Let's Explore the Farm with Buzzy the Knowledge Bug

Reviewed by Rose Barbour
Published by Humongous Entertainment

Age Group: Age 2 to 5, Age 4 to 8
Type: Thinking Games
Price: $10

Description:

This program is engaging right from the beginning. It has a beautiful view of a farm and children are greeted with a wonderful character called "Buzzy the Knowledge Bug." Buzzy informs children about what sorts of things that they can expect to find on a farm, then invites you to explore the farm. There are many "hot spots" which are sure to please and also great games which they can play as well. Children will spend hours discovering the farm! Each game has three levels so even the youngest child can be challenged while having fun.

There is a Trivia game which is very educational, and if the child is too young to read the questions, Buzzy will read the questions for them with the click of a button. Another game, Spell It, was very well done and is similar to hang man. At the beginner level, you are shown a picture of the object and underneath it the name of the object is written with one letter missing--you have to fill in that letter. This is a great way for children to learn letter sounds. The next level is even more challenging as you are not shown a picture or any other letters. Each time you guess a wrong letter, a piece of the picture is shown. This is a great activity on perception. In the third level, you do not see a picture or get any letters and the picture is not revealed until you guess the word. This is a good challenge for an older child. A handy scoreboard is available for tracking your child's progress.

The program also offers coloring activities which are always popular. In this activity, kids can mix colors to make new colors. What a great way to learn about colors!

Technical aspects:

For Windows '95, no installation was required. You insert the CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive and wait for the Autoplay window.

Report and Conclusions:

This program was very popular at our house. Buzzy is a loveable character and a great tour guide. The children really enjoyed touring the farm and seeing all the animals. The coloring pages proved to be a big draw, also. This software would be a great addition to anyone's library. With the three levels of play, your child will not outgrow the software quickly. One of the many great features is the "What Is It?" button which you can press if you want to know what something is. This may not appeal to the really young user but my two children (ages 6 & 7) use it all the time. This software was very enjoyable and is definitely a good buy.