Amazon.com Product Description

Designed for third and fourth graders, ages 8 to 12, this two-CD-ROM set teaches kids everything they need to know to put them at the head of their class. It features the Awesome Animated Monster Maker Math and Step into Reading & Creative Writing titles. With eye-catching graphics, lively music, and captivating animation, these titles transform learning about reading, creative writing, and math into an adventure. Filled with more than 50 stories and poems as well as interactive math lessons and even a dictionary and spell checker, 3rd & 4th Grade Excelerator will provide your child with an excellent learning experience. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Dig deep into sixth grade skills on a mystery-solving adventure in the empire of the plant people. Go underground to find the missing ClueFinders, and take on an army of mutant plant warriors to save the town above from certain doom. Kids will need all their smarts to tackle this title's tricky challenges. From cleaning up toxic pollutants to building bridges, every activity brings kids closer to solving this underground mystery, while mastering essential sixth grade skills.

Explore 15 interactive games and exercises designed for kids, ages 10 to 12 and older. Build more than 150 key sixth grade skills in math, language, science, social studies, and problem solving. Four levels of difficulty and a variety of tricky challenges keep ClueFinders 6th Grade Adventures 2002: Empire of the Plant People fun and fresh. Detailed help features guide kids throughout, and built-in progress reports help parents navigate their child's learning fun.

In addition, an all-new for 2002 bonus CD-ROM doubles the mystery and clue-finding fun. In ClueFinders: Mystery Mansion Arcade, our adventurers are lured into a spooky mansion by an ingenious mastermind and his four villainous henchmen. Kids help the ClueFinders escape by choosing the best ClueFinder for each arcade-style hazard. Speed through the Ultimate Deep-Dish Pizza Skate Park, stay cool through the High-Voltage Circuit Zone, and much more. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

The Clue to Making Learning Fun
I purchased Cluefindes 3rd Grade Adventures about 6 weeks ago, and since have watched my child use it to completion. She has played it 4 times and will probably play it again in the future. In the meantime, she has moved onto the 4th grade game.

Setting up the game is pretty easy, and the directions are clear. Starting up is a cinch as well. You have the options of taking the test drive which is a placement test. It is not as much fun as the actual game, but it is not too boring either and it gets the child started at a challenging level. The first time my child "played" it she started at the beginners level, and finished it in two days. The second time, I set it to level two and it took her a week to complete. The third time I had her do the test drive. This is where the real value came in.

When she started the game on the lowest levels she was basically reviewing what she had learned the previous year, which is a good thing. But, when she played the game after the placement test, she was truly challenged to learn more. I never imagined in a million years that a child would follow me around begging to be taught long division. She could not cross a bridge in the game without being able to divide. So I taught her and she practiced and cemented the skill by playing the game.

As a homeschooler leaning towards self directed learning, I found this game to be invaluable. It gives me the freedom to wait for a child to be ready to learn a skill while at the same time ensuring that such comes quickly through constant challenges. After all, the best time to teach a child a skill is when they want to learn it. This game provided that want for me.

This game does not teach skills your child must know, but provides challenges. The way I use it is to wait for a challenge to be presented, and then teach that child whatever they need to succeed and overcome that challenge.

The only problems I had with this software is that each time the child finished the game, they had to start again with a new member name, it would not let us back into the game as the same person. This did allow me to compare the membernames records to check for progress which was evident.

If you purchase the 2 cdrom version of this game, with the personalized learning center, you will be able to print worksheets according to your childs strengths and weaknesses and to see where the child needs more practice. You will also be able to spot where your child may be gifted.

The personalized learning center disc, however is not formulated to give a child a "grade" based on how well the child did in the program, but to show progress over time. Therefore, If you are a homeschooler and grades are important to you, you will want to "test" the child separately perhaps using the worksheets or making up your own exams.

Great teaching game
We are a homeschooling family. I bought this game along with the fourth grade and fifth grade versions for my nine year old. She sailed through the other two, but found this one challenging. It is great for reinforcing math, introduces chemistry, addresses the pollution problem, history, spelling, vocabulary and reading comprehension. There is a level selection area in which you can choose how hard or easy the game is, but this is also handy for letting parents know where your child may need some help in or where they excel. It has a practice mode where the child can just do the activities without having to play the game. I found this great for reinforcing some of those areas my daughter needed more help in.
Even though my daughter has finished all three games, she still plays these.

Never Too Old To Play!!
It's great I'm 14 going on 15 in a month but I don't care
because that doesn't stop me from having fun. It's the greatest game. I've only played the 3rd and 4th grade one but they're still and always be my favorite software. If you've never played any of these games and you love computer games; buy this then even if you're older then me. Who cares? Just remember HAVE FUN!!! You won't regret it!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. Could you make one for 10th graders or do you already?

Thank You

Cluefinders 6th Grade Adventures
This product provides an excellent source for preparation or reinforcement of what a 6th grader is expected to know. Players are put into a mystery situation where they have to solve clues in order to figure out the answers. Various aspects of the 6th grade curriculum are covered, and the computer adjusts for the skill level of the player, making the games increasingly more challenging. Areas covered include logical thinking, mathematics, science, geography, social science, and language arts. The games are fun, and since they get progressively harder as the student masters a skill, they do not get boring. At times the transition time from one activity to the next can be a bit long, and instructions are repetitive, but this seemed to bother adults more than children; this should not deter the buyer, however, as the positive aspects of this game far outweigh the negatives. Graphics and sound are excellent, and help includes a map and a reference section. Levels can be set manually, or the program can be adjusted to automatically determine when to advance to the next level as a skill is mastered. On the whole this is an excellent product, and a great way to make learning fun. Highly Recommended. Reviewer is a teacher and a librarian.

Cool
This game is fun and VERY educational... I even forgot I was
learning while playing it! The games are fun and have different levels, so if one level is too easy you may make is
harder and more challenging. It explains the mini-game
and how to play. The charactors are click-able and they seem to talk and help you throughout the whole game.
You meet cool alien type things, and in order to survive, you must figure out the answer to the mini-games.
The backround music is pretty cool, but it may get annoying
you can turn off the music, too! before you begin the game, it shows a mini movie of what's happening and it tells about
your mission.I love this game! ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

It had to happen: software is now being bundled for your little bundleof joy. Reader Rabbit Playtime for Baby & Toddler will never be asubstitute for the tactile joys of real life, but this software does manage tocapture infants' and toddlers' attention with bright, happy images and a formatthat responds well to chubby, not-so-coordinated hands.

In Playtime for Baby, a game of tag between Reader Rabbit and Mat theMouse ends with Mat hiding in a toy box. With Mat's help, each of the 10 toys inthe box leads the baby into a new experience: singing, manipulating shapes,playing hide-and-seek, discovering body parts, reading storybooks, and (oh joy!)rummaging in drawers to make music. Your baby controls the action by hitting anykey on the keyboard (or just hitting the keyboard, as they are wont to do) orsimply moving the mouse. No clicks are required. The cursor is a big fat starthat leaves a trail of twinkles. Brushing it against an object onscreen willelicit anything from a childlike giggle to a kerplunk to the appropriateanimal noise.

The only critique of this CD is that the artwork is simplistic. It would be niceto see more depth and smoother movement, if only to make the program moreenjoyable for the adults who must guide their babies through it. Other thanthat, by developing cupboards with no locks, personalized storybooks with pagesthat don't rip, and farm animals willing to engage in endless games ofhide-and-seek, the creators of Playtime for Baby have managed to tap into a baby'swildest dreams.

Playtime for Toddler has a lusher look than Playtime for Baby.Again, mouse movements or keyboard pokes inspire action in nine activities thatinclude things that send most toddlers into fits of joy. One of the better gamesis Bubble Castle, where your toddler "pops" bubbles with animals in them, andthe freed creatures gallop into a castle and peep from the windows. This simplepayoff engaged one 2-year-old tester for many minutes, shouting "Bye-bye,animal!" each time she liberated a critter. Pop and Play Place teaches matchingand music as toddlers activate three jack-in-the-boxes until whatever pops outmatches, upon which they are rewarded with a song ("We are mice, we are nice. Wesay please when we want cheese!"). In Follow Me Theater, Reader Rabbit acts outhand-motion hits like "Eensy Weensy Spider" and "I'm a Little Teapot." Otheractivities include a puzzle and color tutorial called Sky Shapes; PeekabooJungle, where kids investigate animal noises with a flashlight cursor; a MusicalMeadow; an ABC Train that teaches letters with the help of slick animation andaudio; and Baby Basket Bingo, a cute bit of business that requires toddlers toreunite baby animals with their parents based on the tiny roar or peep thatcomes from the creature hidden in the basket. Rainbow Rock is the only loser inthe bunch, a coloring program that doesn't even attempt to teach colors.

One of the best features of Playtime for Toddler is that younger babiescan bang on the keyboard and automatically get "correct" results, while olderones can use the mouse to drag the cursor in a mode that involves more trial anderror. Both options are available at once; no settings need to be changed.Clicking does nothing here, which may puzzle some tykes who have alreadydiscovered that clicking gets results in grownup programs. Overall, this is adecent bundle for babies, with Playtime for Toddler being the stronger,more realistic offering of the two. (Ages 1 to 3) --Anne Erickson ... Read more

Reviews (24)

Excellent educational program!
I bought Reader Rabbit Baby and Toddler for my son when he was about 15 months. He's been using it for 6 months and still loves it! There are so many different activities; we haven't even gotten to all of them yet. He has a few other CD's - but still loves "Mat the Mouse" best!

The program focuses on the basics and seems to emphasize "child interaction". For example, one of the activities is a coloring book. An outlined drawing comes on the screen (fish, dinosaurs, frog and an elephant in a boat, etc.) and my son colors in the drawing just by moving the mouse back and forth. He was able to do this very early on, but still loves the activity. Once drawn in, my son is rewarded when the drawing "comes to life". For example, the frog and elephant sing Row, Row, Row Your Boat.

The author has also done an excellent job with extras. I can print out each of the drawings individually (to be colored in with crayons) - so my son doesn't have to be sitting in front of the computer to play the game. He clearly associates the printed pages with the online game - feels like a two-for-one!

The program was easy to install (Windows 2000 Pro) and we have not had any trouble using the program. From an educational standpoint, he has learned everything from music, counting and colors/shapes to sing-a-long's and animals (there are 3 different activities with animals!). One of the best activities is a sing-a-long of Intsy-Winsty Spider, I'm a Little Teapot, Wheels on the Bus and others - simply awesome!

Highly recommended from a dad and his son after six months of use!

The Best First Computer Program For Any Child
This is an amazing product. My 2-year old took hold of the mouse for the first time 10 days ago and hasn't let go since. During that time he has mastered every game on the CD, requiring some rather complicated matching and sorting, as well as precision mouse movements that I didn't think he was capable of. Since the activities as well as the main menu are all "click-free," my son has been free to roam and explore at his own pace -- his Dad and I haven't lifted a finger to help him. As a result, he has grown increasingly more interested in the increasingly more complicated activities. (We have probably shot 1 hour of video of this boy using the program and screaming with delight as he discovers a new ability)! More amazing still, the strides he's made with these games have translated into a greater sense of confidence and "control over his environment" away from the computer as well. I would recommend this program to any parent!

they'll catch right on
my sweetie will be 2 in 4 weeks. she loves "rabbit". begs for him!!! it took less than 3 sessions for her to "get" the mouse skills...now she is learning to click as well...
good starter program.

A program that grows with your kids!
I like this program because it is easy for small ones to use. I have a 20 month old and a 4.5 year old. They both love this game.

I've seen better
I have to say, I let my son since before he was walking to play on my old 586 133 computer. After having the Fisher Price Keyboard and three stage game, I was very dissappointed with this game. First off, it says it only needs DirectX 4 but it comes with DirectX 7 which would not install on the machine. One must have an updated computer to run this game, or have a copy of DirectX 4 lying around. Now since my son has been using a computer for as long as he has, he has learned that keys do different things and every key has an association with the Fisher Price game, and in general computer usage. With this game, everything is controlled. The key strokes do commands that the program wants to run, and completes tasks FOR the child rather than initiating them to complete the task by pressing the correct buttons. My son gets bored with this game since it doesn't matter what key he presses it does what the program wants to do, not what my son wants to try, and the game stops and sings and won't let him do anything. My son is used to more control. The Fisher Price game actually associates the letter A with the letter A for example, so I believe he is actually learning more from a straight keyboard than this game. My son is now 20 months old. When we got this game he was 18 months old, and he was off and away on the Fisher Price keyboard at 13 months. I was looking for another game just as good if not better, or more interactive to help him grow, but I would rather see an old fashion typing game that teaches him the letters on the keyboard or something more interactive that lets him control the game, not the game controlling him.

And according to the system requirements my computer should be able to run the game, but I am still having a hard time finding DirectX get the computer game to run :( ... Read more

Features

• In Ready To Read, kids will enjoy great word activities while exploring the Hundred Acre Wood
• As they visit with Piglet, Tigger & the rest, they'll learn about rhyming, sentence construction, word recognition, problem solving, and deductive reasoning
• In Ready for Math, kids will enjoy seven activities that test their numerical skills
• They'll develop important skills like counting, number tracing, arrange sequences and more
• Kids will be rewarded by getting seeds and watching them grow -- they'll love it!

Reviews (1)

The 3 kids love it!
We have three children ages 3, 3, and 5. All of them love it and I even enjoy taking a turn or two :). The games teach excellent skills for school and stress math and reading in a fun and interesting way. The kids love earning items to be put in their garden and contraptions to be added to their treehouse. We have to set the timer so everyone gets a turn.
I highly recommend Disney's Ready for Reading and Math with Pooh. ... Read more

Features

• When Mia's grandmother is about to win the art competition, the lights suddenly go out. When they come back on, Mimi is gone, and so are the sparklies she had won. Help Mia find out who did this and why!
• Children will get to practice their Spanish & French while tracking down clues
• Kids will have a fun time learning as they explore and use their detective skills to help Mia!

Amazon.com Product Description

Teachers agree: learning is easy when you're having fun. That's the spark behind Numbers and Letters Excelerator Ages 2-5, a four-CD-ROM set of premium software titles combining amusement and education in one motivationally interactive package.

Stuffed with more than 20 individual lessons and more than 50 activities, this educational suite for children delivers endless hours of exciting learning adventure, while promising the acquisition and retention of fundamental spelling and counting skills. Whether on sing-along safari with the gang from the PBS hit "Zoboomafoo" or honing their number recognition and phonics ability, first-time readers will grow with confidence as they immerse themselves in these challenging activities, which adjust to a child's rising proficiency level.

Included in the bundle are: Chatter Buddies Ready for Speech: Making the R, S, and L Sounds (in which the Chatter Buddies cast focuses on three of the most commonly erred sounds that affect reading readiness in preschoolers and toddlers: R, S, and L), Letters & Numbers (featuring 11 sing-along karaoke songs and 15 interactive games and activities), Zoboomafoo Animal Kids (help Zoboomafoo collect googleberries while playing 10 different games at three skill levels), and Buddy Brush and the Painted Circus (a disc filled with zany activities, magical matching games, and imaginative coloring exercises). ... 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

Reader Rabbit Kindergarten 2002 packs an astonishing number of activities into a two-CD-ROM set, enough to keep nearly any child in the 4 to 6 age range glued to the computer for hours. With glitzy graphics and plenty of songs to sing along with, not to mention a clever plot, this high-quality educational program helps kids practice a range of skills, from counting, reading, and listening comprehension, to recognizing colors and shapes.

The adventure begins when Reader Rabbit and Sam the Lion are stranded in Balloon Town and must rescue the Dreamship, which has been encased in bubble wrap and locked in the Pointy Palace. In order to wake up the sleeping bull that guards the palace, the player must locate five musical instruments. Each time the player completes an activity, an instrument magically appears. For a program aimed at kindergartners, the instruments take a lot of persistence to earn--kids must complete a staggering number of problems at each activity site and this can quickly become very repetitive.

The program itself is well thought out and comes with many user-friendly features. The software automatically adjusts to your level and shows how you're doing at each activity. It's also possible to save games for up to 99 different players, which makes the software suitable for use in a classroom or other group setting.

The CD-ROM set includes three other activities--calendar making, painting, and music playing, all of which are engaging in their own right. It also comes with a collection of more than 100 age-appropriate activities that don't have to do with the computer, as well as Reader Rabbit songs that can be played on an audio CD player.

As with other Reader Rabbit software, the biggest concern with this program is that there are so many things to do, children may eventually have to be dragged away, kicking and screaming, from the computer. Perhaps a laptop is the answer--at least that way they can play outside. --Molly Masland ... Read more

Reviews (17)

good for preschoolers if you want them using the computer!
This program doesn't teach anything special that is not easily taught outside of a computer game. Success at the game will be had most quickly if the child already knows the skills needed to play the game (see below, i.e. already knows their basic shapes). If you want your child using the computer during the preschool years then this is a safe and good bet. If your child doesn't know everything this program covers already then they are sure to learn it quickly if they like the game and are not discouraged. There is much more to phonics than this program covers, of course.

We held off introducing our son to the computer until he was almost 4.5 years old. We strictly limit what he can do on the computer and he does not use it much, sometimes going 2 months or so without using it. We purchased this program when our oldest just turned 5, at which time he already could start up the computer, open a program, change CDs and close the entire system down all by himself. I thought it best to buy an easier Reader Rabbit game and see how he likes it rather than start off with the Kindergarten or the phonics Reader Rabbit. If you have a 3 or a 4 year old (or even a 2 year old) that you want using a computer game then this one is great (see section on phonics for a possible difficult part though).

Being unfamiliar with children's computer games I was surprised that much of this is almost like a video on television, there are songs that seem to be about 3 minutes long and very graphic and long introductions to the program every time it is started and before each game. The characters on screen tell the user what to do. I was disappointed it did not come with written instructions, as when my son needed help there was nothing I could turn to. Goodness knows I am not sitting with him all the time watching him play, so I miss the already-spoken instructions for the overall game. Instructions for the mini-games that they play can be repeated by simply clicking on a certain character on the screen.

I sat down to play it as a new user and we played for over an hour. I was annoyed that the instructions are not clear. Specifically, the program has the user doing a little job to earn a gem called a brillite. They wanted 5 yellow brillites to start. We did all the jobs but there was a missing brillite. There was no instruction as to how to get this missing brillite so we re-explored every area on the program's map and began repeating jobs because we didn't know what else to do. That began earning us different colored brillites. It is a little unclear to me as to how to win this game, they say to gather brillites but we really don't know how many of each and how to exactly get them except play in a random manner repeating the games. I'd much prefer them to say "repeat all the games to earn the blue brillites in order to earn the missing yellow brillite" or some other such informative instruction.

This is truly geared for preschool age (3 or 4) or for any age that already knows the 6 colors of the rainbow, circle, square, oval, triangle, diamond shapes, if they can count to 10 and follow oral directions. The hardest part of the game, which may be difficult for preschool aged children and may cause frustration, is the phonics portion. An object comes along on a raft and there are 3 sparkle shakers above it and the user must choose which sparkle shaker (with a letter on it) represents the first letter of the object. The first go round has the word written under the object (i.e. violin) but after that round is won the object comes out without a word. Shame on them for showing a giraffe and giving both a g and a j as options! Bad choice for beginners to phonics! The user will be told if they make an incorrect choice and they can narrow it down by process of elimination. The game with the train and matching the object shape is more of a fast paced game to improve hand and eye coordination and fast mouse-usage than a true matching game-if they pick the match right after the fast changes they are doomed. On the box it says this does drawing and coloring but that is a stretch: the kids are told to paint a certain shape a certain color and they simply click once on the proper color and click once on top of the shape and it is instantly colored in. There is nothing about drawing going on there! The only math here is counting up to 10 (it is advertised as having math on it).

There is nothing offensive or questionable about this game, the language is clean, etc.

This is a fun game for preschoolers (I found it too easy for my just turned 5 year old). It is very entertaining in that it has interludes in between games and songs with a few minutes of on screen entertainment. The songs are catchy. The graphics are very good compared to the old days of Space Invaders and such!

Good Program
I purchased this program to help my 3 year old son sharpen and develop his basic preschool skills. I found this program to have a good theme and my son was very interested in the character's various actions, songs and dances used to accompany the instruction. Skill levels can be chosen to pace the progression dependeing on the need of the child. The program is very user friendly to an adults helping their children. Progrmas are easily exited out of and information can be saved to log the progress of the children users. I recommend this software to parents who want to help their preschoolers get a head start on Kindergarten education.

Skip this one
My son (now almost 4) is pretty academically bright and pretty good with a computer mouse. We bought this game for him just before he turned 3 last year. What a disappointment! Now, we are a big computer game family, and our son has played a few other titles which we have loved (Little People Discovery Airport, Ollo Saves the Fair, Putt-Putt, and a few others). We loved Reader Rabbit Toddler and Reader Rabbit Baby, which were designed very well. Unfortunately, Reader Rabbit Preschool did not stack up.

As usual, the game has a creative story behind it, and there is a goal that involves collecting things. These are wonderful motivators. However, the game skill levels seem either much to easy (matching bugs) or pretty advanced (counting out just the right number of bugs to fill a rocket, including addition and subtraction as the game increases in difficulty) for a "typical" preschooler. I should add that I used to teach preschool and kindergarten, so I have an idea of what is developmentally appropriate. This game ranges from boring to frustrating with very little in between. Some activities, such as the "painting" activity at the waterfall, require very very good mouse control, as the shapes tend to be very small, and the child must click in just the right areas.

I highly recommend skipping this game. Our son is now happily playing Reader Rabbit Kindergarten (the Summer Camp one)with very little trouble.

Too much advertisement and lacks parental controls
I had previously purchased Reader Rabbit for baby and toddler and was thrilled with the product. However, I cannot say the same of the Reader Rabbit Preschool. This CD launches with a page that gives my [child] 6 choices of where to go. Only one is the educational program. The others are advertisements for Star Flyers, Clue Finders, Zoombinis, the Oregan Trail, and Carmen Sandiego. Each of these plays a short movie and gives my [child] the option of launching the internet to download more. I certainly do not want my child on the internet, and I did not purchase the CD so that the Learning Company could target my ...child with advertisement. I wanted him to learn something. It quickly became a fight to keep him in the educational portion of the CD. I called Broderbund, and after waiting 25 minutes to speak with a technician, was told that there was nothing that could be done. There are no parental controls. I asked to speak with a supervisor to discuss my concerns, and was told I could go to the web site and e-mail them. I would not recommend this CD.

They've got it almost right
This is the most educational of the programs I've found for the preschool set, but there are still disappointments. I wish they would do more with the alphabet - they need more variety of words, a combination of small letters and capitals. My three-year-old mastered the top level within a few weeks, simply because he memorized the words they were using, and then quickly grew bored. The musical numbers are cloying and irritating. But the rocket counting game is terrific -- a real help teaching small kids the meaning of numbers. Overall, I've yet to find better, but I hope the designers of the Reader Rabbit series keep trying. ... Read more

Features

• Have fun with Blue while discovering school is cool
• 3 levels of learning for extended gameplay
• Familiar songs from the TV series
• Promotes creative expression through music and art
• Ideal for children aged 3 to 6

Features

• Exploring Clifford's fun-filled neighborhood, children discover reading activities
• 7 adjustable levels that continually introduce new letters, sounds, and words
• Over 100 reading lessons; 15 printable activities; interactive and printable bonus books
• Kids practice reading aloud by recording stories in their own voice
• Progress report allows you to track your child's development; for kids ages 4-6

Reviews (1)

excellent
My daughter is almost 5 years old and loves this and all the scholastic games we have purchased since she is 2 years old. Very educational AND FUN and superior to other brands. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Engaging and useful software game
This program is cheerful and fun. My kids love it. The educational content is strong yet it still manages to hold children's interest. Good for children who need to reinforce simple phonics, like beginning sounds, ending sounds, long and short vowel sounds, etc. Inexpensive and very recommended!

poor excuse for a phonics program
This program has nothing that could assist any child learn or review phonics. The so-called game reward is merely more work, and the work has no value ! If you are looking for a program that provides a learning experience, look elsewhere. If you think this will provide some sort of meaningful review of phonics, you will be quite disappointed.
The producers of this program should hang their heads in shame! ... Read more

Features

• Children gain: Confidence, Creativity, and Inspiration

Amazon.com Product Description

Storybook Weaver DELUXE is packed with thousands of story-starting images to stimulate your creativity. Write English or Spanish for hours of creative possibilities. And the text-to-speech feature lets you hear your story read aloud. (Ages 6-12) ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Great for your imagination!!
In this game, you get to make your own story. You can add music to it, put pictures in it, borders and soo much more!! I think it's also great if you need to write a story for your report in school too. You'll have hours of fun making up your own stories. I found out about this software at my school for computer class, I didn't get to finish my second story. But I know you'll have a great time with yours. I recommend this for ages 7-12. Or when your child starts to know how to type and read. A great and imaginitive mind for a great and better story. When you're done with your story, the great thing is that you get to print it out.

Quality time together!
My 13 year old neice and I have spent countless hours laughing until we cried making silly stories with this program. Now that she is getting into her teen years, it takes longer for her to open up and be herself. But whenever we start talking about our past stories or start making new ones, she instantly relaxes and she is my easy-going neice again who isn't worried about cheerleading practice and fitting in. There is also so much pride involved when completing a story. Age is not an issue with Storybook Weaver. It is as much fun for me as it is for her!

Great counseling and therapy tool
As a school counselor, a student introduced me to this program. If you work with children who don't trust, you know that they do not like traditional talk therapies. I have found Storybook Weaver to be helpful both in assessing students and as a way to introduce alternative ways to cope and see the world. It is great corrective play therapy. Most students enjoy the process and usually finish their pictures with a satisfied "There! I'm done!"

A Really Great Game
I went over to my friends house one day and decided to play this game. We added sound, pictures, and wrote a great story. We had such a fun time on her computer. I wanted to buy this game for myself but it was out of stock. I'm so upset because I wanted to record my voice on it to read the story. It's a really great game and lot's of kids would love to play it.

Teacher Endorsement
I have used Storybook Weaver with first, third, and fourth graders and have found it flexible, interesting and inspiring. The ease of creating pictures makes it ideal for beginning writers, and the format options allows advanced writers to produce more detailed and complex compositions. It's an effective way to both finish a final draft, as well as begin a story with a picture based prewriting exercise. Kids of all ages will find the varied and imaginative picture possibilites fun. Highly recommended for children reluctant to write and for those who can't seem to write enough. ... Read more

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

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

Amazon.com Product Description

Renegade spy Max Masters has unleashed an army of minions that are carrying out his devious schemes to get revenge on the Spy Masters team! Now it's up to you to put a halt to his villainous deeds. Create your own secret identity by choosing your "cover" from head to toe, then earn the state-of-the-art spy gear you'll need to accomplish your missions. But don't forget to claim your gear; you'll need the power to defeat the villains. The more missions you solve, the more spy gear you earn. Then take all the spy gear you've earned into each new Spy Masters title.

Navigate your way through 3-D worlds with underwater caves, an eerie pirate ship, a submerged secret lab, and beyond. Play more games in the Spy Masters series and unlock more of the 3-D worlds. Also play online! Start a team of your own or join one--use the spy gear you've collected to snag your rival team's flag. Get to work saving the day while using your knowledge of science, logic, math, and language arts. ... 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

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

Amazon.com Review

Reader Rabbit and his friend Sam the Lion are innocently piloting theirDreamship through the sky when--from out of nowhere--a Pie Rat ship attackknocks them for a loop. The ship crashes into a sticky mass of cheese on a highmountaintop, while Sam and Reader Rabbit fall into the sea below. In ReaderRabbit 2nd Grade: Mis-cheese-ious Dreamship Adventures, players must get theintrepid adventurers back to the ship before the Pie Rats take it over.

Aimed at children in the second grade, this Reader Rabbit program offers achallenging series of educational games. Players must climb Mount Cheesemore,for example, by completing a series of math formulas. The challenge is to placethe cheese blocks correctly, in such a way that all the formulas are balanced.Getting one or two of the numbers to tally may be easy, but completing the thirdcan be quite the test. In another game, crossing a fast-flowing river depends onthe user's ability to make compound words, or to identify synonyms andantonyms.

The games are perfect for children studying or previewing a second-gradecurriculum. They are set at a perfect range of difficulty, simple at first, butwith an automatic increase in toughness as players master the spelling, science,and math skills presented in the activities. At higher levels, parentalassistance may be required to complete the puzzles. What's more, players mustcomplete some tasks in order to get to others--there is no way to skip out onthe language or science drills if you want to rescue the Dreamship.

This is not to say that the game is low on entertainment value. It is filledwith bright characters and charming animations. As a setting, Mount Cheesemoreprovides pleasant and consistent goofiness. The educational content is notunderstated--children will know they are working--but thegame environment is fun and offers plenty of enjoyment and variety along theway. --Alyx Dellamonica ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Offers a great variety of skills
We bought this title for our 6-year old daughter. She was definately captivated by the animation and storyline. There are a multitude of goal-oriented activities which help reinforce math, spelling, language, and science skills. The game becomes more challenging as questions are answered correctly. Kids will be guided through activities without any help from adults.The only drawback was the amount of repitition necessary for achieving final goals. Some children may lose interest in a particular activity before the goal is met. All in all, Reader Rabbit 2nd grade is a great learning tool that kids will enjoy. ... Read more