Sometimes child's play can be hard work - especially if you've run out of ideas. Crayola Family Play (www.familyplay.com) contains a variety of activities to entertain children from ages 3 to 12.

The customized activity search allows you to find an activity by skill (language, thinking, math), age or type (indoor, outdoor).

Skill builders are different games that incorporate everyday activities with learning. For example: a "reading labels" activity encourages the child to make associations between an object and the word it represents.

Parents will enjoy the "Community" section, which allows them to chat with each other; the "Advice" section, which features "experts and inspiration"; and the "Toolkit," which has other Web resources for parents.

-#Andrea Wilson, Sun news researcher

Pub Date: 10/18/98