Recess! Media

Here come those cold, wet, winter Saturdays! Here come the cries of “I’m bored!”and “There’s nothing to do!” But take heart parents, and grandparents, friends and neighbors, because on days like these, the Internet is our friend!

I know, I know, in your perfect fantasy little Jimmy sits quietly on the sofa, afghan tucked neatly under his feet, reading your childhood copy of Treasure Island. Heck, I’m a librarian, that’s my fantasy too! But face it, kids today want a party — they want to be entertained — they want to logon!

Instead of feeling guilty, help the kids in your life by pointing them to websites that are intelligent, creative, and interactive. And keep reminding yourself that they are reading while they are online!

Here are a few wonderful, interesting, educational, and above-all entertaining Internet sites for kids.

To find anything from Arts and Crafts, to Pokemon, to Zebras visit Berit’s Best Sites for Children. Compiled by Canadian Librarian Berit Erickson this page includes links to over 1200 sites!

Jump over to PBS for links the Teletubbies, Sesame Street, Arthur, Wishbone, and Zoom. Or try Nick Jr.’s site for Blues Clues.

Science kids will love Bill Nye the Science Guy’s site with crazy experiments and silly science songs. Or check out San Francisco’s Exploratorium Science museum.

Harry Potter fans will want to visit Scholastic Press where they may test their wizarding knowledge. And athletes can dream of sunny spring days at Sports Illustrated for Kids online magazine.

And Remember School House Rock? Those crazy little educational cartoons that air on Saturday mornings? If you’re still not convinced the Internet is fun, try singing “Lolly, Lolly, Lolly get your Adverbs Here” with the child in your life!

It’s not enough for kids to use the Internet. We have to teach them to use it well