The Boohbah Zone (Windows, Mac)

Boohbah is a PBS Kids TV show for preschoolers developed by the creators of Teletubbies. It stars five animated blobs of energy that thrive on the laughter of children, and encourages kids to move, dance, and explore. THE BOOHBAH ZONE offers nine activities in which kids interact with the Boohbah characters to explore spatial relationships, matching, patterns, art, music, and exercise.

Many activities are open-ended: Kids paint with Boohball energy trails, influence the way the Boohbahs exercise, or play with patterns to create wrapping paper. There is very little talking in this software -- kids explore and experience instead of being directed how to play. Kids can play in English, Spanish, and French, and the game comes with a 28-inch round play mat that mimics the one used on TV. The software also comes with two sets of cards that teach movement games away from the computer.

Some children respond well to this open-ended environment, while others find it boring. Parents may need to encourage kids to get up and copy the movements of the Boohbahs, because otherwise some of the activities are passive watching. If your children like the Boohbah television show, then they will probably be interested in this software. Similar open-ended interactive activities can be found free on the Boohbah Web site at www.pbskids.org/boohbah.