Ready, Set, Click

Boowa & Kwala Games Galore
www.uptoten.com/kids/boowakwala-navigation-games.html

Designed for parents and children up to age six, this Australian Web site serves up 331 activities that familiarize youngsters with computer keyboard keys (spacebar and arrow keys, for instance) and mouse skills (click, click-and-drag). You’ll find many of these skill-building activities in the sections “Catch Me,” “Routes and Paths,” “Sorting Things,” and “Coordination Games.” Most of the games are Flash-based and have wonderful sounds, so turn up your speakers. Created by: UpToTen, Port Louis, Mauritius.

Chateau Meddybemps Learning Activities
www.meddybemps.com/7.33.html

Here you’ll find more than 50 creative exercises that introduce kids to the mouse. The section “Small Motor Skills” offers 18 mouse activities, but other sections, especially “Puzzles,” “Spatial Concepts,” and “Matching,” are also good exercises. Created by: Jerry and Susan Jindrich, Newburgh, IN. Don’t Miss: A site highlight is gender-focused activities. For boys, there’s “Cars and Trucks” and girls might like “Flower Shop.”

Elmo’s Keyboard-o-Rama
www.sesameworkshop.org/sesamestreet/games/flash.php?contentId=9495524&

This very simple game is designed to teach young children the letter keys. With help from a parent or caregiver, a child simply clicks on any letter key and Elmo responds, by naming an object that starts with that letter. Created by: Sesame Workshop, New York, NY. Detour: Other Sesame Street games that teach kids how to use a mouse and a computer keyboard are listed at www.sesameworkshop.org/sesamestreet/sitemap.

Kindergarten Literacy and Math
www.internet4classrooms.com/month2month.htm

Designed for preschool and primary teachers, this cool site links to many online skill games. One of the niftiest site features is that each section contains a description (in purple print) of the mousing/computer skills a young child needs to master in order to play the game. This site is also one of the few that focuses primarily on skill games that can be integrated into math or literacy lessons (great for homeschooling parents or preschool teachers). Created by: Susan Brooks and Bill Byles, Memphis, TN.

Online Games for Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers
www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=10&e=gamesLanding&mcat=game_infant,game_toddler,game_preschool&site=us

Toymaker Fisher Price has created these computer-skill games and activities, 57 in all (7 for infants, 18 for toddlers, and 32 for preschoolers). Created by: Mattel, Inc., El Segundo, CA. Don’t Miss: “Sparkling Symphony Surprise! Game,” terrific for infants. Detour: The Lego folks have created a wonderful set of 16 skill-building online games just for preschoolers (who, by the way, are generally ready to learn how to click-and-drag using a trackball or mouse). Visit www.lego.com/eng/preschool/games/default.asp.