Recommended software
[This page is very out of date, as the kids stopped using educational software many years ago, and as a consequence I haven't kept up with what is available now.] Some of the software comes with explanations; we are very wary about
the overuse of software (and bad software), and as a consequence the
kids are not exposed to much. They also don't watch TV or play video
games, so they are not the typical audience to which much software is
aimed.
Reading and writing
-
Reader Rabbit 1: I've read criticisms of this program based on its not
being flashy; since our kids are not used to video games or TV, they
like its gentleness. We also like the fact that when they do
something wrong, there is no harsh noise; the screen is just updated
as if they hadn't done anything (and eventually they start to be given
"hints"). The emphasis of this program is three-letter words with
short vowel sounds, drilled by four games (each with various levels,
e.g. first sound, last sound, middle sound). In two of them the kids need to
determine which words have the same property as a given word. In
another, they need to fill in missing letters from a small selection
of choices. The last one, probably our kids' favorite, is a
concentration or memory game, where the objects can be pictures,
words, words and pictures, and perhaps other choices.
- Reader Rabbit 2: This is similar to Reader Rabbit 1 but has games with
compound words and long vowel sounds.
- Bailey's Book House: Some of the activities here are good, some not
great. The most advanced is probably a section with three-letter words.
- Kidworks: This has a paint program and a little word processor. The
word processor has a function that converts words to pictures and vice
versa. We made our own with names of the family.
Math
- Milly's Math House: Activities on size, simple counting, and a tiny
bit of adding. For really young kids.
- Anno's Math Games: mixed; not as good as the books.
- Math Workshop: some drill, some very creative puzzles. One of our
favorites.
Other
- Kid Pix: a really nice drawing program
- Thinking Things 1: patterns, logic, music; also Thinking Things 2
- Sammy's Science House: activities include sequencing pictures and
categorizing objects.
- Trudy's Time and Place House: nice activities include directions (NSEW
and left/right), maps, digital and analog time
- The Incredible Machine
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