Red Fish

Red Fish

 

Even though I work with technology in schools, I still try to limit the amount of screen time my kids get.  When they are doing something online, I want to make sure it is worthwhile, and Red Fish gets my vote.

http://www.poissonrouge.com/home.php

(www.poissonrouge.com will take to you a donation page)

As you can see from the url, the website is French, but one of the things that I really like about the site is there there is very little text.  The site is full of games, but there are no directions.  This lets kids explore in the same way they would physical toys.  What happens when I push this?  Pull that?  Move this?  Regardless of the game they play, there's value in simply exploring and discovering.

The initial screen presents something that looks like a playroom.  Various items lead to games when clicked on, other items lead to different screens that present more objects to click on...  that lead to more games.  There's tons to do and if I gave my kids unlimited time, they'd explore for hours.

 

Games is not really the right word though.  There's no shooting, no points, and lives, etc.  Again many of the activities are more like electronic versions of toys rather than typical video games.

 

What's the learning potential?  For kids new to computers, this is great mouse practice.  Not only do they need to click and move items, they also learn to recognize when something can be clicked.  Does it move, change color, does my cursor change?  We take that for granted, but kids need experience it to learn it.  Because Red Fish is language neutral, there are no Learn-to-Read activities.  There are some vocabulary activities in a variety of languages - which could be a nice intro to other languages.  Mostly the activities are just good clean fun that promotes exploration, curiosity, and discovery - all good in my book!