A Guide to Online Educational Activities for Toddlers

Online preschool games and educational activities for toddlers abound, and the most progressive preschools are making their own first forays into the world of online communication and community building to provide a safe learning and online playing environment. Some preschools are even taking a page from the playbook of major school districts by using the Internet to promote home/school connections. Bright Hub’s own Marlene Gundlach wrote an article entitled Using a Classroom Portal to Communicate which outlines how students, families, and school districts interact via the Internet.

Preschool activities for a toddler may be found on a number of existing websites. Look no further than Bright Hub’s own Laurie Patsalides who published a review of great kids’ websites in her article “Computer Games in the Younger Classroom.” As you explore Internet use in your own classroom, consider linking to this treasure trove via your preschool site. Consistent monitoring of these links is a must, however, since in some cases sites may change focus, ownership, or even cease to exist.

Fisher Price leads the way with a simple alphabet teaching tool that mimics the use of common toddler toys like flash cards or blocks. The Literacy Center Education Network follows suit, but also offers Spanish, German, and French pronunciations in addition to English. These are simple point and click online preschool games that allow the toddler to associate the spoken letter with its shape. Encourage parents to make use of these educational activities for their toddler - especially if the child experiences difficulty with letter recognition during class time.

Preschool activities that teach children to sort frequently rely on the use of toddler toys, such as memory cards. These may now be found online. Groovy Games features Hello Kitty matching cards that allow matching-based preschool activities to be done online. Parents will report that their youngsters enjoy this game so much that they will wish to repeat it time and again.

Online toddler games are perfect for families during the long summer months when preschool is not in session. Instead of forgetting the lessons learned during preschool, toddlers (under the supervision of a parent) can maintain skills by playing educational games.

Since these educational activities for a toddler require the use of a mouse and keyboard, these youngsters receive their first training in computer use at a young age. This is a skill that will come in handy as even elementary school students are now required to type major assignments.

Best of all, the round the clock availability of gratis online toddler games also cuts down on the amount of toddler toys a parent may feel the need to purchase.