- Site: Playhouse Disney Preschool Time Online
- Publisher: Disney
- Developer: Disney
- Genre: Kids & Learning
By Brad Cook
Play your favorite Handy Manny online games and activities!
Your kids enjoy watching Playhouse Disney on TV, so when the shows are over, engage them with fun, educational Playhouse-based activities any time on your Mac. Starring the characters your kids know and love — including Mickey Mouse, Little Einsteins, Higglytown Heroes, and others — Preschool Time Online offers an exciting new learning adventure every two weeks.
Each learning adventure is centered around a theme, such as friendship or using your imagination, and it features a variety of games and activities that reinforce the idea in a fun way. For example, in the “Imagine That!” theme, children identify basic shapes while hunting for rocks with the Koala brothers and play pretend in Kip and Wayne’s Higglytown neighborhood. Seven Playhouse Disney shows are represented during the main portion of the learning adventure, as explained in “Meet the Playhouse Disney Cast,” below.
The learning adventures reinforce skills in eight key areas: reading readiness, math readiness, thinking skills, social skills, daily living skills, imagination and self-expression, motor skills, and computer skills. They also grow with your children, becoming easier or more difficult depending on their ability to complete the previous set of games and activities.
Your Host
Bear, of “Bear in the Big Blue House” fame, hosts the proceedings, speaking directly to your children in the same soft manner he does on TV. He greets your children and introduces the letter and number of the day, which must be found in a bureau. He also explains what’s special about today, such as: “It’s wear green day. Do you have anything green you can wear?”
Then Bear kicks off that week’s theme and sends your children to the main screen, where they engage in educational activities and games. Your children move through the learning adventure in a specific order; you can also change the setting to Discovery mode and allow a freeform approach.
At any time, your children can click on the Backyard icon and head there, where more Playhouse Disney characters populate activities involving art, music, reading, and other skills. (You can also access the previous two learning adventure themes there, in case your children were away from the computer for a while.) For example, they can click on a book featuring Winnie the Pooh and hear it read aloud, or create a unique work of art that uses musical instruments to dictate the style of brush stroke on the “canvas.”
For the Parents
You can save the art in the Scrapbook area of the Parents’ Corner, which also contains letter and number flash cards you can print out, along with a game that teaches basic keyboard and mouse skills, in case your children haven’t mastered those yet. In addition, you can view usage reports for each child included in your account (you can create separate identities for up to five children). Those reports tell you what percentage of time your child spent in each of the eight skill areas, so you know where to target the next session.
When your children are done for the day, you’ll need to enter your password so they can exit the game, which prevents them from accessing any outside Web sites without your permission. Even when your children leave, Preschool Time Online makes sure they’re protected, so you have peace of mind during your hectic day.
Game Hardware
Check out our systems for your best gaming experience.
Disney Online, part of the Walt Disney Internet Group and creator of the number one kids' entertainment and family community online destination (www.disney.com), has unveiled a broadband version of Disney's Blast (www.disneysblast.com), the premium online subscription service for kids that provides weekly updated educational and entertainment features. The new version features additional games, enhanced stories and richer sound effects, including a complete voiceover sound track and original scores, which are best experienced via a high-speed connection.
'Disney's Blast is now in its sixth year and with more of our subscribers making the switch to high-speed connections, we saw the opportunity to make this an even better service,' said Ken Goldstein, executive vice president and general manager of Disney Online. 'Now, we offer an even more substantial experience for those subscribers whose connection allows them to handle the fullest rich-media content. And because our guests can now select the edition they prefer, we were also able to rearchitect the product specifically for narrowband guests, and that version has been improved and optimized for faster loading as well.'
When subscribers sign in to Disney's Blast, they are offered thechoice of playing either the broadband or narrowband edition. Thesubscriber's connection speed is automatically detected, and languageon the sign-in page recommends which version is optimal for the guest.Subscribers can toggle between the broadband and narrowband editionson the sign-in page at any time.
The new Disney's Blast for broadband builds on enhancements madelast year, including even more kid-friendly navigation, and upgradesto the 'Villains' Lair' and 'Supercade.' Since that time, daily usageof the subscription service has doubled.
Disney's Blast, the number one online club for kids, is anad-free, immersive world for children ages 3-9, full of games, storiesand activities that make learning fun. In Mouse House Jr.,preschoolers play and learn with Mickey, Pooh and all of theirfavorite Disney characters. Disney's Blast Dome is where older kidscan be challenged with action and strategy games. Disney's Blast alsoincludes a Parents' Corner, where parents can quickly find age-appropriate activities and decide what is best for their children.Membership costs $49.95 annually, and includes a subscription toDisney Adventures magazine at no extra charge -- a retail value of$34.90 annually based on newsstand price. Free trial memberships areavailable at www.disneysblast.com.
Disney Online
Disney Online (www.disney.com) produces the number one kids'entertainment and family community destinations on the Internet thatconsistently reflect the magic that has come to be expected ofDisney. Its 'neighborhoods,' specially designed for each member of thefamily, include Disney's Blast, a premium subscription service, aswell as Shopping, Destinations, Playhouse Disney, Kids Island,Entertainment and Main Street Merchants.
Disney Online also produces FamilyFun.com (www.familyfun.com), thepremier online family resource for great ideas, practical advice andfun stuff to do, and Movies.com (www.movies.com), a leading site thatprovides a broad array of reviews and information to help movie fansmake the right choice on movie night. It is a part of The Walt DisneyInternet Group, which provides integrated strategic and operationalInternet services for The Walt Disney Company's Internet initiatives.
Remember: If you are under 18 years of age, you must have yourparent or guardian's permission to dial the contact numbers below.