Free Online Games and Activities for Preschool Age Children
So Many Toys and Nothing to Do
Although my three-year-old little girl has a room full of toys, as most kids do, and a cabinet full of videos and DVD movies, she was extremely bored one afternoon. I happened to be on the internet and had the bright idea to find an educational online activity to satisfy her boredom so I could get something accomplished around the house.
From that day on, my three-year-old little girl has been a wiz at using the computer. I was literally blown away at how fast my three-year-old learned to use Internet Explorer and find her favorite educational games amongst a long list of favorite websites. I still can’t believe how proficient my preschool age child has become at navigating her favorite educational websites for kids.
I’m not saying my child is any more intelligent than the average child, but I now realize that kids often don’t reach their full potential because many kids aren’t allowed to try new activities such as using a computer. Many parents don’t give a preschooler enough credit, and more than likely, many parents have no idea what their child is truly capable of.
The Importance of Early Introduction to Computers
As technology advances, it becomes increasingly important to introduce children to computers at an early age. Helping a preschool age child learn the basics of computer use, and allowing preschoolers to explore educational websites will build their dexterity, intelligence, and their desire to learn.
I have observed my preschooler playing educational games and enjoying her favorite websites, and I have participated in many of the games and activities myself. They are ingenious to say the least. I had no idea there were so many free high-quality educational games and activities for preschool age children. I am amazed at the complexity and educational value of what I’ve found.
Free Games and Activities for Preschool Children�¯�¿�½
Noggin
One of the best websites that offer numerous free educational games for kids is Noggin. At http://www.noggin.com you will find all of your child’s favorite Noggin characters along with a large list of free educational games and activities. These aren’t ordinary online games either. They are absolutely amazing. I even have fun playing the games with my preschooler.
One of the many free activities for preschoolers at Noggin is called “Scribble Vision.” Kids use their computer mouse to color characters that are the subjects of short cartoon clips. Once the characters are colored, the characters become part of exceptionally cute and entertaining animated scenes.
For instance, preschoolers can color two gingerbread people. Once colored, the gingerbread people become part of the well-known skit where the gingerbread characters jump off the baking pan and run away. After they are colored, the gingerbread characters enter into the scene exactly as the child colored them, even with mistakes, which actually adds to the appeal of this ingenious preschool activity. The expression on the other cartoon characters faces as the gingerbread people run away doing cartwheels is truly priceless.
Noggin also offers free educational Sesame Street games and activities. One of these free educational games is called “oatmeal art.” This creative activity allows a child to click on various ingredients to create an artistically designed bowl of oatmeal. The child can change the bowl color, add different sized blobs of oatmeal to the bowl, slices of apples, raisins, colored marshmallows and much more. It’s a truly fun and originative preschool activity.
The Sesame Street section at Noggin also has a fun game color matching sock game. For every match, the child is congratulated, and another missing pair of socks moves along an animated clothesline. Each time the child clicks on the correct sock to make a pair, the game advances until all the pairs are appropriately matched. What a wonderful way to learn color matching.
Does your preschool age child like the character Oobi? This loveable character is a “hand puppet” in every sense of the word. Oobi and his friends consist of human hands with a pair of eyeballs perched on top. The hands open and close as the characters speak. They wear adorable hats, clothing, and accessories. Preschool age children absolutely love Oobi and friends.
The Noggin website has several free Oobi games that preschool children adore. One of these free games allows children to guide Oobi to plant virtual flowers seeds in virtual flower pots. Once watered, the virtual seeds sprout into beautiful flowers. It’s a wonderful free game to teach preschool age children about cause and effect. The beautiful flowers are fantastic rewards for a job well done.
Another free Oobi preschool activity allows children to play with virtual soap bubbles. Children can put soap bubbles all over Oobi to make a funny face with a bubble beard and mustache, a bubble hat, or whatever they want. It’s a very entertaining online activity for preschool age children. Adults can have fun with this activity too!
These are only a few of the free games offered at the Noggin website. The number of preschool games offered at Noggin are increasing all the time. There are always free, fun, new, and exciting activities for preschoolers at Noggin.
Disney
Another great website with free activities for preschool age kids is http://www.disney.go.com. Here there are many free educational games and activities for preschool age children in the Playhouse Disney section of the website.
Preschool age children love babies, and one of my daughter’s favorite educational activities at the Disney website is called “Go Baby.” An animated realistic baby dances, laughs, and participates in the fun. In one scenario, children are asked to help the baby choose something found on a beach. When the child clicks on the right item, they are congratulated, and the adorable animated baby interacts with the game.
There are also many other free preschool activities in the Playhouse section of the Disney website. There are lots of educational musical activities as well as online coloring and drawing pages. Preschoolers certainly won’t get bored on the Disney Playhouse website.
Etch-a-Sketch
Remember the fun of playing with an Etch-a-Sketch? Kids of all ages, as well as preschool age children, can make artistic creations with a virtual Etch-a-Sketch. At http://www.etchasketch.com kids can play with a very realistic Etch-a-Sketch toy. After a virtual shake the screen is cleared and ready for a new picture.
Barbie
When I first found the games at the Barbie website, I assumed they were too old for my preschool age child, but there are several games and activities my three-year-old absolutely loves, and she has become quite good at them.
At http://barbie.everythinggirl.com kids can virtually groom cats and dogs, change accessories, and use their imaginations. My little girl loves grooming and dressing the virtual cats and dogs, and she is very good at it. She knows just what to click on to artfully groom the online pets.
The Barbie website also has a virtual Barbie cake maker where kids can have fun decorating cakes, participate in a fun and exciting shoe hunt, and much more. Explore the games and activities on the Barbie website, and find the games appropriate for your preschool age child.
My three-year-old little girl loves playing with baby Krissy on the Barbie website. Children can virtually babysit for this adorable baby, and I must admit the activity is loads of fun. I would have loved an activity like this when I was a child. The activity is perfect for preschool age kids, and although Barbie is more often aimed at boys than girls, even a preschool age boy would find the activity amusing.
Baby Krissy is so cute with her big blue eyes, rosy cheeks, adorable smile, and precious little laugh. Kids will notice that baby Krissy’s eyes follow the computer pointer. The technology used for this activity is simply amazing!
Kids can help bathe baby Krissy. As baby Krissy sits in her bathtub, and kids are prompted to help baby Krissy with her bath. The bathtub fills when the spout is clicked on. When clicking on the shampoo, it magically pours and foams on baby Krissy’s head. The site is completely interactive, and it’s fun to see what happens when graphics are clicked on. Kids can move onto the next scene at any time.
Another scene with baby Krissy allows kids to virtually feed the baby as she sits in her high chair. Clicking on the bottle moves it over to her mouth, as does clicking on her bowl of baby food. Clicking on the wash cloth magically cleans baby Krissy’s face.
Another scene with baby Krissy is in a grocery store. Baby Krissy rides in a cart past an aisle of grocery items. Kids can fill the cart by clicking on specific items. The items chosen dance and bounce along the floor before they magically jump into the cart. The sound effects are very entertaining too. At the end of the aisle stands the cashier who rings up the groceries.
There is much more to do with baby Krissy, and even more for preschool age kids to do at the Barbie website. My little girl has explored the site and found lots of entertaining and educational activities to keep her busy when her toys are no longer interesting.
Sharing the Internet
When my preschool age little girl first started learning to use the computer and became interested in online games, it was very hard to convince her to do anything else. I was worried that I had created a monster and had made a mistake by letting my daughter play games and participate in online activities. There were times I needed to use the internet, and there were times I realized she had been on entirely too long. It was often a fight to get her interested in other things, but like any new toy, the initial interest or rather, obsessions, finally wore off. Now she wants to play online games and participate in educational online activities on occasion, rather than all the time.
If you allow your child to explore preschool websites and have a hard time getting them to do anything else, trust me, the newness and eagerness to get online will subside. The educational value of the many sites geared toward preschool age children will continue to be of benefit to your child. Computer usage at an early age will spark an educational interest that will remain all through life.
