Kids Get New Online Preschool Playground

March 24, 2008 — -- The PBS Kids Web site has long been a go-to destination for parents looking for quality online content for preschoolers. But now that same organization has come up with a more robust option, called PBS Kids Play!

Launched on March 18, PBS Kids Play! is a broadband subscription service that provides kids ages 3 to 6 with individualized, sequential learning based on national educational standards. The service, which costs $9.95 a month or $79 for a year, will funnel all of its fees back into PBS Kids so that the product can keep adding new weekly content.

"It's been an 18-month development process to build our content from the ground up to meet national educational standards," Ben Grimley, PBS' senior director of interactive businesses, said. "PBS Kids Play! does not contain any games that have been re-purposed from other products or Web sites."

The service has 14 interactive CD-ROM-type games and it will be adding new content weekly.

What distinguishes this from other PBS Kids content is that the games build on concepts learned. The service tracks how your child is doing while playing the games, and then offers new activities based on his or her performance and age.

PBS Kids decided to develop this individualized service because "interactive media has tremendous potential to engage children in active learning," Grimley said.

By offering a broad range of subject areas (math, science, language, literacy, creativity, healthy development and social studies) that preschoolers can explore at their own pace, "PBS Kids Play! recognizes and rewards the growth of each individual child, adjusting the level of challenge as she or he demonstrates the capacity to handle it," Grimley said.

When kids enter this virtual playground, they arrive in their own Home Room. They can personalize it by clicking on things to change, such as furniture, wall color, and toys. From the Home Room, kids can navigate to the games, videos, and printable materials offered by this service. This is also where art projects created in this world will show up for display, and prizes won will appear. Dash, the kid-mascot of this service, can be found there as well, and he is always available to provide help.

While there are many ways to find the learning activities, the easiest is to click through the round purple portal that leads to five different neighborhoods: Mama Mirabelle's Home Movies, Franny's Feet, Mister Roger's Neighborhood, Curious George, and The Berenstain Bears. Four new neighborhoods will be added before year's end, including Bob the Builder, Thomas & Friends and Super Why.

As kids wander through these neighborhoods, the characters suggest games to play.

Most of the games can be played on three levels of difficulty. When children complete a level, they will earn a reward that appears in their Home Room.

An example of a learning activity is Savanna Hide & Seek in Mama Mirabelle's world. During the game, various animals hide in the African savanna. Children are asked to find animals using directional hints such as "in front of the hill" or "behind the rock." As the levels increase, more animals are hidden in the scene.

In addition to learning activities, the service also provides a library of ad-free learning videos that feature such childhood favorites as Curious George, The Berenstain Bears, and other PBS licensees. Kids can also do art projects, including making postcards with Franny or painting with Mirabelle. These projects automatically save and adorn the wall in your Home Room.

With new content being added every week, this service gives preschoolers plenty to explore. This bright, colorful world is very easy for preschoolers to navigate because there are voice-over commands for every button.

Kids can bookmark favorite activities and then access them from a virtual backpack found on the floor of their Home Room. The learning engine behind the service keeps track of the child's progress and has characters make recommendations about what to play next.

The service also offers parents many options in the Parents Section. The service can keep track of up to four children. Parents can follow their children's progress and see what they played, discover what is available, and learn about how the activities correspond to the nationally recognized McREL (Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning) standards.

The service will make recommendations to parents about what games would be most appropriate for their child. Parents can also search by content areas to find activities. Parents can also set a timer, so that kids don't get too much screen time.

PBS Kids Play! is perfect for preschoolers who love the PBS Kids' characters. To see if your child will be excited to play these fun, educational games, you can try before you buy it by downloading the 15-day free trial at www.PBSKidsPlay.org.

Rating: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

Best for ages 3-6

From PBS, www.PBSKidsPlay.org, $9.95/month or $79.00/year.

Jinny Gudmundsen is the kid-tech columnist for the Gannett News Service and USA Today.com, and is also the editor of Computing with Kids Ezine.