While it is important for preschool children to have a range of activities, computer-based learning can start as soon as children can effectively handle a mouse. Usually, around three or four years of age, children can readily spend up to a half an hour at a time on the computer. Children like the independence and stimulation of interacting with preschool software.

Most preschoolers notice that their parents and siblings spend time working on the computer. Naturally, they also want to try it. This interest can be harnassed to help build the children's concentration; to build prephonics reading skills such as phonemic awareness; to build a range of school readiness basic skills such as sorting by colors, distinguishing shapes, learning the basic numbers, and recognizing the letters. Online preschool learning games can be very effective at teaching many basic skills.

A preschool education today can include twenty minute sessions on the computer, perhaps twice a day. Children should be closely supervised. In many cases, parents set up the child's computer at a desk near the parent's desk so that when the parent catches up on computer time, the child can "do the same." If your children are able to use a mouse, they are probably able to enjoy the online preschool activities at Time4Learning.