Tux Paint has many features that are similar to those in Firefox -- It is even remotely similar to Photoshop. It is certainly a stepping stone toward either Firefox or Photoshop. Yet, this free program is simple enough to be handled by very young children.
Tux Paint provides a great outlet for creativity and for encouraging budding artists; and it is also a great teaching tool. In today's landscape, with an ever-widening mulitmedia horizon,Tux Paint is an excellent program to help children become more technologically literate--beginning with learning simple mouse control, in a fun and colorful way.
There are brush tools for drawing and painting and line tools for creating more linear images. Features, such as the Shapes Tool and the Stamp Tool could be used for teaching simple shapes--and for illustrating how to create patterns. These are actually math skills.
The Text Tools and images can be combined, so that children can write and illustrate together.
The program can be downloaded, with or without the extra Stamp Software, at:
http://www.tuxpaint.org/
Both are free at this time.
Jacki Kellum at Dr. Seuss Night
