children will themselves work to develop their focus and skills with these learning games. Want educational games that help build skills? This is the right place!"

Fun School Kaboose - http://funschool.kaboose.com/index.html
This is a good site and very easy to navigate. It also has a lot of games from preschool to 5th - 6th grade.

Jumpstart - http://www.jumpstart.com/Default.aspx
"JumpStart is an award-winning adventure-based 3D virtual world that is super-personalized, wildly imaginative and really fun, but don't let that fool you - it also teaches math, reading, and critical thinking skills so kids get a real jump start in life."

I know that - http://www.iknowthat.com/com
"iknowthat.com’s mission is to ignite a love of lifelong learning in every child by harnessing internet multimedia and social communication to produce an environment for engaging, interactive and dynamic learning."

Learning Planet http://www.learningplanet.com/stu/index.asp
This is a fun site that is pretty easy to navigate. It has a lot of games and activities from preschool to 7th grade and up.

Scholastic http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/home.jsp
You may need to help your child navigate a little through this site but it has fantastic activities as well as games and educational videos.


Moshimonsters - http://www.moshimonsters.com/home
"Moshi Monsters is a free online game for kids, where they may adopt a monster and look after it. Kids whose parents give us their approval can become 'users' on our site, and can adopt a Moshi Monster. Kids care for their monster by solving puzzle games, which earn their monster virtual rewards called Rox. Kids can spend Rox on virtual items like food, furniture and other treats and toys for their monster. Over time their monster will increase in level, be able to visit new locations in Monstro City, and earn all kinds of in-game rewards for playing. Monster owners will also be able to make friends with other owners and leave messages on their pages."

Tutor Hunt http://www.tutorhunt.com
Tutor Hunt provides a completely free service for both tutors and students to locate each other.