Fisher Price Play Family

It goes without saying that children of this age will need help in getting the most from the games, but it is important to note that it is most advantageous if the help is given in a fun, relaxed manner at the same time, allowing the children to dictate the pace and progress at their own rate.

"Level One" is specifically aimed at children who are new to a computer and who therefore have no PC skills. By pressing keys the Play Family Characters respond and help to teach cause-and-effect. As soon as children become proficient at this, move them on to level two and mouse control--and therefore cursor control--can be learned. It is advisable to start by putting your hand on top of theirs to find out how quickly they want to control the mouse themselves. An excellent, well set-out booklet accompanies the CD-ROM and this should be read before starting. The language is straightforward and jargon-free and it explains absolutely everything necessary to maximise your child's learning potential. It also gives ideas on how to extend the learning activities.

Games include:

• Who's Hiding?--teaches "in" and "behind"
• Animal Parade--teaches animal identification
• My World--teaches how to identify objects and follow instructions
• Music Magic--shows how to learn songs, sounds, rhyme and rhythm
• Shapes and Colours in My World--teaches identification of shapes and colours and recognition of shapes in objects and gives practice in following instructions
• Count with Me--teaches counting 1-10, sorting, good manners and following instructions
• Alphabet Fun--helps learning the alphabet (upper and lower case), also listening to music and creative exploration.
• Telephone Talk--this is talk on the telephone and learning about and calling people who work in the community
• Bodies in Action--teaches identification of facial features and parts of the body; also "quick" and "slow"
• Bubbles Big and Little--teaches "big" and "little" and practices following instructions.

--Susan Naylor

About this CD-Rom

"All the activities are designed to stimulate your child's curiosity and will increase listening, visual, language and thinking skills, as well as allowing your child to be creative and increasing his or her confidence on the computer. Playing, discussing and exploring the activities will help you and your child share hours of learning and fun."

Play Family is especially designed for toddlers to develop their keyboard and mouse control skills whilst building essential early learning skills.