The best way for your children to learn software

If your local library has copies of CD- or DVD-based software tutorials, great. If not, a great tool is the Lynda web site. for $25 a month, your kids - third grade and older - can access hundreds of professional video tutorials on hundreds of different software programs on several subjects, from business (MS Office, Google Apps) to design, photography, video editing, 3D, web design, art, and more.

The videos range from 1 hour up to 23+ hour long, and go from basic to intermediate and advanced, broken down in chapters and segments. Each segment is a manageable few minutes long.

Most of the presenters are engaging and knowledgeable. I've watched five or more different courses, from Google Apps to Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, and Dreamweaver, even an Apple Server Implementation course. They were all great, much better than reading even the best book on the same topic.

If your children start watching three courses a year in third grade, by the time they finish high school, they will have gained mastery of many of the best software programs on the planet.

More Starfall, a great learning web site for chrildren

More Starfall is the premium version of the free Starfall.com web site. While the free version is a great resource for children 3 to 6 years old to learn their ABC and first reading lessons, More Starfall adds much more and is definitely worth the $35 a year they charge for it.

What do you get for $35 a year? A lot; you get a whole math section, with math songs, numbers, geometry and measurements, as well as lessons on addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

You also get the full phonics and reading section available on the free version of Starfall, plus lessons on vowels, colors, more phonics lessons, word machines, a talking library with a great selection of books read by an adult while the books highlights the words being read.

For the older children who already know how to read, there's an "I'm Reading" section with a selection of books with rich graphics with reading exercises and hearing aid tools to confirm your reading skills.

Finally there's a Songs and Rhymes section with popular and richly-animated songs like "Head, shoulders, knees, and toes,""If you are happy and you know it," and many others that blend fun and learning in a smart way.

The beauty of the site is that it does not sacrifice education for fun. It does not distract the child with overly entertaining material (unlike the Sesame Street web site), but keeps her focused on the lesson at hand.

Once you purchase the premium version, you can authorize it on up to three computers.

Highly recommended.