January 11, 2008

The 10 Best Free Websites for Kids Entertainment

I always try to find new things to entertain my kids for cheap or better yet, free. There are a lot of websites out there that offer free entertainment options for preschool and school aged kids. I find myself using these sites a lot to get ideas, to find activities and print out fun stuff for my kids to do.

Here are my top 10 picks, in no particular order:

1. Discovery Kids

They offer loads of free online games that are both fun and educational for the school aged crowd. They do have a lot of advertising on the site, which I don’t particularly care for, but all in all a good site for kid appropriate games.

Noggin is a great site for the preschoolers. They offer a lot of free online games, printable activities and coloring pages. They also have videos to watch and a special section dedicated to parents. We really like this site.

3. Alfy.com

They offer a lot of free games, printables, activity ideas and we use them often for the kitchen table projects.

4. Sesame Workshop

They offer a lot of free educational activities, videos, podcasts, games and even a special section for parents. Everything is perfect for preschoolers.

5. Kidsdomain

They have a ton of arts and crafts ideas, free downloadable games, online games, recipes, just a ton of great things that are all searchable by age, so you are sure to find something your kids will love.

6. Moms Minivan is a great site for kids of all ages. The site is primarily geared toward travel entertainment, but you will find games and activities that are fun at home too. My favorites are the aluminum foils models for the toddlers and the string figures for the older kids. They even have a lot of instructions available for things like string figures. Everything is organized by age, so you are sure to find something appropriate for your family.

7. Coloring Page

This site is great for free coloring and activity printables as well as online coloring. They have step by step illustrated instructions for projects like making model airplanes or building a kite.

8. Family Fun

This is a fabulous site, they have a lot of activities for the kids, you can search by age, gender, favorites themes, etc. They have arts and crafts, how to videos, printables, games, and my favorite-recipes for your little chefs. This site always has something new and interesting and I highly recommend you check it out.

9. PBS Kids

Games, printables and music for kids of all ages. No ads, just fun, love it.

10. Sprout Online

I love Sprout and my kids love Sprout. They have so many things to do on their website. Mostly for toddlers and preschoolers, the site has a lot of things the whole family will enjoy. They offer educational videos, crafts, recipes, printables and activities. We love the recipes, our current favorite is Jay Jay the Jet Plane Chicken Salad Planes. A must visit if you have preschool aged kids.

If you are worried about the cost/waste of paper to use the printables, try using the back side of junk mail or using all those fax and copier reports that print out and get tossed daily. My Hubby brings home all these from his office as well as any other random sheets of paper that are destined to be tossed out. We are all about the recycling around here.

I know there are a lot more sites out there that offer fun for kids, these are just the sites I find myself referring to frequently. If you have a favorite, please share!

Enjoy and Have Fun!

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