Maisy's Playhouse
Copyright: KBkids.com
Maisy is a cute little mouse, who is the star of her own television show. Her first computer program is for children ages 3-6, but more appropriate for the 2-4 crowd in tester's opinion.
Once you enter Maisy's house, you can enter her bedroom, bathroom or kitchen. In each of these rooms you will find animated hot spots. One of these hot spots activates Maisy, who comes into the room. The special 'Maisy spot' changes each time you enter the room, or change skill levels. None of these spots are difficult to find, which is one reason older children will quickly become bored. These are great for youngsters just learning to use the computer.
When Maisy comes into the room, she does something that shows her self-sufficiency, such as brush her teeth, take a bath, eat a healthy snack, or put something away. Throughout the program children are encouraged to do things for themselves.
Maisy's Playhouse also includes seven different games:
- Broken Cookies: Help Maisy put her broken cookies together and then decorate them.
- Hide and Seek: Find Maisy and her friends as they hide behind bushes, trees etc.
- What doesn't belong: Find the object that doesn't belong. Here testers found several examples with two or more possible answers.
- Clean up: Help Maisy sort her toys as she cleans her playroom.
- Dress-up: Help Maisy select the right clothing for the activity she has planned.
- Train Loading: A counting game where you must load the right number of animals in various train cars.
- Painting: This painting activity involves painting pictures according to directions given by the narrator.
This is a very simple program which your youngest preschoolers will enjoy as they learn to use the computer. There is not enough meat here to keep older preschoolers happy to for long, however.
Bottom Line: A good program for very young preschoolers and Maisy fans. Older preschoolers may need something with more challenge.
Ratings: (based on KBkids.com's 4 star rating system)
Overall: 3
BrainGain: 2
FunFactor: 3
EasePlease: 3 1/2
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