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...Key Stage 1 (Ages 5-7)

Become A Human Body Explorer

Dorling Kindersley
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
Become A World Explorer

Dorling Kindersley
Full Marks Keystage 1 Six Pack (PC)

Idigicon
Top of the Class Key Stage 1

Avanquest Software
I Love Spelling!

Dorling Kindersley
3D World Atlas

Dorling Kindersley

Travel has never been more popular. Yet no matter how many footloose gap-year students stream to the corners of the globe, armchair travel probably remains almost as popular. Dorling Kindersley's 3D World Atlas is a new CD-ROM package firmly in the armchair bracket, giving in-depth coverage of every country in the world--from maps, through demographic statistics to information on geographical phenomena. Why move from the sofa when you can (virtually) experience the world in your living room?
3D World Atlas includes the range of features you would expect from a printed atlas and more. The general world maps are set to an optimal scale, allowing different levels of focus, and there are also the physical maps to view. However, the most striking aspect of this package is its unusual features, particularly those that come from space.
The two satellite image-projections of the earth are revealing. First comes the ordinary view of the earth's physical features from the heavens--yes, you really can pick out the Great Wall of China--and then an image of the earth by night, showing all the lights around the world: it's a sparkly and revealing picture of the spread of economic development across the planet. Add to this brilliant photography of deserts, mountains and jungles in the bio-climate zones and the package transcends the limitations of traditional atlases. --Toby Green
Spanish Lessons for Kids

Avanquest Software
Become A History Explorer

Dorling Kindersley
Living Books Triple Pack - Tortoise & Hare, Harry & The Haunted House, Little Monster

Mindscape

The race between the slow but steady tortoise and the fast know-it-all hare has been repeated countless times over the generations. But this CD-ROM version from Living Books succeeds in giving the classic fable plenty of new comic twists.
The fable is entertainingly introduced by an animated tortoise who is abruptly interrupted by the hare who skids up to him and then races away leaving a trail of smoke. The illustrations are good throughout and the sound effects are impressive. While the story is told, words are highlighted so young children can easily follow them. The best part are the in-story games which help bring the fable to life. When you click on the tortoise's post box, for example, it starts to snore loudly, and the hare's post box immediately shouts at it and throws a letter to wake it up.
The Tortoise and the Hare is one of the titles in this triple-CD-ROM pack which also includes Little Monster at School andHarry and the Haunted House. Young readers can step into the little monster's world and click on drawings in his room to watch them dance, or click on individual words to have them read out aloud. Trouble starts in Harry and the Haunted House when Harry D Rabbit hits the ball into a spooky building. When you click on the house scary-looking clouds appear as an omen of things to come.
All these titles are aimed at children aged three and above. Any one of them is likely to keep youngsters fully occupied for hours. --Justin Hunt
Become A British Isles Explorer

Dorling Kindersley

Become a British Isles Explorer is a fun CD-ROM aimed at children aged 6-10 years old. It encourages them to play games, look at maps and find out a whole range of interesting facts about the British Isles through very informative information screens.
Children will love the challenge of following Jo on his five journeys around the British Isles and collecting five medals to become a British Isles Explorer. Children can explore the map of the British Isles. They can look at regions, and towns to find out about famous places, people and much more. The trips can be recorded in the child's own travel log, together with stickers and photos that are collected along the way. A great way to reinforce the information they have found out. There are a range of fun activities for children to do, for example, recording the weather, sending postcards and printing out map outlines which can be filled in. There is also an excellent Index Menu that children can use to find out about a wide range of topics and look at word definitions. They could use this menu to answer any questions that they might be having trouble with.
Become a British Isles Explorer would be a good buy for children aged 7-11 years old and it would really extend their understanding of the British Isles. This would be excellent to use if a child was doing a topic or project on the British Isles. --Amanda York
Reader Rabbit Year 2 Mis-Cheese-ious Dreamship Adventure

Mindscape

Mis--cheese--ious Dreamship Adventures! is a story-based adventure game that finds the familiar characters of Reader Rabbit and Sam the Lion being ambushed by "pirats". They lose control of the Dreamship, which lands at the top of Mt Cheesemore. It's a race against time to get back to the ship before the pirats get to it.
A Professor rescues Reader Rabbit and Sam, but the hovercraft they are travelling ashore in is wrecked by the pirats. Reader Rabbit and Sam agree to help the Professor to fix it before they go to find the Dreamship. The vital things needed to fix the hovercraft are bread, blue-cheese bricks and macaroni fruit! Children can help Reader Rabbit and Sam collect these things by undertaking seven different fun activities.
The activities help to develop children's language, maths and science skills. A lot of them help to support work that they are doing at school as part of the National Curriculum. There are activities to develop spelling and their understanding of phonics. Children can help to build a dam by moving cheese blocks to complete addition and subtraction sums. They can travel through the Cheese Mine and consolidate their understanding of odd and even numbers. They will love trying to get through the doors in the Pirat Maze by decoding the messages on the doors and carrying out the tasks. The Insect Builder allows children to read descriptions and use this information to select the correct part and build up a picture of an insect, although, some of the vocabulary is a little complex and some children might need a little help selecting the correct part.
This is another good adventure story in the Reader Rabbit series which would be a very good buy for parents of children aged between six and seven. --Amanda York
Time Sats Key Stage 1

Guildhall
Reading Made easy

Dorling Kindersley Ltd
Make Your Own Puppet Show

GSP
Reader Rabbit Junior Bounce Down Balloon Town

Mindscape

Bounce Down in Balloon Town is another very good interactive story in the popular Reader Rabbit series. Reader Rabbit and Sam the Lion spot two moving islands, which they decide to investigate, only to end up stranded on the islands with their Dreamship bubble-wrapped in the Pointy Palace.
The adventure starts by finding their way into the Pointy Palace blocked by a sleeping bull. Reader Rabbit and Sam's challenge is to travel around the islands and collect the instruments, so that the band can play and wake up the bull. They also have to work out which palace guard plays which instrument, so that they can finally get back to the Dreamship.
There are nine fun activities that children can undertake in order to help Reader Rabbit and Sam collect the instruments. These activities can be played on three different levels of difficulty. Children will enjoy, for example, filling in the missing words to complete the turtle's raps, collecting oysters by matching letters, numbers and shapes, climbing the phonics slide and having a go at Bounceketball, "dunk'n" the ball when it rhymes with the screen. Successfully making Piggy Plane's wings balance, using addition skills, will allow children to travel between the two islands.
The activities consolidate literacy and numeracy skills that are part of the National Curriculum. Children will really enjoy this adventure to Balloon Town and Bounce Down in Balloon Town would be a good buy for parents with children aged between four and six.--Amanda York
Key Stage 1 Success Pack (PC)

Idigicon
Garfield It's All About.. Year 2 Learning (PC)

Idigicon
Jump Ahead Learning & Discovery Pack:Ages 5-6 (Frankie Crazy Racing & Frankie Time Traveller)

Knowledge Adventure
Reader Rabbit Year 1 Capers on Cloud 9

Mindscape

Capers on Cloud Nine! is an interactive adventure game. Children are asked to help the friendly characters of Reader Rabbit and Sam the Lion, as they set off on their dream ship to investigate exactly why it is raining boots and umbrellas instead of rain.
Having arrived at Cloud Nine children can travel to different locations with Reader Rabbit and Sam to help save everyone from the boots and umbrellas. Along the way children can carry out eight fun activities, such as, making moving pictures in the Art Gallery and answering science questions to try and win marbles from the Gumball Machine. These activities help develop a range of language, maths and science skills.
Played on auto-adjusting skill levels, which cater for the different abilities of children, you can progress to harder levels. There is also a progress report to show how the child has done on each activity.
Younger children may need help to navigate around the different locations, but they could use the practise mode that enables them to just carry out the activities.
Children aged between five and seven will enjoy trying to help Ervin the inventor stop the giant throwing machine which is the cause of all the boots and umbrellas arriving on Cloud 9 making Capers on Cloud Nine! a good buy for parents of children this age who enjoy adventure games. --Amanda York