This review is part of the Shhh..They Don't Know They're Learning Write-off cohosted between the Computers and Kids & Family/Education Categories. Write off Details are listed at the end of the review
When my son was under a year old he received the
Winnie the Pooh Toddler software on a
Huggies Promotion, so it was free. I thought the software was really cute but it was recommended for 18 months plus which was a bit beyond his ability. I did a search online and found
Winnie the Pooh Baby, recommended for ages 9-24 months, and figured it would be more age appropriate.
A quick check of the system requirements revealed that it would be compatible with my system, and the price was right around $12 on a clearance.
System Requirements (off the box)
Windows - Windows 95 or higher, Pentium 166 MHz or faster, 32MB RAM or higher, 80MB free disk space, 8X Speed CD-Rom, 16-bit Color DirectX compatible Sound card, 16 bit color DirectX compatible video card
Mac - System 8.6 through 9.x, G3 Processor, 233Mhz or faster, 32MB RAM or greater, 80 MB free disk space, 8X Speed CD-Rom, Thousands of Colors video display.
First, Install it
Pretty much the standard install here. It took me approximately 5 minutes to install the program from the CD-ROM. During the installation, Winnie the Pooh music will play that starts out pretty nice but gets a bit annoying as the install goes on. You can't turn it off or anything - I ended up just lowering the volume on my speakers.
It Takes Two
Winnie the Pooh Baby is intended to be
lapware. Since it is recommended for such a young age group, the intention is for a shared experience between parent (or any caregiver) and child. Parents need to navigate the mouse to select the modules or controls during "gameplay", while your baby
makes things happen by batting at, touching, or pressing the keyboard. The result is a special shared experience between parent and child.
The program is divided into several modules which can be selected independently and played for whatever interval holds your child's interest, no matter how short their attention span is. All of the modules have a "Do it Again" button that is a parental control (from the mouse). This will cause the last sequence to be repeated. There's also a "Good Job" button to aid in reinforcing and rewarding.
Activities
Pooh's Hunny Quest
Big surprise here, Pooh has a touch of a rumbly in his tumbly and wants just a smackeral of hunny but he can't find where he put it. In this module, Pooh is sitting down surrounded by 3 large hunny pots (red, blue and purple) and a bunch of small pots. Any touch of the keyboard will help and he'll reach into one of the colorful pots and out comes either a surprise or some hunny. The surprises are mostly various animals, like blue birds, butterfly, ladybugs, a skunk, or balloons and are just as rewarding (or more) to your child than when Pooh finds the actual hunny and quickly laps it up. Pooh launches into descriptive phrases using rhyming, alliteration, colors or counting each time a surprise is let loose. For example,
"One Green Balloon- Left too soon!".
Piglet Says
Instead of "Simon Says" its "Piglet Says". Here kids can learn different body parts, emotions, etc. Piglet will touch his nose and then encourage your child to do the same. In addition to the traditional eyes, ears, nose, tongue, touching toes and various body parts he also touches on emotions. For example, he'll make an angry face on occasion. Piglet also talkes about how being small makes him shy - kids can relate to him. Piglet also does some fun things like clap hands, reach for the sky, whistle, and he makes a "raspberry" sound that is sure to bring some giggles.
Rooh's Breakfast Symphony
Roo is ready for some good old fun in the kitchen with pots and pans. He's stitting at the breakfast table and surrounded by 5 pots and pans and 2 wooden spoons. Each time your child touches the keyboard, Roo will make music. Some additional controls in this module are "You Play" or "Roo Plays", in addition to "Do it Again" and "Good Job".
Painting with Eeyore
Oh Bother! Eeyore is his usual gloomy self and is none other than a depressed artist creating masterpieces and your child gets to help. Which each touch of the keyboard, Eeyore dips his tail into various colors of paint and puts it to paper revealing a portion of the picture. Without much enthusiasm (as Eeyore is always down in the dumps), he also talks about different colors that he is using. Some of the pictures are Pooh, apples, ducks, a dog, etc - they are all things kids are familiar with. Parents have the option of selecting a new clean paper as well as printing the picture out.
Where's Tigger?
Bouncy Bouncy Bouncy Bouncy, Fun Fun Fun Fun Fun! Tigger bounces about on the screen and "hides". Each time your child touches the keyboard he'll pop out from hiding just like a game of Peek-a-boo. There is also the option of playing "Opposites" in the peek-a-boo game. In this mode, Tigger will illustrate things like In Front/Behind, Far/Near, Upside-down/Rightside-up, etc.
Send an E-Postcard
This is a small card studio that allows you to choose from some preset images or import a photo of your child surrounded by their favorite friends from the 100 acre wood. After selecting your image, adding a custom greeting it can be emailed.
What my son thinks
At 18 months, my son is definitely entertained by this software very much and enjoys interacting with it. His favorites are by far the Tigger peek-a-boo game and the Roo Game. He loves Peek-a-Boo and surprises and Tigger is his favorite Winnie the Pooh character so its a winning combination. This game gets a lot of laughs out of him and usually will "get him going", so its not a quiet time activity at all. The Roo game is also a big hit (literally) since he loves music and anything to do with it. Helping Roo make music on pots and pans is a way for him to create music of his own without the mess of me actually getting out all the pots and pans in the kitchen (I've been there and done that...) All in all, I'd say that each of these games holds his attention for 5 minutes and sometimes a bit longer. Its great because we can just play one short game or play as many as he wants to. If he plays all 5, its approximately 25-30 minutes of play which is a lot for a toddler.
Is he entertained? Yes!
Is he learning? Sure.
Is he having fun along the way? You betcha.
What I think
As a fan of Winnie the Pooh, I find
Winnie the Pooh Baby to be quite adorable. The
graphics are done with Macromedia Flash and bring Pooh and Friends to life. The entire program is set against a patchwork quilt in shades of purple, blue, and pink. The cute graphics coupled with a soothing music in the background add to the success of the program. Its especially a "winner" if you are a pooh fan like myself (and my son). The controls are very easy to navigate with little character icons down one side of the screen and the parental tools on the other.
I do have a few minor complaints about the program overall. First, I don't care for the fact that the mouse only works for the parental controls and not during "gameplay". My son is VERY interested in the mouse and would like to push it around to choose which hunnypot Pooh goes to, for example. But, it doesn't work that way. Since my son is nearing the upper age limit for this software, I understand that some of it is a bit on the simplistic side for him. Simple is good though, for the most part.
The other beef that I have with
Winnie the Pooh Baby is that it always seems to default my computers desktop settings to a different color scheme. I always have to go in and change my desktop back to my preferred settings using control panel after playing, each time.
Overall, a beneficial program
Though there could be some improvements, I do recommend this software product for youngsters. Even the youngest of children can start with a computer and enjoy learning. In
Winnie the Pooh Baby, kids are introduced to the computer in a fun, colorful and friendly way through the use of familiar characters. Playing this "game" together creates a bonding experience that is enjoyable for both parent and child. The most obvious educational aspect is the reinforcement of cause and effect principle - because every time your child touches the keyboard something happens. Though simplistic, other educational elements are included in each of the modules - such as numbers, music, colors, parts of the body, emotions, and more. Overall, I've been very pleased with my purchase and have found this program to be a good starting point for us. I look forward to exploring other Winnie the Pooh software titles and hope to enjoy them just as much, if not more. The program after
Winnie the Pooh Baby is a toddler version that I will be reviewing soon.
Some Other Similar "Pooh Learning" Products
Disney's Winnie the Pooh Toddler (18 mths-3 yrs)
Disney's Winnie the Pooh Preschool (2-4 yrs)
Disney's Winnie the Pooh Kindergarten (4-6 yrs)
Disney's Winnie the Pooh 1-2-3s
Disney's Winnie the Pooh A-B-Cs
Disney's Winnie the Pooh Spelling
Disney's Pooh and Mickey Toddler
Disney's Pooh and Mickey Preschool
Disney's Pooh and Mickey Kindergarten
For More Info
http://www.disneyinteractive.com/learning
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The Shhhh.. They Don't Know They're Learning Write-off was a joint project between the Computers and Kids and Family/Education Categories hosted by Opalman, Opinionated3, Lisa_J, and MaryTara (Moi!). Check out the entries from these other fine participants:
Lisa_J, MaryTara, Opinionated3, Ariel10575, Kurt_G, Shantel575, Staceys1, Freak369, Jillmkk, Quasar, Kittyokc, Cripper, CJsmommy, Bops_Mom and vbfc
More info can be found at:
http://www.epinions.com/user-opalman
