[Sammsma]

I was hoping that you guys would be willing to tell me about some of your favorite computer programs. DD is 6 and loves anything that has to do with the computer. Right now, we do not have a lot of programs for her, and seeing as how money is tight after Christmas, I am not able to buy a bunch for her right now. I was hoping to get some recommendations and then pick up a couple for her. She is starting to read, but still needs the directions told to her. She doesn't read well enough yet to just read them off the screen, although I could sit with her and read them to her. She loves math and science. I would love some recommendations for keyboarding programs that would help get her more familar with the keyboard and what all the keys do. Thanks so much!

 

[meowee]

educational:

SOS (Switched on Schoolhouse)
encyclopedias on CD ROM
Mia's Math Adventure
The Number Devil
Let's Go Read: An Island Adventure
Human Body Explorer
Animated Storybooks from Disney
I love Math
all the Reader Rabbit games
Let's Go Read: An Ocean Adventure
all the I SPY games
all the Zoombinis games
all the Mathblaster games (pre Algebra especially)
Winnie the Pooh Ready for Reading
Winnie the Pooh Ready for Math
Jumpstart Spelling
Ollo (for toddlers-- great one!)

for fun:
Pyjama Sam games
Freddie Fish games
Spy Fox games
Putt Putt games
Jurassic Park games
Harry Potter
SIMS games
Scooby Doo
Barbie Horse Adventure

 

[mother_sunshine]

My daughter loved Little Bear Kindergarten when she was 6.

Miss Spider's Tea Party is another good one. The Pooh cd-roms are good too. Human Body Explorer is excellent.

ETA: You will surely find them cheaper on half.com, Amazon or ebay, BTW. And Amazon has customer reviews.

 

[meowee]

I've gotten a lot of our software at TJ Maxx for less than half the retail price.

 

[Sammsma]

Thanks, ladies.

I'll check out Amazon and ebay today, and try to hit TJ Maxx this weekend.

 

[Ravin]

Here's a link a mama on the toddler forum gave me. I ordered DD a Reader Rabbit program from them. It's great because you only have to pay shipping, so it only costs like $3 for a program. They have Little Bear and a bunch of others as well.

http://www.smart-estore.com/default....7297&c=WMD4012

 

[reeseccup]

the Jump Starts and Reader Rabbits have been invaluable, well worth getting. The Reader Rabbit Math programs have gotten great reviews and my dd 6 has the lower level RR math and done very well w/it.

I also love "I SPY Fantasy" by Scholastic, as a fun riddle game.

Putt Putt is fun as well as Pajama Sam

The "Excelerator" programs the younger kids like, but my teen wasn't overly impressed with the Educators choice middle & high school math (he said it's good, but boring monotoned speaker, but does do a good job as a tutorial). We use that as a supplimental (as with everything we have, each thing supliments each other kwim). My teen also wasn't impressed with the math blaster program.

 

[meowee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ravin Here's a link a mama on the toddler forum gave me. I ordered DD a Reader Rabbit program from them. It's great because you only have to pay shipping, so it only costs like $3 for a program. They have Little Bear and a bunch of others as well. http://www.smart-estore.com/default....7297&c=WMD4012

Just wanted to issue a "buyer beware" of this store. I have ordered from them three times, and once the product never showed up. They say to allow up to 8 weeks for delivery-- well guess what-- after 8 weeks you can't contest the charge with your credit card.

I had to harrass and harrass them to get them to resend the product, and even then it took 6 weeks to arrive.

Keep in mind 70% of their software is VERY old and may not run well on newer computers.

I did order Zoombinis and Reader Rabbit CDs from them. The Carmen Sandiego CDs I ordered do not work.

 

[reeseccup]

Quote:

Originally Posted by meowee Keep in mind 70% of their software is VERY old and may not run well on newer computers. I did order Zoombinis and Reader Rabbit CDs from them. The Carmen Sandiego CDs I ordered do not work.

I've bought software from similar places and won't again

same reason, won't work even on our older system. I'd rather pay reg or sale price and have it work or not worry about it working. our Carmen Sandiego never worked either.

 

[Ravin]

The program I got came in a very timely fashion during the holiday season, and works just fine even though it is a bit old. And if your budget is tight, it's an option.

 

[mother_sunshine]

Thanks for the heads up Meowee and Reeseccup, I was just about to order Carmen SanDiego from them.

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