I had the pleasure of interviewing Noelle Millholt the associate publisher of one of the coolest kids' websites EVER--speakaboos.com.Noelle is still in her twenties and is not a mother, and YET, she was able to develop a website that both parents and kids love.
Speakaboos is an interactive website aimed at children aged 3 to 8. Celebs like John Krasinski ("The Office"), Kevin Bacon and Kelly Ripa provide the audio to fables and nursery rhymes that children can listen to while watching illustrations. But that's not all, they can then play games, print illustrations and color them, or even record their own stories.
Noelle says she developed the site when she noticed that while there are quite a few sites geared toward kids, few of them are educational. So she worked with teachers to develop Speakaboos. As a result, teachers are some of its biggest fans. There are worksheets, story guides and arts and crafts for use in the classroom in one link, and similar information for parents in another.
Did I mention that the site is absolutely graphically stunning too? It's so colorful and the illustration is beautiful.
The site generates revenue by selling mp3s of the audio found on the site. You can purchase individual tracks or purchase an entire album. At least fifteen percent of Speakaboos' profits are contributed directly to charities supporting children’s causes.
