Software and Games : GSP : Children's Fun & Learning : Ages 5-8

Shop Categories

...Children's Fun & Learning

Bear & Penguin's Big Maths Adventure

Dorling Kindersley

Bear and Penguin's Big Maths Adventure is a fun and easy-to-use program designed to develop young children's addition and subtraction skills. This program would be excellent to use with 5-7 year olds.
There are five different games to choose from, all of them clearly explained so that children can develop their independence when using the computer. The games, which can be played at three different levels, have been carefully developed to practice the skills that children are learning as part of the numeracy hour in school. It is advised that the games are played in the numbered order so that there is a progression of skills development. The maths adventure involves, for example, filling in the missing numbers on the maths machine and painting a picture by answering addition and subtraction sums. After playing all of the games children are allowed to play the Super game which helps to consolidate the skills that they have been learning with mental arithmetic against the clock. Some more able children may find the maths a little easy, but for most children this would be an excellent way of developing and consolidating addition and subtraction to 20.
There is an excellent guide for parents which discusses the skills the games focus on. A range of very good worksheets can be printed out and used with children to consolidate the maths that they have been doing.
If children fancy a break from maths, there is also an excellent printing section where children can make their own stationary and create door signs, birthday cards, letterheads and invitations. This is a brilliant way to encourage children to write for a range of different purposes.
Bear and Penguin's Big Maths Adventure is another excellent Dorling Kindersley program and would be an excellent buy for parents or teachers to use with children aged 5-7 years. --Amanda York
Bear & Penguin's Big Reading Adventure

Dorling Kindersley

Bear and Penguin's Big Reading Adventure is another excellent program developed by Dorling Kindersley. It is aimed at children aged 5-7 years old and helps to develop a wide range of literacy skills through four fun games.
There are very clear instructions and each game is initially demonstrated, so children will quickly be able to develop confidence and independence. The games, which can be played at three different levels, have been carefully developed to practice the skills that children are learning as part of the literacy hour in school; for example, spelling words by choosing the missing sounds and putting words in the correct order to create a sentence. There are also two storybooks that children can choose to read together or alone. If children want a break from the games there is also an excellent printing section where children can make their own stationary and create lists, cards, writing paper and signs. This is a brilliant way to encourage children to write for a range of different purposes.
As children play the games they collect snowflakes and they are then rewarded with a sticker for their sticker album. When all the stickers have been collected they can print out a certificate and listen to the reward song.
There is an excellent guide for parents that discusses the skills the games are developing. The child profile shows parents how many times children have played each game and at what level and also suggests follow-on worksheets that can be printed out and used with children.
Bear and Penguin's Big Reading Adventure would be an excellent buy for parents or teachers to use with children aged 5-7 years. --Amanda York
Play and Learn: Reading & Counting

Dorling Kindersley

Early learning through play! Simple, fun, and effective games to help children read and count. 101 games to help your youngsterread and count including phonics, number, shapes and memory puzzles. Ages 3 to 5. Windows 95/98.
Learning Ladder: Year 3

Dorling Kindersley
Learning Ladder Year 4

Dorling Kindersley

Learning Ladder Year 4 is a fantastic CD-ROM aimed at Year 4 children. It is structured so that children listen to a lesson and then carry out exercises that help to consolidate the literacy and numeracy they are learning as part of the school curriculum.
Exercises can be done at five different levels of difficulty, so that children are challenged and continue to make progress. For every 400 points that a child scores, they are rewarded with new pictures to use with the printing machine. As they gather more pictures they can enjoy making their own cards, invitations and labels, which can be printed out.
Children can also have lots of fun navigating around Science City and learning lots of facts along the way. For example, they can have a go at the science quiz and find out about roots, leaves and flowers. The progress tracker clearly shows how each child is getting on with a system of green and red lights. This would quickly show parents where more help is needed. --Amanda York
Learning Ladder: Years 1 & 2

Dorling Kindersley
Bob the Builder: Castle Adventure

BBC Multimedia

Based on the ever popular TV series, Bob the Builder: Castle Adventure sees Bob and friends take a trip to a medieval castle where they embark on a series of fun activities and games. Taking its theme from the Knights of Can a Lot feature-length film, it has you and your child guiding Bob, Lofty, Wendy, Spud and all your favourite characters through 10 activities. Starting at the Gatehouse, there are four castle sections. These offer maze games, moat games, castle wall games and dungeon games. There are also clips from the film included in the software. You get to hear the voices of Neil Morrissey, Richard Briers and Brenda Blethyn throughout.
The interface is child friendly, being colourful, clean and easy to follow. The software is developed in line with the National Curriculum Foundation Stage, with three different skill levels to cover a range of ages and abilities from three years upwards. To start the game you set up a player and have the opportunity to choose a shield. This enables you to have several players using the software without uncovering bonuses, or completing activities and therefore spoiling surprises for a particular child. The games themselves are straightforward, with clear instructions, but good fun. You can replay as many times as you like and when you have completed a task you earn a star. When all tasks are completed you unlock some additional activities. You can also print out a certificate for your child to say that they have helped Bob fix the castle. Nice job, Bob! --Heather Wilson
BBC Balamory

BBC Multimedia

What's the story in Balamory? Invite your kids to join Miss Hooly, Pocket & Sweet, PC Plum, Archie, Spencer and Edie Mcredie in virtual Balamory and they will learn as they play. Based on the popular BBC TV children's programme, the BBC Balamory CD-ROM opens with the colourful introductory song viewers know so well. Children are then presented with a variety of games to test basic pre-school and early years skills.
For younger children (3-4 years) the favourite will no doubt be Josie Jump's Hide and Seek game, where they must find Josie in a field of people, then click on her to make her jump. Equally rewarding for the smallest players is Spencer's Colour Challenge, where youngsters use basic mouse skills and number recognition to match colours with areas of the drawing--a kind of virtual colour by numbers.
All players will love Edie's Delivery Dilemma, which involves Pac-Man-like gameplay as youngsters work against the clock, using the arrow keys to direct Edie's bus around the town and picking up fruit dropped by the delivery van so that Pocket & Sweet can sell it in their shop. PC Plum Investigates asks children to sort through the evidence that is all mixed up on the policeman's desk, so he can sort out his cases--tasks such as "click on the things that are the same colour as the sea" make this game accessible to most players.
Slightly older children, (4-6 years) might like to try Archie's Word Wonder, where they must fill in the missing letters on words so that Archie's Word Machine can produce words for Miss Hooly's stories. The only criticism here is that words are sounded out by name only, and not phonetically, but otherwise this is a fun, testing game. Children of school age will also enjoy Pocket & Sweet's Shopping Spree--a fun shopping game that involves helping Penny and Susie put together all their orders, then adding up the cost at the end. If players tire at any point, they can take a break with one of six Miss Hooly stories.
The production quality is superb: colours are bright and images crisp and the clips from the show run perfectly. Each game is introduced and narrated by the corresponding character from the show, with original voiceovers, and the games are fun, educational and pitched perfectly at the target age-range. There are three difficulty levels for each task, to avoid frustration and aid development. Help is on offer on every screen, and children as young as three or four years old, who possess basic mouse skills, will be able to play the easier games unaided, and the others with assistance. Instructions are read out and printed on-screen, so children can follow as they listen, thus developing valuable reading skills. Great thought has obviously gone into matching characters with tasks, and the variety of games played and skills tested makes this a fantastic all-round package. --Lucie Naylor
Favourites Bob the Builder Can we Fix It?

BBC Multimedia

Can We Fix It?. Of course we can, and with this BBC software package little builders will be better equipped than ever!. Featuring the chirpy Bob and his mechanical multitude of talented friends, this fun package is a mixture of educational encouragement and pure out-and-out fun.
Once loaded, you are invited to move the cursor around Wendy's office to select your tasks: hover over the phone, and it rings with a plumbing job; go near the fax, and a job comes in for Roley. Keep moving around, and you will find enough jobs to keep little fingers and minds busy for hours.
In "Hedgehog Rescue", the aim is firstly to help Lofty the Crane build a tunnel to save the scared hedgehogs from crossing the road. Children must match pipe shapes to tunnel shapes, and construct the route. The next, more difficult game, involves Wendy herding the hedgehogs into the tunnel--easier than it sounds, since one particularly persistent hedgehog seems unwilling to go.
In "Travis' Race Day", choose between Scoop or Dizzy to a head-to-head around an obstacle-strewn track. Guide your challenger by mouse or arrow keys--again, not as easy as it sounds, and a great developmental aid for hand-to-eye co-ordination.
"Can We Build It?" involves knocking down an unsafe bridge, then using colour recognition to match the bricks to rebuild it. Roley needs a hand with unruly tarmac in "Bubble Trouble", when you must guide him over the bubbles to even out the road. And in "Scary Spud", you must move Spud around the screen to scare off the crows. But the crowning glory is "Wendy's Birthday", where guests first decorate her cake then join in the fun line dancing. Also included on each game is "Where's Pilchard?", a hide-and-seek game for the shy, blue cat.
Accompanied throughout by Neil Morrisey's narration and the superb music from the TV show, (also now a CD single), this package builds on many elementary educational skills to make little builders into fully fledged Bobs. And while it is not that quick to load (missing plug-ins are provided, but it may take some time) it is well worth the wait.
Testers of around two years old found this package fun and evocative of their favourite TV character, though they did require constant supervision and most of the games were beyond mastering. This is a superb educational aid and lots of fun. (Suitable for ages 2 to 6).--Lucie Naylor
Play and Learn: Science Experiments

Dorling Kindersley

Play and Learn Reader Rabbit products are designed specifically to encourage your child's development. Since 1984 Reader Rabbit has helped more than 10 million children learn to reading, number and general skills. Includes multiple difficulty levels Tutor Technology with progress reporting. Windows 9x/ME/XP.
Play and Learn: Writing & Calculating

Dorling Kindersley
Mr Men & Little Miss The Adventures of Mr Tickle

Avanquest Software

The Adventures of Mr Tickle is a point-and-click adventure and puzzle-solving game for children of 4-8 years, set in the Mr Men village where everything has somehow got completely mixed up, rather as if Mr Muddle had designed it. The trees are orange, the sky green, birds fly backwards, sheep fall asleep in trees, cows toot like car horns and horses quack like ducks.
The game opens with three characters in the square. Miss Somersault has a special spray can which can respray everything the right colour, Mr Noisy hoovers up all the sounds that have become trapped in the wrong animals and then redistributes them, while Miss Busy puts animals, trees and houses back in their correct places.
The three games are designed to teach kids some simple logical thinking about the colours of animals and objects, the sounds they make and their natural place in the village. There are other challenges too--for example, when Mr Noisy tries to help the bird that's sitting on the telephone wire, he's not tall enough and has to go into the phone box and call for help, picking the Mr Man that's going to be able to reach the bird (hint: it's probably not Mr Greedy).
The characterisation is lots of fun, the animation excellent and two levels of difficulty make it suitable for the target age group. It's also set in the same environment as The Adventures of Little Miss Scatterbrain and The Adventures of Mr Greedy and kids who've played one game will be able to navigate round the others more easily. --Rob Beattie
Disney Hotshots Toy Story 2: Cone Chaos / Toy Shelf Showdown

Avanquest Software

Woody has been abducted by toy collector Al McWhiggin and his Toy Story pals are off to rescue him. In Toy Story 2--part of the Disney Hotshots series--the toys are camouflaged as traffic cones and you have to guide them across the road to find their kidnapped friend.
Using the arrow keys on your keyboard you can quickly move the cones to the left and right as they make their way across the busy road. The fate of the likes of Mr Potato Head, Slinky Dog and Rex are literally in your hands as big lorries, racing fire engines and cars hurtle towards you.
As the Cone Chaos game gets progressively harder, the traffic speeds up. If it gets too tense, you can always take cover at a manhole. Overall this is a quick-paced game which is easy to learn and entertaining to play.
In the second game in this title, Toy Shelf Showdown, you help Buzz take on and defeat the evil Emperor Zurg. The task is to assemble a rocket ship while avoiding hostile robots and lots of bouncing balls. This is an action-packed game with lots of different twists and turns. Buzz can stun the robots with lasers and if you run out of shots, you have to find a battery for recharging.
Both animated games are introduced by Buzz and Woody and there are good clear instructions with the title on how to play and where to get help. This is your chance, as Buzz says, to go to "interactivity and beyond." --Justin Hunt
Favourites Tweenies Ready to Play

BBC Multimedia

Hey, hey, are you ready to play? It's time to come and play with the Tweenies software. Jake, Milo, Bella and Fizz are all waiting to improve your little one's writing, art, reading and listening skills, as well as develop early gaming talents.
Tick, Tock, Tweenie Clock, Where Will It Stop?
Immerse your youngster in the colourful and familiar Tweenies world, brilliantly represented in sound and graphics on your PC. Everyone will love "Messy Time", with the three different print and play games, as well as instructions on how to make finger puppets, masks, badges and spinners. Then there's "Doodles Mail"--write to the Tweenies via Doodles, receive a reply, and see little faces light up. Watch favourite characters during "Telly Time", and join in the action songs in "Song Time". "News Time" will test pre-school general knowledge and Tweenies trivia, while "Playtime" encourages early gaming skills with "Catch", "Flying Rocket" (an arcade-style game) and "Snap". Then, if you're sitting comfortably, there's the old faithful, "Story Time".
Clear, colourful and easy to use, the Tweenies software will appeal greatly to children from the age of three, but there's plenty to keep the five- and six-year-olds happy as well. Language development, numeracy, creativity, elementary computer skills and good old-fashioned fun are all encouraged, and the whole package is designed to support Key Stage 1 in English, Art, Maths and Information Technology. Whether you select your own activities, or let the Tweenie Clock pick at random, child appeal is absolutely guaranteed. Though simple in principle, all the games and learning activities have the repetitive quality toddlers love and thrive on. This is every bit as good as the TV show with one major advantage--it lasts much longer. --Lucie Naylor
Rainbow Fish Interactive Storybook

Dorling Kindersley

Bring the underwater adventures of Rainbow Fish to life on your PC with this wonderful interactive children's CD-ROM. With an assortment of charming characters and a huge variety of games, musical fun and activities children aged 3 to 7 years will be instantly spellbound.
Poor Rainbow Fish has had his scales stolen and only you can help. Solve the puzzles and complete the challenges to find the thieves and make him beautiful again. You'll meet friends along the way such as Head and Toe (the twin fish) and there are numerous games and activities to keep young minds entertained while teaching valuable skills such as recognition, problem solving, experimentation, logical thinking and creativity. A print shop lets you colour pictures on screen or print for later, and two difficulty levels make sure that younger children are able to join in the fun.
Easily installed, the simple interface ensures that navigation is a breeze (vital for younger PC users) and the help menu is available at all times. Use of the mouse and cursor will help develop computer skills and hand-eye coordination, and the print applications available will provide additional PC skills. With the educational benefits you would expect from Dorling Kindersley, Rainbow Fish will surely become a child's favourite. --Amber Harbour
My First CD-Rom: Dictionary

Dorling Kindersley
Bob the Builder: Bob Builds A Park

BBC Multimedia

Can you build it? Yes you can, with Bob Builds a Park from BBC Multimedia. Featuring Bob, Wendy and the rest of the gang, this CD-ROM will be a favourite with any Bob fan.
It is graphically superb (as you would expect from the BBC) and all characters are faithful to their on-screen counterparts. The games run smoothly without pixelation and the screens are easy to navigate. A full-colour instruction booklet is included, guiding players through installation and activity and providing helpful hints and tips. This should be read before commencing.
In the first activity, you help Bob build a park. First you build a pond, then a bandstand and then decorate the park with trees, flowers, bushes, picnic tables and other park essentials. You can view the park in "winter" or "summer" mode, then print it out once complete. Next, you help Bob fix the skateboard park for the hapless Spud, then score points as you help the scarecrow perform his skateboard stunts. In "Mr Ellis' Dinosaur Discovery", the park becomes Jurassic, as you help Mr Ellis piece together the dinosaur bones he has uncovered. Choose from a T-Rex, a Velociraptor or a Triceratops and print out an impression of what the dino would have looked like.
In "Farmer Pickles' Pets Corner", you help Farmer Pickles round up his farmyard strays and lead them back to their correct homes. Next, you help Lofty build a squirrel run, then progress to "Bob's Crazy Golf" and make Muck collect building materials, while avoiding the mischievous Spud! Once that's built, you help Bob find his first hole-in-one, before joining "Bob's Band". Once you've completed all the games, you can open the park in grand style with a fireworks display. But even fun must be earned-you must help Bob and the gang set it all up first!
As well as promoting basic PC and mouse skills, Bob Builds a Park will help youngsters to learn hand-to-eye coordination, colours, shapes, musical pitch, planning, animal and dinosaur names and anatomies. It will also develop creativity, spatial awareness, problem-solving and many, many other skills. Varying difficulty levels keep children interested and learning and, true to the Bob the Builder ethos, the package promotes team work, hard work and Bob's trademark "can-do" attitude. It's recommended for ages three and above: younger users will undoubtedly need supervision and help, particularly with set-up. Altogether, this is another great Bob the Builder package. --Susan Naylor
Tweenies: Messy Time Magic (PC)

BBC Multimedia

Messy Time Magic is one of a range of Fab-a-Rooney CD-ROMs and console games from the BBC, where the accent, as ever, is on fun and enjoyment
The package has been developed in line with the foundation stages of the National Curriculum. There are different skill levels, catering for different abilities for children aged three years and above. Children can have fun being imaginative and creative, but the biggest asset of all (as far as parents are concerned) is the fact that there is absolutely no mess!
All the games involve either making something on-screen, or producing a picture, which incidentally can be photographed when the photo icon appears. Six of the Tweenie characters play the games: Jake, Fizz, Milo and Bella, along with Izzles and Doodles, and the degree of difficulty depends on which character is chosen. Izzles is at level one (the easiest) and Bella is at level six (the trickiest), but don't despair--Max is always on hand and available to provide friendly advice.
Use the eraser, wave the colour wand, make patterns, change sounds and take part in many other activities including "Recycling Fun", "Dot-to-dot Magic", "Window Wonder", "Baking Surprise", "Jungle Maker" and "Get Messy", which introduces Judy, who will show you how to print out. While playing the games it is also possible to access video clips from the TV programmes.
Accompanying the CD-ROM is a wonderful colour pamphlet giving idiot-proof instructions for everything from installation to playing the games. Created with the kind of production values you would expect from the BBC, this well thought-out package will be loved by young Tweenie fans. --Susan Naylor
Bananas In Pyjamas: It's Fun Time

Dorling Kindersley
BBC Toybox Compendium

BBC Multimedia