World Video Game Day takes place in July. We often hear about the negative effects that video games may have, but there are plenty of studies that suggest that they can be therapeutic for children with chronic illnesses, and can improve pre-schoolers' motor skills, reduce stress and improve decision making.
 
With more and more websites dedicated to educational computer games, children can play, relax and learn in the classroom or in the comfort of their homes. Here's some for you to try:

 

Arcademic Skills Builders  has a great collection of engaging and free online educational games, featuring subjects such as maths, language and geography. This site has the great feature of multiplayer games, meaning children and families can play together.

 

Learning Games For Kids has a number of challenging and engaging games focused around improving your keyboard skills. With ICT becoming increasingly important in both education and the workplace, people need to be more comfortable and skilful in using a keyboard, and these games can help!

 

Fisher-Price have a great website full of online games for infants, toddlers, or pre-schoolers. Help them improve their motor skills with painting games and increase their vocabulary or counting skills. It is a great website to encourage family learning at a very early age.

 

Play Kids Games provides free online kids' games that are both fun and educational. The games aim to build skills in maths, logic, memory, vocabulary, alphabet, spelling, geography, computer skills, colour identification, shape identification and problem solving.

 

Edheads is an online educational resource that provides free science and maths games and activities that promote critical thinking. Choose from Simple Machines, Virtual Knee Surgery or Stem Cell Heart Repair, among others.