How Many Bugs In A Box?

Note: Valerie was a leader in the group that came up with the idea of the Way Cool Software Review Project. I like to edit the reviews for consistency, but Valerie and her children have contributed such a unique review that I kept my hands off.

Reviewer: Valerie Soja and her three and a half year old identical twins.
Note: Valerie's comments are within parentheses.
VKS94001@Uconnvm.Uconn.edu
We go to nursery school. (I am a parent and also a pediatric occupational therapist with a masters degree in education focusing on technology - UConn)
Age: Three and a half (I'm not sure I want to give you my age - my husband says I will always be a child at heart.)

Software: How Many Bugs In A Box?
The Mac or Windows CD-ROMs come with a hard cover version of the best selling pop up book by David A. Carter.
Simon and Schuster Interactives, 1995
Evaluated on a PC. Purchased for $24.95 at discount store.
Date Reviewed: April 28, 1996

How Many Bugs In A Box?

What is the software about? "Bugs. Lots of bugs that you count and read about. It is just like our book. We sometimes like to read the book while we play on the computer with Mom. The computer is more fun 'cause the bugs dance and sing." ( We have had the program a full year and the girls insist on choosing the reading portion of the program. There are also eight games which develop skills in number recognition, counting skills, sequencing, greater than - less than, visual discrimination. number matching, charting, listening skills, and hand/eye coordination.)

What do you like about the software? "The bugs. They sing and dance and do fun stuff. Sometimes they do something different when you click the button on the same bug. We like to sing ALL the songs!!" (They know all eight songs by heart. There is an icon in the games section which allows you to hear the tunes which accompany the various games. Through good documentation the girls were able to memorize the songs. Luckily the words for the songs are presented in the users guide so that when they asked me to sing the song "Going Buggy", I knew the words. The users guide is very helpful and to the point. The games are fully described and there are few directions that need to be explained to the child. The directions are also repeated, by a bug of course, in each of the games. When we play this CD ROM the girls ask me to be quiet because the Barker Bug or the Host will tell them what to do. All I need to do to help is put the mouse on the mouse pad and hope that they take turns.)

What don't you like about the software? "The story is over too fast. I wish we could count up way higher." ( The girls don't like to reach the end of the story. You can go back and read it over and over, but after the tenth or twelfth time they ask "What number comes after ten and what buggies live there?". The program is mouse driven so it is very easy to follow. I would, however suggest changing the symbol which will end a game and bring you back to the options menu. It is consistent on each page, but an item like a stop sign might have been more appropriate than the small yellow box. The girls have some trouble moving from game to game.

Who else would like this software? All my friends Kathleen (she's four) Stephen (he's seven) and the twin friends ( they range in age from four to eight). ( The packaging reads ages three to six, but my niece has been enjoying the copy I bought her for her birthday since the age of two. It came with a hard cover copy of the book. We started reading her the book and eventually had the computer read the book to her. She can not access the computer independently yet, but she seems mesmerized by the bugs moving on the screen. It really helped my children to learn to count to ten, to recognize the numbers and improve their matching skills. The story is simple, but the games have a built in level system, so that they can be made more difficult. This allows the older child to feel more challenged. It would be appropriate for an older child with a learning disability having difficulty with the math concepts mentioned above. Even I, at my old age, enjoy the games and the music. Sometimes I play after the girls are finished. HA HA.)

Where are you using it: We use the CD at home. (I often use it as a sort of reward for the girls letting me get my "big girl work" done on the computer. Once I am finished with my reports etc. I let them go to "work". They could play for hours.)

What is the Coolest thing about the software? "The bugs, my favorite are the long necked bugs. Jessica likes the noodle bugs best." ( I think the coolest thing about the program is how music, rhyming and repetition are incorporated throughout. The child doesn't realize that he/she is working and learning. They just know that they are having fun.)

(This must be Way Cool software, they said that of all their computer games they liked this one the "most bestest.")

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