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Software and Games : Software Categories : Children's Fun & Learning : Ages 5-8
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Focus Multimedia Ltd
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Avanquest Software
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Focus Multimedia Ltd
This is a very comprehensive, excellent software program for children in year two, aged six to seven years, which supports the National Curriculum and covers reading, maths, geography, history, the solar system, art and music.The activities are not classroom based, as in the case of many other CD-ROMs in this range, but they are built around adventures that begin when school ends. CJ the Frog and his friend Newton begin a journey to their secret clubhouse. Your child can develop maths skills (addition, subtraction, multiplication, money value, measuring and logic) while racing sharks and crossing dangerous rivers. Reading and comprehension skills are also covered, including spelling, parts of speech, nouns, verbs and adjectives, and the countries can be discovered while learning about the people and events in history. All activities are presented in a fun way and are offered at different levels with progress reports, assessments and a printable workbook included. There is also a pamphlet containing basic technical and installation information, which should be read before starting. --Susan Naylor
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Avanquest Software
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Avanquest Software
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Avanquest Software
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Focus Multimedia Ltd
If you're not able to own a real pet, especially a Cat or a Dog then Catz 5 could be the answer! Adopt a virtual pet, let it live in your PC, run across your Desktop, let it visit faraway Playscenes or play at home in the kitchen, backyard or salon, or create your own tailor-made Playscenes.You can feed it, play with it, love it and breed it. Adopt as many as you like, but you must take care of them all--neglected Catz run away and then you're in trouble. Did you know Catz have tails to help them balance? That their fur is soft to keep them warm and encourage owners to pet them? They have large, expressive eyes, twitching whiskers and they have agile paws for jumping, climbing, stalking and running. Catz are little kittens when you first adopt them and then they grow up over time into adult Catz.
Although aimed at young children, this package is most beneficial if they can read, in order for them to follow on-screen directions. This program is therefore most suitable for a minimum age of 7-8 years. Installation takes a while, and help may be needed from adults as monitor settings may need to be adjusted, and it's necessary to make sure Acrobat Reader 5.0 is installed so that the excellent User Guide can be accessed. It is absolutely essential to study this before playing with Catz 5 and it is a good idea to print it out for easy access. The excellent manual makes it easy for children to understand the package.
Now comes the fun! Choose from one of 15 breeds of Catz, from Alley Catz to Tabbies, from Persians to Siamese, with all their different personalities, likes and dislikes--but don't adopt too many, as they all have to be exercised, fed, loved, medicated when sick, brushed, played with, rewarded for good behaviour and squirted with water when they misbehave. Train them to do tricks, and allow them to earn toys as rewards (balls, pillows, stuffed parrots and so on). If you become confused remember to click on the Help Menu Bar.
Included is a Web Fun Pack, containing Petz clipart, animations and backgrounds, all Internet-ready to enable you to create your own Web pages. This particular version contains new features, but owners of previous Catz can bring their adopted Petz into Catz 5. This is compatible with Dogz 5, allowing your Dogz and Catz to play together, to create more breeds, win more toys and, ultimately, have more fun. --Susan Naylor
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Focus Multimedia Ltd
The Dogz of Dogz 5 are virtual pets and they live on your PC. They can run across your desktop, travel and explore faraway Playscenes, (a Canadian snow scene, a Big Top in a European Circus, a Wild West Town or an Arabian Palace); they can play in their Home Playscenes (Kitchen, Backyard or Salon) and have loads of fun in tailor-made Playscenes. Feed them and love them, breed them and play with them. You can adopt as many Dogz as you want, but you must remember to take care of them all.Did you know that Dogz have a tail to keep them balanced? That they have a keen sense of smell, and that their paws are padded and fuzzy, and that they use them to run, dig and scratch? Did you also know that you can get a good idea of how your pet is feeling if you look into its alert and expressive eyes? Best of all, Dogz love to be fussed and petted. Watch them grow from little baby puppies into adult Dogz.
Although aimed at young children, this package will be much more enjoyable for a child who can read and follow instructions, as it is necessary to follow onscreen directions. The program is therefore most suitable for a minimum age of 7-8 years old. The installation takes quite a while (information is on the CD-ROM sleeve) and help may be needed as monitor settings may need to be adjusted and it may also be necessary to ascertain if Acrobat Reader 5.0 is installed (the user manual cannot be accessed without this software). It is absolutely essential to study the manual closely before adopting any Dogz and it is a good idea to print it off for easy and quick reference. It is an excellent manual that is well set out, and it explains everything in simple, straightforward language, making it accessible to children.
Now for the fun! Choose from one of 15 breeds of Dogz, from Bulldogs to Sheepdogs, from Muts to Chihuahuas, with all their different personalities, likes and dislikes, but don't adopt too many--they must all be cared for. Love them and remember to feed them. Give them water, medicine when they're sick and don't forget to brush them. Exercise and play regularly with your Dogz; reward them for good behaviour and squirt them with water if they misbehave. Train them to do tricks. There are more than 100 toys to play with--lucky Dogz find some and there are more to be earned when you play the five mini games. Collect wonderful gifts with them during their doggy travels, such as exotic jewels. Treat your Dogz well and earn yourself a happy-pet certificate. Choose items of clothing and accessories to dress them; watch your Dogz fall in love and have puppies, and access their family trees as far back as eight generations.
A Web Fun Pack is included, which contains Petz clipart, animations and backgrounds, all Internet-ready to enable you to create your own Web pages. Particularly helpful are the tips on day and night cycles, how Petz grow, what happens when you cheat, how you can acquire new toys, and what to do if your pet runs away. Dogz 5 contains new features, but owners of previous Dogz can bring their adopted pets into this new version. Compatible with Catz 5, put the two programs together to create more breeds, fun and Petz. --Susan Naylor
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Avanquest Software
Learning Ladder Year 3 is another excellent product from Dorling Kindersley. This CD-ROM is packed with a good range of activities tailored to support the Year 3 school curriculum. Children can navigate their way around the playroom, looking for fun activities. These include the printing machine, which they can use to create their own labels, invitations and cards.Children can then improve their literacy, numeracy and science skills by undertaking a wide range of activities that help to consolidate Year 3 work. Children can, for example, choose correct word endings, solve addition and subtraction problems, label skeletons and identify correct habitats for animals. These are just a few of the carefully thought out and clearly explained activities here.
Children should be able to use this program independently. They are rewarded with stickers for each activity they complete correctly and will enjoy collecting these and putting them in their own sticker album.
Learning Ladder Year 3 would be an excellent buy for any Year 3 child. It consolidates the learning that is taking place at school and develops children's competence on the computer. --Amanda York
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Mindscape
What better way is there to learn than to have fun while gaining knowledge or practicing something already known? Disney Interactive has produced Disney Jungle Book Key Stage One, a wonderful piece of software proving that the National Curriculum and fun can go hand in hand and that education and entertainment can be merged.The program has been developed specifically by Key Stage One teachers from the UK based on the National Curriculum and using relevant UK teaching methods. Come and join Balu the bear and Mowgli the mancub from the Disney movie The Jungle Book in their adventures to find a magical object that will prevent Shere Khan the dreaded tiger from attacking and killing Mowgli. Let your children play the games and meet with Banana and Barnaby the monkeys, Mango the vulture, the Caracal and Jacko the Parrot. Through taking part in English, Maths and Science exercises, they will find all the clues that will help them to prove they're worthy and so find the object that "all tigers fear".
Curriculum content includes English (spelling, sentence construction, following instructions, syllables, reading comprehension and word recognition), Maths (addition and subtraction, measurement, counting and place value, time, shape and space) and science (variation and classification and the Human Body). The program has an "auto-levelling" system that allows it to detect your child's level in each activity. Children are moved forward if the concept or skill has been mastered; otherwise the program allows more practice to consolidate a concept.
An excellent, comprehensive pamphlet accompanies the package and a work book containing the type of exercises included on the CD-ROM allows for further practice and reinforcement away from the PC. This package is a sheer delight and will provide lots of enjoyment and fun for children aged 5-7 years. --Susan Naylor
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Avanquest Software
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Avanquest Software
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Avanquest Software
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VU Games
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Avanquest Software
Can We Fix It?. Of course we can, and with this BBC software package little builders will be better equipped than ever!. Featuring the chirpy Bob and his mechanical multitude of talented friends, this fun package is a mixture of educational encouragement and pure out-and-out fun.Once loaded, you are invited to move the cursor around Wendy's office to select your tasks: hover over the phone, and it rings with a plumbing job; go near the fax, and a job comes in for Roley. Keep moving around, and you will find enough jobs to keep little fingers and minds busy for hours.
In "Hedgehog Rescue", the aim is firstly to help Lofty the Crane build a tunnel to save the scared hedgehogs from crossing the road. Children must match pipe shapes to tunnel shapes, and construct the route. The next, more difficult game, involves Wendy herding the hedgehogs into the tunnel--easier than it sounds, since one particularly persistent hedgehog seems unwilling to go.
In "Travis' Race Day", choose between Scoop or Dizzy to a head-to-head around an obstacle-strewn track. Guide your challenger by mouse or arrow keys--again, not as easy as it sounds, and a great developmental aid for hand-to-eye co-ordination.
"Can We Build It?" involves knocking down an unsafe bridge, then using colour recognition to match the bricks to rebuild it. Roley needs a hand with unruly tarmac in "Bubble Trouble", when you must guide him over the bubbles to even out the road. And in "Scary Spud", you must move Spud around the screen to scare off the crows. But the crowning glory is "Wendy's Birthday", where guests first decorate her cake then join in the fun line dancing. Also included on each game is "Where's Pilchard?", a hide-and-seek game for the shy, blue cat.
Accompanied throughout by Neil Morrisey's narration and the superb music from the TV show, (also now a CD single), this package builds on many elementary educational skills to make little builders into fully fledged Bobs. And while it is not that quick to load (missing plug-ins are provided, but it may take some time) it is well worth the wait.
Testers of around two years old found this package fun and evocative of their favourite TV character, though they did require constant supervision and most of the games were beyond mastering. This is a superb educational aid and lots of fun. (Suitable for ages 2 to 6).--Lucie Naylor
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Avanquest Software
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Avanquest Software
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Knowledge Adventure
Join Frankie and friends in Frankie Pet Friends, which includes lots of activities, all aimed at making learning fun. Intended for use with pre-school children (aged three to five years), the CD-ROM could also be successfully used with older children needing to practice certain skills.Parental help and guidance will obviously be needed for the target age range, and it is strongly recommended that parents read the excellent information contained in the manual on the CD-ROM before beginning—it's straightforward, comprehensive and very easy to follow. There's the opportunity to take part in an assessment test, to predetermine a child's skill level. On completion, a diagram of results is shown, indicating skill levels in letter recognition, phonics, colours and shapes, spatial awareness, sizes and patterns, number recognition, counting and quantities, and prereading rhymes, which are all subsequently practiced in the games with Frankie and his friends. Parents can also adjust volumes, view progress, and set curriculum levels.
Children are asked various questions and dependant on the choices made and their learning style, they can be helped to learn using the unique talents of either the Word Smith, the Artist, the Athlete, the Musician, the Maths Whizz, the People Person or the Explorer.
Homeless pets have been rounded up--let your child choose the pet he wants to help, then earn rewards for the pets such as food, toys, songs and brushes, as you play. Get the pet all ready for adoption, and when it has been fully cared for, join Frankie on the Hot Air Balloon, and look for a new home for your charge. The games are accessed in the pre-school classroom, and include picking a pet, playing with magic chalk, making bubbles pop, playing at shape tag, taking perfect pictures, making balloon animals and animal masks, making music, hearing rhymes, playing with the pets in their playroom, and playing in the cloud maze. These enhance phonics and listening skills, upper- and lower-case letter recognition, following directions, spatial awareness, colour and shape recognition, sorting and sizing, classification, patterns, number recognition, visual discrimination, counting one to 10, quantity recognition, early PC graphic and mouse skills, musical appreciation and composition, rhymes, pre-reading skills, all of which are necessary for overall development in later years.
This is an excellent program that is extremely well thought out and easy to install. The games are stimulating, the graphics bright and clear, the music catchy, the instructions are easy to understand and the variety is endless. At times, it was a little slow to respond (tested on a standard home PC) but, all in all, it works well and makes discoveries exciting and learning fun. --Susan Naylor
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VU Games
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Sherston
Sing your times tables with Percy Parker is an exciting alternative to traditional methods of learning the times tables. Children join in with the charismatic Percy Parker and his band as they sing entertaining, memorable songs about each times table. Singing is not only fun but by repeating the multiplication facts throughout the song children will be memorising their times tables. To aid learning, number sentences and multiplication grids are displayed on-screen during the songs. A comprehensive workbook accompanies the CD-ROM and provides learning ideas and photocopiable worksheets that will support the learning of times tables.