Expert: Candace Huber - 6/7/2005

Question
what are the best games to help build reading skills in children that are in the 1st grade?

Answer
Hi,

I actually know of a really great place to help kids learn sounds and reading.  It is called Game Goo, http://www.cogcon.com/gamegoo/gooey.html , and the games are all geared to kids ages pre-school and older. My kids really love these games.

Here are some other places for reading:

http://www.starfall.com/
http://www.bobsedulinks.com/reading.htm
http://www.scholastic.com/clifford/read/index.htm (Clifford Reading Games)
http://www.rdale.k12.mn.us/ple/kindergarten_websites.htm#language
http://www.tooter4kids.com/Classroom/kids_literacy.htm#bears


I also have a huge list of places for you and your kids to visit.  There are places to get craft and school projects, games for pleasure, and games for education.  Most of the educational games are towards the end of this list...don't forget to check them out.

If the links don't work right, try coping and pasting the entire link into your web browser.  Sometimes the links get screwed up from me to you.

First, I am going to list a couple of kids color page and craft links.

http://www.onawhim.us/kidszone_nonflash.html (my site) http://ivyjoy.com/coloring/coloringlinks.html (incredible listing of kids coloring page websites) http://www.kidprintables.com/(Coloring Pages) http://www.coloring.ws/coloring.html
http://www.sitesforparents.com/index3.html (more links to great websites) http://www.kidsdomain.com/craft/ http://www.make-stuff.com/ (cool site) http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/ (one of my all time favorite websites :) http://www.edhelper.com/kindergarten/Kindergarten.htm (Ed Helper...school printables http://www.mrsjones.org/ (Mrs. Jones.org) http://www.preschooleducation.com/ (preschool education)

Next is a list of online game sites that I have found on the internet. You'll need to go through and see if they fit your needs.  My kids favorites are first. They are ages 6 and 4.

http://www.cogcon.com/gamegoo/config.html
http://www.prongo.com/
http://www.unclefred.com/ (Drawing with Uncle Fred) http://www.kidsdomain.com/games/ (lots of games fun and educational) http://www.juliasrainbowcorner.com/
http://www.funbrain.com/
http://pbskids.org/
http://www.uptoten.com/
http://www.nickjr.com
http://kids.f9.net.uk/flash/games.html
http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/ (These games are probably too old for kids under 6 but we love this site!)

More gaming places but we usually stick with the top list.

http://www.crayola.com/kids/games/
http://www.kidsplanet.org/games/ http://tcm.childrensmuseum.org/bones/kids_mazeGame.htm
http://www.nwf.org/kidzone http://www.dressupgames.com/kidmisc.html
http://disney.go.com/games/today/index.html
http://www.kidspsych.org/index2.html
http://akidsheart.com/holidays/christms/chgames.htm (online Christmas
Games)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/games/index.shtml
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/
http://www.edu4kids.com/ http://www.globalgang.org.uk/games/index.htm

http://www.scholastic.com/kids/games.htm
http://www.childrensmuseum.org/kids/games.htm
http://www.factmonster.com/ http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/class/0,17446,,00.html
http://www.cyberkids.com/
http://www.syvum.com/online/ http://www.fbi.gov/kids/games/games.htm (FBI
kids) http://www.fema.gov/kids/games.htm (FEMA kids) http://school.discovery.com/schooladventures/geogame/ (Discovery School) http://www.mysterynet.com/ (mystery games) http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chgames.html (Brain Games) http://www.literacycenter.net/parents_teacher/letter_center.htm (literary games...letter recognition) http://www.edbydesign.com/automath.html (Math
Games)
http://kidshub.org/kids/kids.cfm http://www.lego.com/eng/play/games/ (Lego
Land) http://www.worldalmanacforkids.com/ (World Almanac) http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/games.htm (interesting games) http://www.coolmath.com/ (Cool Math) http://www.epa.gov/OGWDW/kids/cycle.html (EPA water cycle) http://www.carmensandiego.com/ (Carmen San Diego) http://ecokids.earthday.ca/pub/splash.cfm (ECO Kids) http://www.spacekids.com/playanddo/playanddo/ (Space Kids) http://www.brainpop.com/ (Brain Pop - Cool STuff) http://www.JuliasRainbowCorner.com
http://www.mentaljokes.com/cube.html (Brain Games) http://www.iknowthat.com/com?COOK= (might not be free?) http://www.sodaplay.com/

Here are a couple of places to find free games or game demos to download. You'll need to search through the games to find some to suit your kids.

http://www.kidsdomain.com/down/ http://www.microsoft.com/kids/freestuff/default.htm
http://www.free-games.com.au/Free_Kids_Games/
http://game.downloadatoz.com/roxies-reading-fish/
http://www.webfreebees.net/kidslinksinc/kids-games.html

If you need more sites please email me again anytime.  :)

Hope this helps.
Goodluck and Have Fun,

Candace