Land Before Time Animated Kindergarten Adventure

Copyright: KBkids.com

At first glance, you might think this is another grade specific curriculum program like Jump Start Kindergarten, or Big Thinkers Kindergarten. Do not mistake this program for those programs which attempt to cover the kindergarten curriculum. This is simply a fun little program which, based on the skills involved, is appropriate for the kindergarten aged child. Mature kindergartners will find much of this program far to babyish, while some preschooler may enjoy a few of the activities.

Land Before Time Animated Kindergarten Adventure brings all of the popular characters from the movies to your computer screen. Littlefoot, Petrie, Cera, Spike, Chomper and Ducky are included in brief video clips. Each time your child visits one of the eight activity areas, they can go to the Movie Cave and watch a movie clip. Six of the activity areas include some sort of academic reinforcement, and two are just for fun. The 'just for fun' areas were the most popular with kindergarten testers.

The following activity areas can be accessed by your children:

Creature Cards- a limited make your own card utility

Musical Shapes- a shape matching game where characters begin to dance when shapes are properly matched

Prehistoric Pinball- a fun, very simply pinball game which children of this age will enjoy

Adventure Stories- very dull 'read aloud' stories, but containing a nice 'write your own story' utility

Sharptooth Gulch- the most difficult game included, very similar to Frogger

Going Home- a simple 'Chutes and Ladders' type board game for up to five players-no computer opponent is available

Living Valley- an animated 'Colorform' type activity where objects are dragged onto a backdrop and 'come to life'

Jungle Jam- a confusing musical activity where kids seem to just click on things-testers lost interest quickly

Several kindergarten testers were initially intrigued by this program. The popularity of the movie characters, and the included video clips can not be denied. The pinball game was a hit with kids this age, but many of the other activities were just too simplified. Instructions were rather wordy, with overlapping audio tracks at times, for such simple games. Although kids enjoyed the program at first, the longevity and replay value of this program is doubtful for kids who have access to a variety of other computer programs.

Based on the title, parents may purchase this program in lieu of kindergarten/grade specific programs. This would be a mistake. Land Before Time Animated Kindergarten Adventure may be appropriate for this age group, but it is a far cry from programs which try to cover most of the kindergarten curriculum. This program would be best purchased for a child who needs something rather simple, but does not want to play 'toddler games.' This program will at least make that child feel as if he or she is doing something 'age appropriate.' A mature kindergarten child will tire of this program very quickly, however. This one may be best purchased for a child needing some remediation while feeling 'grown up', or for a preschool child.

Bottom Line: A cute program, but just not enough meat to keep most kids busy for very long.

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

Overall: 2 1/2

BrainGain: 2 1/2

FunFactor: 2 1/2

EasePlease: 4

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