Shidonni Website Review & Giveaway

Shidonni is a website designed for children ages 4 and up.

For an interactive website, Shidonni is extremely interesting. There are many websites geared for children but Shidonni is unique. Why? Your child can draw their own interactive pet and have it animated. It is extremely easy to use, and kids just love it (Genius who will be 13 next month, has been playing on it for days, even though it is designed for children about ages 5-9).

Shidonni makes a fun and creative way to spend time, for children who enjoy drawing. Parents should look into it because it is a safe place to let their children play, and the basic version is free.

After a quick and simple Microsoft Silverlight download, children begin by drawing themselves a pet (Genius drew a number of them, her favorite being the phoenix bird shown on the top of the post), which then gets drawn to life.

The pet gets to inhabit a world, in which the child can design the background. After this, more pets can be created. Perhaps though, your child would also like to draw some food for their pets to eat. They are alive now, they are getting hungry! Chili dogs are often on the menu for Genius' pets.

Kids can go through 2 Star Missions a day. Star Missions are puzzles that are comprised of pieces that are earned by completing other activities on the site. Once the Star Missions are done, players can then unlock bonus items to use.

We were impressed that the pets that you draw get animated. While the animation function is not elaborate, the pets are visually interactive. The pet will, if for example it is a bird, actually appear to flap its wings across the screen. It is also a very positive affirmation for kids to see the pet exactly as they have drawn it, in action on their computer.

The pros of Shidonni are

• It is exceptionally easy to use
• The immersing activities it offers
• The creative elements it allows
• Designed for young children
  

The cons of Shidonni are

• Even with a cable modem connection, the site could be slow in transitioning the commands

So if you are interested in age appropriate content and want something that will appeal to your kids, check out the following video and then head on over to Shidonni and have your kids create an original pet to play with!



WIN IT!! One random commenter can win a 3 month Shidonni Pro Account. (a $16.95 value)

To enter, have your children play around on the basic version of Shidonni and comment about what you like or don't like about the game.

The above step is required before you use any of the extra credit options.
Please leave an e-mail if it is not visible in your profile.

Extra Entries! Leave a separate comment for each one you do.

1. Blog about this giveaway, leaving a link to this post.
2. Follow me publicly. Click on follow this blog in the right sidebar. (If you already follow that counts)
3. Subscribe to my blog via rss feed. (If you already subscribe that counts)
4. Add my button to your blog, located at the top left sidebar (If you already have it, let me know with a link to your blog)
5. Follow me on twitter and tweet about this contest. Leave the link to your tweet in the comments.

Contest ends April 4, 2009 at 11:59 pm cst. Winners will be chosen at random. This giveaway is open to anyone ages 13+.

Comments

[sparkzspot]

Hi friend.. Interesting post.. Nice blog work.. keep it up..
will drop by your site often.. Do find time to visit my blog and post your comments..
Have a great day.. Cheers!!!

[mverno]

like it -will certainly keep the youngsters occupied mverno@roadrunner.com

[ktgonyea]

Sounds great :)

ktgonyea at gmail.com

[lilyk]

I like how you can draw your own interactive pet and have it animated. Shidonni sounds very fun!

[lilyk]

I subscribed to your feed.

[P.D.]

This seems like it would make kids smile and make a rainy day go by faster.

[Cass]

I really do appreciate your feedback. I've been pinned down with a sick grandchild and the computer is helpful to keep her occupied.