ABCYa.com provides games and short learning videos for grades K-5 on the topics of letters, numbers, holiday, strategy, and life skills. There are more than 300 games for desktop computer and over 200 games for iOS, Android, and Amazon Kindle. The games are free to access without a subscription, although if you buy a subscription you can assign the games to your students.
The site also offers how-to videos on simple craft projects that can be done in class or at home.
You have to be careful about what games are played on this site. Although the production value is generally good, many of the games are just fancy-looking quizzes and some have questionable learning value, despite being linked with Common Core standards.
In addition, some games require quick thinking in a competitive multi-player mode, which can have mixed effects on students.
Here are some worthy games, gathered from a perusal of the site. There may be many more.
- Cyber-Five — five rules to be safe online.
- Alphabetical Order — put alphabetical blocks in order
- Alphabetize — alphabetize words you provide
- Keyboarding Zoo and Keyboarding Zoo 2
- Alpha Munchies Typing Game
- Crossword Puzzle Maker Junior — create your own crossword puzzle
- Molly Adds & Subtracts from 10 — adding and subtracting with manipulatives
- The Calendar Game — learn calendar terminology
- Tangrams — spatial reasoning in scaffolded levels
- Marble Math — adding with manipulatives
- Base Ten Fun — adding with manipulatives
- Dress for the Weather — dress a dog avatar to match the seasons
- US Geography – Puzzle Map — learn U.S. states and their capitals
- Learn the Skeletal System — label bones in a skeleton
Note also that the site’s storybooks are narrated by a human voice and the words light up as they are spoken, though the illustrations are rather simple.