Mazlo's Animated Spelling Adventure

Reviewed by Carma Stewart
Published by Compton's NewMedia

Age Group: Age 2 to 5, Age 4 to 8
Type: Language Arts
Price: $10

PC version requires:
Windows 3.1+, 486SX 33MHZ, MS-DOS 5.0, 2x) CD-ROM, (MSCDEX) 2.22 or later, Super VGA (256 colors, 640x480), 8-bit sound, 4MB RAM, 3MB HD, QuickTime 2.0.3

Mac version requires:
LC 030 Macintosh, System 7.1, 8 MB RAM, QuickTime (included), 2x CD-ROM

Description:

Mazlo is a cute little animated monkey with a sweet voice who wants to take you on an adventure and in the process help you learn to spell common words. This program includes a wide variety of words. Difficulty options allow you to set the program to a level appropriate for your child: at setting 1, Mazlo will spell the entire word selected by clicking on a picture. Or you can set it so that your child has to type in the first letter of the word or a random letter in the word, or the entire word! Categories include: WEATHER, SPORTS, MUSIC, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, AT THE FARM, AT THE MALL, PEOPLE AT WORK, AT NIGHT, THE CIRCUS, MY BODY, TRANSPORTATION, WILDERNESS, AT THE PARK, UNDER THE SEA, and SCREEN SAVERS.

Features:

  • Tutorial
  • Animation expressing the meaning of words in context
  • Gentle correction and three tries to get it right - after 3rd try the program spells it
  • 16 categories of words
  • Easy-to-follow technical support manual

Technical Aspects:

Very simple to install - load the disc into your CD drive, click on Setup and the program will walk you through. The only catch is that you have to set your display properties to 256-color before you can start the program, and the CD must be loaded each time you play. The "readme.txt" file contains helpful support and troubleshooting info, but we did not run into any problems on our system, which is a Pentium 120Mhz, Win95. I did, however, experience difficulty trying to find this product online! It was not listed at www.comptons.com or their online store, nor did I find it at Amazon.com or any of the links listed by search engines.

Report and Conclusions:

My 9-year-old son found likes it and so does my 5-year-old grandson. It's good edutainment - cute animation that helps little ones understand and build vocabulary while exposing them to spelling and many kinds of interesting trivia. For the older child (ages 7-10), it's a fun way to learn to spell. As a homeschooler, I feel good about recommending and using this software.




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