Ten Web 2.0 Activities You Can Do With Your Kids

1. Go on a park hop.

Shared this with a few homeschooling families and they loved it! Start at home by searching for a few parks in a particular area. Use an online mapping tool to map out your day. When you’re at the park, give the camera to one of the kids to take a photo. It’s great seeing pictures of the parks from their perspective. Record that child’s thoughts about the location and features. Have the kids take turns being the photographer and reporter for each park. Later, map out the parks using place markers in Google Earth. My students decided to create a placemarker, upload their picture, type a few sentences highlighting the best features of the park. Now they can share the Park Hop Travel Guide with others.

2. Have an art day.

Turn up the music, set out materials, and get creative. Have each child choose their best masterpiece and take a picture of it. Upload the pictures to Art Snacks. While their, check out the other artists and find 3 pieces of art that you enjoy on the network. Choose a rating and leave a comment for those fellow artists.

3. Start a family blog.

Have each person be responsible to post on a particular day of each week. Teach your kids how to find a picture using creative commons, and how to give photo attribution. There are so many skills that can go into this one. Want a safe way for the kids to surf the internet or keep a family blog? Check out KidZui.

4. Write a song together and record it.

Upload it to your song and invite friends and family to listen to and post comments.

5. Create a digital storytelling project.

See what you can do with Photostory3. Document a family vacation, a trip to the zoo, or what your family does on an ordinary day.

6. Interview an older family member.

Have the kids write the questions and record the interview. Upload and share on YouTube or a video sharing site.

7. Plan a meal together.

Choose a theme and delegate the tasks. Have each child find one recipe online that you can add to your menu. Go back later and have them write a short review or post a rating for the dish. Create an original dish together and photograph it. Upload it to a recipe site and check back later to see what people think of it.

8. Review a book.

Check out an online bookstore such as Barnes and Noble, Jr., Borders, or Amazon and find a favorite book. Have each child write a short review. Consider choosing a new book or two to add to your library.

9. Become authors.

Publish your story and share it with others. Decide on a topic and map out the storyline. Give each person specific pages to write and illustrate. Transfer your story to a self-publishing website for kids like this one.

10. Create a movie

Check out Kerpoof Animation Studio. It’s free. Animoto makes it easy to create videos.

10 Cool Web 2.0 Activities To Do With Your Kids are great, but 12 would be even better; with one activity for each month of the year! Can you think of a great idea or two to add to this list?

Photo Attribution: Kidzui, TikaTok, Computer Keys: Lizzardo

At the technology conference, I learned about kerpoof.  They earned the Parent’s Choice award this fall.  Read their review below.

Kerpoof

Fall 2008 Website

KerPoof is a free online multimedia software that allows children to explore their creativity by drawing, making animated movies, writing and illustrating stories, producing pictures and cards and more. The software is intuitive and easy to use, giving children – even those who aren’t proficient in art – an opportunity to produce and share successful artwork quickly and without frustration. KerPoof’s library of stock images goes far beyond ordinary fare. Here, the images are interesting and varied, the themes go well beyond the scope of pirates and fairy gardens. The color palettes vary from bold to subtle, and the tools that invite children to consider and adjust an object’s perspective is among the attributes that makes this website stand heads and shoulders above others offering similar activities.

Graphic organizers are a great tool to help your child classify information and organize ideas. I found a nice collection of graphic organizers here that you can download and use.