Eco-Match from Play First Games at first looks like any other match three game but it is so much more.  The object – to match three of the same pictures in the row by swapping two tiles that are next to each other. This game takes it a step further as you have a purpose beyond matching three.  You also have to match a certain number of the animal that you are trying to save. This game is educational and I would say any child 6 and up (reading age) would enjoy.

Eco-Match is filled with maps and information about the animals and environment.  Kids can enjoy the educational aspect of it without even realizing it.  You don’t NEED to know how to read to play the game but reading the information adds to drawing the child deeper into the quest.  As you move forward and complete assignments you are rewarded with e-coins that you can use to access other projects to buy.  Projects that help animals and the environment.  Buying projects gives you access to different Eco-Charge skills that can be used on an assignment.  Such as a Transplant power up that will allow you to click on a tile to remove it if you are stuck on a level.

Eco-Match has cute graphics and sound.  It is another game by Playfirst with many options.  You can download and play for free for an hour to see if you like it before deciding if you want to buy the full version with 150 levels. Thank you Play First Games – Eco-Match is another educational nonviolent game for children!

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Civiballs 2: Empire Bounce and Roll is a wonderful new puzzle game from Shockwave.  You can play online or download a full version and it definitely is NOT just for kids. This is puzzling at its best.

The goal – to get the balls in their correct containers by cutting them.  Sounds easy, right?   As you can see by the second image – the puzzles get harder.  What’s nice is there is no time pressure and the problem solving allows you to use trial and error to come up with a working solution for each puzzle.  The graphics are cute and the music pleasant.

Shockwave offers MANY free online games for kids.  Shockwave is also now affiliated with Nickelodeon Arcade now so ensure a safe site experience.  There are links on the site but they are for other child friendly games.

My 6 year old daughter had fun with Civiballs 2: Empire Bounce and Roll and I find in appropriate for 6 and up.  Another perk is that you can explore different levels in different lands so if one level has got you stuck – you can choose a different Level to visit.  It is a fun game to play WITH your child so you can problem solve together to get the solution.I definitely recommend Civiballs 2 as a fun and educational kids computer game.

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It is THAT time of year – the commercials have begun and if your kids are anything like mine they already have their lists going for all the things they are hoping Santa will bring.  My son is ten and I have still been able to keep him AND my 6 year old daughter AWAY from violent computer games and sites.  Luckily there are MANY top choices for non violent computer games for kids that they will thoroughly enjoy. I have written Holiday recommendations in 2008 for PC Games/Sites and for Nintendo Wii and DS Products and those still stand true.  In this day and age there are many options for buying a game for the family or children – you can buy a console or hand-held game, buy a full version of a game online, get a gift card for IPhone or ITouch apps or get a subscription to an online site. Below are the newest games/sites I recommend — some link to reviews from the year and others are fresh new reviews.

Under $20

Preschool

Jump Start Pet Rescue for the Wii – For Under $20 this game is an INCREDIBLE bargain for 3-6 year olds.  See my complete review here.

A Subscription to Jump Start.com where your preschooler – early grade schooler can learn while having fun. Full review here.

Pajama Sam and Other Humungous Games – Putt Putt and Fredi Fish are WONDERFUL adventure Games for the PC (and some for the Wii) to help children think logically. I have the full review here and these games are perfect for ages 3-7. You can see my full review here.

Grade School

Tropix & Tropix 2 — Available for the PC, Nintendo DS or through Shockwave online. This is a wonderful educational and fun game for ages 6-12.  See my full review here.

Pajama Sam and Other Humungous Titles – Pajama Sam and Spy Fox are adventure games that make you feel immersed in the story and help teach logic and problem solving.  These are for ages 5-10 and you can see my full review here.

Try a month on one of the top social educational networking sites for kids.

Many of these sites are $5-$6/month and the one way to get to know if it is worth the money and if your child will get their money’s worth is to pay for one month as a trial run.  Here are my picks for this year:

Moshi Monsters (Age 6 and up) – See full review here. Awesome, safe, educational and fun site for kids.

Secret Builders – (Ages 6 and up) – See full review here. Safe, educational site combining gaming and adventure.

Super Secret – (Ages 10-16) – See full review here.  Fun, safe and keeps the kids interested and learning.

Zula World – (Ages 5 and up) – See full review here. Safe, educational and fun.

Teens & Whole Family

Machinarium – My review for the free version is here and the full version is only $20

Auditorium – My review is here.  For $10.99 you get the full version of this INCREDIBLY beautiful and musical game.

IPhone/ITouch Gift Card — If your child has an ITouch or an IPhone — a gift card for $20 can go a long way.  Many games are just $.99. Click here for a list of my Top 5 ITouch/IPhone  Educational Apps.

Under $50

MOST games for the PC and Nintendo Wii an Nintendo DS Fall into this category.  I stand by my recommendations for last year.  You can find the ones for the PC here and the ones for Nintendo DS here.

In addition I recommend 6 month or yearly subscriptions to the above social networking learning sites for kids re-listed here:

A Subscription to Jump Start.com – Ages (3-6) where your preschooler – early grade schooler can learn while having fun. Full review here.

Moshi Monsters (Age 6 and up) – See full review here. Awesome, safe, educational and fun site for kids.

Secret Builders – (Ages 6 and up) – See full review here. Safe, educational site combining gaming and adventure.

Super Secret – (Ages 10-16) – See full review here.  Fun, safe and keeps the kids interested and learning.

Zula World – (Ages 5 and up) – See full review here. Safe, educational and fun.

Teens & Whole Family

Super Mario Brothers Wii – My kids just got this “for my husband” for his birthday and it has become a new family favorite.  We are HUGE Mario Brothers Fans and this game does not disappoint.  There are many new features including the ability for 4 players to play simultaneously which is tons of fun. Check out the link in the picture or here to see all the amazing reviews on amazon.com.

Wii Sports Resort – This game continues to be fun for the whole family.  My whole review is here for this fantastic game.

Over $50

The Whole Family

ITouch — This is THE portable device for kids.  If you have a wireless connection at home or know some place in your area that does – your child has access to download games, music, movies, tv shows and more without even plugging in the ITouch.  Many apps (applications) are free.  You can use this as an IPOD, web browser, game player and even to text.  All the goodness of the IPhone without the cell phone monthly cost.  One of my favorite things is there is no more STUFF.  When my kids receive game; CD Roms, DS and Wii games can take up space…. With this you and people who want to give your children gifts can just keep adding money to the Apple Account with gift cards and everything fits right on that tiny ITouch.  This was my son’s request for his birthday so instead of clutter he got useful games, apps to help him with school and a few of his favorite TV shows and songs uploaded.There are many different versions of the ITouch and they are priced according to how much space is available on them but all of them have most the same wonderful capabilities.

Wii – The Nintendo Wii has JUST lowered it’s price to just under $200 which makes it an even more incredible deal. If you have followed my blog for a while you know I have enjoyed over 3 years of fun with the Wii and cannot say enough good things about it. It has us all playing together and up off the sofa doing so.  I reviewed my favorite Wii and DS Games last year here.

There have been SO many amazing non violent and educational sites and games released over the last few years.  It is my honor to review them and boy do my kids love that I do!  I wish you all a very happy holiday and if you ever have any games or sites you think I should look at — please email the link to me with a description.  Thanks so much for your support.

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From Amanita Design, makers of Quest for the Best and Samorst 1 & 2 (which I mentioned in Top Free Online Adventure Games) comes their newest installment which is so much more than a kid’s computer game.  Their games draw you into the story and though odd, propel you forward to figure out WHAT is going on and make you ask, “how can I make it right?”  Mechaniarium comes with a free demo to play online as well as the paid version which offers more boards.  Beautiful graphics, sound and thinking puzzles combine to make this another brilliant edition to the Amanita Design games.

You are a robot in Mechinarium (that is when you find your parts and PULL yourself together.   You can make yourself taller and shorter which comes in handy when you are trying to solve certain puzzles.  You can reach things much further above you when you extend to your full height.  This game is original and very entertaining.

This game is appropriate for all ages.  I solved the demo with my six year old daughter in about 30 minutes and we had lots of fun doing it.  I highly recommend all Amanita Design Games and Mechinarium is another amazing game added to their collection.

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Moshi Monsters takes a very different spin on kid’s computer games and the recent inundation of interactive social networking sites for children. The games are educational and the environment silly, entertaining, safe and fun at the same time.  For parents, they have a thorough description of their site and their commitment to education and safety of children on their site. This is a QUALITY networking site for children to play games and learn.  As you might have guessed by the name – it is about monsters… but not scary ones – very cute ones that you adopt when you join.  There are free and paid membership options and my children have been very pleased with all you ARE allowed to do with the free membership. You need permission from a parent to join — another way they ensure safety.  It is a pleasure to bring you a peak at what Moshi Monsters has to offer.

Overview of Moshi Monsters

Moshi Monsters is similar to the other social networking sites for kids in that you adopt a pet (in this case a monster) and have to look after it and add things to its house. There is the map that you can wander around playing games, exploring and taking hints from your monster as to what to do next.  There are stores to buy stuff from and a few of the games I liked when I was exploring were:

Ice-Scream

Similar to a Diner Dash – type Game.  Clients come in and you need to give them the correct ice cream cone in a timely fashion.  The possible variations and toppings increase as you move forward levels.  This game is great for teaching children attention to detail and how to teach them logically the most efficient way to go about the task.  Fun for all ages although I would say ages 6 and up have less of a chance of getting frustrated!

The Underground Disco

A similar game to Tap Tap Revenge. Make your monster do some cool moves by pressing the correct arrow key as they come into the circled area.  This helps with musical timing as well as dexterity.  These games are very popular with kids.  This has 3 different levels and many different songs for each level -the more you play the more songs you can unlock.

Those are just two of the many games I found when I was wandering around. You can also play games from your room by clicking on the Puzzles button.  You can play the Daily Challenge which will give you more “Rox” for finishing or you can play many different puzzles ALL of which are educational.  You do need to read to play most of these so I would say ages 6 and up or earlier if you have an early reader or will help your child understand the rules.  Each puzzle games can only be played once that day and your high score is listed as shown here.

The puzzles are all unique but all are fast and require quick thinking.  Jig Saw Jam is a good example of what you will find in their puzzle section. Children can develop MANY different educational skills by playing the various puzzles Moshi Monsters has to offer.

Conclusion

Moshi Monsters is a step ahead of many of social networking sites for kids.  It is safe, it is fun AND it is educational. My kids (6 and 10) BOTH love this site and have fun exploring and do not think of the educational games as boring at ALL. In fact they gravitate toward them and THAT is a gift for parents who want their children to learn as they play instead of just kill time.

As you play Moshi Monsters your level goes up and you unlock more and more games and things to buy.  This keeps the children wanting to play more not even realizing they are learning simultaneously.  I love the structure, layout, graphics and safety of Moshi Monsters. I highly recommend this site to parents and kids for fun and educational computer games and the experience as a whole.

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It has been ages since I reviewed any of the FREE wonderful Kid’s computer games at Discovery Kids! Their site is voluminous and offers many educational games for all ages.  I had recommended Discovery Kids for Pre-schoolers but in the last two years it has become so much more.  Whizz Ball is a prime example of a superb thinking game with a similar feel of one of my all time favorites, “The Incredible Machine“.

Whizz Ball comes with many options and for the beginner and children under 10 — I highly recommend clicking on the “How To Play” and watching the tutorial.  My son who is 10 took quickly to this game and began with “Build Your Own Puzzle”.  This is also a good way (especially for older kids) to explore learning how the pieces interact with each other.

When you “Click to Play” you are brought to a page where many kids have submitted their own puzzles to be solved.  The goal of this game is to get the ball that begins by being dropped down the tube through the puzzle to the red bulls eye target. There are puzzles for all levels of skill play and kids also rate the puzzles.  You can search for the kind of puzzle you would like to do through difficulty, date, author, title, popularity or randomly.  My son loves the author way to search so he and his friends can keep up to date on their latest puzzle creations. I love that you can play this game by just entering a screen name and no additional sign up is necessary.  There are some ads but all that I saw were for shows and games on the Discovery Channel.

When you are in Puzzle Creator mode it is easy to save, load or share your puzzles with others.  There is no end to the types of puzzles you can create. The pieces are very fun and the innovative.  Here is a picture of a simple puzzle I made.  My son’s are much more complicated and he is having fun inventing them and seeing JUST how complicated he can make them.

Whizz Ball is just one example of the quality educational games you can find on Discovery Kids.  It is a wonderful site to explore for all ages.  Please take the time to check out Whizz Ball, Discovery Kids Games and all Discovery Kids has to offer.

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Wii Sports Resort is not just a kid’s computer game — it is a game the whole family will enjoy playing. Whether it is fencing, ping pong, basketball, wakeboarding, archery, skydiving or any of the other many games that are offered – there is truly something for everyone.  The game play is so realistic and the addition of the Wii Motion Controller adds to the feel of you really being IN the game.  I feel this game is appropriate for all ages but there are definitely some games where the controls might take some getting used to for the younger kids.  It is a pleasure to bring you my review, a little about each game offered and some things I really enjoy about Wii Sports Resort.

Let’s begin with the video so you can get a feel for what it is like:

Wii Motion Controller

When you buy this game you can get one Wii Motion Controller (you add it to your existing remote) or you can get the expanded game pack that comes with 2 motion controllers. Honestly I wish I had known about the edition with 2 before I bought the first.  The Wii Motion Controller adds to the realistic game play and to buy a second motion controller AFTER the fact is more expensive than just getting the original pack with 2 included.  With just one controller you have to pass it back and forth and cannot play simultaneously.  Many of these games are one player but it would be really nice for the whole family or at least more than one to play the option of playing simultaneously.  I think additional Wii Motion Controllers will be on our Christmas list! They are easy to snap onto the existing Wii remotes and to snap off if need be.  It does feel like it adds to the sensitivity and REALNESS of play.

Games

There are MANY games included in Wii Sports Resort and within those games are other versions of the games for you to unlock.  The games include:

Swordplay — Fencing is so realistic in this game.  Hold and swing the Wii remote like a sword.  There are modes where you can slice through fruit, duel or have a showdown against multiple sword fighters.  Nintendo is great at making fencing ultra realistic and celebrating the sport it is rather than having it be like sword fighting.  My kids LOVE this one.

Wakeboarding — Hold the Wii Remote like you would a handle if you were water skiing or wake boarding.  Carve the water by tilting the Wii Remote left and right and pull up when you get over a wake to get huge air and do fun tricks.  This one took a little while to get the hang of but we all loved it when we did.

Archery — Use the Wii Remote and Nunchuck exactly like you would a bow and arrow.  You have 12 shots to hit the target and you add up your points to beat your high scores and compete against other players by taking turns.

Frisbee — Throw your frisbee on the beach at the target so your dog can run and catch it.  Yeah, I was scared with this one – any Wii game that involves throwing makes my heart stop a bit when my 6 year old takes the control for the first time.  I am happy to report the TV IS still in one piece and my kids really enjoy this one as well.  You can also unlock Frisbee Golf which has the objective of throwing the Frisbee and getting it to the green in as few throws as possible.

Basketball — Compete to see who can make the most 3 point shots in the time limit.  After playing this you can unlock a pick up game and this is one I wish I had the extra Wii Motion Controller for — so we could play simultaneously.

Power Cruising — You use the Wii Remote and Nunchuck like you would two handle bars on a Jet Ski.  You can ride the waves and this one is another one that takes a little getting used to but is so much fun once you do.  You can play the Slalom Course  or a game versus another player – would be good to have the extra controls for this one as well if you want more than one to play.

Cycling — Use the Wii Remote and Nunchuck like pedals.  Pacing is important in this game because if you pedal too fast for too long your Wii character will become tired.  Play as a road race or against another player in your home.  Also need additional controllers for the VS. mode.

Golf – If anyone in your family enjoyed Golf in the original Wii Sports this is for them!  My husband is a big fan of this one and says this version is a upgraded and offers more courses than the last. You swing the Wii Remote JUST like a golf club and the game play is very realistic.

Table Tennis — Swing the Wi Remote just like a Ping Pong paddle.  Very realistic game play and yet another that would be even more fun if there were 2 Wii Motion Controllers.  Without you can still play against the computer and game play gets harder as your skill level increases. After playing the first version you can unlock Return Challenge where you can take turns returning as many serves as you can.

Bowling — This version of Bowling allows you to choose manual throwing style (as in Wii Sports) or automatic throwing style so any time your hand moves forward like you are throwing the ball it is released. A nice option to make it even easier for younger ones. After playing the regular game you can unlock 2 more fun bowling games “100 Pin Game” and “Spin Control”.

Canoeing — Hold the Wii Remote like an oar and start paddling!  You can play the speed challenge or vs. mode — take turns playing or use extra controls to play simultaneously.

Air Sports — This category is the favorite in my house. There are 3 different games offered.  Skydiving – Is tons of fun… you are the Wii remote as you jump from the plane.  You try and grab other players to form formations and have pictures taken with as many people connected and smiling as possible each time. This is very different from any other Wii Game I have played and one that made me say “AGAIN”. Island Flyover – This is my son’s favorite game. The Wii Remote IS the plane and you fly over beautiful scenery to try and find the

“i” targets above places and objects to shoot and then fly into.  Whether you are flying into a volcano or have unlocked flying at dusk – this game is very pretty and challenging.  They don’t tell you where the targets are and they don’t show up until you are close to them.  Exploration of the entire area is necessary and my son has a blast trying to find the remaining targets.  Dogfight – Fire your balloon blaster to knock out the other person’s balloons.  Another one you need the extra Wii Motion Controller for.

Overview

I LOVE Wii Sports Resort – this ranks in my top 5 Wii games without a doubt.  I love the Wii Motion Controller.  My only wish is that I knew some of the games required the additional accessory so I would have bought the combo pack to begin with instead of having to add it on at a larger cost.  There are MANY good games in this one package and ones that the kids will be playing for a long time to come.  Wii Sports Resort follows in the Nintendo tradition of making wonderful games for the entire family. I highly recommend Wii Sorts Resort but do yourself a favor and if you plan on playing with more than one player get the Expanded Wii Sports Resort with Two Controllers to begin with.

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In the last 2 months my family has discovered all new kids computer games.  We have turned MAC.  We had an IPOD we loved for years and recently have gotten a Mac Laptop,  my husband and I switched to IPhones and my son received an ITouch for his birthday. There are so many wonderful Applications (Apps) for these products but it is good to know which ones are safe and educational before you download.  Here are a few of my favorite games/apps to make you/your child think and have fun. They ALL have free (LITE) versions to try out and if you find yourself needing more levels – you can always purchase the full version. Open ITunes then click the ITunes links provided to find out more. Enjoy!

Genesis

Genesis is an awesome game much like Auditorium, which  I recently reviewed. A puzzle game with music and beautiful graphics that increases in difficulty. Point the beams of light towards the planets to light up the sky, get the music flowing and have the light flow to all to solve the level.

Twisty Text

A fun game where you make as many words as you can out of the 6 letters given to you in 2 1/2 minutes.  Guess the 6 letter word to advance to the next level.  Click the Twist button to rearrange the letters.  Challenge yourself and try and get all the words.  My FAVORITE part about this game is the controls. You can drag and drop the letters and you can underline the word with your finger. COOL use of the ITouch/IPhone technology.

Crack The Code

Crack the Code is a version of the old classic game Mastermind.  Guess the order the colors are in.  You get hints each step of the way.  A black peg means you have the right color in the right place.  A white peg means you have the right color but it is not in the correct spot.  How long will it take you to Crack the Code?

Tap Word

A boggle-like game.  Drag to form words or tap consecutive letters before the time runs out. This game comes with LOTS of options. You can  set the timer for 1-5 minutes, change the board size to either 4×4 or 5×5 or change the minimum word size allowed. At the end you get a complete list of the words that were possible.

Boxed In

Boxed in has received millions of downloads.  This is a logic based puzzle game where you guide the robot with your finger.  The robot needs to push boxes in the correct order to solve the puzzle.  The game play gets increasingly difficult, adding force-fields you need to deactivate by pushing floor switches down with the boxes.  I recommend if you get stuck either going to another level or stepping away and coming back to it. This game is tons of fun and requires lots of thinking and planning.

These are just a sample of the wonderful educational games available for the many Mac products like the IPod, ITouch and IPhone. Most of the full versions of these games are $.99 which makes them a huge bargain. For my son’s birthday it was nice to be able to get him an ITunes gift card so he could decide which games, movies, music and/or videos he wanted to spend his money on. Email me if you have any other games or apps you would like me to review.  Remember they have to be non violent and I LOVE educational games. Thank you! Have fun!

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As far as kid’s computer games go for the Wii – Jump Start Pet Rescue is one of THE BEST games I have found for 3-6 year olds. My children have played Jump Start Games since they were 3 and to see these characters come to life in a Wii game is WONDERFUL!  From designing their own avatar, to adopting pets to playing educational and fun games — Jump Start Pet Rescue will keep children entertained and learning for a long time.

My daughter, who is six loves this game.  She is a very good reader so thought a couple of the games were easy but still enjoys them and running around taking part in the many activities Jump Start has to offer. This game really makes children think and offers so much content that is educational AND fun. From designing their own “jumpee” (avatar) to running around and doing tasks and solving educational games — your child will be entertained AND learning for a long time. Enjoy this video to see some of the fun things Jump Start Pet Rescue for the Wii offers.

Some of my daughters favorite activities have been picking out a pet to play with, feed and train, exploring the worlds including going down the cool water slide and playing the MANY games that are offered.  Honestly my daughter is not easily impressed with games and she was blown away by this one.  Younger children might need a little help getting acclimated but the game design is very intuitive and this is the perfect game to begin your child with to learn how to use the Wii remote.

The game has 5 different worlds to explore with saving pets your main mission.  Your child will talk to and interact with the many fascinating and loved Jump Start characters to guide them to their missions.  There are games that educate in everything from math, letter recognition, repetition, memory and more.  Pet Rescue seems so vast and my daughter has played it four times for an hour each (my limit on games) and still has barely scratched the surface.

I think you can tell I like Jump Start Pet Rescue, huh?    I have reviewed many Jump Start products like their have a brilliant site (I reviewed it here and since they have added MANY additional features).  I also have reviewed  many of the wonderful games they offer for preschool through school aged children.  It was amazing to see these characters come to life for the Wii and I cannot recommend this game enough for ages 3-6. Thank you Jump Start for yet another amazing product.

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Generation Cures has a VERY special place in my heart.  It is the first site I wrote about when I launched this site at jennymannion.com AND it is a site with a very special purpose.  I wrote a detailed post about Generation Cures in October last year which I would love for you to read.  Generation Cures was created by “Children’s Hospital Boston” and is truly inspirational and innovative! It has an online community created for tweens to educate kids about compassion and caring while raising money for pediatric medical research (by donation). Now, I would like to tell you about something else VERY special going on with their site. It is a chance for kids and their parents to do some GOOD and for kids to win some VERY cool prizes while doing so. The first 100 children to join Nate’s Challenge will receive a copy of Rock Band 2. Best of all, 100 patients at the hospital will also receive a copy of the game.

Nate’s Challenge

From Generation Cures,

“Who is Nate and what is Nate’s Challenge? Like many teenage boys his age, Nate loves anything and everything related to sports – lacrosse, swimming and skiing to name a few.  What makes Nate so special?  He has indulged in his love for these sports, despite his scoliosis.  Diagnosed with the condition at age 10, Nate underwent vertebral stapling, a new procedure to help straighten the curved spines of kids with scoliosis in 2007. And, in early 2009, after a snowboarding accident, doctors operated and used a special plate and an array of screws to repair his shattered left heel. Nate recently joined forces with Generation Cures to launch Nate’s Challenge, seeking out 1500 families to sign up on the site, game for good and help raise money for pediatric research. That’s 100 families for the 7 staples and 8 screws that have been surgically implanted in Nate over the past two years.”

Generation Cures is a truly amazing site graphically BESIDES the wonderful message behind it.  It is safe, it is free and it allows kids to understand what it is like to be sick and to feel compassion.  Generation Cures has won more than 20 national awards for creativity, education and family fun and was named the Mom’s Choice Awards “Website of the Year.”.  Please tell your children to check out Nate’s Challenge and Generation Cures…. this is something the whole family can truly get something out of.  Thank you Generation Cures for paving the way for innovation and compassion to be joined as one!

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