This software has a great premise—Frankie the Dog needs help finding homes for some stray baby animals. Kids help take care of the cute baby animals by playing games with the JumpStart All Stars (animated animal characters). As youngsters complete a game, they earn special treats for the baby animals. Unfortunately, the software does not do justice to the clever premise.
There are eight different games to play. Most cover typical preschool curriculum, but at times the content is too hard for preschoolers. Several of the games have instructions that involve multiple steps and are difficult for preschoolers to figure out. Some even assume concepts (like “left” and “right”) that preschoolers don’t understand. In one activity, kids play “tag” with geometric or colored shapes that move so quickly that it is difficult to catch them.
THE BOTTOM LINE: A preschool program so riddled with problems that it’s frustrating.
All tech products are judged on a five star scale by looking at the following factors: fun, education, ease of use, value, and technical.
