Amazon.com Product Description

This four-program collection nurtures essential early reading skills through warm, whimsical experiences designed just for younger learners. Explore key topics in the pre-grade school reading and writing curriculum through a series of exciting adventures, engaging stories, and irresistible games. Tackle topics like letter names and sounds, short and long vowels, building simple words, predicting story events, and more. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Wonderful resource for the serious homeschooler!!
We have been proud owners of this package for two years and have used it diligently to supplement skills and concepts introduced throughout the year for first and second grade. It has been a WONDERFUL supplemental resource. Unlike a lot other educational software packages that claim to cover a wide range of ages, this one means it when they say "First through Third grade". It is simple to use: After a concept (example: 2 digit addition) has been introduced to the student, you specifically set up games to reinforce those particular skills. After those skills have been mastered you then go back in (with a simple click of the mouse and check-mark skills you want to reinforce from a large pre-set list) It is honestly very simple to do. Explaining the process actually takes far more time that it does to actually do it. Although the games are very "friendly", with engaging characters and settings, the software is not meant to "entertain" as much as it is to teach. I would not at all be surprised to find this package in a lot of school computer rooms for kids to reinforce their skills on. If you are looking for a true educational software package that would be appropriate for (no younger than)first through third grade, this would be perfect for you and your child.

I would give it ZERO stars if I could!
I completely agree with what everyone else has said. This was a total waste of money. The other reviewer was right when he said the extra software included (for us it was Star Flyers) was the ONLY good thing!

How can they market programs that were designed for 3-5 year olds for Grades 1-3? Its ludicrous!

DO NOT waste your money! The whole thing is unprofessional. There are no guides and even the paper inside the CD looks like it was BADLY photocopied.

Again, if I could give it ZERO stars I would!

This is going back
I was looking for some software to help my fourth grader with math facts, computations, etc. (He's an Everyday Math victim.) The activites, even at the most advanced level, are much too easy for him. Pointing and clicking at different piles of cookies is not division. This is a complete waste.

This is being returned to The Learning Company
I just purchased this today, and it is extremely disappointing. I was looking for a software package that would help my 2nd grader learn his math facts, and this certainly isn't it, as far as I can tell. There is zero documentation included, so there is no way to steer your child towards games that would help his or her weak areas. I couldn't find a game that drilled them on anything, just a lot of pointless point and click activities.

Product is not very good
I got this product for my 5 year old, and it is about right,
any 3-6th grade would not like it at all. The best thing in the game is the free cluefinders monkey adventure in my costco box.
Most of the games look like they were designed for windows 95.

I liked the clips from grammar rock, I remember these as a kid, but you could by the DVD of Schoolhouse rock and get better versions of those. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Adapted from Ready to Read with Pooh educational CD-ROM, Disney's Winnie the Pooh: Spelling helps kids, ages 3 to 6, polish their spelling skills in the confidence-building environment of the Hundred Acre Wood, with encouragement from Pooh and pals. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Good addition to your educational software
My 3-year-old son loves the Winnie-the-Pooh games. He's not as big a fan of this one as he is of Pooh's ABC's; it's a bit "over-his-head," but I'm sure we'll get more use of it later on. The Winnie-the-Pooh Preschool game is by FAR his favorite. (I would also highly recommend it; VERY entertaining and educational, and that was how he learned to use the mouse. Great skill building activities.) Any of the Pooh titles would be a good buy.

A One Hundred Acre Wood Full Of Spelling Fun!!!
Winnie The Pooh Spelling is a wonderful, educational way to learn, and have fun with Pooh. Spelling is adopted from the original Ready To Read With Pooh, but even if you already have that, it will still be a blast. As you begin Pooh will greet you with his cheerful "Here We Go Floating" song. Then, he will land right in front of your tree house, and he will say so. After which, Gofur will give you one of his mailboxes and you get to put your name on it. (Be sure to check your mail every time you come back to your tree house, because there will be letters from Pooh's friends that you can print.) Every direction around the tree house will be a game. To the west, there is Pooh's Hunny Pots. Pooh has just finished lunch, and he needs your help to put all of the hunny pots back on the shelves. To do that, simply put them back on the shelves in alphabetical order. You will receive highlighted hints of what needs to go where for level one, for level two, you don't need to necessarily follow the alphabet, but you'll need to get all of the pots matched with the certain letters on the shelves to clean up, without any hints, and for level three, you'll have to just, shall we say, "follow your instinct." After each level, Gofur will come down the chimney and present your prize. If you head in a rather eastish direction, you'll come to Piglet's Cupboards. Piglet is getting ready for lunch and he needs you help to match up his plates for it. To do that, simply open the doors until you get a match. For level one, match the plates with the same letters on them, (there will be both upper and lower case letters on the plates in this level,) for level two, there will be only one upper or lower case letter, (for example, A matches with A, and b matches with b,) And for level three, match the plate with the upper case letter with the plate with the lower case letter, (For example, C matches with c.) After you have completed a level, Gofur will break through the cupboard and reveal your prize. Finally, if you head "due north, by northwoodly", you'll get to play the best game here, Tiggers Don't Climb Trees. Tigger has bounced up into the tree, and it's going to be your job to help him get down. To do that, simply complete the quilt for Kanga, Roo, & Piglet to hold under Tigger to catch him when he falls. To complete the quilts on level one, put in the missing letter of the picture above the word at the front of the word to complete it, (for example, choose f for _an,) for level two, The same only with the last letter, (for example, choose g for do_,) and for level three, do the same only with the middle letter of the word, (for example choose a for c_t.) After you complete a level, Gofur will pop up out of the ground and reveal your prize. Speaking of prizes, you're probably wondering where they are going. Well, back to your tree house of course. Prizes will appear on the outside & inside of your tree house. So far it sounds like a great game, but wait it gets better. Also included are six, that's right, six demo games. There's Winnie The Pooh Toddler, Preschool, and Kindergarten. The same with Mickey Mouse. In Pooh Toddler and Mickey Toddler, help Pooh and friends get down to the ground after hanging on balloons, and help Minnie look for shapes all around her house. Toddlers don't even have to click to play most of it!!! Then, in Pooh Preschool and Mickey Preschool, help Pooh think of words to say to the magic tree to hear it in a different language, and help Goofy make 100 percent goof cars. Finally in Pooh Kindergarten and Mickey Kindergarten, make Tigger act out actions using wacky sentences, and learn the alphabet while keeping Goofy falling off the edge of a not-yet-completed building. Other titles in the Winnie The Pooh Learning Series include Pooh 123's, ABC's, Ready To Read, Ready For Math, Preschool, Toddler, and Kindergarten. You think I'm done? Yes, I am. Well that's it. I hope this review has helped you and encourages you to get this CD-ROM. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Join the Rescue Heroes team to save the planet! Burning meteorites from space slam into Earth, setting off worldwide disasters. Blast water at raging brushfires, snowboard down hair-raising avalanche-covered slopes, race a water rescue craft through deep floodwaters, and more. Rescuing the world has never been so much fun. Features include four action-packed missions around the globe, seven exciting activities with three levels of gameplay, and game controls that put you in command. ... Read more

Reviews (26)

mediocre software for avid Rescue Heroes fans only
Meteors have hit the planet, resulting in a series of widely scattered emergencies that require the Rescue Heroes to intervene -- and they need your help!!

The graphics are good, the intro is exciting .... but after that the game is totally mediocre. Four activities have three levels of difficulty, but they are quite tedious no matter what level you play. (1) Move around a water maze to rescue people in a flooded movie studio, and shoot a life preserver over a moving line of floating objects. (2) Navigate a maze on a rock face as you rescue stranded climbers while avoiding vicious eagles and snakes. (3) Aim a hose at brush fires so you can find and rescue animals on an African preserve. (4) Snowboard down a ski slope without hitting the shrubbery so you can dig people out from under an avalanche.

The hype is here, but the games are very boring. Your child has little flexibility or independence when performing tasks, and those tasks probably use only 2% of your child's brain power. For example, in order to dig people out of the avalanche, you click on the snow cave over and over, it doesn't matter where, until the person trapped within tells you how great you are -- and every time it's the same person in the snow cave. Each game is rather mindless in this way. There is little reasoning required and no skills acquired.

This is lame software that has neither educational value nor excitement. When there are so many worthwhile children's software titles out there, don't waste your money or your child's time on this lazy stuff. It may be worthwhile for the truly avid Rescue Heroes fan, but even that is doubtful. This was our first Rescue Heroes title. It is also our last.

Lava Landslide
I gave this game to my son as an early birthday present. He's almost four and loves the Rescue Heroes. The reviews I read were mixed so I decided to buy it anyway. I'm really glad I did. Sure it's challenging, but it's a good excuse for the parents to get involved. First I did the hard parts for him, to show him what needed to be done. Then I guided him through them and finally he ended up doing it all by himself. He was so proud when he accomplished the hard tasks that he couldn't do at first!

Unlike most computer games this one requires the use of the arrow keys instead of the mouse. Well, it's always nice to learn new skills.
I can't wait to give my son the two other RH games I baught for his birthday. I have no doubt he'll love them too.

Inaginext Pirate Raider
I gave it a 1 because they did not have a 0, to give. I bought this game for my son and I try to install it and it tells me that it has encountered an error. I go to the web site and it tells me what to do with that error, but after I do what it told me it does the same error thing again. My son and I both got so frustrated and finally gave up. I am returning it to the place where I purchased it for a full refund. Good luck for those of you that also bought this Horrible Game.

Frustrating game for my almost 5 yr. old
I agree with other reviews that the mouse clicking is very difficult. It's difficult to maneuver the men around. My son tried for a few minutes, became so frustrated, I finished the one mission, but couldn't get him to do any more. Would recommend the I Spy software - ages 6-10, but he loves it! Don't have to know how to read.

Yeah Pirate Raider!
My 7-year-old LOVES this game. He'd play from sun up to sun down if I let him. I hear him cheering and clapping in the other room and he's having so much fun!
I'm VERY anti-violence, so when he got this game I was concerned. I was pleased to discover that although the ships sometimes fire on each other, no people are ever involved. This makes it so much more abstract and less about killing. When you capture forts, you fire on canons only and never see people. When you capture other ships, your knife is used only to chop up fruit that's thrown at you by skeletons. Once you capture their gold, you're on your way to fulfill another mission.
Frankly, this game is so much fun I have to admit to playing it myself! ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Dive into the deep sea with Blaster and G.C. in search of sunken treasure. Wind your way through crazy coral reef mazes and race sea horses straight to the finish line. Uncover the pirate's treasure and rule the seven seas. Get ready, set, and start clicking. Along the way, kids can learn valuable language arts skills like phonics, spelling, capital and lowercase letters, sentences, and more. ... Read more

Features

• 3 beloved Dr. Seuss books on 3, fun-filled CD-ROMs
• Easy for kids to replay a favorite part, skip ahead, and learn hundreds of words
• Skills include: word recognition, vocabulary building, reading comprehension, and more
• Titles include Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, and ABC
• For preschoolers û 1st graders; ages 3-7+

Reviews (2)

It makes him laugh! Awesome three disc set.
All of these discs are full of wonderful surprises! Especially the Green Eggs and Ham disc. It's classic, loveable Dr. Seuss that can be read to the child or the child can interact with the characters. Highly Recommended and a lot of fun!

Doesn't work on XP Pro
Tried to install it 10 different ways under XP Pro. (256 colors, low resolution, etc.). Still no joy. ... Read more

Product Description

Join the Power Rangers as they travel through time to battle evil forces, recover ancient treasures and save the universe! ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Middle School Excelerator is top-of-the-line software with which students can learn at their own pace, a broad-based instructional suite that effectively targets the intermediate curriculum and provides real-world skills in six subjects: algebra I and II (including 52 topics and 837 problems), geometry (33 topics and 403 problems), typing (including eight game themes and animated ergonomics instruction), Spanish (including more than 20 lesson topics), and American history (including 1,600 A-to-Z entries, more than 250 primary sources, and 75 maps).

Whether emphasizing core mathematical study areas, key historical events, or keyboard skills to last a lifetime, the five CD-ROMs that make up Middle School Excelerator provide a tightly focused, step-by-step format that gives students the quickest route to higher grades and heightened abilities. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A good value for the money
My daughter enjoyed this program. She learned a lot of different words. The animations are clever and she enjoyed completing the spaceship to get Quixel home.
This is a good program to build a foreign language vocabulary.

Beware!
I thought this would be good for my students until I tried it out myself. First I tried the Italian. When I discovered that they translated "potato chips" as "microchips", I was surprised. In telling time, they expressed the correct feminine plural but displayed the incorrect masculine singular "il due" for 2:00. Now for the French...I learned that "potato chips" were "eclats" as in "paint chips". Wrong chips both times folks - and good luck in a restaurant! I stopped there. It's a shame they never got a native speaker to check it before releasing this as an educational item. They did get native speakers to read aloud the vocab lists however. That's the one-star part. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

This four-disc set of software titles combines fun with educational principles to provide children access to a world of knowledge. Phonics, Reading & Writing Excelerator will teach children the fundamentals needed to excel at these critical subjects. Packed with more than 30 individual lessons and more than 200 activities, this educational suite delivers hours of exciting learning adventures.

Each program is designed to help first-time readers with basic skill sets, while reinforcing key concepts and providing more advanced creative-writing lessons for intermediate students. Including activities that adjust to your child's current skill level, these lessons will continue to challenge children as they improve. Concepts that are taught include uppercase and lowercase letters, phonics, word formation, sentence structure, and creative composition. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Really helped
This program really helped my daughter learn her letter sounds. It is a bit repetative, but hearing it over and over helped her remember them. We didn't have a microphone to hook up to the computer, but it works well without it anyway. Overall this program really helped my daughter.

Review of customers reviews
there are a couple of you that simply based upon what you have said need to stop trying so hard to sound like you know computers. ljws from Memphis and "annonymous" from San Jose for example. Just a hint, reading PC World does not make you an expert. (I cannot believe I'm defending Windows)

It doesn't work
This is a defective product. I had the same problems as anonymous from San Jose. I bought it for one of my grandchidren who uses XP and gave it to another who has an Apple. I don't know yet if it works on the Apple but it sure doesn't work with XP. It's not so good on 98 either. I hope that useless Via Voice doesn't screw up the machine. It wouldn't delete. What a pain!

What a BAD CHOICE- not even compatible with XP as it claims!
THIS SOFTWARE SHOULD BE TAKEN OFF THE MARKET FOR MISREPRESENTATION. I purchased this software and encountered various problems. For one, the first two discs out of the set will not load correctly. In speaking with TOPICS entertainment's support team, they explained that the problem was due to a temp folder that was over crowded. I resolved the installation problem by following the advice of the tech. It eventually installed, but on to the next problem. These first two discs have a voice recognition feature which was not described on the box itself. I proceeded to set up my Microphone to work with this new found feature only to be LET down. The IBM Via Voice component will not even work with my XP. I was told by TOPICS Tech support that the programs voice recognition feature is only compatible with Win 98. What good is a program if it says on the box that it is compatible with XP and the programs features will not even work on XP. I believe misrepresentation of the programs capabilities is something every consumer ought to be aware of with this software. Now I am stuck with a program that is not 100% capable of performing.

hooked
My daughter found this software to be very helpful in learning to better understand what she is reading. She spends countless hours wrapped up in all the different activites. This was a great investment for the price and has proved to be hours of fun. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Help SPY Fox foil William the Kid's dastardly plans of dairy destruction in SPY Fox: Dry Cereal. What will children do if Kid succeeds in cow-napping all the world's milk makers? Who is capable of stopping such a ghastly goat? Only SPY Fox, the super-smooth secret agent who finesses his way through SPY Corps' toughest assignments. This adventure tests kids' wits as they help SPY Fox use a host of slick gadgets, including a Laser Toothbrush and Suction Cufflinks. Monkey Penny provides clues from the Mobile Command Center as our hero takes on Kid's cast of animal adversaries. It's an udderly exhilarating world of cartoon espionage. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

The first and the best
Don't let the new Atari packaging fool you - this game is a few years old. But it is an excellent game and well worth buying. Aside from offending goat's milk afficianados, this is a clean, kid-friendly game - which there are not nearly enough of in the world. If you thought it was too short or easy, play it again - there are several variations to get through, some more challenging than others. If you get stuck, there is a very complete help file included on the CD, or you can go to the website and get all the free hints you want. My daughter never seems to tire of it and has gone back to it again and again. There are a couple of places that require reading, so that a five or six year old might need some help, but be careful - you might end up staying up after their bedtime to play it yourself!

Here's hoping Atari decides to make Spy Fox 4, and soon (before my kid is too old to give me an excuse to buy it! ;-).

One of the few (very few) games I'd recommend
It has action without inappropriate violence, amusing one-liners, one very cool star and plenty of opportunity for kids to think a little.

6-year old kids can go through this one on their own, but it's funny enough for parents to watch over their shoulder.

In a market filled with brainless violent games aimed at a young audience and saccharine-sweet "educational" programs no one wants to play, I found that the three Spy Fox adventures struck a nice balance.

I, for one, would love to see a fourth Spy Fox adventure.

terrible game
My 5 year old got it as a gift and popped it in. After endless listening to the slow talking fox (you could actually spend 20 minutes without more than two mouse clicks), we got nowhere. I don't have hours on end to sit with him while looking on-line for every stupid click sequence to get to the next step. After an hour we gave up and I was so ticked off I had to pen this review.

Fun for all - while it lasts
Spy Fox has a better stock of one-liners than his human role model, James Bond. My 6 year old daughter had a great time working her way through the mystery, although some of the leaps in logic required a little help - which is fine, because I enjoyed playing along. The characters are interesting and funny, and it's clear that a lot more development work went into this than many kids games. Be aware, though: unlike arcade style games, once you're done, you're done. Still a great investment, though!

BORING
My 6-year old finished this entire game in the first day he had it. He said it does the same old things that all prevous ones did. He doesn't want any future Spy Fox games unless they find away to make their games more challenging and interesting. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Sassy and smart, this charming CD-ROM series combines early-childhood education and humorous storytelling with a distinctly European flavor--something along the lines of Doctor Doolittle meets Monty Python meets Beatrix Potter. Our hero, Oscar, is a small, curious British boy who tours the world in a hot-air balloon that enables him to switch among the four seasons with the click of a mouse. His companion, Carmela, is a treasure chest who often goes missing. In this escapade, Oscar crash-lands his balloon on the thatched hut of a timid animal researcher named Balthasar Pumpernickel, who lives on a farm amid fields of talking pigs, cows, sheep, and chickens. Carmela is there, too, stocked with a dozen delightful animal-theme games to play. Children are free to go straight to the games chest or explore the farmyard--and talk to the animals--in depth, across all four seasons of the year.

Along with this CD-ROM's elevated level of illustration, there's a fearlessness about content that is uncommon in America these days. The presence of dung on a farm, for example, is clearly acknowledged in the program with a special matching game (whose icon is a toilet bowl) that requires kids to "click and drag each animal to its droppings." As well, adults aren't the all-knowing educational founts here; Professor Balthasar, afraid of the animals, hides all day in his hut. "Outside lurk a thousand dangers!" he sniffs. Parents and kids alike will appreciate the goofy inanity of a farm-facts guessing game that poses such true-or-false questions as "Cows love to eat frogs," and "Sheep sleep on poles." Most powerful of all, however, are the stirring scenes of the animals: from sunny days in the fields to deliciously snowbound days inside the barn. (Ages 4 to 8) --Jean Lenihan ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A little difficult for our 4 year old
The game has lovely graphics, and creative-educational games. My son enjoys matching the poop with the correct farm animal. However, it is a little difficult for him to understand what the directions are or what he's supposed to be doing in the game. It's a bit "word heavy" for a boy who has an auditory processing disorder, but he does enjoy clicking on the animals to see if they'll poop. In fact, anything to do with poop will entertain him. It's really better geared towards older kids and younger children who can handle higher level learning. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Based on the I Spy book series by Jean Marzollo and Walter Wick, I Spy Junior: Puppet Playhouse features puppets, games, and riddles to promote listening and problem-solving skills. An interactive story about a princess and a sneaky dragon strengthens rhyming and other word skills, a puppet-making workshop teaches kids to follow directions, and a magical animated tree helps promote early reading skills. Seven play areas in all offer a variety of fun learning activities. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Boring...
This was so heavily hyped, I had to have it for my five-year old twin girls. What a bore. They're either too old for it, or there is the outside chance that Scholastic really didn't put a lot of effort into this. It would bore a three-year old. Compare to Spooky Mansion or Treasure Island - can't compare with these gems. I'm 50 and play the latter two.

The best children's software I've seen yet
I have never taken the time to review a product, but I love this CD so much I felt I had to. It is the best software that I have bought for my kids so far. The colors, the characters and the graphics are terrific and even manage to hold mom's attention!! Never mind, that my daughter really loves it too. Another thing that was good about it is that it's teaching my daughter basic mouse skills and there are quite a few different activities to play so kids won't get bored easily. I'll be looking for more software from this company as I find that most of the stuff out there for kids is a big waste of money.

Not perfect, but very good
My 2 1/2 year old son has really taken to this. It's a really great idea and it's well executed. You have four puppet shows and three games. The graphics are very well done and very realistic, with no cartoon-like figures. Everything is a scan of a real object. The games are building your own puppet, building your own still image from a puppet show, and sorting. Sorting really is what early math is all about. I'm glad they have it.

The puppet shows are where you will spend most of your time. Each show is composed of four or five scenes which have a dozen or so clickable objects. A riddle appears at the bottom and you have to find the three or four objects that are in the riddle. When you click on a riddle object, it does something and advances the story. Each scene has two riddles and when you have gone through all the scenes, your done with that show. A kid might eventually learn the locations of all the objects in a particular show, but with four shows, it will take a while.

There is only one real problem I have with it, based on several sessions of lap play with my son. Because there are about a dozen objects in each scene, but you only need 3 or 4 for the riddle, the rest of the objects don't do anything when you click on them. I think every object should do something (wiggle, glow or zoom, at the very least) when it gets clicked, not just the riddle objects. This has led to my sons newest vocabulary word: "doesntwork". If not this, then at least the riddle objects from the first of the pair of riddles for a particular scene should still be active for the second of the pair. So, when you click on a riddle object from the first riddle, it should still do something, if not it's original action, when you are finding the objects from the second riddle. As it is now, my son tries to click on the objects which were just active in the previous riddle, but they "doesntwork".

But, overall, I'm pleased with it. There is no violent action and it is pretty exploratory and creative, as advertised.

A Decent Game for Kids Under 5
This is a good choice for children under 5. I was impressed that the graphics and game play were appealing, and utilized the latest features from Macromedia.

I get SO tired of childrens games that look and play as though they were made for a Windows 3x machine, circa 1994. This game will not disapoint. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

When the Rugrats set sail on the trip of a lifetime but end up on Island Uninhabited, there's only one family that can help them out: the Wild Thornberrys. Based on the upcoming Rugrats Go Wild feature film, this thrilling adventure has the babies trekking treacherous rainforest paths, taking on bug-eating plants, and staring down dangerous animals while solving "wild" puzzles to salvage their family vacation. ... Read more

Features

• Garfield -It's All About Math builds your child's abilities in basic math operations -Addition, multiplication, subtraction and division
• Garfield -It's All About Reading & Phonics has replayable games that will build knowledge of words, word sounds and pronunciation
• In Garfield -It's All About Writing & Grammar helps kids improve grammar, writing, memory and concentration skills
• Garfield -It's All About Vocabulary and Spelling offers 20 activities for superior phonics and vocabulary
• Ages 6-7

Reviews (5)

I can't use it
I also bought this but can't run it on my system. Disney provides an XP driver fix, but it can't be installed unless the program is already in your system. Catch 22. KB Gear is NO LONGER IN BUSINESS. That is what Disney told me. I'm trying to find any fixes.

WONDERFUL!
My 3 year old loves this product. We are running it on Win98. My copy actually came with drivers for Windows ME and 2000. Only problem I have with the company is that I can't find their company to see if there are additional software packages for the product!

deceptive
I just purchased the Sketch Board for my 4 year old...Got it home & proceeded to load the software included only to find out that this product won't run on any operating system higher than Win98. Also searched for possible updated drivers & discovered that this product is being marketed as a Disney product when it really isn't.They have a big picture of Mickey Mouse on the cover & the name Disney printed all over the box.... So if your thinking of purchasing this product & you're running WinNT,2000 or XP..forget it about it.

Great for kids.....lots of art
This is a wonderful product for a child. The SketchBoard (drawing tablet) and the software match up so what you see in front of you is on the screen as well. The software is pretty nifty with so many options for stamps and basic animation that most children will have hours of fun and learn a lot about creating art of the computer as well. My 4 year old has used it for a year and I am giving it as a gift for other preschoolers on my list this year. While it may be a basic drawing tablet in the right hands masterpieces will be produced.

Fun but useless
I have to confess-- I'm 15 and I bought this program, even though it's for little kids. I am really into animation and I thought it would be useful. Well, I was wrong, so if you were thinking the same thing, don't bother with this program. Here's a list of pros and cons:

PROS:

-Fun for making simple animation

-Easy to create scenes with Disney characters already available in Magic Artist stamp bank

- Fun Sketchbook with music

- Great for little kids to mess around with

CONS:

-Stylus for the sketchboard is impossible to use, it draws on the computer screen even with it isn't touching the board. Drawings come out badly no matter what level of drawing you are at. Don't use this if you really want to make animation. When you draw on the sketchboard it only shows up the computer so it's also hard to draw ANYTHING. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Spelling's what it says, and spelling's what you get from thisstraightforward CD-ROM. Kids visit three sites in this underwater scenario:a cave, a giant clamshell, and a sunken pirate ship. A visit to the caveprovides kids with a list of eight words to spell. They can click on aword, hear it read, and then hear it spelled. After studying the spellinglist (it's even arranged vertically, in classic spelling-list style), kidscan begin the game. During the game, the spelling word appears and a voicereads and spells it, then the word vanishes. The spellers either click onletters or use the keyboard to spell the word themselves. If all eightwords are spelled correctly, a captive fish is set free. Now, there'snothing wrong with this game, except for the fact that visiting theclamshell and the sunken ship yields the exact same game. The scenery andthe spelling words are the only things that change. Heck, even the fishbeing freed begin to look recycled after awhile.

The box boasts over 1,700 spelling words, and that's about the extent of thevariety in Spelling. We encountered where, seat, andnothing while cycling through the spelling words at the program'sbeginning, and after successfully getting though all three of the areas, we wereworking on compounds like shortstop and grandfather. The programautomatically adjusts to the player's ability, yet there is no way to save aspelling session or register individual users, so if your child worked his orher way up to offhand on one day, the next day it's back to seat.Customizing the spelling list isn't an option here; spellers must take whateverwords these denizens of the deep float their way. This program could supplementan early spelling education, and wouldbe a decent match for kids who love undersea themes, but there are otherprograms out there that provide more fun, variety, and control. (Ages 6 to8) --Anne Erickson ... Read more

Reviews (1)

First Grade Teacher's Opinion
Each day my students have "center time" which is structured independent study time through different activities. One of the choices is use of the computers. Spelling 1st and 2nd Grade is by far the best program that I have used. The children love playing it and it concentrates more on the subject of spelling and phonics than on the games. Too many educational software titles I have used are more game oriented than educational. I am always happy when the kids have a game that uses the skills that they are learning, but too many titles have some type of joystick game with very few subject questions to even win or proceed to the next level. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

a terrific product for little Little Bear fans
We have already tried a number of software products for young children, and I would rank this as one of the very best. The material is true to the children's series, so you see most of the characters from the show (Owl, Cat, Hen, Duck, Father Bear -- though not Emily or Little Bear's grandparents) and Little Bear and Mother Bear's voices seem to be voiced by the same voice actors as those of the television show.

The CD starts with Mother Bear calling Little Bear into the house when it starts to rain, and quickly switches to the activity selection screen. There is: 1) cooking -- adding ingredients to a bowl, cutting out shapes, and decorating cookies; 2) costumes -- drag-and-dropping various costume pieces and props onto Little Bear, Duck, Cat, Owl or Hen; 3) painting -- using a variety of colors and fill patterns to color any of six different scenes; 4) stickers -- drag-and-dropping characters and props onto various scenes (campsite, garden, bedroom, picnic, boat or house); 5) puzzles -- drag-and-drop 4, 6 or 9 pieces onto a template; 6) matching -- finding pairs of characters' pictures amid a layout of 8 or 12 "cards". An activity section has 27 projects which can be printed out; these include recipes (fizzy lemonade, gingerfriends cookies), games (sound bingo, finger puppets) and arts & crafts projects (vegetable stamps, making a water xylophone). There are enough activities to keep a child interested for a long time and options, such as the number of puzzle pieces to fit, mean the activities can be interesting for children of different ages. At any point you can print scenes in one of three formats (a color picture, a coloring book line drawing, or as a card), and printing has been without bugs.

Running this on a PowerMac G4, installation was quick and easy. The only weak point is the booklet, which contains nothing but installation instructions.

Recommended for ages 3 and up, but we are assisting a younger child and he loves it. He can do some things himself but needs help with others.

This is a terrific product, and I endorse it without reservation.

You'll Have to beg them to get off the computer!
My son played with this software on the computer at our town library's children's room and I had to beg him to leave the library! We went back a few more times and I finally realized that this software would capture and keep his attention over and over again. He even asked for the software for his 4th Birthday present! Since he loved it, I thought it was great, and the librarians thought it was educational, I purchased it for him. Happy Birthday Tyler!

Little Bear - Rainy Day Activities
I read the reviews before I bought this product and found them so helpful I thought I'd write my own. My daughter loves this game. She's 3 and a half and can get around all by herself. The card memory game is so good for them yet simple enough so that it's not frustrating for them. Adding sprinkles and decorating cookies is also one of her favorites. There's so many variations to this game I'm sure your child will have a favorite, too. Enjoy!!

Wonderful software for any day
My 3 1/2 year old daughters love this computer game. It is very child-friendly. You don't have to be able to read to figure out what to do. They can easily get around from activity to activity without a problem. There are a number of different activities which my daughters really enjoy. They get to "make" gingerfriend cookies with Mother bear, adding the correct amount of ingredients for her. They then get to decorate the finished cookies. There is a coloring book that allows them to floodfill the areas for ease and fun. They can add pictures to a scene (kind of like a sticker book, but one that you can re-use :o)). They can dress-up Little Bear and his friends in costumes in another activity. This is a very good computer game that is well-worth the money. It is one of their favorites. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Kids jump on board The Magic School Bus for another one of Ms. Frizzle's interactive field trips--this time to explore the Costa Rican rain forest. You'll explore seven ecological zones in the rain forest as you collect samples for the class science project. Watch videos, play games, check out multimedia reports, and hear fun facts about the rainforest. (Ages 6-10) ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Magic School Bus Explores the Rainforest
I really like all of the Magic School Bus series. Kids can learn a lot about a subject and the dialog is very amusing.

Games have proved particularly entertaining
The magic school bus series is a great series. Once again Ms. Fizzle takes the children on a fun packed adventure.

We have never been to a rain forest, but my five year old found the games on this Microsoft School Bus product particularly entertaining.

A great CD from a great series. ... Read more