Playhouse Disney Preschool Time Online - EC
Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this educational product -- which teaches everything from reading to math to self expression -- is subscription-based and only works on Windows-based computers using a broadband connection and running Internet Explorer. There is nothing too controversial here, as long as you're comforable with your kids learning from a cast of Disney characters.
Every two weeks, new content is provided. The content adjusts in difficulty, depending on how well the child is able to handle the educational content. Parents needn't worry that their kids will accidentally end up on another Web site because the format locks kids inside the program until a parent enters a login code to let them exit.
Families can use each unit's theme to discuss the material before and after playing. If the theme is "Healthy Habits," for example, then families can discuss which foods are healthy, or what they already do to keep themselves from getting sick. Did you learn anything in the game that you didn't know before? What do you know that's not included here?
Common Sense Review
PLAYHOUSE DISNEY PRESCHOOL TIME ONLINE is a subscription-based broadband product offering educational preschool content that changes every two weeks. This product is exciting because most of the activities adjust up or down in difficulty depending on how the preschooler is mastering the content presented.
When families first join, the content downloads onto the computer in multiple segments over several days. Families must use a broadband connection and must be running Internet Explorer with a Windows 98 or newer operating system on a computer with a Pentium III or faster processor.
Kids are greeted by Bear from the Bear in the Big Blue House television show. He guides kids through the biweekly learning adventure, which features games with characters from Playhouse Disney shows including The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Mickey & Friends, Jo-Jo's Circus, Higglytown Heroes, Stanley, Rolie Polie Olie, and The Koala Brothers. Parents can change the play mode to "Discovery," which permits kids to explore all the activities in any order. In addition to the biweekly content, additional content can be found in the Backyard area of the product.
By playing games with characters like Pooh or Stanley, kids learn preschool skills that cover reading and math readiness, thinking, social behavior, daily living, and imagination and self-expression. For example, in one game, kids direct Piglet down a path to find honey pots for Pooh. When they finish exploring the path, preschoolers will discover that they have traced a letter of the alphabet. Each biweekly installment has its own theme, like "Bravery" or "Healthy Habits."
This product provides excellent value for families looking to use the computer with their preschooler. The ad-free content received every two weeks is the equivalent of what is found on typical preschool CD-ROMs costing $20. Families will get 26 of these content installments during a year, and yet the product only costs $49.95. The graphics are TV quality and are accompanied by engaging songs and dialogue.
Preschool Time Online uses voice-over content, so no reading is required -- a must for good preschool programming. Because the difficulty of the biweekly content adjusts on the fly, it grows with the child (the extra content found in the Backyard is the only static stuff).
Preschool Time Online provides parents with a separate area to track their kids' progress (up to five children). It also offers additional materials, including printables and an excellent online game that teaches kids how to use the mouse and keyboard.
Preschool Time Online, while exciting, isn't perfect. The navigation can be a bit confusing for preschoolers trying to play it alone. A few of the activities start at too difficult a level. Also, we could not get the musical art activity located in the Backyard to work. Because there is so much high-quality content, these few shortcomings don't impact greatly on an otherwise outstanding preschool product.
Parents with preschoolers and a broadband connection can try the product for a week for free at www.preschooltime.com.
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