Preschool Playtime is a deceivingly simple program for the youngest of Maccers—that three-to-six aged group. So simple anybody could program it—NOT! A successful program for this age group has to be utterly clean and absolutely responsive. It must require no reading, no pulling down of menus, no constraint that the user stick to the front window. Stray clicks can not cause bad things to happen. “Correct” clicks are encouraged by providing interesting sounds, bright colors, and animations. (All these goodies carry a price: they make the stack BIG! There is no way around it. Get it at 9600 baud+ if you can.) That age old fascinator of human beings, the element of chance, is also used. “Incorrect” clicks are handled by gently guiding the youngster to click the correct item. If your youngster can drive a mouse, he (or she) can get hours of entertainment from this program at the same time he is acquiring letter, digit, and counting skills. At $5 shareware it’s a bargain for you — much cheaper, less hassle, and more educational than an amusement park, and once you get your child started, it’s hands off for you.
Preschool playtime may be distributed by individuals, user groups, sysops, subscription services and online services providing no more than a nominal media fee is charged for it. In the case of the latter three, I would like to be informed. Any and all feedback and suggestions are welcomed. Thanks for your support.
