Online kids games what a mess

Looking into a selection of best-in-class interactive websites for target age group 5-6.

What a disaster.

First, the lack of any discriminating and up to date sifted selection. All the SERP returns claiming to connnect you to the best, are ancient rubbish, and they connect you to ancient rubbish or to really unsuitable adult gaming sites.

Then, the pedagogy (when you do find something). So much of it unclear to follow, ambiguous, requiring literacy skills the age group doesn't possess. And geared to making the PC experience repeat or mimic a classroom experience. Don't these guys get it, that we try to sit our kids down to the internet as something different to whole class learning ?

Here's one that's half decent and oriented to making the experience fun:

Victor is a French site, with an English version, where the experience of being online is a pleasure of intuitive, involving celebration of interactivity. Flash based.

The BBC offer is a nightmare by contrast. Try Ceebeebies Little Animals Activity Centre. You can't even get there until you download the latest shockwave (which wants to bundle Norton antivirus "free" pop-up to spoil the rest of your life). And what little you can glean from the "help" shows you this is just another version of teacher knows best - not the message of internet, surely ?

You would aim to sit down with your kid and give them a positive and clear experience, showing that time online can be fun and refreshing... and you would end up pushing a fence-post into your screen with frustration.