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Linux for Tots?

Posted by Cliff on from the toys-for-playtime dept.

ecliptik asks: "My mother works at a nursery school and she asked me to setup some old 486's that had been donated for the children. I figured this would be an excellent scenario for Linux since it wouldn't cost anything to set up. My dilemma is, how exactly should I accomplish this? Anyone have any suggestions for distros to use, maybe some open software that would be good for kids ages 4 to 7?"

9 of 23 comments (clear)

  1. Re:LOGO by CritterNYC · · Score: 2

    hehe... yup. Granted, it was 1985 and I was in elementary school and all they had were Apple IIe's at our school. I got good at making the turtle do neat tricks, like mapping out equations and simulating a working analog clock. Of course, the fact that I was teaching myself BASIC at home on my Commodore 64 may have had something to do with it, too.

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  2. LOGO by Aunt+Mable · · Score: 2
    Install LOGO - Turtle Graphics.

    -- Eat your greens or I'll hit you!

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    -- Eat your greens or I'll hit you!

    1. Re:LOGO by CritterNYC · · Score: 2

      Hey, I used to love playing with LOGO in elementary school. Even got to go to computer camp for free cuz I was good at it.

      --
      Portable versions of Firefox, GIMP, LibreOffice, etc
  3. Isn't this impossible? by Lover's+Arrival,+The · · Score: 3
    Heh, I am all for Open Source software, but I think that the idea that it is useable for toddlers is a wee bit silly. Hardly anyone works in the free software community on childrens programs, that seems to be an area dominated by commercial companies. The software just doesn't exist in quantity!

    Also, Linux is hard enough for adults to use (like me), how can it be translated to children? I fear that this is just too premature for children.

    I would really like it if there were good childrens programs for linux though. But I'm afraid that Windows will be better in this way for some time to come. Thats just the plain & honest truth!

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    --Anticipation of a New Lover's Arrival, The

  4. bah by nomadic · · Score: 4

    What's with all these lazy kids today? Make them install it themselves. Then if they can't do it yell that you were donating linux kernel code when you were their age.
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  5. Favorites... by Spoing · · Score: 3
    My nieces are in that age range, and they love certian games and could care less about others. Check with LinuxForKids to get started.

    There are quite a few sticker programs, a new 'paper doll' program (check Freshmeat.net), and some simple games that would work well. Favorites are Potato Guy in KDE 2.x, and a few of the puzzle games in Gnome.

    Any Java program should work as well, such as KidPad.

    Since you're talking 486s, you might want to look at a /. article a couple weeks ago on using 486s and other low-powered machines as X stations, with one beefier machine running the applications.

    Wine or a DOS emulator can be used in a pinch, though for this age range it's not necessary.

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  6. try debian for kids... by dfelznic · · Score: 3

    Debian for children from 1 to 99

    This is an internal project to make Debian an OS that children of all ages will want to use. Our initial focus will be on producing something for children up to age 8. Once we have
    accomplished this, our next target age range is 7 to 12. By the time children reach their teens, they should be comfortable with using Debian without any special modifications.

    http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-jr/

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    Douglas Calvert
  7. Popmail by kevin805 · · Score: 2

    Popmail is an email client so simple it does not need to be learned. Do a search for it.

  8. A fantastic educational site for kids by rinkjustice · · Score: 4
    I believe the perfect place to start would be LinuxforKids.com. You'll find links to Open Source educational software and Linux distributions like Debian Jr. that are designed with children in mind.

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