Disney’s Winnie the Pooh Kindergarten
Disney	Ages 4 to 6

Rating Scale 5 = great,    1 = poor

Educational Value 4.0

Kid Appeal 4.5

Ease of Use 5.0

System Requirements

PC / Mac Price Survey

Product Support

Winnie the Pooh returns with another simple and sweet program for young computer users. As always, Pooh and his friends exude a contagious enthusiasm for life that makes joining them in almost any endeavor an enjoyable experience. This time, Pooh reluctantly sees Christopher Robin off to school, then turns to Piglet and says, “I would very much like to go to school too, Piglet!” Piglet, showing uncharacteristic common sense, suggests that the Hundred Acre Wood inhabitants have their own kindergarten. And so the stage is set.

At this point kids see a main screen offering six learning activities taking place throughout the Hundred Acre Wood. Each activity features a familiar character: students can choose to build letter recognition and reading skills as they tidy up Owl’s library, pop arcade balloons with Roo to learn beginning math, keep Rabbit’s home neat and clean as they sort shapes by size and color, and learn to follow directions in Tigger’s bouncy treasure hunt. Music and art activities allow them to express their creativity, while practicing important computer skills. Finally, a print activities section provides educational workbook pages, stickers, flashcards, nametags and bookmarks to customize and print.

Educational Value

Winnie the Pooh’s Kindergarten teaches and drills the following early learning skills: letter recognition, word recognition, early reading, counting, simple addition and subtraction, sequencing, sorting, shapes, colors, listening skills, following directions, strategic thinking, problem solving, creativity and computer skills. Three levels of difficulty allow the program to grow and expand with the student. Completion of an activity earns the user a gold star and once a gold star has been earned at every level in each activity a special graduation ceremony takes place to reward the studious youngster.

Kid Appeal

Despite the simplicity of this program and its almost non-existent storyline, our testers had only positive comments. Much of their enthusiasm stems from the popularity of the Winnie the Pooh characters, and the lighthearted tone they set for the entire program. Even Eeyore, with his morose verbal presentation, can make an activity fun. And when Tigger bounces in to enlist help, the giggles can’t be suppressed. Activities are structured to not only drill, but provide some learning as well, making this a nice, well-rounded program for young students.

Our testers especially enjoyed the art activity included in the program. In it, they create their own Thoughtful Spot, an eye-pleasing environment conducive to bouts of contemplation. Once the perfect sky, ground, trees and accouterment are added, the user can rotate seasons, thereby viewing the Thoughtful Spot as it transforms through the year’s many moods. Not only do flowers bloom, wither and die under a blanket of snow, but the animals reflect the changing seasons as well, making it a pleasant activity to create and explore.

Ease of Use / Install

This program installs without difficulty. Program navigation is simple, and the activities are explained in detail as each is accessed.

Best for... / Bottom-Line

It’s hard to go wrong with the Pooh gang. This fast-paced, light-hearted program is easy to use, and sure to please.

See SuperKids' comparisons with other kindergarten software titles, and the Buyers Guide for current market prices of the PC and the Mac versions.

PC: Windows 95 or later, Pentium 90MHz or faster processor, 30 MB hard drive space, 16 MB RAM, 256 Color PCI Video Card display, Quad-speed or faster CD-ROM, 16-bit DirectX-compatible sound card.

Mac: System 7.6.1 or higher, PowerPC 75MHz or faster processor, 25 MB hard drive space, 24 MB RAM, 256 Color Video display, Quad-speed or faster CD-ROM.

Reviewed on:

PowerMac 6400/200 with 32MB and 8XCD

Pentium166 with 24MB and 12XCD

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