Review: Ziggity Zoom

Let’s face it – there are a lot of options out there for kids to spend time on the Internet lately. And many of them are sites where parents have no control over the content or even any way to even know what their kids are doing online. Plus, even toddlers and preschoolers are seeing their siblings and parents on the computer and want to be involved as well. Looking around for kid-safe websites that will interest and educate them can be a daunting task, as I well know.

I was given a heads-up recently about a new website entirely aimed at kids, from toddler to preschool ages. The site is called Ziggity Zoom.

What it is:

Ziggity Zoom is called “a fun place to zoom around”. There are many different activities for kids – everything from coloring pages to games, videos and crafts. All of their (original) content is based around a series of themes, like “Princess”, “Pirate”, “Robot”, “Dinosaur”, etc. and all of the activities are intended to spark kids’ imaginations and creativity.

There are additional features for parents as well – such as a parenting newsletter, toy picks, freebies, crats and more. But the main site is intended for kids to surf – providing a safe, educational and creative place for them to do so. With simple graphics, icons and menus (and also through the use of sound), even young kids can navigate their way through the site themselves.

Here’s my our take on it:

I initially went on the site and looked around on my own, and then on two different occasions brought first my toddler and then my kindergartner in to see what they thought of it. I liked the bright, colorful graphics immediately – as well as the lively characters and ease of finding my way through the site. My 2-year-old isn’t to the point of using a mouse herself yet, so I let her ‘drive’ where we went by pointing and telling me. She wanted to explore everything! And as is typical for her, she didn’t want to stay very long on any one activity – but insisted on moving on as soon as she saw what was happening. It was a great way to get a good idea of the site navigation very quickly. 

My kindergartner, on the other hand, had certain games and activities that she wanted to do over and over – and over again.  The princess-themed game was her favorite, followed by the maze and the stories. I think it would help if there were more than one game or activity for each ‘theme’, especially for kids who are so into dinosaurs (for example) that they aren’t interested in anything else. Some of the games weren’t quite challenging enough for her – but since the site’s aimed mostly at preschoolers, that didn’t surprise me. I’ll be curious to see how my 2-year-old does with it over the next couple of years – and I’m so glad to have a safe place to let her surf around, learn to use the mouse and keyboard, and become familiar with the Internet.

The bottom line:

Ziggity Zoom is a fun, safe, educational way for young kids to experience the Internet and begin becoming familiar with how the mouse, keyboard and menus work. The colorful graphics, fun games and stories, and creative activities help to spark the imagination and provides an entertaining time as well.

Where can you find it?:

You can check out the site at: www.ziggityzoom.com. It’s completely free, and they offer monthly free downloads of art prints (can be printed at home on heavyweight printer paper) that are suitable for framing.  Every month they offer a new image, available for that particular month only.  This month’s print features Appleoosa, a horse print that is part of a 12 image series.