Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!att!pacbell!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!fluke!ssc-vax!bcsaic!lbaum
From: lbaum@bcsaic.UUCP (Larry Baum)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Summary of Mac games for 4 and 5 year-olds
Message-ID: <13792@bcsaic.UUCP>
Date: 7 Aug 89 16:37:11 GMT
References: <43840@bbn.COM>
Reply-To: lbaum@bcsaic.UUCP (Larry Baum)
Organization: Boeing Computer Services AI Center, Seattle
Lines: 55

>Not shareware or freeware but I can heartily recommend
>Numbermaze, which is about 25 bucks from mail-order houses;
>when I bought it from MacConnection it had a 30-day no-questions-asked
>return policy (look in MacUser, MacWorld,...).
>
>Anyway, Numbermaze has kept my 4 and 6 year olds busy and happy
>for hours on end. It's a combination maze game (easy and non-threatening)
>and math-skills quiz. The program keeps track of each kid's progress and
>presents problems geared to demonstrated ability. It continually
>reviews "easier" fundamentals, mixed in with the more advanced
>problems as the kids progress. For example, my 6-year old has a pretty
>good grasp of arithmetic, and can do any word problem he can read.
>BUT he's impatient and sloppy, so he just plain mis-counts and hasn't
>memorized addition and subtraction tables reliably. Since the program
>insists on good performance in  all skills up to the current level,
>it keeps giving him counting and "6+3=?" questions mixed in with the
>more advanced problems until he's more careful and does the "easy"
>problems right.

I too got Numbermaze for my 6 yr old son.  I agree that it is well done and keeps
the child's attention much more than other arithmetic drill games.   However, I
have encountered some problems.

1) On the word problems the child is supposed to read the problem and choose the
correct operator (+, -, *, /).  Clifford is on the addition/subtraction level so
he knows that it is either + or -.  He has discovered that if he guesses wrong the
cursor stays on the operand space and if he guesses right the cursor moves to a
different field.  Consequently he doesn't try to figure out whether the words mean
to add or subtract,  He just tries an operator at random.  The program doesn't
count this behavior as incorrect, so he has no disincentive, other than my
disapproval (which I really don't want to express).  I consider this a serious
flaw.  

2) It apppears that unless I take a lot of trouble to design an individual
curriculum for him, that he is inevitably going to suffer a lot of frustration.
For example, he has breezed through the first 7 levels (using the above "cheat");
i.e. he can do any addition or subtraction problem not involving carries/borrows.
Howver, the next level involves those concepts and he gets very frustrated.  I
have tried to explain them and I especially do not want him to feel ANY pressure
from me that he understand these now.  He has a very good mind and will
undoubtedly grasp the concepts in good time.  I just want him to enjoy the
program.  We are at a point now where unless I devise a lot of levels for him that
do not push him, then he will just be totally frustrated.  He definitely wants to
use the game.  But the game keeps pushing him too fast.

So I would recommend the game, but don't expect that you can just turn it on and
let the child learn independently.  It requires a lot of parental intervention.



-- 
Larry Baum
Advanced Technology Center              
Boeing Computer Services     uucp:       uw-beaver!bcsaic!lbaum
(206) 865-3232               internet:   lbaum@atc.boeing.com