Educational games on Mac for young kids?

August 24, 2012 4:45 AM

My pre-k boy LOVES video games and adventure/superhero TV shows. It would be great to harness some of that love for learning purposes. What are your recommendations for software or online games that do that? We're a Mac household.

I also have a first grader who is very advanced (reading at almost fourth grade level). Educational software would be cool for her too, but what would be really great for her is something that encourages her to relax and/or open up her creative side.

Thanks MeFi'ers!

posted by michaeldunaway to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

I remember really enjoying Kid Pix as a child. It's sort of like paint but with a bunch of toys in it. At the time it was a computer drawing program that also had some animated .gif stamps that you could spread out all over the page and dinosaurs would wave at you and stuff. Not sure what the newest iteration looks like, this was years ago. They appear to be doing 3D stuff.
posted by edbles at 5:11 AM on August 24, 2012

You'll probably get a lot of suggestions for Minecraft, which I and my kids (ages 11,9 and 6) all adore. It tickles the part of your brain that loves Legos.
posted by DWRoelands at 6:29 AM on August 24, 2012

If you have a console (PS3/xbox/wii) then get Lego Batman or Lego Starwars. I play that with my 5 year old step son and it is great. (We also have Lego Indiana Jones, which is awesome.) Sure, it isn't strictly educational, but since we always play together we have to WORK together and he is hella better at teamwork now, you have no idea. Plus, there is lots of problem solving.

Also, LeapPad.
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 7:35 AM on August 24, 2012

Just before hitting post I saw the Mac requirement. I'm still going to throw this out there for anyone else with this quandary, unfortunately it's PC only. Bookworm Adventures and its sequel are amazing. Battling monsters by making words!
posted by yellowbinder at 8:57 AM on August 24, 2012

I think you want to check out the Common Sense Media website. I'm a Librarian/Elementary Tech teacher and I use this website all the time to find games and software that are educational for the young set.

One of the sites they recombined is PBSkids.org. Your youngest would probably enjoy PBSkids and your first grader, if advanced, would probably enjoy PBSkidsgo.org
posted by aetg at 4:50 PM on August 24, 2012