Best Preschool Online Games –
Computer Fun for Children

As a teacher and/or parent, finding safe and educational preschool online games can be a challenge. A simple search for "online games," "preschool games online," or "free children's games" will bring up literally thousands of results. And we all know no one has time to look through that many sites!

Some parents and teachers are hesitant to let their child use a computer, and more specifically to use the Internet. But there are many valid reasons for starting your preschoolers on the technology path early.

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Why Use Preschool Online Games?

Online games are beneficial for preschoolers for a variety of reasons. First, it allows children to practice their technology skills. If you are not planning on homeschooling your child, you can expect that they will be starting to use computers in kindergarten.

You can give your child a leg up by teaching them some basic computer skills like: using a mouse and on-screen pointer, navigating a website, finding letters and numbers on the keyboard, and turning a computer on and off.

Secondly, online games for preschoolers give opportunities to learn about letters, numbers, shapes, colors, drawing, and many other topics. Quite a few of the reviewed websites below feature well-known or memorable characters that make learning fun for your child!

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Setting Limits

The only word of caution that I would say is that these games are so much fun that children tend to get wrapped up in them! This is a good opportunity for you as the parent or teacher to set boundaries and teach limiting play to a certain time period.

In our house, we have a kitchen timer right by the computer. I tell my children they have 15 minutes to play games on _______ website. I set the timer and they can visually see the time go by so it's not a surprise when it goes off and they are done. You may also want to verbally warn them when it's almost done so they can prepare to finish their game.

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Preschool Online Games Reviews

Nick Jr.

One of the most popular sites for preschool online games is Nick Jr. If your preschooler loves the characters on Nick Jr., they are sure to enjoy playing the games found on this site.

You can search the games by character, by age appropriateness, or by developmental skill addressed (such as numbers and counting, letters and spelling, and matching).

One of the features that I appreciate as a parent is that each game gives an overall description (nothing like starting a game only to find out the character battles a scary monster at the end!), a parent tip, and list of the developmental skills that it encourages.

Nick Jr. also has a new subscription site called Nick Jr. Boost - a place where children can learn with their favorite Nick Jr. characters! It is a more personalized approach to preschool online games. The games are fun and are educational as well. Parents receive progress reports so you can keep an eye on how your child is doing. Each subscription can serve up to 6 kids and includes a free DVD as well. I think it's a great value for the money.

PBS Kids

One of the perennial favorites at our house is PBS Kids. My children love the characters and the games are enjoyable as well as instructive.

This site also allows parents (or children) to find games by character, or by topic. If you are working on letter recognition with your child, for example, you could play Sesame Street's Letter of the Day, WordWorld's Dog's Letter Pit, or Mister Rogers' Alphabet Doors, among many others.

There are no age suggestions for the games, so you'll have to determine their appropriateness for your child, based on their development. Some parents and teachers may find this to be an extra step, but the games are well worth it.

Funschool

Funschool is a site that offers games for children of all ages. You’ll have to navigate to the preschool section, so that your child doesn’t end up playing a game geared toward older children.

Once there, though, you'll find many games and activities to keep them occupied. The majority of the activities, I would say, lean more toward the "amusement" side and less toward the "instructional" side of online preschool games.

There are no well-known characters on this site, so if your child is really motivated by that, you'll want to search elsewhere for online games. Many of the coloring pages and art activities are cute, and could certainly give your child a creative outlet!

Fisher Price

Most people associate Fisher-Price with learning toys, but they also offer a website filled with fun games. This is the only site I found that gives games for children as young as infants to play! (Of course, you’d be doing most of the work at that age.)

On this site, you'll find games and activities that are based on some of the toys that Fisher Price sells. For example, there are games features Little People, Rescue Heroes, and Imaginext characters.

The only downside to this site that I see would be that it seems to present mostly games geared towards boys. I still think that girls would enjoy many of them too, but a large majority of the activities deal with typical "boy" interest areas – dinosaurs, rescue workers, trains, cars, etc.

Still, overall, a good resource for preschool online games that are free to use.

Crayola

The master of art supplies for children, Crayola, also gives children an online place to express their creativity. Their site not only has many games, but also a card creator, and certificate maker.

The games are fun for kids, and are of course filled with lots of color, but you won't find many educational opportunities here.

You can also navigate over to their store area to stock up on art supplies if you find yourself running low!

Disney

Last, but not least, we can't forget to head over to Disney's game site. You'll have to do some searching to find games appropriate for preschoolers here. It seems this site is geared more toward the older child crowd.

Don't let that discourage you, though. After some digging, I was able to discover a few games that my kids just love. Some of the games features their favorite Disney characters (Cars, Tinkerbell, Bolt, Nemo, and Monsters, Inc.) are adorable and exciting.

You'll certainly want to monitor your child closely on this site, as you probably don't want them playing some of the games aimed at teens.

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