Curious George Paint & Play Studio

Reviewer: Cheryl Tyler
Special education teacher, Tennessee
netyler@bellsouth.net

Curious George Paint & Play Studio by Houghton Mifflin, 1998
Houghton Mifflin Interactive
Works with:
Windows 95, 98: 486/66 MHz or higher. 12 MB RAM. Double speed CD-ROM drive. MPC2-compatible sound card (22 Khz, 16-bit), SVGA display (256 colors), Mouse.

Macintosh: 68040/33 MHz or higher (including Power PC). System 7.1 or higher. 8 MB RAM (12 MB recommended for Power PC). Double speed CD-ROM drive. Color display capable of 256 colors. Mouse. Designed for a video display setting of 800 x 600. Intended for: 3-8 year olds.
I rtied the software with teenagers with severe disabilities as well as 4th, 5th and 6th graders with mental retardation and learning disabilities.Plus a three-year-old at home.
Rating: 8.5. (general education population) Cool
Rating: 10 (special education population) Way Cool!

At first I did not like this software because it just seemed like a stamper pad. The pictures do include stamps as well as various tools including letters and borders to make Curious George's scenery what you want. This would compete with Kid Pix in it's style, but it is not as versatile.

The lower rating comes from the fact that the younger children would like the Curious George aspect of the program, but it really takes an older child to operate it totally (e.g. adding text) , and they like Kid Pix better.

It gets the higher rating from the aspect of training the younger child to learn how to use templates so they will adapt quicker to Kid Pix. The best ages for this is around 5 years old.

As for working with a special education population, the program is a little too difficult for students with severe cognitive difficulties. Many will like George and can probably maneuver around the templates with greater ease than with Kid Pix. Students with severe disabilities will like the sounds made with the stamper. Students with mental retardation and learning disabilities will like writing sentences with letter template.

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