Set in an animal circus led by an amiable lion-ringmaster and his cuddly-looking
cohorts, Ready for PreSchool includes plenty of activities to occupy and amuse even the
earliest computer user.
In order to include children as young as toddlers, while providing opportunity for
learning and growth, the program features 3 levels of difficulty. The first level
is aimed at toddlers and novice computer users. At this level the computer does
the work--the user simply starts the interaction with a mouse click or a keyboard press. At
level 2, the user must follow directions, clicking the mouse on the appropriate item
to make the action happen. Level 3 requires more advanced clicking and dragging
to complete the task. For example, in Mixed-Up Pictures, a sequencing game, the level 1 player clicks the mouse or presses a key and sees
the story's pictures rearrange themselves while hearing the story told in its correct
order. The level 2 player must click the pictures in the correct order to make them
move into their correct positions, and the level 3 player clicks and drags each picture
to its correct place in the sequence. In some instances the level 3 player doesn't
click and drag, but must use advanced processing, such as problem solving or memory
skills, making the task more difficult than it is at the lower levels.
Activities address a wide range of early learning topics including numbers and counting,
letter recognition, sequencing, shape sorting, matching, opposites, listening and
memory.
Also included with this program are three on-screen and paper activity books including
one that is expressly written for the parent, and a parent's video guide, that addresses
school readiness and related topics in an easy to access format.
Educational Value
Ready for Preschool provides a fun and rewarding way for the young child to acquire beginning computer
skills. Three levels of difficulty give even the youngest child experience in pointing,
clicking and dragging with the mouse. Additionally, early pre-reading and pre-math skills are taught through engaging activities, and users learn to follow directions,
and complete assigned tasks.
Kid Appeal
Although this program does not have the quest or goal orientation that drives many
children to play for hours-on-end, it does include amusing activities, a popular
theme, and frequent and unique rewards for tasks well-done. A carnival-like balloon
squirt game, which awards the player with a choice of virtual stuffed animals, was the favorite
reward among SuperKids' reviewers, and they consistently pursued the activity that
results in this particular reward much more often than any of the other games or
activities.
Ease of Use / Install
The program runs direct from the CD on a Mac, with no installation required (yeah!). It installed without difficulty on Windows 95.
Best for... / Bottom-Line
With appealing graphics and characters and an emphasis on rewards for each correctly
completed task, this easy to use program is a good bet for all early computer users.
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