Dollarville

With Moneytown no longer available, there was a need for a program dedicated to teaching kids about money. Dollarville has stepped in and done, for the most part, a great job. With only one major complaint this is a great program. Geared toward kids in kindergarten through 3rd grade, it teaches money identification and more complex concepts such as change making and 'money math.'

The Wild West theme is fun, although the out of tune player piano can grate on your nerves after awhile. Kids will like the format, and enjoy interacting with the people (actually animated coins) in Dollarville. The Native American in this program may not be portrayed in a way which would make multi-cultural teachers jump for joy, but this is, afterall, an old 'cowboy and Indian' motif.

As your child visits various buildings in the town, he or she will help the residents with their money troubles. In the General Store they may purchase items, or help make change. In the bank, the teller needs help sorting coins into jars. The activities are varied and interesting. All coins used are actual photographs. Each of the four skill levels contains an animated tutorial which teaches your child the money concepts he or she will need to know. While the graphics overall are nothing spectacular, the animated sequences are nice. Our only complaint was that you can not easily escape them once they are rolling.

Educational Concepts Covered:

"Level 1

• Identifying coins
  • by size
  • by color
  • by edge (smooth or rough)
  • by picture
• Matching front to back
• Counting coins without using value

Level 2

• Identifying basic coins and their values
• Adding coins
• Purchasing items with price tags from 1 to 25 cents
• Matching coin groups with basic values
• Matching basic values with coin groups

Level 3

• Adding coins/dollars up to 99 cents
• Purchashing items with price tags to 99 cents
• Identifying coin groups as more or less than a value
• Matching advanced coin groups with their values

Level 4

• Adding and subtracting coin amounts
• Finding what coin groups/equations do not equal a certain value
• Making Change
• Word problems with money

There is one big problem with Dollarville, (and it's a biggie folks!) is that this program does not teach kids how to give change correctly. It has always been a major pet peeve of mine to find a teenager working at a cash register who has not been taught to count change. This program has your children subtracting the amount owed from the amount paid, in essence doing the 'math'. YOU DO NOT DO MATH WHEN YOU GIVE CHANGE! If this program had taught kids how to count up from the amount owed to the amount given, I would have given it great marks on all counts. This was a major boo-boo in my book, but one which could be fixed. If you use this program, PLEASE take the time to teach your kids to count change. You can even do it using this program by ignoring the instructions given, and teaching the concept yourself.

This complaint aside, this is a very good program. It is one which my two youngest children have already benefited from this week. It does an even better job than the old Moneytown program at teaching coin values, and money theory.

Grading for Dollarville Educational Value: 4 Entertainment Value: 4 Replay Value: 4 Ages: 5-9 Available from Waypoint Software by calling (888)431-2777 in both Mac and PC formats