Guide to Online Activities

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We've provided hints for each activity and game on this site to help you help a child get the most from the experience. Print this page of hints using the Print button on your browser and keep them beside you as you and the child explore the site and enjoy the activities and games!

Clifford's Scavenger Hunt
Today is Birdwell Island Day, and Clifford and his friends are teammates for the Scavenger Hunt. They have a list of three things to look for around the island, and now it’s time to work together to locate them.

In this activity, your child will experience teamwork as he or she helps each friend find one of the items, first by selecting the place to look, and then by exploring the area to find the item. And if the friend heads to the wrong area to search, your child can seek help from another of the teammates to help steer him or her in the right direction.

As you play with your child, encourage him or her to try to predict at which location an object is likely to be found. Also, be sure that your child appreciates that when teammates work together, it's not only important to offer help, but to accept it when needed.

Clifford's Big Parade
Emily Elizabeth and her friends are building a float for Clifford to carry in the big parade. In this activity, your child will choose the theme of the float, and will help decorate it with hundreds of objects, numbers, and letters. After the float is finished, Clifford will march in the parade with your child's float, and he or she will be able to print it or email it to a family member or friend.

As you play with your child, encourage him or her to invent a story to go with the scene suggested by the float. Encourage your child to even use objects that might not normally appear in the chosen environment: it will make his or her story more interesting and funny!

Puppy Dreams
Clifford is thinking of something fun, and he wants you to guess what it is! In "Puppy Dreams," your child is asked to select the three items that best relate to each other from a group of five. When the correct items are chosen, Clifford reveals what he's been thinking about in a surprising way.

As you play with your child, encourage him or her to explain how the selected items are related. Ask your child to predict what Clifford is thinking about.

Which Clifford?
Sometimes it's good to be small and sometimes it's good to be big! In this activity, your child will be asked to choose which Clifford would be best suited to a particular task. The chosen Clifford will jump right into the scene to demonstrate his fitness (or lack thereof) with a silly and fun animation.

As you play with your child, encourage him or her to explain why a particular Clifford was chosen. Ask your child to predict what each Clifford will do when he tries to complete the task.

Hide-and-Seek Toy Box
Helping Clifford clean up is even more fun when it becomes a game! In "Hide-and-Seek Toybox," your child tries to find the toy that Clifford is hiding behind, by the characteristic sound it makes. A variety of different sounds are heard, including animals, a xylophone, a fire engine, a ship, and even a jet airplane.

As you play with your child, encourage him or her to predict and mimic the sounds for each of the objects. Away from the computer, help your child create an "orchestra" of objects with interesting sounds from around your home, and then make some music!

Measuring Up
Understanding the basic concepts of size and making comparisons has never been sillier or more fun! In "Measuring Up," your child helps Clifford play a comparison game with the Sidarskys. Concepts covered include: longest/shortest, thickest/thinnest, highest/lowest, largest/smallest, and tallest/shortest.

As you play with your child, encourage him or her to go beyond the descriptions asked for in the game. For example, when asked to click on the tallest flower, suggest that your child also point to the shortest and midde-sized flowers. Or, when asked for the largest pumpkin, ask which is the heaviest.

Card Maker
Kids are always excited by holidays and special events, and enjoy making cards to share that excitement. Clifford's Card Maker helps your child create his or her own customized card that can be given to a family member or friend.

Help your child through the steps to choose the images and message to include in the card. After printing, have your child cut the card out along the solid black lines, and fold it along the dotted black lines. You child can then color the card, add a hand-written message, and share it with someone special.

Story Builder
There's no doubt that Clifford the Puppy knows how to have fun playing with his friends in the city! Share with your child that a real friend is honest, kind, helpful, and understanding. Encourage your child to retell favorite stories read or heard. Check for comprehension by asking your child describe the setting, identify characters, and express what happened in the story. Explain that pets can also be friends, just like Emily Elizabeth and Clifford. Name pets and talk about ways that taking care of a pet with food, shelter, exercise, play, and grooming are good ways to show a pet true friendship. Identify places that friends play and learn together like parks, schools, neighborhoods, church, and daycare. Encourage your child to accept "new and different" friends from other cultures and ethnic backgrounds; birthday parties, overnight stays, and playtime activities can open doors for new friendships to develop.

Help Clifford

...At The Beach
Ask the child what is happening in the picture. What would someone need to have fun at the beach? What item would Clifford and his friends want most? You may want to explain that incorrect choices are not things that a person would want or need at the beach. Ask the child to explain (or explain to the child) where and when those objects would be useful. Extend the activity offline by asking "What would you give Clifford to help him have fun in the snow (or other situation)?"

...At Dinner Time
Ask the child what Clifford wants to do. What would help him eat his dinner? Why would each of the other things NOT help? You may want to explain that incorrect choices are not foods; they aren't things that Clifford could eat. The correct choice is something that Clifford could eat. Extend the activity offline by discussing things that the child can do to help prepare or serve a meal.

...When It Rains
Ask the child what is happening in the picture. What would someone need when rain is falling? What item would help Clifford most? You may want to explain that incorrect choices would not help Clifford in a rainstorm; they may be things that he would like to have, but they're not things that he would need. Extend the activity offline by asking "How can you help me in the kitchen (or other area of the home)?" and "How can I help you?"

...To Stay Warm
Ask the child what is happening in the picture. What would someone need to stay warm on a cold winter day? What things would help Clifford most? Discuss the reasons why the incorrect choices would not help Clifford stay warm. (He couldn't play tennis or ride a bike in the snow or swim in a pool in cold weather, and a frog might keep him company but couldn't help him stay warm.) Extend the activity offline by asking "What else helps us stay warm on a cold day?" and "How do we cool off on a hot day?"

...Paint The Fence
Ask the child what Clifford wants to do. What would help him paint the fence? Why would each of the other things NOT help? (The camera and lawn mower are tools for other jobs. What jobs are they for? The easel is a tool for a different kind of painting. When would Clifford use an easel? Clifford might like to have the hot dog as a snack, but it wouldn't help him paint the fence!) Extend the activity offline by helping the child paint one of the printable pictures on Clifford's site.

...Take A Bath
Ask the child what is happening in the picture. What would someone need to take a bath? What items would help Clifford? Discuss why each of the other things would NOT help Clifford. (They would be useful in doing other things, but not in taking a bath. The wheelbarrow and rake would help Clifford work in the garden. The stepladder would help someone reach a high place-but Clifford wouldn't need it! The box of tools would help Clifford do many jobs around the house, but they wouldn't help him take a bath.) Extend the activity offline by asking "What toys do you think Clifford likes to take into the bath with him?"

Clifford Kisses
Explain that T-Bone has a way to make sure that everyone gets a big kiss from Clifford. He wants to make sure that they all take turns. Ask what T-Bone is holding in his mouth. What color is it? Who has a balloon the same color as T-Bone's? That person gets the next Clifford kiss! Extend the game offline by matching pairs of items to take turns in any home activity or, with a group of children, use matching items to take turns in a game.

Clifford Slide
Explain that Emily Elizabeth has a way to make sure that everyone gets a chance to slide down Clifford's back. She wants to make sure that they all take turns. Point out the character who is waiting to take a turn. Ask what color bathing suit and towel the character has. Which inner tube is the same color? The character needs that inner tube to slide down Clifford's back and splash into the water. Extend the game offline by matching pairs of items to take turns in any home activity or, with a group of children, use matching items to take turns in a game.

Cleo Shares
On each page, urge the child to click on a dog that does not have a the object to be shared. When all of the objects have been distributed, discuss the idea of sharing. Extend the activity offline by encouraging the child to share toys among dolls or stuffed animals--or, better yet, with other children!

T-Bone's Town

...House Pages
Remind the child that people (and dogs) are different from one another. Which house belongs to Clifford? To Emily Elizabeth? To Cleo? How are Clifford and Cleo alike? How are they different? How about Clifford and Emily Elizabeth? You may want to explain why incorrect choices are incorrect, based on the concepts of size and appropriate living conditions. Clifford could not fit into any of the rooms in Emily Elizabeth's house; they would be too small for him. Clifford couldn't even fit his head into T-Bone's house! T-Bone wouldn't live in Emily Elizabeth's house because he's the Sheriff's dog; he has a house of his own in the Sheriff's yard. T-Bone would find Clifford's house much too big for him; he'd be "rattling around" in it. Emily Elizabeth wouldn't want to live in a dog house . . . because she's not a dog! When the child clicks the right house, he or she will be able to print a cut-out to color and assemble offline.

...Shops Pages
Help the child look for clues in the pictures that lead to the correct answer. Which shop has bread in the window and other foods that are like bread? Which shop has eyeglasses in the window? Where else do you see eyeglasses at that shop? Which shop has pictures of dogs that have had a bath? You may want to explain why incorrect choices are incorrect, based on the concepts of similarities and differences. Bread, rolls, cookies, and cake are alike because they are all foods, all made from flour, and all baked-but bread is very different from eyeglasses and dogs. All eyeglasses are alike in that they help people see better, even though they may be different sizes, colors, shapes, or strengths but eyeglasses are very different from bread and dogs. Every dog is unique, but after a bath all dogs are alike in being clean-and dogs are very different from bread and eyeglasses. When the child clicks the right building, he or she will be able to print a cut-out to color and assemble offline.

Puppy Letters
Share with your child that Emily Elizabeth loves to read sentences and build words! As you listen, read, and match letters, important skills like letter recognition, letter sounds, and vocabulary will be reinforced. Together, say each letter of the alphabet. Touch letters and have fun skywriting, or forming letters in the air. Repeat letter names used to build new words in Emily Elizabeth's sentences. Have fun creating new sentences that Emily Elizabeth could read with the pictures and new vocabulary words. Ask your child to also identify characters, colors, objects, and what's happening in each sentence. Encourage thought about where birds live, why dogs wag their tails and dig in the dirt, and what cats look like. For more matching fun, find and compare pictures that represent the same number of people, animals, or objects.

Coloring Book
Share with your child that through technology, pictures of Clifford and his friends can be colored by moving color choices with the keyboard mouse! Help your child identify colors used in this activity by pointing and saying each color name. Practice hand-eye coordination by modeling how to use the mouse to move colors and fill in pictures. Encourage your child to use his/her own imagination to color each picture freely. During this process, ask child to say the name of each color being used and the area being colored. Extend skills in color recognition by naming more colors inside the home and outside in nature. Click the print button on your browser to print each coloring page and create a unique Clifford coloring book!

Leaf Of Absence

Page 1
Ask the child what is happening in the picture. Ask for interpretations and predictions. Why are the dogs making piles of leaves? Who will make the biggest pile? What will happen next? After the picture changes, discuss what happened to the leaves in Clifford's pile.

Page 2
Talk with the child about what it means to make a promise. If someone makes a promise to you, do you expect the person to keep it? What did Clifford promise T-Bone? What would Clifford have to do to keep his promise? How do you think T-Bone feels about Clifford's promise?

Page 3
Did Clifford keep his promise? What made him break his promise? Do you think Clifford is happy right now? Do you think he will stay happy? What might make him feel bad about jumping into T-Bone's pile of leaves?

Page 4
How do you think Clifford felt when he saw T-Bone's leaves blow away? Why did Clifford chase after the leaves? Why didn't he just let them blow away and forget about them? Why did Cleo help Clifford find the leaves?

Page 5
Did Clifford and Cleo do the right thing? Do you think that T-Bone will like this pile of leaves as much as he liked the one that he made by himself?

Page 6
Why did T-Bone thank Clifford for taking care of his leaves? Do you think that Clifford did a good job of taking care of T-Bone's leaves? Why or why not? How do you think Clifford felt at the end of the story? What do think Clifford learned?

Tummy Trouble

Page 1
Ask the child what is happening in the picture. Why does Clifford do what Emily Elizabeth asks him to do? Why does Emily Elizabeth give Clifford a treat? Ask for predictions. What will Emily Elizabeth do if Clifford does another trick for her?

Page 2
Will Cleo and T-Bone like the idea of getting treats for doing tricks? Why or why not? What tricks do you think T-Bone and Cleo can do? What other tricks can Clifford do?

Page 3
Why did Cleo give T-Bone a treat? Do you think that T-Bone will want to do more tricks? Why or why not? Do you think that Cleo would like a treat too?

Page 4
Why did Cleo give herself a treat? Do you think she deserved to get a treat for the trick she did? Do you think the dogs have had enough treats?

Page 5
Why did the dogs keep giving themselves treats? How many treats do you think the dogs could eat? Which dog could eat the most treats? Why? How do you think the dogs will feel if they eat ALL of the treats?

Page 6
What made the dogs eat too many treats? Have you ever made that mistake? Do you think the dogs will ever eat so many treats again?

Runaway Rabbit

Page 1
Ask the child why Emily Elizabeth might have wanted Clifford to watch Wally. Why is Wally in a cage? What might happen if Wally got out of the cage? What do rabbits like to do? What do they like to eat? What do you think might happen next?

Page 2
Do you think Clifford made a mistake? Why did Wally hop away? Where do you think Wally will go? Why are T-Bone and Cleo running after Wally? What do you think might happen next?

Page 3
Why couldn't the dogs catch Wally? Where do you think the dogs might have looked for Wally? Do you have any more ideas about where Wally might go? If you were a rabbit, where would you go?

Page 4
Why did Wally go to the carrot patch? Do you think Wally will want to leave the carrot patch and go back to his cage? Why or why not?

Page 5
What do you think Clifford's idea is? How would you get Wally back home and into his cage?

Page 6
Why did Wally follow Clifford? Why did Clifford give Wally the carrot at the end of the story?

Printables
Encourage the child to go beyond coloring by adding an original background to the drawing. Be sure to praise the results. You can build creative play around a coloring picture by cutting images from magazines and discussing with the child how they might fit into the picture.

Backstage
As you explore this area with a child, ask questions that will help to focus the child's attention on the details in each area, such as: What do you think is happening here? What are the people doing? Why are they doing that? Read the cast biographies to the child and ask a question or two to check the child's comprehension as you read each one. For example, you might ask: What other voices has John Ritter performed besides Clifford's?