Preschool online games

When your child completes a game, they can print out a certificate and color it in. The Schools and Nurseries section of the site provides free printable worksheets, so do check that out. Super little site.

Aven's Corner
Aven's Corner offers colorful, fun, original online preschool games, many of which open up into full screen mode.

Games come in three levels - some kids will love them all!

• Simple mouse and keyboard games: clean Mr Smiley's teeth (great brushing sound effects) or point, click and pop bubbles

• Exploring, counting, creating games: try Farm Yard, where your child simply moves the mouse around and enjoys the resulting squawks, moos, and animal activity. The Tadpoles game is great fun too!

• Matching and memory games: identify caterpillars and watch them change into butterflies... or choose words to describe the ever changing weather.

You need the free Microsoft Silverlight plugin to play these games - you'll be prompted to install it if it's not already on your computer.

Peppa Pig
Let's leap straight into some muddy puddles with Peppa Pig! You can watch a clip, meet five-year-old Peppa and her brother George, view the gallery or play the games:

• splash in the puddles and help Peppa spell
• make Mrs Chicken happy by hatching lots of eggs
• help characters navigate through the mazes
• and paint with Peppa and George

You'll find more Peppa games on five.tv's Milkshake site.

Roary the Racing Car
Meet the characters, read stories, singalong and more. Aimed at 2 to 6 year olds, it features a young, red, and rather cheeky racing car called... Roary!

Roary's all about being positive, helpful, living healthily and being safe on the road. There's a simple Roary racing game, a Roary doodle, coloring in and matching pairs game, as well as printable activity sheets.

Noddy
Welcome to Toy Town! Come and meet Noddy and his friends - Bumpy Dog, Big Ears, Mr Plod, Tessie Bear as well as Sly and Gobbo, Master Tubby Bear - they're all here!

In the games section, you can record a tune using different sounds on the keyboard of Noddy's Music Maker, then listen to your masterpiece! Paint a picture online and print it out in Paint It. Join Big Ears in his Pop and Spell game, popping balloons to spell out familiar words. Tessie Bear plays a Shape Search and your preschooler can count apples with Dinah Doll.

In the printables section you can

• print a Noddy badge with your name or age on it
• do a dot to dot or maze puzzle
• enjoy coloring in
• or play I-Spy.

There's a learning guide for grown-ups which is very useful in case you've missed anything - you'll find useful tips about how to get your child involved in these preschool online games.

Peep and the Big Wide World
Peep and the Big Wide World brings the world of science to preschoolers - and there is a ton of stuff to look at on this site. Check out the activities section, which loads up with over 70 practical ideas such as

• take a trip to a hardware store to examine gadgets
• go on a sound hunt inside and outdoors
• get out the magnifying glass and make things bigger
• have an ice cube melting contest

Online preschool games include a sorting activity in Trash Stash and a "balance the bunnies on the seesaw" game which really is great.

What with singing along with Peep's theme song, checking out the video clips and coloring in Peep's printables, I'm sure you'll find a wealth of ideas to keep your little kids busy - one of the best preschool online games and activities sites out there.

Rupert Bear
I don't know if you remember Rupert Bear from your own childhood - I have wonderful memories of being tucked up in bed with my Rupert Bear annual at Christmas, and enjoying the magical illustrations and adventures of Rupert and his friends.

Contemporary Rupert now appears in his own TV series, appropriately entitled Rupert Bear Follows the Magic. Funnily enough, you can still find "classic Rupert" around - for the oldies like me :)

Rupert's website features Fun Stuff downloads, where you can color in Rupert or make a door hanger.

What about the games? Recent games have included

• a spelling game
• catch the acorns or stars
• and a copy the tune game - again, with easy, medium or hard versions.

Do check out the "Watch and Play" section, where you can watch clips of Rupert Bear and then follow the prompts to play a game at that point in the clip - your kids will love this! Great interactive stuff for little kids.

Did you know that Bill Badger is five and three quarters years old, and loves his Big Book of Facts - but what's Ping Pong's magic baby dragon called? Get to know the characters, items, vehicles and locations in the Explore Nutwood section.

This is a great preschool online games site - and if you like it, here's another that follows exactly the same format:

Postman Pat
Here the Fun Stuff inlcudes a Greendale drag and drop jigsaw puzzle with three levels, a matching pairs game and the catching game this time is all about grabbing letters!

In Watch and Play there are more clips to watch and interact with - including Postman Pat and the Pirate Ship, Postman Pat's Greendale Movie, or Postman Pat and the Pop Stars.

Explore Greendale Find out about Pat, Jess, Nisha and all the characters as well as other features of Pat's world.

Underground Ernie
Ernie works on the International Underground - based on the London tube or subway train system.