Arthur's Math Carnival

Copyright KBkids.com

Actimates D.W and Arthur dolls are the latest to join the ranks of such famous interactive dolls as Barbie and Barney. You do not need to own the interactive doll in order to run Reading Round Up, Math Carnival, or Brainteasers. If you purchase the doll, you can buy what is called a PCPack. This PCPack includes the a CD which has some learning activities. It does not include any of the three titles mentioned. These titles must be purchased separately, and can be run with or without the doll.

Math Carnival, while not a complete math curriculum program, contains some very good math activities. One thing that is particularly nice about the Arthur programs, is that they extend through several grade levels. The math skills at level one are appropriate for a pre-kindergarten child, while level five activities are appropriate for an advanced second grader. Older children who need brush up work through third and fourth grade will not mind interacting with Arthur either.

Arthur and his friends are attending a city carnival. Each of the friends are in charge of a different activity. Your child can move freely between these activities, and change skill levels at will.

Buster: Join Buster in the Fun House Prize Finding Game. A grid appears on your screen which is dark. You are given a 'flashlight' and asked to shine the light on a square. Buster will give you clues as to where the prize it. At level one you are simply told whether you are close or far away. His instructions become more exact at higher levels when you are told how many spaces away from the prize you are.

Prunella: Three contestants take guesses at questions which Prunella asks. You must decide who is giving the correct answer. The questions at level one involve simple counting, and geometric questions. By level five, you must answer addition and subtraction problems such as 16-13=___.

Francine: Francine's Bug Collection is a great Venn diagram activity. Bugs must be categorized according to criterion given to you by Francine. At level one you may sort bugs with wings and bugs with no wings. By level five, the two Venn diagram rings overlap and you are sorting bugs which are not blue, bugs which are large, and bugs which are blue. As a result, some bugs fit two categories and must be placed in the overlapping section of the circles. This is a good hands on way to understand this concept covered in all elementary school math texts.

D.W.: Here Arthur's friend purchase snacks. D.W. will tell you how much the order is, and it is up to you to collect the right amount of money from the customer's hand. At level one you are simply counting pennies. By level five, you must use mixed coins which have many alternatives.

Mr. Ratburn: Muffy must make it through a sprinkler maze without getting wet. At level one you must simply maneuver her through the maze without getting her wet. By level five, the sprinklers must be adjusted with valves at the bottom of your screen. Using these valves, however, changes the maze!

There is no re-teaching, or true 'instruction' here. Use this as a good reinforcement program. The activities are solid and fun. Your kids will enjoy interacting with the familiar characters.

Bottom Line: A good math reinforcement program with solid activities featuring familiar characters.

Ratings: (based on KBkids.com's 4 star rating system)

Overall: 3

BrainGain: 3

FunFactor: 3

EasePlease: 4

Sorry, this program is no longer manufactured. You can find Arthur's Math Games from The Learning Company, but it was not as good as this one in my opinion.