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http://www.sesameworkshop.org/newsandevents/pressreleases/china_12152010

Already there bro, already there.

My kids liked "playing" tuxpaint with me from the moment they could
recognize the animal stamps. http://www.tuxpaint.org/screenshots/

At 2 years, the "elmo keyboard game" was the funnest for them.
http://www.sesameworkshop.org/sesamestreet/games/flash.php?contentId=9495524

Talk about adult only. Check out the first search result: http://www.sesameworkshop.org/search/index.new.php?q=cookie+monster

Seriously ( although the above is true ), your kid should be doing lots of work with crayons and more traditional, tactile stuff... as well as spending some very heavily supervised time exploring a very basic MacPaint-style program on the computer... or a website or two. I cannot heap enough praise on some of the Flash apps ( god, I never thought I'd say it ) on Noggin or Sesame street. The animated coloring book apps ( with Oobi, the greatest googly-eyed hand ever ) are really fun and exciting, and a lot of the other games really focus on counting, letters, and memory skills... and they're just fun, too.

Really, you want your kid to get a head start reading ? Read them books every ( every ) night.

You want them to be artistic ? Sit down with them for a couple of hours every ( every ) day and do some coloring, painting, banging on drums.

You want your kid to be physically fit ? Spend some time with them every day throwing a ball, playing tag, playing with animals, riding a trike/bike, going for a nature walk.

You want your kid to be familiar with technology ? Well... just try to stop them, really, they're going to figure out how to work just about any electronic device around if they have any normal amount of curiosity, but if you want to give them a head start or a push in that direction, the same basic advice follows. Spend time with them in front of the computer... after you find some stuff you think is age-appropriate that they might enjoy, like a paint program ( hint: pattern fill tools and shading tools give kids a charge ) or a Flash game with their favorite Muppet or whatever... later you can introduce them to model rockets, electronics kits, 'food science' kits, science kits, and much later, simple programming tools.

Eventually, you may find that your biggest challenge is unplugging your kid and getting them to run around outside like people used to do back before cable and Tivo and Playstations. So programming your kid to like and do physical stuff might be your first goal... but there's nothing ( IMHO ) wrong with showing your kid how to use a computer. Personally, I'd recommend a Mac with a one-button mouse and a seriously locked-down user account ( with only the apps they might use enabled, and a carefully-picked set of bookmarked websites ) and you sitting there next to them, and limiting the duration, and not pushing it at all if they're disinterested or frustrated... there's plenty of time later for them to spend behind a screen. They should be playing with other kids as much as possible, really... balance is always good.

And yea. You should see a four-year-old kid's reaction to a model rocket shooting 600 feet in the air. BIG eyes.

There are pros and cons to the whole thing; you definitely want to limit the time they spend, and be there to help, but I do credit the computer with helping my son to learn letters, reading, matching, patterns, and a few other basic concepts. It's spooky, the kid's not yet four and is reading words like "crescent". If you have a high-speed connection, check out the flash games ( particularly the "Play with me sesame" and "Maisy" games ) on Noggin.com. Until he's ready for those, he can play peek-a-boo with Zoe and Elmo's Keyboard-o-rama. At two, our kid knew a slew of spanish words from playing some of those Sesame Street games featuring Rosita... but do make sure the kid gets some play time with other kids his age, too. Socialization at a fairly young age turns out to be really, really important.

There are pros and cons to the whole thing; you definitely want to limit the time they spend, and be there to help, but I do credit the computer with helping my son to learn letters, reading, matching, patterns, and a few other basic concepts. It's spooky, the kid's not yet four and is reading words like "crescent". If you have a high-speed connection, check out the flash games ( particularly the "Play with me sesame" and "Maisy" games ) on Noggin.com. Until he's ready for those, he can play peek-a-boo with Zoe and Elmo's Keyboard-o-rama. At two, our kid knew a slew of spanish words from playing some of those Sesame Street games featuring Rosita... but do make sure the kid gets some play time with other kids his age, too. Socialization at a fairly young age turns out to be really, really important.

Even these guys should have been able to grasp that.

Maybe that should be the next Star Wars catchphrase: ``That $Star_Wars_fan is so dumb, he doesn't know to stop, drop and roll.

I would focus on explaining them what programmability is. Lego Mindstorms has already been mentioned and is indeed a very nice way of demonstrating this. A somewhat simpler idea, maybe more suitable for younger kids, is using a programmable car. My kids had one a few years ago, it was called a "Turbo Z RoughRider" (sorry, couldn't find a better link). It had some buttons on top you could use to enter a simple program, like 'fast forward, fast forward, turn right, turn right, turn on lights, backward, stop" and then run that. Much more fun than a car with a remote control, if you like programming, and a very good way to demonstrate what it means for a thing to be programmable.

My three-year-old likes the web-based Sesame Street games. I was surprised how quickly he learned to use the mouse. He can double-click a shortcut and open the web page, select a game, and play.

Like when my son and I watch a Tivoed episode of Oobi or Maisy, or take in Finding Nemo or Potty Time With Bear together... or those evenings after the boy goes to bed, when my wife and I stay up and watch Surreal Life and some good movies ( actually, right now we're working through The Sopranos ).

In all seriousness ( although, maybe sadly, we do all of the above, and my son is an expert on the Noggin and Sesame Street websites ), my post was *designed* for the "Funny" rating it now has... still, it is true that Tivo and Netflix are my two favorite entertainment sources. I'd probably give up my horses first, if only because they're more expensive...

I'm only posting on /. because I'm at work, what else am I going to do? Oh, yea, right...

Really good educational games for kids courtesy of Flash and Sesame Street:

Elmo Games!

The tickle robot and Elmo: http://www.sesameworkshop.org/sesamestreet/tickle/

http://www.abc.net.au/rollercoaster/ - slightly older kids maybe 10+
http://www.abc.net.au/outthere/stuff/animal01.htm educational


from here http://www.abc.net.au/kidsabc kids
Sesame streethttp://www.sesameworkshop.org/sesamestreet/
Play Schoolhttp://www.abc.net.au/children/play/home.htm


my favourite beginners site. Not specifically aimed at kids but steers well clear of nasty stuff.

Lots of computer links

http://www.blackstump.com.au/

From the black stumphttp://www.blackstump.com.au/kids.htm

at this point you are never going to run out of links, theres links of links

zoo flash extra cool with sounds http://www.oac.schools.sa.edu.au/oes/zoo/

In this picture, Ernie bears a striking resemblance to Adolph Hitler giving a speech (minus the little moustache).

And here we see Ernie donning his Kevlar vest, ready for any attack that might befall he or his beloved roomate.

Let's hope our intelligence community can wade through the mountains of evidence that will unveil the sinister Sesame Street Terrorist Cell!

In this picture, Ernie bears a striking resemblance to Adolph Hitler giving a speech (minus the little moustache).

And here we see Ernie donning his Kevlar vest, ready for any attack that might befall he or his beloved roomate.

Let's hope our intelligence community can wade through the mountains of evidence that will unveil the sinister Sesame Street Terrorist Cell!

Is the last paragraph of the Wired article...

"Bert is best known for his role on the long-lived Sesame Street children's show, where he lives with his housemate Ernie."

His housemate? Or...are they just insinuating that maybe Bert is leaving Ernie for some hot bin Laden-lovin'? :D

I never though the day would come when I'd agree with ICANN. How could you possibly police a Kid safe zone on the net?

All it does it create a false sense of security and the moment an enterprising company wants to do something that walks that thin line of decency the question becomes, who's job would it be to manage it?

You could always give some company like the Childrens Television Workshop control over that TLD and let them manage the content restrictions. Don't get me wrong. I don't think this would be a good idea, just the only way a safe .kids TLD might be possible.

--CTH

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