Disney/Pixar's Buzz Lightyear Learning 1st Grade

Reviewed by Cynthia A. Sorrels
Published by Disney Interactive

Age Group: Age 4 to 8
Type: Language Arts, Math, Thinking Games
Price: Not Available

PC version requires:
95/98, P166, 32M RAM, 6M hd, CDx8

Mac version requires:
iMac or G3-233, System 8.1-9.0, 32M RAM, 60M hd, CDx8

Description:

The latest release in Disney's Learning Series offers first graders a wealth of skills practice and a great time. The program uses the Active Learning method and is designed to enhance reasoning and problem solving skills. The level of difficulty adjusts as the child progresses, so no parental controls are required.

Features:

  • Organize Andy's scrapbook to practice Reading Comprehension, Word recognition and sequencing.
  • Make words with Buzz to build vocabulary and observation skills.
  • Print activity sheets for work away from the computer.
  • Help Buzz fix Andy's clock!
  • Count, add and subtract with little green army men.
  • Count in sets and sequence with Jessie and RC in a wild race.
  • Listen to clues to find what Lenny sees to practice Fractions, Money, Counting and Memory.
  • Learn global trivia and vocabulary.

Technical Aspects:

For some reason, this title would NOT run on my Pentium III-500 Mhz with 128M RAM. Each time we clicked on an activity, the "blue scream of death" (my son's version of the infamous 'blue screen of death') appeared. Rather than hold up the review, we headed over to our iMac and popped in the CD, installed it with no problems and ran each section perfectly! The graphics are like the original 'Toy Story' movie, and the music adds to the fun. The packaging of this title gives an excellent idea of what the program is like. The copy we received included a free CD-ROM of Disney's Toy Story Animated Storybook.

Report and Conclusions:

We have had such a blast playing in Andy's room! My favorite area is math with the Army Men, it's just too much fun. My son also liked helping Buzz find words with a flashlight and racing with Jessie and RC. This title is set up so kids can go from one activity to any other one, which works great with most children but sometimes not so well with children who have Attention Deficit Disorder - they may spend more time bouncing from area to area instead of accomplishing the progress adults would like to see.

Overall, this program has a good depth of content, familiar characters, and offers a good time while enhancing essential skills.




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