dragons in the flower bed Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 (edited) My six-year-old is allowed to use the computer for about an hour a day. He's not, however, allowed to game for more than an hour a week. He's bored with lolcats, doesn't care for video much (unlike my nine-year-old, who spends lots of time watching eighties anime on Hulu), and can only spend so much time doing pixel art before his eyes need a break. He asked if he could make a website, so we'll be working on that. I plan to introduce him to Ruby. What else can he do? Are there any great educational websites your older children like to visit on a regular basis? He reads well and widely and is sensitive to anything "babyish." I don't care about ads; he's very aware of attempts to manipulate his attention. Edited December 6, 2009 by dragons in the flower bed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mktkcb Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Scratch programming from MIT is great fun. http://scratch.mit.edu/ (to download the program) http://learnscratch.org/ (for tutorials & lesson plans). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trixie Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 My six-year-old is allowed to use the computer for about an hour a day. He's not, however, allowed to game for more than an hour a week. He's bored with lolcats, doesn't care for video much (unlike my nine-year-old, who spends lots of time watching eighties anime on Hulu), and can only spend so much time doing pixel art before his eyes need a break. He asked if he could make a website, so we'll be working on that. I plan to introduce him to Ruby. What else can he do? Are there any great educational websites your older children like to visit on a regular basis? He reads well and widely and is sensitive to anything "babyish." I don't care about ads; he's very aware of attempts to manipulate his attention. We also do very limited computer time, so I'm picky about the kinds of sites I allow ds to visit. :001_smile: I don't know how over-the-head some of this might be for a 6yo, but here are some off the top of my head that my ds likes/has liked and that we are ok with his using unsupervised: www.timeforkids.com http://www.gamedesign.jp/flash/chatnoir/chatnoir.html http://www.jacksonpollock.org/ http://woodgears.ca/eyeball/ http://www.becominghuman.org/ http://thehappyscientist.com/ He also enjoys some of the games on lego.com's website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trixie Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 I just realized that a few of the sites I mentioned are games (though not in the sense of "gaming"). Sorry about that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crissy Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 A couple of sites where my boys and I can get lost for long periods of time are The Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian Institution. Also, have you seen WorldWide Telescope? It is a download in the same fashion as Google Earth. There are so many amazing ways to use the software to explore space, including following their 'guided tours'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Hey the scratch fron MIT looks neat! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sputterduck Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 If he wants to make a website teach him to code xhtml. Learning a language is better done young anyway. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 If he wants to make a website teach him to code xhtml. Learning a language is better done young anyway. :) yeah, a couple of mine have their own private wordpress blog and are enjoying it.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdeveson Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 http://fantasticcontraption.com/index.php The kids think it's a game. It's actually physics. When I introduced it to the kids in my co-op last year (we were doing physics), the kids LOVED it. And so did the moms. The game is free and kids can save the solutions to the different problems and share with friends who have an account. In that sense it's a "game" -- it's FUN. My husband who is an engineer, insists that our son have as much access to this game as he wants (during his scheduled computer time). I'm curious, why don't you allow your children to play computer games for more than one hour per week? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen500 Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 National Gallery of Art Kids- http://www.nga.gov/kids/kids.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 http://www.answersingenesis.org/kids Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 I just wanted to second MIT's Scratch and the Fantastic Contraption sites; my kids LOVE those sites. Other free sites they visit regularly: "What's that Bug?" http://www.whatsthatbug.com/ Periodic Table of Videos http://www.periodicvideos.com/ Have you considered a subscription to Discovery Streaming? https://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/index.php?option=com_hsbc_epp_order&Itemid=1038 Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 I just wanted to second MIT's Scratch and the Fantastic Contraption sites; my kids LOVE those sites. Other free sites they visit regularly: "What's that Bug?" http://www.whatsthatbug.com/ Periodic Table of Videos http://www.periodicvideos.com/ Have you considered a subscription to Discovery Streaming? https://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/index.php?option=com_hsbc_epp_order&Itemid=1038 Jackie Awesome sites! DS10 will love the bugs one and DD17 is into chemistry. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeanestMomInMidwest Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 My kids like the Discovery Channel's Cosmeo site so much I went ahead and bought the subscription. They also visit PBS Kids, but I question the "educational value" of that site. I think it is mostly for fun. NASA kids club has some games and non-game content. My DS9 likes it. Because he plans to work for NASA someday, he also visits the regular NASA site. Some on here is above him, but he really finds stuff to capture his attention. Pooka Pages has lots of stories, crafts & activities. A lot to read on this site, with a few games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Brainpop.com and Brainpopjr.com have a good bit of free educational stuff and my 8yo has visited those sites on and off for 3 years now! lol We got a discounted subscription and it was a very good investment to get all the content for one year. (After that, he was tired of it, but I also don't let our kids play on the computer for very long daily.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 (edited) My kids don't usually go on the internet much, but my dd is learning to use photoshop elements. She has a small digital camera, and we have a scanner on our printer. She can load pictures she has taken and scan art she has done and combine them and add text and such. She loves it, and it gives her something fun to do with geeky dad. Oh - One site she does like is an art site for kids from National Gallery of Art. Edited December 6, 2009 by Karen in CO added nga site Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merylvdm Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 We are a very computer-literate home and my kids learn some kind of programming as soon as they are able - and everything else useful I can think of on the computer. They still 'game' but spend more time 'using' the computer. I wrote a Squidoo webpage on teaching kids programming- you will see I include Scratch which has been mentioned, but also other ideas: http://www.squidoo.com/teach-computer-programming. On http://www.iknowthat.com I remember my youngest played a game that was also teaching the basics of programming - something to do with a robot. (That site has lots of educational 'games') Squidoo itself is a fun place for kids to put up a 'lens' - their name for a web page. My daughter has a few (she is 9). She did one on her favorite books: http://www.squidoo.com/10-great-reads-for-girls. They can even earn money if people buy something from Amazon or eBay or Cafepress that they feature. So far my daughter has only made 3 cents - but she is working on a lens about rabbits (we have 2) and I think she is also working on one about movies for girls. This definitely encourages them to think about something to write about, organize their thoughts, be creative in presentation, find photos or clipart, and they have to write!! But she does it in her spare time as she sees it more as a business venture than anything educational. If you have Microsoft Publisher on your computer or a similar package, your son could also learn to make his own cards etc. It is defintely easy enough for a 6 year old. Meryl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted December 9, 2009 Author Share Posted December 9, 2009 Thanks for all the great suggestions, everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.