Amazon.com Product Description

Based on the School Zone Start-to-Read! series, thisinteractive software has two animated stories. "A Different Tune" teaches that individual talents make us special. "It's Magic" features a clever rabbit with an idea that will steal the show. Repeated and rhyming words, audio guidance, and picture clues ensure reading success. Plus, children can discover creative writing with pictures, art, and words in Create-a-Story. Together, the CD-ROM and Start-to-Read! books provide two great ways to learn. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

My child loved this
This title is centered on beginning reading and it does that and more. I was thrilled when my son had a problem understanding a the definition of a word. He just clicked on the word and we were brought to a dictionary that read the definition to us. After we were done reading we were able to create our own story. We were able to place all the characters from the story in our new story and draw and make silly sentences. All in all my son had a blast.

Too basic.
Even though the stories are alright, the game just doesn't hold interest and doesn't have enough things for kids to DO. There are better programs out there, and School Zone does a lot of good ones. But this one is not rich enough to keep kids coming back after playing it through once. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Word Munchers Deluxe helps kids learn valuable reading and grammar skills while playing games. With an entertaining arcade premise and a great 3-D look, kids will enjoy learning. Munch the correct words while avoiding the Troggles! Earn points not only in the games but in school too! (Ages 5-10) ... Read more

Reviews (2)

munch it up!
I absoulutley love Word Munchers. It is the coolest game. The fact you can play with or without troggles knocks me out. I also love how you can play by grade level. I'm in fourth grade, but sometimes I like to play 1st grade to cool off.

Word Munchers
This is a great product. We use this at our Elementary school. I love the fact that it is done by grade level which I find really helpful. The six kids that I have been working with really like the game. It isn't that easy and can be very challenging for the kids. We have also Math munchers which is just as fun! ... Read more

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

Lowly the worm and Huckle the cat guide pre-readers through Busytown, aplace that truly deserves its name; the myriad letter games, phonics exercises,and object-identifying tasks will keep beginning readers busy for a longtime.

Lowly and Huckle gather stories for a newly built Storymobile by visiting thefarm, campground, beach, market, and school. In each of these spots, there arethree chores they can help out with, tasks such as finding marshmallows to roaston the campfire by clicking objects that begin with a certain letter, orstacking hay bales in the barn by deciding whether spoken words rhyme or not;completing each chore yields a story to help fill the Storymobile. Activitiesrun the gamut from simply matching letters to reading and writing stories. Mostof the activities favor beginning readers, coaxing them gently along withfamiliar Richard Scarry characters in everyday settings. (Though Scarry'sillustration style is consistent throughout, the animation is somewhatcrude.)

The stories that kids can "win" are a great motivator; this age group seems tolove having a big goal. Considering the abundance of activities, five areas withpoint-and-click identifying games, and a spot where kids can write their ownstories, this CD-ROM deserves its self-aggrandizing title, especially if theuser is a fan of Scarry's brand of whimsy. (Ages 4 to 7) --Anne Erickson ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Give Your Kids a Great Jump on Reading
There are a lot of CD-ROMs out there, but this one is engaging and fun for our 3.5 year old son. The fundamentals for reading and even math are well established: rhyming words, matching letters, sequencing of events, identifying words that begin or end with the same sound, observing and categorizing objects. Another child in his pre-school is already reading due in part to this software and Clifford Reading CD-ROM by Scholastic. Richard Scary stories are one of our child's favorites and the stories here do not disappoint. The only thing that prevents me from awarding fives stars is that during the reading of a story, each individual word should be highlighted. One tip: I found this at Zany Brainy for half the price here.

A Fun Way to Learn
This, like all the other Richard Scarry titles we own, keeps my son engaged for a long time. There are activities at different levels so it does not get boring fast and the characters are darling. If you like Huckle and Lowly you'll love this program. ... 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

Features

• Complete educational tool with more than 30 full version, challenging programs (Ages 6 - 9)
• Reinforce lessons learned at school, encourage students to explore and advance at their own pace
• Exciting format, with 3 or more program levels per subject
• Math, Language Arts, Sciences, History, Geography
• [Windows 95/98/NT]

Features

• Cluefinders Reading Adventure takes your kids on an adventure to solve an intergalactic mystery
• Carmen Sandiego's ThinkQuick Challenge takes you around the world after the legendary criminal's gang
• Mission T.H.I.N.K. gets you to solve hundreds of puzzles to keep a factory working
• Ages 9-12

Amazon.com Product Description

Fast, easy, and reliable, Grammarian 2 improves your writing skills and helps you do a more professional job. Save time with one-step proofreading. Grammarian can interactively check your grammar while you type. It can also batch-check and perform statistical analyses in a single pass. You don't waste time running separate procedures to count words, sentences, and syllables per word, or to check punctuation, style, grammar, and mechanics. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Outstanding Addition to Macintosh
This software is highly intuitive, easily modifiable to fit any writing situation and produces very fast statistics on readability. I am using Grammarian 2 even as I type this review and it has made several suggestions thus far to improve readability. What is really incredible about Grammarian 2 is how it works with virtually any application. One of my laments about AppleWorks is how it lacks a grammar checker. Now, it doesn't have to be that way. I'm using one of the latest iMac DV computers running Mac OS System 9.0.4. This is great software.

Should for Writers ... MUST for Parents
I've owned Grammarian for several years -- and when I could make myself use it, I was usually amazed at what it did for my writing. At Macworld Expo in New York, I was shocked and amazed at a demo of Grammarian which was given at the Apple User Group Breakfast. WOW! The demo showed me features in this new upgrade I had no idea were there! I bought Grammarian 2 on the spot ... PARENTS: if you have middle-school to high school students, this software MUST BE INSTALLED on your home computer! Make them use it! Their writing will improve by leaps -- the program contains not just alerts of bad grammar, and other problems in writing, but also allows you to look the problem up, and UNDERSTAND WHY it should be re-written or corrected. ... WRITERS: this is as much a learning tool as it is a writing-correction tool. Looking up problem areas in your writing will give you the correct verbiage -- in addition to inspiration to other ways of wording your message. ... it's wonderful software, and for the price -- should be on EVERY COMPUTER! ... I cannot recommend it highly enough -- and intend to nominate it for the Design & Publishing Center's "Home & School Software Product of the Year". ... 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

Features

• For Windows 95 and 98 PC
• For Macintosh PowerPC System 7.1 or higher
• Explore abstract and traditional art forms, color, texture, and composition
• Strengthens word recognition, listening comprehension, and early reading skills
• Teaches essential early learning skills in children ages 3 to 6

Amazon.com Product Description

Explore the world of letters, sounds, and words with Blue and her friends in this activity pack filled with multilevel learning games. Identify letters, build vocabulary, practice phonics, and create rhymes as you collect words to help Blue build silly stories in her Word Book. The more words you collect, the more stories you can create and print out! (Ages 3-6) ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Great game, my daughter is already sassy anyway
Great story with lots of interactive stuff to click on to keep youngsters interested.

The reading race game is excellent, however the authors did not include nearly enough words in the game to keep it interesting long term. A real shame, as the game itself is motivating and educational and would have real value in teaching spelling and word recognition skills if only the dictionary was larger.

The previews of other games are a great addition - good advertising for the publishers and very entertaining in their own right.

Arthur's Reading Race
This is a good game that will help your children to learn to read. This game will work with Windows XP Home Edition if you run it in compatibility mode.

Our kid's ask for it
I read a reviewer claim that this CD-ROM game has taught her daughter to be a "sass mouth". D.W. certainly has a vocab beyond her tender years, but she behaves no differently than she does on the popular kids show.

Having said that, this CD is fun. You can either read along with the story (words are highlighted as they are read), or play games with Arthur and D.W. "I Spy" is a favorite of my kids. Each pag of the story has pictures and items that can be clicked on and they come to life! A great tool for helping kids to learn how to use the computer mouse. Also comes with sample games for older kids.

Review of Reading Race
My son loves this CD and honestly so do I. While it is not going to teach your child to read, it will help them with word recognition some. On each page of the story there are several items to select for interesting surprises. You can either have the program automatically continue after each page, or stop and let you explore the page and its contents.

I think there is not any overt rudness in the program that is above and beyond the book series itself and the interaction between Arthur and DW.

fun and some learning
This CD is just plain fun. Anyone buying this program because they want to teach their child to read may be buying the wrong product. But it does help early learners to "see" words, and connect word/object relationships ... at least somewhat. And that in itself makes it worthy of some educational value. But the best value in this is the fun. The prizes are fun too .... weird flavored ice cream. My own feelings are that if you want to teach your child to read, you shouldn't depend on software, for the most part software is just a way to practice what they learn via actual instruction. This is a great, fun, and easy to play CD. ... Read more

Features

• Over 100 different activities are available here, teaching rhyming skills, compound words, basic writing and other skills
• Kids will also build pronunciation & reading skills with the new record/playback feature
• Built-in progress reports show you how your child is doing
• Plenty of printable activities so children can take the fun with them anywhere
• Reading & phonics just got interesting thanks to Reader Rabbit!

Features

• Children gain: Confidence, Creativity, Inspiration

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

Amazon.com Product Description

Learning letters and numbers is child's play. Get a giggle a minute with the animated Number and Letter Machines. Touch the "J," and jaguars jog. Try the "R," and rhinos roller-skate. Select a number from 0 to 30, then count along with the cheery critters that pop up. One mouse... eeek! That's two mice!You'll find hours of learning play and discovery with alphabets and phonics, numerals and quantities, simple sentences, and upper- and lowercase letters. (Ages 3-5) ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Very mediocre
This inexpensive learning tool for children is extremely unembellished and unexciting. It is simple to use and might be a good tool for toddlers as young as two and a half. My son is three and has numerous better abc software applications. This one didn't hold his attention for very long. It has no music and very meager graphics.

This might be a good first abc program for a young toddler. Though the recommended age range is 3-5 years, I would say it is better for 2 1/2 to 4. You get what you pay for. This software doesn't cost much and it doesn't offer much. ... Read more