Amazon.com Product Description

Teachers agree: learning is easy when you're having fun. That's the spark behind Math and Reading Excelerator Grades 1 and 2, the four-disc set of premium software titles combining amusement and education in one motivationally interactive package.

Stuffed with more than 70 individual lessons and over 100,000 practice questions, this educational CD-ROM suite for children delivers endless hours of exciting learning adventure, ensuring the acquisition and retention of fundamental reading, Spanish, and math skills. Whether they're learning new vocabulary and rhyming words with the vocal encouragement of Flash the Dog, or honing their burgeoning mathematics and Spanish-language abilities, kids will grow with confidence as they immerse themselves in these challenging activities, which adjust to a child's rising proficiency level.

Specific bundled software titles include: Math 1-2 (covers topics such as addition, subtraction, fractions, shapes, equations, and place values for units, tens, and hundreds), GeoSafari KnowledgePad Math: Addition & Subtraction (where kids master the basics of arithmetic while playing the colorful array of gently encouraging drag-and-drop learning games overflowing with photos, illustrations, lights, and sounds), Test Success: Reading & Math (an animated CD-ROM designed to introduce first- and second-graders to the concept of multiple-choice testing in mathematics and reading comprehension), and Spanish with Phonics (in which kids learn new Spanish words through willing retention of letter sounds and patterns, rather than via rote memorization and boring drills).

Teacher Librarian ranks it Best Math Software K-9, and Children's Software Review awards it 4.4 out of 5 stars. ... 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 Review

Younger children can find learning through multimedia softwaredifficult, but ClueFinders 4th Grade Adventures wraps its educationalmaterial up in an adventure game, the idea being that you hardly notice theeducational parts. To that end, our clue-finding heroes get into all sorts ofscrapes during their adventures. In this CD-ROM they--and Socrates the dog--findthemselves on an archaeological dig in Egypt. While there, they discover an evilarchaeologist's plot to unleash chaos on the world. Needless to say, theClueFinders set out to foil his plans.

ClueFinders 4th Grade Adventures incorporates challenges that test skillsin logical thinking, math, science, geography, and language. There is a documentfor parents explaining how these skills are addressed in each of the activities,and the effects achieved by switching between the four difficulty levels in eachof them.

A bonus CD, the ClueFinders Adventure Kit, comes with ClueFinders 4th GradeAdventures, offering various fun activities, such as an adventure logbookwith which to record your own escapades. --Sandra Vogel ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Great software
This is a great software! I bought this in June 2000. I didn't get some of it. Now I got older and smarter. And understand this better! The location is better. Egypt is very ancient. I also did these other ClueFinders software, 3rd Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, Math, Reading, Search & Solve, Incredible Toy Store Adventure!, and the second CD-Rom Mystery Mansion Arcade!
And I'm not even in 4th, 5th or 6th.

So much fun you forget you're learning!
This is a great program. I got it for my 3rd grade daughter and we both thought it was a lot of fun. It covers areas such as fractions, logic, sentence structure and geography. You have to collect different items that let you progress through the games. This is all done by completing the various puzzles and activities. The game progresses like an adventure story. You have to complete one activity before having the option to go on to others. She used the various JumpStart and Reader Rabbit programs when she was younger, and I wanted something fun to teach those basic skills now that she's older. This is JUST what I was looking for. We both highly recommend this series!

COOL GAME
I loved this game. I already won it 1 million times and I still play it. You will love this game. It really helps you learn. I have this game, 5th grade adventures,my friend playes 6th grade adventures with me, and my teacher has the math one which I play at school. This game rocks !! So do the rest !!

Great Learning Tool
My 4th grader loves this cd-rom. It is not only educational but great fun! Setting the child out on an adventure to solve a mystery. My son has improved in his understanding of nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs and his reading comprehension lessons. The best part is that he loves it. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Rain gear is falling from the sky all over Readerville. Can you find outwhy and stop it? In this adventure game, kids direct Reader Rabbit and Sam theLion on a quest to find out why the gear is falling over the land, and then putan end to the emergency.

Capers on Cloud Nine is one in a series of Reader Rabbit edutainmentsoftware for children from toddlers up to second grade. Intended for first-gradestudents (ages 5 to 7), Capers provides a fun framework for learningimportant developmental tasks.

In the course of stopping the rain of rain gear, kids have to work throughdifferent activities at three levels of difficulty. Activities include drills onspelling, phonics, science, arithmetic, using coins, and sorting patterns.Fortunately, none of these are done in a tedious or frustrating way. The gamealso offers an art activity where kids can make simple moving pictures.

Parents can check their children's progress and comprehension by consulting agrading section in the program. It lets kids and parents know how a child isprogressing through the game's tasks.

Learning Creations is a separate program included on the CD-ROM thatallows kids to draw, make music, or create a calendar. The drawing program ismore open than the art activity in the game, and the music section teaches thebasics of reading and writing music. The calendar lets kids decorate and mark acalendar onscreen. You can print out all three activities when a child isdone.

The voices and music are both great, and are appropriate for the audience. Theanimation leaves a little to be desired--kids used to Rugrats might wanta little more zip--but this doesn't detract from the game or the learning.--Jeff Quick ... Read more

Reviews (7)

My daughter loves this
If she loves it then it's right for your children as well. Get this computer program as soon as possible.

Very enjoyable
My daughter really enjoyed playing this game which was appropriately designed for her age group.

I highly recommend it.

Great, challenging
This program is really fun for kids who love adventures rather than programs that simply offer activities minus a storyline. The challenge level in it is actually quite nice. Kids actually learn a few things with the game.

Started good but Didn't stay there...
My son and daughter enjoyed the game for a little while, but it did not hold their interest for more than a few days.

Great!
I just bought this product to my daughter and she can't stop playing it. A great game, it is good for kids and keep them entertained while learning! ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Don't let the board sports hype on the box fool you--the better part of this two CD-ROM set is a techno-noir whodunit that has very little to do with extreme sports. We'll begin with this, since it is the best part of JumpStart 5th Grade.

Dr. X is about to destroy Hooverville's power plants, unless a fifth grade sleuth named Jo Hammet can stop him. Jo, and players, begin their odyssey in a museum: a distraught father and a chatty rat clue Jo in that all is not well in Hooverville, and before you can say "Bauhaus," a true sleuthing adventure begins. Players must explore the museum's art, geography, and cultural exhibits, and use what is learned during that exploration to answer a fairly challenging crossword puzzle (we guarantee parents wouldn't be able to churn through it--unless they majored in art history). Completion of that, in turn, unlocks further mystery-solving/town-saving adventure. Moving through the rest of the game involves breaking codes, solving complex math problems, understanding word relationships, and dozens of other advanced skills that make up today's fifth grade curriculums. This game is no cream puff--we found the easiest of the three levels challenging. Also, this program adheres to the "throw 'em in and see what happens" philosophy of gameplay. Just figuring out what Jo must do becomes a lesson in problem solving and logic.

Now, there's a second CD-ROM in this set that feels like it was created seven years ago by a bunch of X Games fans with no kids of their own. It involves a place called Adventure World, where players engage in "awesome" sports like in-line skating, snowboarding, rock climbing, and mountain biking with the help of a very nondiverse group of teammates with names like Jess and Zack. The games are all standard-issue racing fare. They might be a good diversion from the academic rigors of saving Hooverville, but most fifth graders we know roll their eyes at overuse of words like "excellent" and "rockin'".

The strength of the first CD outweighs the silliness of the second one. Buy this set and your child will learn that using their brain to save the town is infinitely more fun than using their board to shred the slopes. (Ages 9 to 11) --Anne Erickson ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Educational Software?
This program is more about earning points than learning. It's more like a video game. The plot is really weird. In the beginning you have to interview with the rat before you start
"Playing." After the interview you do a cross word puzzle on famous artist. Come On! In 5th Grade you learn American History! No American History on this program! I get frusterated a lot because it's so hard to exit the program. You click all these buttons before you exit! Poorly written Software! I Give them a F-- for editing. I don't have fun using it! Knowledge Adventure is the worst software company. I like Clue Finders 5th Grade MUCH Better. Use that program. Stay away from all Knowledge Adventure products.

reading blaster or adventuress
My daughter could not read or do math i purchased reading rabbit and math blaaster for each grade level and her grades have excelled to A's & B's before she was failing ..So I cant add a better self learning increase this has built up her self asstem mom needs spelling too. frances roe ... Read more

Features

• Explore 15 interactive learning games from number computation to geometry -- 10 different possible skill levels
• Get to know each of the ClueFinders with challenging personal quests that reflect their personalities
• Progress reports track your skills and offer motivation
• Over 150,000 math problems to be solved
• Ages 9 and up

Amazon.com Product Description

Design and build thousands of 3-D castles. More than 60 of the 3-D castle pieces were inspired by Middle Ages castle architecture. Prebuilt and half-built castles are provided to get you started. View and print your castles in different perspectives as you build. Color with 24 Crayola colors and apply 24 realistic and wacky patterns. You can even choose different backgrounds, including sunset, daybreak, clouds, and more.Explore the 3-D castles inside and out. Cool real-time 3-D technology lets you fly through and around your castles. Meet authentic animated characters, such as the King, Queen, Page, Minstrel, Knight, and more. See authentic furniture, artwork, tapestries, torches, thrones, and more.The software includes dozens of print activities. Print out 3-D castle pieces, inside and out, to play with, display, and share. Construct 3-D castles offscreen--castle-building instructions are provided. Even print out castle-theme stationery. (Ages 6-12) ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Very fun and flexible
This was a blast for my 6 year-old niece. She was able to start using the basic functions right away, building castles with no help from us. With a tiny bit of help she learned how to move things around and color the castles. It really held her attention and she wanted to play with it again the next day. I like the fact that she can really grow with it, as she learns to use the 3-D aspects and move around the areas and explore the castles and use some of the learning functions. I was impressed with the amount of detail and accuracy in the castle pieces and variety of options involved. The program can be as simple or as complicated as the child wishes. Overall,we were both very pleased with the purchase.

My kids loved this!
Believe it or not this program had sat in my collection for several months before we installed it! The kids have been fighting over the computer ever since. You can 'virtually' put together castles and you can then walk through both the inside and the outside. You can ALSO print out these castles and make them again out of paper. My children are 7, 8, and 10 and all of them have loved this program. On the computing side of things, the kids can easily wander the program on their own, it is very friendly. The reason for the four stars is that the instructions for the paper-version castles really need adult guidance. BUT, it turned out to be rewarding, quality time. Make the castles, get a green poster board as a piece of land and VOILA! your kids will have an awesome time. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Join Casey Cat, Pierre Polar Bear, Frankie the Dog, and the rest of the JumpStart pals on a fun-filled phonics trip to Camp Readalot. Explore the campsite, play games that reinforce phonics and reading skills, and collect special merit badges. Exclusive Read 'n' Respond feature lets you practice phonics by interacting with the computer, using speech-recognition technology. Have tons of fun, but don't forget to write Mom and Dad! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Big Disappointment
We own other Jump Start Products. This is certainly not up to their usual standards. Trying to use the microphone is extrememly irritating. I don't know if it's because my voice is the voice of an old person or if its because my grand daughter does not speak plainly (do most three year olds? but the voice interaction is very unsatisfactory as it never seems to understand what we say and keeps asking us to repeat it.

A review of Jump Srart Phonics - good but not phonics.
The software is very user friendly, in fact my two & a half year old is able to navigate it and enjoys the activities. It teaches alphabet and words and has stories but does not really teach PHONICS per se. Great beginning tool for 3 to 5 year olds but would not expect a first grader to gain much from this product. The Jump Start products have met our expectations so far. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

With Smart Tutor Help, your child can't get stuck or frustrated--Reader Rabbit and his friends monitor progress and offer helpful suggestions and hints when needed. You'll be able to track your child's specific strengths and weaknesses, and learn simple tips that can help improve his or her skills with the Printable Progress Report. You can also print achievement certificates to mark special milestones. Several off-line math activities keep your child practicing when he or she is not sitting at the computer. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Join Hopsalot on an enchanting adventure through the four different lands of Music World. The magic and harmony of the Land of Music are being threatened by Sir Sour Notes, and the instruments need your help. Help Hopsalot restore the Royal Orchestra to King Harmony's kingdom by collecting the sour notes scattered about the land. Along the way, you'll play games that teach important music skills such as beat, rhythm, tone, and melody. (Ages 5-8) ... Read more

Reviews (4)

My child was frightened by Sir Sour Note...
My 5-year old was frightened by Sir Sour Note, and to this day (over a year later) she refuses to play this software. Now my four year old won't either because of the first child's fright. It is a shame that Jumpstart couldn't find a way to encourage a child's exploration of the wonders of music without this 'Hollywood' gimic of good and evil. Shouldn't an introduction to music be a joy, not a traumatic experience?

Fair
My 5 year old is using this program, but he won't put it in and go on his own. I have to keep after him to do the rhythms, would rather just go on and explore. Doesn't hold his interest at this stage, more like school work. I see a lot of merit in it, however, and am using it as part of his homeschooling curriculum.

piano instructor
JumpStart Music is a great program. I am a piano teacher and I use this program as supplementary learning. I have students of all ages and they all really enjoy JumpStart Music. It teaches them to follow rhythmic and melodic patterns at a level they can understand and the animation is great. I recommend this product to all children who have a liking for music.

Hurtful not helpful
Between the character Sir Sour Note actually frightening my child and the goat which leads the rhythm section insulting my child's attempts ("That's BAAAAADDDDDD"), I was very disappointed that Jump Start would release such a product. What should have been an enjoyable introduction to music was actually a very negative experience. By the way, the goat also reprimanded my attempts to repeat his rhythms and I've been playing the piano for 30 years! Imagine a 5 year old thinking they can't get it right and giving up. VERY DISAPPOINTING piece of software. ... Read more

Features

• Build 25+ key math skills; solve 150,000+ math problems
• 15 learning games and exercises; 10 different skill levels
• Detailed built-in help; motivating progress reports
• Second CD, Mystery of the Missing Amulet, included
• For ages 9 to 12+

Features

• Young students will design their own scooters and race them on nine loopy tracks they can customize
• If they succeed in navigating the track, they'll earn cool new gadgets to power up their scooters & be the best racer around
• Along the way, they'll learn important things like measurements, fractions, and basic science
• They'll also learn other important skills like algebra, sentence structure, sound recognition, punctuation and more
• Kids will love learning and be more prepared for first grade when you use JumpStart Advanced 1st Grade!

Product Description

This playful adventure is so much fun, toddlers don't even realize how much they're learning!

Features

• Fun learning activities
• Positive on-screen response to any keystroke
• My Learning Scrapbook to chronicle all the "firsts"
• Personalize, import photos and print your scrapbook

Reviews (1)

Jumpstart in the Classroom
This software is used in a self contained classroom with Autistic students.They all love this software and I need another copy of it. ... 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

This CD-ROM game is based on the award-winning I Spy book series. The game engages children with clever and colorful scenarios and builds learning skills through riddles, puzzles, and games. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Gotta love I SPY!
We love all of the I Spy software and books. This one was not a disappointment. All of the I Spy games are simple for the very young child... So long as they can click the mouse, they can play the game. Clues are read to you so that reading is not necessary. This particular I Spy game is NOT as good as the others in the series, however it is a must have for any I Spy fan!

Perfectly suited for preschoolers
My son just turned three and this program is perfectly suited to his skills. The six differect games within the program provide a good variety of activities. There's even one game where you can create you own I Spy page to print out. The oral directions are very clear and simple for little ones who cannot yet read.
I believe this game is time well spent on the computer. The program presents challenging thinking games and not just mindless flash. We also like the music that introduces and ends the program.

Very Cute.
This is a very cute set of games all based on the I Spy books. In one game the kids search for items just like in the book, in another game they sort objects into venn circles. My two going on three year old son enjoys playing this for about a half an hour at a time. This helps develop visual discrimination among other things.

Having said all of that, this is one of my least favorite computer games to watch him play. Compared to some of the others he has, I find this one to be a bit boring. But it's not me that is playing it. I'd rate it a high four or low five because of this one reason. Otherwise I think it's a fine set of games.

The pictures are excellent. The skills that children learn in these games are good pre reading skills and that is good.

Enjoy.

No legs
This game is great. My 46 month old really enjoyed it ... for about two or three hours, when she had played it out. There are a very limited number of "screens," and they don't even randomize their arrangement.

It's a shame, because the puzzles with the circles (think Venn diagrams from elementary school math) are a wonderful twist.

Therefore, I have to say the game "has no legs."

Does not Work on Windows XP
This game would not run on Windows XP out of the box. Scholastic support did not have a solution but I found it would run in compatibility mode.

My son loves the games and puzzles. This was a truly great learning game for kids. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Jump into this bouncy, balloon-filled adventure with Reader Rabbit, and learn important kindergarten skills in math, prereading, and problem solving. Rescue Reader Rabbit and Sam the Lion, whose Dreamship is trapped in the enchanting world of Balloon Town, where everything is soft and bouncy and made of balloons. Find a way past the sleeping Bulldozer and into the Pointy Palace. Only your special skills in phonics, matching, rhyming, and math can save the day. Eight high-flying activities are included. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Not recommended - would't run; no technical support
I tried to install this game on my wife's PIII running Windows 2000. It installed, but refused to run - it threw an "Appication Error" box on the screen and stopped after I clicked the "Play" button. I tried the technical support site... and there are clearly lots of problems with it as there are lots of solutions - none to my problem though and the solutions that seemed close didn't seem to apply as files indicated in the instructions were not on the CD, etc.

I was unable to download the patches as thier web site threw an error so am now the proud owner of a useless game. Not recommended!

Not up to the usual standards
I wish I could give this a better rating, as I'm generally a big fan of the Reader Rabbit series. I've used these programs for each of my four kids, and we've been through every grade level (including the previous version of RR Kindergarten).

Plus, I generally liked the construction of the game. It had a good story line, great activities and a very age-appropriate feel.

The main problem was that it's WAY too short - there's just not enough material for it to be really useful. Each activity is completed in just a few trials.

It's not even long enough for the auto-levelling feature to work well. It starts each activity on the easiest level, and a student that needs a more advaced level can zoom through and be finished before there's even a chance for it to ratchet up the level of difficulty.

I'll also give it a slight ding for not giving enough guidance toward the right answers. There's not much negative feedback for wrong answers, and it's possible to pass the activities by pure guessing. Sometimes it doesn't give any indication at all when an answer is missed.

All in all, this is an unusually poor showing for a program in the RR line-up.

Reader Rabbit Kindergarten Bounce Down
This is of course another Fantastic learning tool from Reader Rabbit. I am homeschooling this year and my son just loves to play this and he hasn't even realized yet that he is learning, he thinks he is playing a video game!!!! Thank You.

Great but tempermental
My four year old has loved this program! It's a great way to introduce setting goals and seeing a project through to its completion. Understanding relative sizes, phonics, and more gives her lots to choose from and doesn't bore her yet. The only problem is that with my operating system, WindowsME, this program is extemely unstable. It tends to crash and stall and has done so from the first day of operation. This is frustrating to her AND me, of course. Maybe other Windows systems work better.

Caution Windows ME Users!
Let me start by saying that my 4 year old son really like the game. Its good for basic math, spelling, and reasoning skills.

The problem is that the installation process cripples Internet Explorer's encryption software! After installing, we could not use Internet Explorer to access any secured site (such as this one).

The only way to correct was to restore the operating system.

So, while the game is good, I can not run it on my Windows ME system. ... Read more

Features

• Kids will go on fun-filled expediations where they'll learn about importants events and time periods
• Go back to the time of King Tut, explore the New World with the Pilgrims, sail to Asia with Marco Polo, experience the culture of the Incas, and be the first person to reach the South Pole
• Teaches kids history, geography, and navigational skills as they play
• Ages 6-10

Features

• Tackle five challenges, from a massive rock wall, to a bamboo grid you must cross, to a scorpion's den
• Incredible twists & turns will keep you moving as you try to beat the clock
• Kids can earn Style Cards to unlock hidden bonuses & movies
• Ages 9-12