Practicing crossword puzzles is an excellent way for children to develop their vocabulary and their knowledge base. Throughout the Internet, you can find kids' printable crossword puzzles covering almost any topic and at just about every level of difficulty. The following seven websites are some of the best online resources to find printable crossword puzzles for kids.
The Kidz Page features all kinds of activities and games for kids. There's a games section, learning area and of course a Puzzles section where you'll find a variety of puzzles on many topics.

The Kidz Page Puzzles
The main page is a bit rudimentary in design, but the amount of activities are plentiful. You'll find word puzzles, fill in puzzles and even fun mazes. Most of the activity sheets can be printed.
You'll find some of the most well-designed kids' printable crossword puzzles at Squigly's Playhouse. There are different themes to choose from such as Space, Fairy Tales or Sports.

Squigly's Pencil Puzzles
In addition to printable crossword puzzles, there are also printable word puzzles, spot-the-difference puzzles, word searches, mazes and even secret codes.
The Family Fun Shop is very clearly devoted to making sure that both parents and children have a lot of fun together. This site provides a list of free activities you can do with your kids, and you'll discover lots of printable resources that will help you along the way.

Family Fun Puzzles
The printable PDF activity sheets are fairly well done. You'll find coloring pages, cartoons and comics, and even entire activity books available for download.

Family Fun Butterfly Puzzle
Best of all, when you scroll about halfway down the activity page, you'll see a table with lots of different categories to choose from. Click on the topic, choose the puzzle and you'll have a full-color PDF crossword puzzle that you can print out. The answers are also printed upside down and in small print at the bottom of the page.
If you can't find exactly what you're looking for, why not create your own crossword puzzles? Tools for Educators is a website that offers a wide range of impressive tools for educators. AT this site, you'll find tools to make board games, word search printouts and even a special tool called "The Dice Maker."

The Crossword Maker
The Crossword Puzzle Maker is a tool where you select a topic area, and then customize the image, hint and answers in the form in order to cover the information that you'd like to include. This tool is ideal for teachers that would like to help students remember important facts in a fun way.
Puzzle choice is a website that's devoted specifically to puzzles for kids. The variety of puzzles available here would make it a good resource for teachers or parents that are looking for ways to keep the information new and interesting to children.

Crosswords at Puzzle Choice
In the crosswords area, there aren't a large number to choose from, but the ones that you'll find are interesting and innovative. In these crosswords, there are no numbers. Instead you need to deduce how to correctly place the words and work your way through each word until you've solved the entire puzzle.
Print Activities is the aptly named website where parents and teachers can find a multitude of activities they can print and offer to children. Like many of the other sites listed here, the variety of topics is good here, but what's especially unique about Print Activities is the quality of the crossword puzzles.

Print Activities Crossword Puzzle
The crosswords are formatted like most standard crossword puzzles, with a 9x9 numbered grid, with the across and down clues listed to the right. Answers are printed in very small print at the bottom. The web pages are layed out so that when you print you'll receive a full page with two crossword puzzles printed one on top of the other.
One of the best websites for high-quality, printable crossword puzzles for kids is ABCTeach. This website is self-described as "The educator's online resource." As you search through the site, you'll find that the description is accurate. When you click on the "Fun Activities" area and choose "Crossword Puzzles," you'll discover pages of innovative and interesting crossword puzzles.

ABC Teach Crossword Puzzles
Hover your mouse over any of the crosswords to see a pop-up preview. If it looks like a design and topic that you're interested in, just click on the design to download and print the PDF file.
Overall, kids really love crossword puzzles, because completing them feels more like playing a game than doing homework. Crossword puzzles offer educators an opportunity to introduce a fun activity as part of the learning process, and they give parents an opportunity to work on the puzzles with their children and share some quality time together.
Choosing which puzzle is right for your child is an easy task. Age appropriateness is critical, so stick with the sites that cater to the age of your child. More importantly, choose the site that offers both the subjects and the design and layouts that you like best.