Having a young nephew has taught me that toddlers aren’t shy about going online and playing games. In fact, I was very surprised at how young he was when he became Internet savvy. Using a mouse wasn’t daunting to him at all. His comfort with searching online was eventually accompanied by an almost insatiable desire for more activities.
His mother let me know his favorites, so I’ve had a chance to play on them. I enjoy them almost as much as my nephew does! You might find that your children like them too.
Please note that some of the games and activities on some of the sites (or those linked from them) are for older children but many are suitable for toddlers.
Nick Games (http://www.nick.com/games/)
Nickolodeon has established a great games site based on their cartoons. Along with plenty of other offerings, they feature The Pollution Solution game, starring The Penguins of Madagascar, Race to the Goo Lagoon and nine other games starring SpongeBob Squarepants, Otis’ Chopper Challenge game from Back at the Barnyard and the Space Blast game from Jimmy Neutron. There are also plenty of activities that appeal to kids of all ages.
Disney Preschool (http://home.disney.go.com/foryou/preschool/)
Disney offers a pre-schooler web channel, which is filled with fun videos to watch and music to listen to. They also offer activities, like The Great Sky Race, Inspector Ooh and Rhythms in the Warehouse. Kids can also enter the “worlds” of a variety of Disney characters, such as Mickey Mouse, Buzz Lightyear, Imagination Movers, Phineas and Ferb and many other kid favorites.
HubPages (http://hubpages.com/_coloringpages/)
HubPages is a communal bloggin site that offers all kinds of resources, including kids activities. There are free flower coloring pages for children, free Halloween coloring pages, and Christmas coloring pages for kids, as well as many others. You can either click the links in this article or search the HubPages site for other coloring pages and activities.
Coloring.com (home page: http://www.coloring.com/, categorized index page: http://www.coloring.com/pictures/choose.cdc)
This site is pretty low-tech, making it easy for you to find the coloring page you want to download. It has a large selection of coloring pages accessible by those who can read the categories. These can be accessed by going to the “categorized index page” URL shown above. The home page has picture navigation, though, so your child may be able to navigate it alone.
May your children have many happy hours playing on these sites!
