Best FREE Safe, Fun, Educational Game Sites for Kids

 

Best FREE Safe, Fun & Educational Online Game Sites for Infants & Toddlers

When it comes to finding games online for infants and toddlers, it’s not always easy.  There are a lot of sites out there that are not educational, are speckled with inappropriate ads and just flat out, not kid friendly.  Here are my top ten picks for fun, educational and mom-approved sites that cater to kids ages 0-6 (Rankings are based on kid-friendliness and educational value). And the best part…they’re all FREE!

#1  Nick Jr. ~ Probably the coolest learning site out there for kids!  All of their favorite Nick Jr. characters (Dora, Wubbzy, Backyardigans) and tons of great educational games that make parents happy.  On the plus side…great cultural content and language learning too!  The Cool Stuff: videos, games, online coloring, art and stickers, dress-up, music and rhyming, build-a-robot or puppy, racing, hide-and-seek, languages, cultures, shapes, colors, matching, alphabet, counting and numbers, word games, puzzles, tons of awesome recipes, fun crafts and more.  Premium learning program (Nick Jr. Boost).

#2  PBS Kids ~  Definitely a lot of learning to be done here!  Lots of tools for literacy, some language and cultural learning and all of your kids favorite PBS characters (Sid the Science Kid, Curious George, Super Why, Sesame Street). The Cool Stuff: videos,  games, online coloring, dress-up, superheroes, rhyming and music.  Educational game topics: literacy, counting, shapes, colors, matching, puzzles, alphabet, science, nutrition, environment, printable crafts, kid friendly recipes and more.  Also, options for older kids up to age 10 (PBS Kids Go).  Games, videos and wallpapers are available for iTunes and mobile device download.

#3  Sesame Street ~  Likely the best known educational franchise for kids in the world!  One of the great things about Sesame street is that are so well-rounded.  They are focused on traditional learning, music and arts, cultural, emotional and special needs awareness, health, environment and much more! Their website offers tons of fun games and activities for kids, and of course…with Elmo and all his friends.  You can also find a great variety of Sesame Street games, videos and activities at the PBS Kids website above!  The Cool Stuff: videos, games, peek-a-boo, action games, online coloring, printable coloring pages, alphabet, cultural awareness, languages, feelings, special needs, themed playlists, iTunes podcasts and more.

#4  Sprout ~  Sprout is the sister network of PBS Kids.  It features tons of great educational games, all of kids’ favorite Sprout characters and some from the traditional PBS family (The Wiggles, Fireman Sam, Caillou).  A great resource for educational tv and games from all over the globe!  The Cool Stuff: online coloring, puzzles, dress-up, music, matching, counting, alphabet and literacy games, building, mazes, races, printable crafts, kid friendly recipes and more.  Get Sprout To Go and play games, videos and music via iPad, iTouch, iPhone and iTunes.

#5  Playhouse Disney ~ Another great resource of multicultural and educational programing for little ones.  This site has a good mix of programing from around the world.  Lots of popular characters (Little Einsteins, Handy Manny, Imagination Movers).  The Cool Stuff: videos, games, cultures, languages, counting, colors, matching, alphabet, puzzles, printable coloring pages, music, storybooks, character crafts, recipes and more.  Also features Disney educators resources and premium learning program (Preschool Time Online).

#6  Treehouse TV ~ This is sort of a compilation of many of the best games from some very popular kids television.  Literally, TONS of games on this site and most star well-known characters from Nick Jr. and other popular kids channels (Go Diego Go, Yo Gabba Gabba, Fresh Beat Band)!  Easily one of the most underrated sites out there for kids.  Definitely don’t miss out on this one.  The Cool Stuff: videos, games, awesome printable activities and color sheets of kids’ favorite tv characters, crafts, matching, online coloring, dress-up, puzzles, numbers, colors, shapes, music, mobile Treehouse downloads and more.

#7  Thomas & Friends ~  The site features great shows that deal with children’s emotions, helps them to understand lessons about life and friendship, and features all of their favorite HIT Entertainment characters (Barney, Thomas, Bob the Builder).  Their website is loaded with videos and some fun games and activities for kids.  Thomas & Friends is an official partner to Autism Speaks, The National Autistic Society, and several other organizations related to autism.  The show has helped millions of kids with autism spectrum diagnoses by combining verbal, visual and emotional actions to bring the stories to life.  The Cool Stuff: matching, build your own train, emotions game, videos, coloring (online and printable), races, puzzles (online and printable), birthday cards, bios about the trains, iPad store, free game downloads and more.

#8  Fungooms ~ This site might seem strange at first because there are no directions and very few words, but kids love it and memorize the functions pretty quickly.  Tons of great learning games on here and some that require strategic thinking.  The Cool Stuff: music, shapes, racing, mazes, puzzles, photography, fishing, gardening, peek-a-boo, interactive stories and more!

#9  Starfall ~  Starfall is a popular and highly recommended learning resource amongst teachers.  There’s a good chance that once your kids reach school age, they’ll be coming home with a few Starfall assignments.  This is an excellent website for kids!  Bright, colorful and fun!  The Cool Stuff: videos, music and rhymes, alphabet, colors, numbers, shapes, counting, math, reading, vowels, phonics, audio & interactive story books and so much more!

#10  Hub Bub ~  This is a cute game site for kids with lots of fun and goofy games.  Kids can watch popular shows (The Wot Wots, Elefun & Friends, In the Night Garden) and play all kinds of fun and silly games.  The Cool Stuff: videos, fun games like caring for babies, build-a-burger, racing and more.

More awesome game sites for kids ages 0-6:

• Knee Bouncers – Music, shapes, colors, numbers, letters, peek-a-boo, and more!  Also downloads for iTouch, iPad, iPhone through iTunes.
• Kideos – Basically a YouTube for kids.  Tons of fun and interesting videos for kids!
• Kids CBC – Videos, games, printables, puzzles, stickers, art, coloring and more.
• Fisher Price – Peek-a-boo, coloring, alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes, puzzles and more.
• GPB Kids – Literacy, math and more for kids PreK through 3rd grade.
• UpToTen – Animated stories, games, puzzles, races, mazes and more.
• Minimops – Music, dinosaur puzzles, gardening game, connect-the-dots, musical coloring.
• Suessville – A fun play land of everything Dr. Suess!  Stories, games, videos and more.
• Baby TV – Interactive stories, learning games, videos, mobile game downloads for Android.
• ZiggityZoom – Online coloring and stories, crafts, games, awesome resources for parents.
• CBeebies – Videos, games, music, online stories and coloring.
• Kaboose – Alphabet, animal games, build-it games, online coloring, puzzles and more.
• Peekuboo – Personalized kids online interactive story books.
• Gudli – Puzzles, numbers, matching, numbers, shapes, alphabet, literacy, math.
• AG KidsZone – Games, videos and crafts.
• Pocoyo’s World – Interactive world of Pocoyo, games and more. Sign-up required.
• Webkinz – Interactive play world with games for kids. Sign-up required.
• Preschool Library – Literacy games and stories.
• Baby Gamer – A catalog of kids game sites that includes hundreds of kids games, music, lullabies, paper toys, online dress-up, online story books and more!  Some really amazing games and activities!  This one didn’t make the list because some of the linked sites have an abundance of ads.  Definitely look into this one though because there are some really great links here!