Muppet Kids Kindergarten Deluxe

 

After looking at both the Kindergarten and Preschool versions of this new program, I am still a bit overwhelmed. Underwhelmed might be a better word. These programs take us back to the mid-eighties at best in terms of computer technology. From the looks of the box, and even the opening clips, you will expect much more than you will get here. Much more!

Muppet Kids Kindergarten includes three CD's. This must be for simplicity's sake, as I find it hard to believe it is due to informational quantity. These discs include Thinking Skills, Phonics and Sorting and Ordering. Although Sorting and Ordering falls into the realm of mathematics, there is no real math in this program at all....a notable exclusion for a grade specific package.

When you begin your Muppet Kids program, you will find a cute video clip including Kermit and Gonzo. This clip is well done, and you will be left expecting a very high-tech, multimedia program. When the learning activities really began, my mouth dropped

to the floor.

The learning activities (and I use the term loosely) are simple screens with a consistent background. The interior of the screen changes, but looks like a workbook with stock graphics and stock sounds. The buttons you click are gray clip art-type buttons, and the sounds are either typical Windows sounds, or a person reading into a microphone with anything but professional results.

Each time a new screen appears, you will hear a person read the instructions. The 'activities' consist of multiple choice questions, and typical workbook style pages. You normally need to complete several variations of the same activity on each page, and then are moved to the next page. For example, in one spot you must help Piggy make several necklaces by clicking on the shape which completes a pattern. The necklaces begin to pile up on her neck, making the new pattern difficult to distinguish for a child with visual problems. On the phonics CD you simply click on the letter which completes a word. Sounds are not isolated, and there is nothing more interactive here than clicking on the right answer.

The Sorting and Ordering CD is set up the same way, and to it's credit includes a few screens with slightly more interactive activities. On one screen you must complete several dot-to-dot puzzles. On another you must click on missing letters of the alphabet until the correct one appears. When you get excited because you actually get to drag a cookie on to a pan to complete a pattern, something is wrong. Even with this interactivity, these are still 'find the right answer and move on' items.

This program is somewhat better than the preschool program, which is even worse. It is hard to believe that Knowledge Adventure is marketing this product. It does not carry the Knowledge Adventure logo or name, rather that of Brighter Child. If you knew it was marketed by Knowledge Adventure, or took a look at the slick box, you may be tempted to purchase this program based on the Knowledge Adventure reputation. Don't! It's not often I am so hard on a program, but this one is a real looser. Considering how wonderful Jim Henson was as a person and creative genius, it really is too bad there are still no decent Muppet computer programs.

Grading:

Educational Value: 2

Entertainment Value: 1 1/2

Replay Value: 2

Ages: 4-6

Available from Brighter Child at http://www.brighterchild.com