Sunbuddies Math Playhouse
Reviewed by Cynthia A. Sorrels
Published by Sunburst Communications

Type: Math Price: $59.95 US

PC version requires:
486-66, SVGA, 8M RAM, 16M hard drive, 2x CD-ROM

Mac version requires:
68040 processor or Power PC: 2x CD-ROM, 8M RAM, System 7 or better

Description:

Sunbuddy Math Playhouse will turn Hopkins the bunny loose in your computer, using Grimm's Bremen Town Musicians to combine counting, numbers, reading and math in ways that capture a child's attention as well as their imagination. The interactive activities reinforce early math skills and the Sunbuddies will even introduce music through songs, instruments and styles. The title would first appear to be an interactive storybook, however, the activities and mathematical concepts are integrated in a way that defies description.

Features:

• Illustrates math concepts in a child's everyday environment.
• Enhances reading and listening skills.
• Inspires story-telling and play acting.
• Introduces music through songs, instruments and styles.
• Three levels of difficulty.
• Covers Kindergarten through 3rd grade.

Technical Aspects:

Sunbuddy Math Playhouse offers several options for installation. After adding 16 megs onto our hard drive, we had no problems with video or audio on our P200 MMX system. The graphics are cartoon-style, bright and add to all the fun.

Report and Conclusions:

My kids spent the entire afternoon playing this program! Later, when I put it on to look at closely, they appeared by my side to "watch," even missing out on one of their favorite movies on TV. The storyline is engaging, the Sunbuddies are always funny, and the music helps set up an atmosphere ripe for learning and fun. There are four "Backstage" activities for kids to play, which include a jukebox full of songs to listen to, a memory game, "Figure it Out," which covers basic addition and subtraction, and "Go to Town," which is a map reading and directional skills game. With three levels of difficulty for each game, there are actually a dozen games for kids to enjoy.

As always, Sunburst includes an excellent Teacher's Guide, with detailed notes and instructions, suggestions, lesson plans, a script of the play, words to all the songs and more!

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