Now’s the time of year when the kidlets are either back to school or getting ready to go back to school. If their brains have turned to mush over the long, hot summer, here are some websites to pique kids’ interests and teach them at the same time:

ABCya.com was developed by a grade-school teacher and features hundreds of games and apps for children from pre-K to 5th grade. Games range from counting and letters for younger kids to ratios and geography for older ones. Banner advertising displays during most games, but a no-ad subscription is only $2.99/month.

That perennial favorite of pediatricians’ offices, Highlights for Kids, has a terrific website at which kids can read stories from the magazine, hear and read listen-and-learn stories to develop reading skills, solve hidden-pictures games, and create science projects and crafts. Some of the games require adult registration, but all activities on the site are free.

Funbrain.com is another website with learning games that teach reading and math, although I found the navigation and rules for some of the games a bit confusing. I do like Funbrain’s index to games by type and grade-level, though, as well as its parents & kids intro to the site. Funbrain is free for users.

In the coming weeks Baby Tech will look at other learning websites that are popular among parents, teachers and children. If you have a favorite learning website that your child uses and loves, feel free to fill us in by sending an email to sue[@]babynames.com