One of the most challenging activities for the young child will be learning to use the mouse, a skill that requires a certain level of motor skills. To begin mouse practice, set the mouse pointer speed to slow. On a PC, do this by first clicking on "start," then on "control panels" and then on "printers and other hardware." Click on "pointer options," and adjust the speed control to "slower." On Macs, click on "system preferences" under the apple icon in the menu bar, then click on "keyboard and mouse" in the hardware row. When the keyboard and mouse menu pop up, click on "mouse," and set the speed sliders to slow.
Of the many companies producing software for preschoolers, the better programs are easy to navigate, encourage the child to explore and provide fun and enjoyment while teaching skills and knowledge, and they also offer some sort of reward for a job well done. The Jump Start programs not only teach computer skills, but they also teach number skills, learning letters and following directions. "Reader Rabbit Preschool" will teach the young computer user letter and sound recognition, sorting and matching, color and shape recognition and simple addition. In "Curious George Preschool Learning Games," children learn by listening and watching a number of entertaining scenarios that teach children rhyme, shapes, colors, letters and puzzle building.
Once the child has developed some proficiency with his navigational skills, he is ready to do some basic play on the Internet. Find preschool games that your child enjoys. Bookmark them and teach your preschooler to recognize what his bookmarks look like in the "Bookmark" or "Favorites" menu. An excellent site featuring stories for the young computer user can be found at storyplace.org. Each of the 15 categories in each story features five different activities; some are designed for children and others for parents to do with their children.