Fisher-Price Ready for School Kindergarten ('98)

PC version requires:
486/66 MHz or faster, 16 MB RAM, SVGA 640 X 480 - 256 colors, 4X CD-ROM

Mac version requires:
Power Mac, 16 MB RAM or higher, 14" 256 color monitor, 4X CD-ROM, System 7.5.1

Description:

This is a wonderful program designed to ready your child to take that first big step into Kindergarten. The children explore a charming little placed called Kinderville. While in Kinderville they meet very "hip" characters who are both friendly and polite. The program offers two levels of play that adjust to your child's abilities. It also offers a reward system where the children earn school supplies for their hard work.

There are many places to explore in Kinderville. The ice cream shop, where children make ice cream cones for their customers, is sure to be a big hit with all children. This is a great activity to master the art of following instructions. The instructions start off very simply, "two chocolate ice cream cones," but as the child progresses, so do the instructions, "three chocolate ice cream cones with gummie bears and two vanilla please!". When you head over to the fire station, there is a fun matching activity emphasizing safety and manners. When all the squares are uncovered by finding the items that match, there is a loveable character on the screen who sings a song on safety, manners, etc. The songs are different each time and really have a catchy beat as well, which keeps the children's attention so they listen to every word. This is great as the songs are very educational.

Another popular location is the toy factory. This is a great activity focusing on direction (left, right)(up, down) as well as listening. Some of the other places to visit include: The clock shop which focuses on time and numbers; The post office which focuses on sizes, colors and shapes; The school house which focuses on words and sentences; The malt shop which gives children an introduction to charting and; The grocery store which introduces patterns. There is a calendar that the children can open up and learn about months and days. There is also a CD player which offers ten songs to choose from.

Features:

• Over 25 kindergarten-readiness skills
• Two levels of play that adjust to your child's abilities
• Family Resource Centre with parent tips and printable children's activity sheets
• Progress tracking
• 18 sing-along songs that reinforce learning concepts

Technical Aspects:

Report and conclusion:

The matching activity that it offered was not run-of-the-mill, it was very creatively put together. Here is an example, if you found a square that said, "I always wear a helmet," you have to find the corresponding square that says, "When I ride my bicylce." How creative!!