While summer days are meant for outdoor activity, we still have rainy days – and days that are too hot for humans to be out – to contend with. So what to do with the kids as they forlornly look at the window at either the buckets of rain or plants and grass dying in 100 temperatures?

There are plenty of indoor activities – craft projects, building "forts" with every blanket in the house, settling down to watch a great kids movie – but kids these days also love the Internet. Time in front of the computer is perfectly fine for kids on those rainy or too-hot days, but parents need to know what sites are going be safe and fun. Here's a few to get you started.

Starfall.com is a great educational site that allows visitors to learn about letters and reading while having fun. The age range for Starfall is from beginners to about second or third grade, depending on your child's reading level. The site features very simple tasks, such as recognizing letters and knowing the alphabet. There's also a section with fun stories for beginners who are starting to read. As children become gradually advanced, they can visit sections called About Me and Magic as well as an Art Gallery. Starfall also offers visitors plays, nonfiction material and comics. With cute characters and different things to do in season and during holidays, this site teaches while kids have fun.

Kidsnumbers.com is a math site that prepares children for learning addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. In this preparation pages, kids build the skills they need to go on to other areas of the site where they actually do the math work. There are math games as well. This site also offers lessons on counting money, telling time, and working with fractions. Parents can print out worksheets as well. For the older kids, kidsnumbers.com also offers a bit of algebra and geometry. This site was designed by teachers. Once kids learn to navigate the site, they can work independently while having fun.

Funbrain.com is a super-fun site that allows kids to learn about a number of different subjects. Games such as Math Baseball, The Plural Girls and Grammar Gorillas create fun while teaching. It allows you to find games by your child's grade level, making getting around this site very easy. They even offer Web books and comics as well as a place your blog. Other visitor's blogs can be read and parents can click on their child's' age group to find the appropriate blogs for them. Add to this a section where kids can read the latest kids entertainment news (such as great new movies) and a section called Playground, and you've got a site where kids can play, learn and navigate independently.

Parents, you'll want to check out internet4classrooms.com and read information about a wide variety of topics concerning kids and learning. There are links to check out even more sites you may find your children enjoy, as well as practice modules and information on grade level help for kids kindergarten through 8th grade. Browse this site to find some wonderful tools and great links.

Aaamath.com and aaaspelling.com are two sites whose addresses say it all – math and spelling. The site focuses on allowing children to learn at their level and at their own pace. Aaamath.com offers a list of links on the left side of the homepage that focuses on everything from graphs to mental math. Aaaspelling.com offers plenty of learning and practice sessions as well as games such as Missing Letter, which can be one or more letters depending on your child's skill level.

Many other sites offer games which can help develop a child's hand/eye coordination and decision making. My daughter enjoys nickjr.com and pbskids.org – both fun sites that are easy for kids to navigate and offer a variety of activities.

These are a few sites that will help kids get through those rainy days and help parents avoid hearing, repeatedly, "I'm bored!"

Lastly, a few tips: limit the kids' time online. It's a real eye and back strain to sit at a computer for too long, even for kids. Have them take breaks and march through the house like they are in a parade while stretching their arms high above their head to give their body a break from sitting too long. Also, make sure each child gets equal time online by using a kitchen timer. After the timer goes off, the child is assigned a "buddy" to take the timer to and let them know it's now their turn. Older kids can help younger ones set the timer and even help them use the computer if need be. Most important, always make sure the computer is located in a high-traffic area of your home, where you can see it and always monitor what sites your kids are visiting. The Internet is like sending your child out into the world on their own, but from the comfort of your own home. Be cautious, teach your kids to be the same, familiarize yourself with the Internet and make sure to look at the computer's history often to see what the kids have been up to.

Tags & Keywords : children's websites, Internet for kids, summer activities, kids websites