Reader Rabbit Thinking Adventures Ages 4-6

Rating:
Summary: Excellent educational games require advanced mouse skills
Review: As with all of the Reader Rabbit titles, this one has excellent education activities and an engaging storyline. My daughter loves it. Parents should be aware, however, that this title requires more advanced mouse skills that other software for this age group: two activities require the user to "click and drag". In another game the child must click in very small areas and in the "present wrapping" activity it is very easy to accidentally exit the game.

Rating:
Summary: Fun, Interactive, and Cleverly Designed
Review: I gave this to my 4-year-old nephew, and he loves it. It is fun and engaging, and very educational. It is highly interactive, and kids can jump right in and get started without having to sit through a lot of boring instructions. The software adjusts the difficulty of the games to the child's ability as he or she plays them, so they remain challenging without becoming frustrating (the manufacturers call this feature "A.D.A.P.T."). The child is rewarded and encouraged along the way, and is given great freedom to follow the software along whatever paths curiosity leads him or her to. If a child consistently neglects certain activities, he or she is gently led (not forced) to give them a try. The folks who created this excellent software really know how to educate kids!

Rating:
Summary: Too confusing for 4 years olds!
Review: I had always heard great things about Reader Rabbit software but I was very disappointed in this one! My four year old got frustrated after 5 minutes and gave up. She found the instructions to be too difficult to understand because they were very detailed and spoken too quickly. The premise is that you're supposed to gather items for a surprise party. You need to obtain a specific amount of each item and it goes into an empty room once you gather enough for the party. You need to go to different areas to make cookies, wrapping paper etc. I don't know how a four year old could do this without adult supervision. This software will sit on the shelf until my daughter gets older. Hopefully then she'll enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: Too confusing for 4 years olds!
Review: I had always heard great things about Reader Rabbit software but I was very disappointed in this one! My four year old got frustrated after 5 minutes and gave up. She found the instructions to be too difficult to understand because they were very detailed and spoken too quickly. The premise is that you're supposed to gather items for a surprise party. You need to obtain a specific amount of each item and it goes into an empty room once you gather enough for the party. You need to go to different areas to make cookies, wrapping paper etc. I don't know how a four year old could do this without adult supervision. This software will sit on the shelf until my daughter gets older. Hopefully then she'll enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: Takes a while to get into it
Review: My 4.5 year old was intimidated by a lot of the activities but he really wanted to get to the birthday party so he kept at it, much to my surprise. The games are very educational and quite difficult. A parent's guidance is definitely needed for at least the first few repetitions of each activity.

I thought that the payoff came after too many repetitions, though. You have to do all 6 activities, 24 times each to get to the birthday party. It took us weeks of playing to finish. Many kids would give up long before then. When we finally got to the birthday party, I found it to be extremely anti-climactic, although my son didn't seem to think so. Also, I couldn't believe the incredible progress he had made by the end of the game.


Rating:
Summary: Uninspired and dull with clunky interface
Review: My daughter received Thinking Adventures on Saturday afternoon and we installed it shortly thereafter. For the next three days she spent at least three hours at a time finding the various party items. The program is one of the best I have seen for children. It takes something special to keep a 5 year old glued to a computer for that amount of time and you've found it!! Thanks!

Rating:
Summary: The Rabbit Rules
Review: My daughter received Thinking Adventures on Saturday afternoon and we installed it shortly thereafter. For the next three days she spent at least three hours at a time finding the various party items. The program is one of the best I have seen for children. It takes something special to keep a 5 year old glued to a computer for that amount of time and you've found it!! Thanks!

Rating:
Summary: Not very impressed
Review: My kids did not find the games very interesting and neither did I.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent learning opportunities
Review: Pleny of activities to keep my almost 5 year old busy. He likes the activities, I like the different levels of difficulty.

Rating:
Summary: Thinking Adventures a hit with the kids
Review: Reader Rabbit's Thinking Adventures for ages 4 - 6 has been a hit with my two (very active) boys. They enjoy each "game" that is used to get ready for Sam's birthday party. They have fun without realizing that they are learning patterning, sequencing, sorting and a lot more...