Margaret (4 months yesterday) is now newly interested in toys. She can't manage to grab very far and bring a toy to her but, if I give her a toy, she can hold on to it and put it in her mouth (where everything belongs, of course). This is a good age because now I can hand her toys and "buy" a couple minutes of her being occupied by somthing other than Mama.
I let the kids try out www.Starfall.com and it was a big hit with all of us. I like that the games (which focus on reading skills) do not involve licensed cartoon characters. The games seem really wholesome, entertaining, and educational.What are your favorite Internet sites safe for preschoolers to use?
Teresa loves Starfall. We still have to "do" it for her, since she doesn't have any mouse or keyboard skills (when do kids pick those up, anyway? - should I try to teach her now?). But she asks for "letters" (as she calls the ABC activities) very often when I sit down at the computer to do other things. I sometimes oblige her with 2 or 3 letters. Her favorite these days is the Dinosaur Dance at the end of D.
ReplyDeleteI have never let Ben play on my computer....because I don't want him to think he can play with my computer LOL. But we love the Bob Books app for iphone/ipod. There is a free version and a pay version.
ReplyDeleteFrances: I don't know when kids acquire those fine motor skills because I didn't let John start trying the computer till age four (and he could move the mouse and such immediately). I would think a child could manage it sometime during age three.
ReplyDeleteJamie: And I'm kind of the opposite! I used to let the kids play with my iPhone and I had loaded many apps onto it for them and I got *so* tired of it that I recently stripped it of apps for them and am not letting them touch it anymore!
ReplyDeleteOh, and, of course, John has to ask permission to use the computer. I'm figuring out how I want to limit it (e.g., 2x per week for 15 minutes or just whenever I say 'yes' or what).
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