interactive learning

ABCmouse.com Review

Abc Mouse Screen shot 1

A few months ago I received an invitation to review ABCmouse.com. I have been looking for interactive lessons to compliment the kindergarten lessons which my 5 yr old was being taught in school and add on to the homeschooling material which I have compiled for my 22 month old. I was glad to try out this website as it could cater for the needs of my toddler and pre-schooler.

Information about the website

For those who haven’t heard about it this ABCmouse.com  is an online curriculum site for kids aged 2-6 yrs old  which has more then 3,500 learning activities spanning reading, maths, science, social studies and music. The activities included in the program come in the form of books, puzzles and games. There are exploratory activities and original songs.

I set up two accounts – one for my 5 yr old and the other for my toddler. Lesson were selected based on their ability level and they  set off to explore the site  with my supervision.

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The student accounts open up to the classroom setting where the child has the chance to choose between ” free learning” or “set learning” using the suggested learning path. At the end of each lesson the child is given tickets which they can redeem in the marketplace for ” treats”

Besides studying in the classroom the child can also visit the farm or the zoo where they can play games and activities related to the animals in the farm or zoo.  My 5 yr old enjoyed the  games and love collecting the tickets at the end of each activity.  He exchanged his tickets for decoration items for his room. He is currently working towards getting enough tickets to decorate the whole bedroom with all his favourite things.

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My 22 month old has been using this website to help her learn her alphabets. She is able to recognize some of the alphabets like letter “A”, “T” and “O” so far. I like how they go through each alphabet and have a range of activities from lesson, word, chant, book, tracking, art , puzzles etc to cater to different learning abilities of the child. Tiger girl is currently unable to follow and complete some of the activities like tracing and the puzzles but as time goes and repeated exposure to the program I’m sure she be able to pick up the skills.

My thoughts

I find this is one of the most comprehensive website that I have reviewed to date. It offers stellar content and will certainly be a addition  for any homeschooling parent or parent seeking a more interactive learning style for their kids.

 

Visit their site to purchase an annual subscription for their program or to learn more about their program. For a limited time you can get two months free with an annual subscription and add up to three children for the price of one!

You can also connect with ABCmouse.com via facebook

Disclaimer :I received a subscription of ABCmouse.com for review purposes. All opinions are 100% my own.

 

 


Recommended Websites for kids

Being a parent of young toddlers I am constantly on the look out for interactive games for my boys.With the rise of multimedia, there are many online resources which can help enhance a child’s learning experience.

What constitutes of a fun and educational interactive children’s website?

There are many kids’ websites having violent games and little educational value. To me for a child to benefit from surfing the website while independently or assisted surfing he should be able to

  • Learn a new song or activity I.e.: Unfolding matching cards.
  • Listen to story and read along.
  • Learn how to co-ordinate and move the mouse to click on the desired part of the screen.
  • Follow the instructions given in the program and play along.

Here are some websites which I have shared and explored with my elder boy Ryan.

They are rated on interactivity, ease in navigations and choice of activities available in each site.

PBS Kids

There are interactive games, songs and colouring pages from Clifford, Barney, Arthur and Dragon Tales to name a few. All these characters are wildly popular with toddlers as their cartoon shows are shown on the television in the afternoons.
Recommended Age: 2 yrs +

Rating: 5 Star

Starfall

This website is where my son learned phonetically how to read his alphabets. It is a top notch website which teaches a child how to read. There are read-aloud books and interactive games based on the different alphabets. Both uppercase and lowercase alphabets are emphasized and taught.

Recommended Age: 1 yrs +
Rating: 5 Stars

UpToTen.com

100 over games for kids individually rated for their age suitability and popularity. An excellent stop for a variety of actives to keep your child occupied and supplement their learning.

Recommended Age: 1yr+

Rating: 5 Stars

Nick Jr

There is a selection of crafts, games and songs from Dora the Explorer, Blue’s Clues, Wonder Pets, Ruby & Max and many others.

Recommended Age: 2yrs +

Rating: 4 Stars

Sesame Street

An all time favourite program which I grew up with during my childhood. One can revisit Oscar the grouch, Ernie and Bert or even Big Bert in the various interactive games available at that site. Art & Music actives also help to build your child’s interest in these areas.

Recommended Age: 2yrs +

Rating: 4 Stars

GameGoo

The Goos in the site bring you through a variety of activities from matching similar words, finding opposites to going on a trail.Note: This website is more suitable for kids who already have already mastered the alphabets.
Recommended Age: 3yrs +

Rating: 4 Stars

Ready Set Learn  

Games, Music and puzzles from Toddler world, Paz Place, Hi-5, Magic School bus are just some of the characters featured on this website.

Recommended Age: 2 yrs+

Rating: 4 Stars

Pauly’s Playhouse

Pauly has a good selection of interactive games which teaches A-B-Cs, Counting, parts of the body, animal sounds and even jigsaw puzzles.

Recommended Age: 1yr +

Rating: 4 Stars

Little Critter  

For fans of Little Critter, their official website where you can get colouring pages, interactive games, interactive read and play and lots more.

Recommended Age: 2 yrs+

Rating: 3 Stars

Fun with Spot  

From the books of the famous children writer Eric Hill. There are books to read, Videos, Cds and games.
You can send a postcard from Spot to your best friend.
Recommended Age: 1yr +

Rating: 2 Stars

Dr Seuss

If you are fans of the classic “Cat in the Hat” by Dr Seuss you would like the ‘click and play’ or ‘print and play’ selection that there is in their playground. However the number of games at this site is quite limited. There is more links on their existing products – Books, Videos, Cds and how to purchase them. The site can be used as an introduction to your child on the Dr Seuss series of books.
Recommended Age: 2yrs +

Rating: 2 Stars