I know some of you are just getting ready to send your kids back to school. I can’t believe mine have been back for a month already! We’re all settling into the routine but as the “new” wears off, I’m desperately searching for ways to keep the boys interested.

Both of my boys think it’s a huge treat when they get to play on the computer so I’ve been working on compiling a list of free online educational games for kids. Here are some of our favorites:

• PBS Kids – Printable coloring pages, streaming videos, music, and games featuring all your favorite PBS Kids characters. Most of the games on this site are geared toward preschoolers through about second grade. Skills include alphabet, numbers, early reading, matching, sorting, basic computer skills (using the mouse), and much more. The only thing I don’t really like is that the games are not labeled according to skill taught or age level. You pretty much have to click on a game and look at it to see if it’s appropriate for your child. If you want to work on a particular skill, you might have to look around a bit to find a suitable game. The games load fairly quickly on a broadband connection and the kids enjoy them. Also check out PBS Kids Island, home of the Raising Readers program. By creating a free account, parents can track their children’s progress through different reading games and lessons.
• Scholastic Family Playground – This is Scholastic’s site for children under 6 years old. They have stories, videos, printables, and games for preschoolers and early readers. Once again, it’s sometimes hard to tell the exact skill level and learning objectives for each game without loading the game and experimenting but the games load quickly and are lots of fun. Parents can also subscribe to Scholastic’s parent newsletter for tips and advice on encouraging a love of reading in children.
• Scholastic The Stacks for Kids – Scholastic has a separate site for older children complete with games, crosswords, puzzles, e-cards, and lots of other fun activities.
• Noggin.com – Noggin has a subscription service that lets you track your child’s activities but they also have a variety of free online games, music, videos, and printables based on all your favorite Noggin programs and characters. The titles of the Noggin games make it a little bit easier to determine the skill focus of most of the games and they also have a tool to search for games based on age, skill, or program.
• Starfall.com – This site was recommended by my son’s kindergarten teacher and I love it! Most of the activities focus on reading and pre-reading skills beginning with ABC practice and advancing through vocabulary-controlled stories and writing exercises. The download center has printable activities which complement the lessons on the website and the Starfall store has even more support materials available for purchase. This is a great site for homeschoolers!
• Seussville - We’re big Dr. Seuss fans so I was excited when a first grade teacher pointed me to this website. Play Seuss-inspired memory, matching, sorting, and pattern games.
• Gamequarium – This site is a repository of hundreds of educational games and resources for children from preschool through sixth grade. It also includes lesson plans for teachers and homeschoolers. Activities are sorted by age level and skill.
• Funbrain - Home of the Math Arcade, Reading Arcade, and “Just for fun” games. This site lets you search for games based on grade level – kindergarten through eighth grade. They also have blogs for kids and parents.
• Primary Games – Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies games as well as printables, videos, and lots of other fun activities for kids.
• Play Kids Games – This site was designed by parents of young children for parents of young children. Practice math, reading, computer, and problem solving skills in a fun and entertaining environment. My favorite part about this site is that parents or teachers can set up their own “classroom” and customize the games by adding their own word lists and math problems. We never got to practice our spelling words by playing pinball when I was a kid!

Leave me a comment and let me know your favorite websites for kids!