BEST OF THE WEB
 International Kids' Space |
Although other sites' ratings came close, this is far and away the best children's site on the Web. Here, kids can share their art, music, and stories with children all over the world.
While this is not the only such opportunity on the Web, it is the most successful in design and execution. Children and parents can explore this site through a clickable diagram with symbolic icons or by a word menu. The site encourages creativity and community at the same time. For example, kids are encouraged to write a story about a pictures submitted by another child, or illustrate a story that another child wrote. There are pen pals, a bulletin board, and a message box for comments about the site -- which is also available in Japanese. The International Kids' Space always has a lot to see and do. It's the kind of site that makes me think of children and parents having to take turns to get at the computer.
 The StarChild Project:Connecting NASA and the K-12 Classroom |
This is a delightfully interactive site. You start out with simple definitions on the first cluster of pages, all interconnected, with lovely pictures of the sun, moon, stars, and the like. These descriptions are well-written for a K-
12 audience. Younger kids might need a little help; older kids will do fine on their own.
From there, you can get slightly more detailed information about the planets by following the right links. If you dig down deep enough, you will wind up at the stunningly designed Students for the Exploration and Development of Space national home page . This is a resource that appears to be as vast as the universe. Clicking on a Solar System Tour will not only get you planetary data, but information about each of the planets' satellites as well.
Everyone can enjoy the slow but spectacular images. You'll get the best results if your computer is equipped for sound as well as moving pictures, so you can witness such marvels as colliding galaxies.
 Steve and Ruth Bennett's Family Surfboard |
This is a great site for helping parents and kids learn together. It features links to various static and interactive sites, both parent-oriented and child-centered. Also included are software reviews, demo software, and a question-an
d-answer section for common kid questions like, "What do dogs and cats think about when they're alone?" and, "Where does fire go when it goes out?"
The site regularly puts up public-service announcements that concern child safety, but not necessarily the Internet. For example, at the time this article was written, the safety piece was about teaching your child how to ride a bicycle. One of the bes t features is a section with suggestions for computer-based creativity. A recent project idea was to take a survey of the favorite ice-cream toppings in your family and enter the results into a computer-generated spreadsheet. As a long-time Excel-a-phobe myself, I found this to be a pretty neat concept. Getting kids to see education as fun and challenging is one of the best ways to encourage them to like learning for their own sakes.
![[Best of the Rest]](bestrest.gif){kind=small}
| 4. 365 TV-Free Activities to Do with Your Child |
Another fine Bennett production, this site really does have a different game or activity for every day of the year. My favorite is Improbable Cuisine, which led young Noel Bennett to invent the unlikely dish, "fish feet with banana chairs."
| 5. CyberSpaaaaaaaaace.... |
Muppet lovers of all ages, unite! This splendid tribute to "all things Muppetationa" features actual Muppet news flashes, pictures, books, and other Muppet stuff, plus links to the fledgling Jim Henson Interactive Page, the Fabulous Miss Piggy Page , a nd many more.
| 6. The Vikings |
While only a part of the Viking Network Web, this page serves as a great starting place for kids. Many words on each page are linked to another page of description, which is similarly link-laden. Together, these dozens of pages explain all aspects of V iking life in a clear, concise manner.
| 7. CyberKids |
CyberKids is a very spiffy e-zine by and for children -- with a little help from their friends. While only on its third issue, CyberKids has all the hallmarks of a real winner. Along with reviews, articles, and fiction, CyberKids provides a keypal (or penpal) search and a discussion forum.
| 8. Underwater World |
Hold on to your fins, folks. This site is one deepwater doozy! True, the gorgeous seascapes are a bit sluggish, but they're well worth the wait. With its interactive adventure games, fishy Q&As, mix-and-match games, and more, this Monterey Bay Aquarium site is a real treasure.
| 9. FuturePlace |
This intriguing site challenges kids and adults alike to come up with designs for a futuristic theme park. Proposal guidelines forms are provided for you to enter your exploration, lifestyle, or entertainment rides. The actual park will only exist in c yberspace (alas!).
| 10. Uncle Bob's Kids Page |
You'll find oodles and oodles of annotated kid links here, plus techie tips for parental guidance. Educational, entertaining, and easy-to-use, this goes above and beyond the call of ordinary link lists.
| 11. The Action Figure Web Page |
This splendidly designed page is an unofficial counterpart to the Usenet news group, rec.toys.misc. While the comprehensive list is in The Toy Department, I found the Special Offers page far more interesting, with its notes on limited offers about toys not available anywhere else.
| 12. Volcano World |
This site is a little dense for kids to find their way around by themselves, so parents might want to be on hand. The fascinating volcano stories and awesome graphics more than make up for any lack of organization.
| 13. Family Planet |
This daily updated site is a superb resource for parents. It's got pointers to all sorts of fun stuff for the kids to do when you're finished reading up on the latest child-related news, expert tips, and software and book reviews.
| 14. Funny Kid Stories |
Scan through this collection of former misc.kids postings. Read, laugh, and enjoy; then head on over to your new online home.
| 15. Castles on the Web |
Objects of fairy tales and of grownups' dreams, castles hold a special meaning for children. This beautiful site gives you and your children all the castles you could want, without the cleaning expenses. A brief history accompanies each image.
| 16. World Wide Webs: String Figures from Around the World |
Cat's cradle on computer? It sounds crazy, but it works! This site shows you how to make string figures of varying complexity (i.e., from "I think I can do that" to "you've got to be kidding!") from many exotic locales. Parental assistance will be helpful in interpreting the rather technically worded directions.
| 17. Kids Action |
Kids Action is a child-friendly introduction to rainforest preservation. Kids can learn about animals like the okapi and three-toed sloth, and about indigenous peoples of the tropical rainforests. But don't look for objectivity: This site, sponsored by the Rainforest Action Network, has a strongly activist slant.
| 17.(tie) Latitude28 Schoolhouse |
This is one of the better online educational programs designed for classroom or home schooling. While it has some links for younger children, many of the lessons seem to be aimed at the 8- to 12-year-old age group. However, there are plenty of links to similar sites with different lessons.
| 19. Kid's Window |
Part of a larger Japanese-American cultural exchange program, this colorful site shows up on top 10 lists all over the net. Arts and crafts, food, and language lessons (hiragama, katakana, and kanji) are changed periodically, so there's always a new tr eat in store.
| 20. The Teel Family Page |
There's something for everyone at this exciting site. Parents will find it an excellent home-schooling page with activities, links, and software reviews. Kids can make their own scrimshaw, find out about killer whales and polar bears, and learn 17 Inui t words for snow. (The Teels are from Alaska.)
| 21. The LEGO WWW Server |
While it has lots of product information, this site also has plenty of fun things to learn, see, and do. Many of the projects look complicated, so parents might want to make liberal use of the question-and-answer pages.
| 22. Schoolhouse Rock |
How does a bill become a law? Well, if you're like me, you found out from watching a caricature of a rolled-up piece of paper sitting on the Capitol steps singing the blues on TV. Now, Schoolhouse Rock is enjoying a huge revival on the Web.
| 23. 4Kids |
This site might well have made my top 25 for its parent safety tips alone, especially the links to "Child Safety on the Information Superhighway" and the top-notch "Safe-T-Child" site. As it happens, 4Kids' entertainment, education, and activity link l ists are all of equally high quality.
| 24. Crayola |
This ever-popular site is as colorful as its name suggests. Brightly hued crayons guide you through such topics as trivia questions, contests, projects, and other fun over at the Crayola Kids e-zine. There's even stain removal tips for parents.
| 25. Dragonfly Toy Company |
This online catalog for toys, books, and adaptive devices for special-needs children might not look like much yet, but it's an outstanding concept. Each toy is evaluated online by a play therapist.
|
YOU'RE VISITOR LE FastCounter THANK YOU! |
Cyberbubba name, design and related
marks are trademarks of Cyberbubba
Copyright© 1998
Cyberbubba All Rights Reserved.
disclaimer