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Vibrant
screens and an entirely fresh style makes Didi &
Ditto Kindergarten stand out from the "pack"
of software designed for Kindergarteners. This program
doesn't underestimate a young child's brainpower, and is
best for older children in the age group, or advanced
Kindergarten-age children.
The program's
originality—with regards to both characters and
gameplay—piqued the interest of even older kid testers.
Children begin by choosing one of four vegetables and fruits
(kids will soon see why!) in order to track their game. They
then choose to play with either of two beaver
characters —the girl, Didi, (shown above) or Ditto, Did's
blue brother, after which they choose one of three levels.
A long, intriguing video
ensues after the gameplay settings have been selected. This
program was created by the makers of the excellent Mia
series of software. Although Didi & Ditto looks quite a
bit different than the Mia titles, anyone who has played a
Mia game will recognize the long graphic-rich introduction
presented here. If children have selected Didi, they will
eventually find out they need to collect fruits and
vegetables so that the purple wolf (who is a vegetarian!)
will let her brother, Ditto, out of the log.
Fruits
and vegetables can be collected as children play a variety
of games, found in such areas as a swamp and farm. These
yummies are stored in Didi's backpack in a logical way—kids
sort the food into vegetables and fruits. This
very colorful and vibrant world contains plenty of fun
clickables. Children click on a clock and day turns to
night. When daylight returns, Didi remarks that she really
doesn't like being out in the dark anyhow. Most clickables
are pure fun, and others squeeze in some educational
concepts. The
activities focus on early math, phonics, rhyming words,
letter recognition, patterns and shapes, problem solving,
and more. One involves filling orders for chickens. Children
make sure the basket's pattern matches the pattern on the
egg. Kids need to pay attention to a few factors at once on
higher levels—how many eggs of each pattern, the timing of
the eggs dropping into the moving baskets, and of course the
pattern/color to match. This is a little challenging for
little ones, but there is no time pressure enforced, so
children can take their time. A frog activity involves
finding rhyming words, and a scarecrow game exercises
beginning letter sounds. After completing an activity,
players earn food like a big juicy apple or a large
potato.
As we've
already mentioned, this game is especially appealing for its
originality—from the opening sequence in which the colorful
beavers play tennis with their tails and a turnip, to the
activities that feature funny animals and unique challenges
(for the most part). Navigation is fairly intuitive, but we
found testers were confused now and again—not by the
activities themselves, but with regards to "what to do
next". Part of the reason for this is that the program
was a little slow to react to children's input. However, the
program captures children's interest and it grows with
children with its multilevel challenges.
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Pros: |
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- Graphics-rich
environments and charming characters draw children in.
- Educationally sound,
unique challenges.
- Multi-level activities
help extend the life of the program.
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Cons: |
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- A little slow in reacting to
children's input; confusing at times.
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[For more information, user
reviews, or to buy: KUTOKA Didi & Ditto Kindergarten ( Windows/Macintosh )] |
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| Reviewed July 2004 |
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