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If you know young kids, then you know they can be very hands-on! These titles are focused on visual arts and creating with hands (even creating meals!), just right for learning by doing.

1. Dora’s Cooking Club (Ages 4+)
As kids help Dora and her family put together a series of recipes, they pick up some arithmetic basics – such as numbers and patterns – and get a friendly lesson in cooperation and respect. The game is incredibly well-designed for use by preschoolers and kindergartners.

2. Draw and Tell - by Duck Duck Moose (Ages 4+)
Kids can tell stories and illustrate them with this app, which helps users get started by providing ideas for settings and characters and encourages kids to express themselves with artwork they create within the app. It’s a fun way to introduce young kids to digital storytelling.

3. Crayola Kids (Ages 5+)
As kids color and mix media forms to create art on this vibrant site, they get to see how imagination coupled with nifty online tools can produce unique creations. There’s something for the whole family here, from the youngest scribblers to the most skilled designers.

4. DLTK’s Crafts for Kids (Ages 5+)
In addition to offering fun craft ideas for kids ages 2 and up, this activity-packed educational site introduces young kids to basic concepts, such as ABCs and 123s, holidays, cultures, animals, nutrition, weather, and much more.

5. Faces iMake - Right Brain Creativity (Ages 5+)
This stellar app encourages kids to create art from common objects, and video lessons teach about artistic inspiration and symbolism. The overall design is kid-friendly and fun, and kids can share their creations via email and social media and with other app users worldwide.

6. Crafting Mama (Ages 6+)
In this latest spin-off of the Cooking Mama series, kids can build 40 different craft projects – from pinwheels and clay ocarinas to earrings, bird houses, and even mini-Mama dolls. All these activities are performed using the DS stylus.

7. How to Draw - Full Version (Ages 6+)
Kids get practical steps for drawing specific objects, such as animals or a space shuttle, while learning more about shapes, increasing their drawing vocabulary, and building patience. Clear verbal instructions can help even younger kids learn how to draw.

Faces iMake - Right Brain Creativity can inspire kids to create art with everyday objects found in your home. Let your nieces and nephews go wild!

Photo: stockimages
Published: June 4, 2013