Amuse the small fry with Blues Clues

By KATE FOREMAN

So, Christmas is over, it's five weeks until kindy and school start again, you've blown January's budget already and it's been raining for the past week. It's time to save your sanity and send the wee ones off into cyberspace.

We've been surfing the net for the best websites for Kiwis aged 2 to 12.

First, anyone with preschoolers should check out the Blues Clues website the slick little portal, Nick Jr. featuring the websites of several of the top-rating kids shows in the United States, some of which are being shown on local channels. Among these, Blues Clues stands proud as a site children and parents will love.

Highlights include interactive games ranging from simple mouse control to more advanced puzzles and a good selection of colouring pages, which may be used on screen or printed.

An interactive story, Goodnight Bird, read by Steve Burns, is a huge hit in our household at bedtime.

The only disadvantage of this easy-to-operate site is the length of time spent downloading various features.

For example, songs from the show are available as audio files but you will either need a broadband connection or a lot of patience to listen to these.

If the Barbie and Action Man fans in the house are beginning to tire of their dolls, send them to the websites.

Both are extremely entertaining - Barbettes can plan a party, create their own doll, print stationery and even mix hit tunes on the Barbie mixer.

Action Men can accept a dangerous mission to stop the evil Dr X destroying the world, create an Action Agent ID card, download a screensaver and see the latest Action Man gear.

Catalogues of course feature on both sites - after all Christmas is only 364 days away.

A less commercial site, and one of the best for kids of all ages, is Kids Domain. This is a guaranteed boredom buster, offering a huge variety of activities for learning and play.

A Craft Ideas section provides instructions on making things by recycling common household objects - including our personal favourites the drinking-straw necklace and toothbrush bracelets.

In the Brain Builders section, dinosaur enthusiasts or space junkies will be absorbed by the informative content and links, including access to the Hubble Space Telescopes Greatest Hits and the Astronomy Picture of the Day.

But the best feature of the site is the downloads area with its multitude of free or trial downloads for PC and Mac users.

This is divided into age groups and activity types and will probably be most useful for games, though it also includes programming kits to get kids started young.

And if you didn't get that much-requested pet for Christmas, a wide variety of cyberpets is offered here.

All Harry Potterites can satisfy their mania at a number of fabulous sites devoted to Harry, Hogwarts and friends.

The official site is worth a look mainly for its Wizard Trivia quiz but be warned, it is very addictive.

The Harry Potter fan club website offers an utterly charming little spellmaker that is educational and highly amusing.

For news of the upcoming film check out the Warner Bros. site to see the stunning teaser poster and to pre-enrol for Hogwarts School Online.

The local internet scene for children is disappointing.

One interesting Kiwi site is Bubble Dome, a vibrant and unconventional interactive story site. Initially it can be slightly difficult to navigate but is well worth the time.

But of the major ISPs and portals, only ihug and ClearNet seem to be committed to providing all-year-round content aimed at children.

The Herald has also put its Summer Fun guide online.

Blues Clues

Barbie

Action Man

Kids Domain

Official Harry Potter site at Scholastic

Harry Potter fan club

Warner Bros. movies

Bubble Dome

Herald Online summer fun guide