Do you remember those hand-held puzzles where you were challenged to slide the little squares in as few moves as possible to create a picture? Well, now you can do the same thing online when you are challenged to reorder the Hebrew alphabet: Check out Jewish Funland at www.bus.ualberta.ca/yreshef/funland/funland.html. Other challenges at Jewish Funland include a Hebrew vocabulary quiz, a wordsearch game and Hebrew Hangman — the classic game using Hebrew words. If you are still looking for more Jewish kids' sites, then I highly recommend the Children's Judaica page at http://members.tripod.com/ ProudMommy/judaica.html.

While some sites simply try to amuse, others pack a message, too. Torahtots definitely has a message that "learning is fun" and your kids should enjoy their stay. The site at www.torahtots.com is full of stories, games and coloring pages. One of the central points of the site is an explanation of the current week's Torah reading in Parsha On Parade. Over in the music section, the songs are lively and have names like "Totsland," "Skibble Dibble" and "Hodu L'Hashem" (Praise God):

"Every soda pop, every clip that clops. Every two fives for a ten, Every ring around the collar, and the medicine you swallow, proclaims, Hodu L'Hashem."

Sparks is a magazine just for kids ages 9 to 13 at www.sparksmag.com. There's a section on "Jewish Pokemon We'd Love to See!," a Kindness Art Gallery and a section titled "Jewish Kids from Ages Past." We are introduced to Moses Jacob Ezekiel, who was the first Jewish cadet enrolled at the Virginia Military Institute in the 1860s. We are told about the anti-Semitism that he faced and are challenged to write in about how we would react.

Has your child heard "Goodnight Moon" one too many times? Well, there is an alternative. Jewish Bedtime Stories has dozens of contributions by parents around the world. It's at www.jcn18.com/scripts/jcn18/forum/forum_fairy_tales.idc?ForumID=63&TopicID=4 One tells the lovely and true story of how Mallory convinced the folks at the Empire State Building to light up their office tower in blue to celebrate the first night of Chanukah. "Mallory learned that even if you are in the fourth grade, if you have a good idea and you talk it over with your parents and teachers, you can change the way things are done."

Finally, a few technical comments: Please note that some of these Web sites are packed with special effects and if your computer isn't up to snuff, it could crash. You will need a recent Java-enabled browser of Netscape Communicator or Internet Explorer. In addition to RealPlayer 7 Basic program — at www.real.com/player/index.html? src=000508realhome — you will probably need Flash and Shockwave Players from Macromedia, which is at www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download. All these programs are free and come with clear instructions.

Should you have trouble installing these programs, just ask your child for help.