nickjr.com
Youngsters click on the left side of the home page to encounter some of Nickelodeon’s biggest stars—Blue, Dora the Explorer, Little Bill—along with coloring pages, stories, and games. The right side is for parents, offering a fabulous Activity Finder link that suggests more than 50 family-oriented activities, from arts and crafts to games and recipes.

noggin.com
While not exactly living up to the claim that “It’s like preschool on TV,” the online edition of this Nickelodeon-affiliated channel uses well-loved characters like Oobi (a hand puppet with eyes), Maisy the mouse, and the cast of Sesame Street to serve up an entertaining e-curriculum of drawing, coloring, and games that help children develop logical thinking and literacy.

pbskids.org
Mister Rogers and the Teletubbies are waiting for your little ones at pbskids.org, where tots can also help Clifford the Big Red Dog give kisses to all of his friends. The “It’s My Life” link is a terrific resource as children grow, for times when they need help understanding everyday troubles from bullies at school to drug abuse. Coloring pages, games, stories, and music, too.

ronald.com
Yep, it’s that Ronald. Ronald McDonald and friends have devoted an entire site to fun, with games like Color Grimace and Wacky Wardrobe, where you have to find the missing piece of Grimace’s outfit. Steal some of the Hamburglar’s Robble Robble Riddles, and play alphabet games with Birdie in her treehouse.

sesameworkshop.org
Sure we’ll tell you how to get to Sesame Street. Once inside, kids can print coloring pages, play games, listen to music, or explore Elmo’s world, where they’ll make breakfast with Cookie Monster or choreograph a dance with Zoe. The best part? E-stories that let kids interact with their favorite characters.

sikids.com
Sports Illustrated’s junior partner has updated scores and highlights (in a kid-friendly style), cool e-cards of favorite athletes, and a ton of games like Rooftop Skater and Sackfest. Tots can also watch online toons featuring soccer phenom Freddie Adu and the Nets’ Kenyon Martin, or try their hand at managing a fantasy baseball team.

thewiggles.com
Your kids have launched into space with them, gone on safari with them, and dragged you to Madison Square Garden to see them live, but now you can stay home and visit the insanely popular Aussie children’s entertainers online. Come here to listen to Wiggles tunes, color in pictures of Wags the Dog and Dorothy the Dinosaur, play counting, alphabet, and memory games, and find out the Wiggles’ middle names (in the exhaustive FAQ section).

worldalmanacforkids.com
This colorful, easy-to-navigate site supplements the Almanac’s list fetish with plenty of fun facts to hold a hyperactive attention span (e.g., the first video game—Space War—was played in 1962). Even parents might want to check it out: The Kids Speak Out! contest offers some insight into who kids consider to be the most important people in the world (hint: It’s not mom and dad).

yahooligans.com
Yahoo’s search engine for the older child has links to everything from sports highlights and fun games to science news and popular movie summaries. There’s also a page called Ask Earl, where kids can brush up on their trivia.