Buzby: Breakin' all the Rules
© 2005 Digital Praise, Inc.
This a collection of five well-designed matching, counting and sorting games, set in the religious theme of a video series (Hermie & Friends, by Max Lucado). Children help two caterpillars collect lost seeds by playing one of the games. For example, in Lucy's Meadow, you must match numerals by steering a flying ladybug, using a context map for clues. Buzby's Hive is a fast-paced word search game, with letters hidden in a honey comb. Children are rewarded with seeds, which can be planted in a garden to grow coloring book pages; a clever way to tie the entire game together. A sign-in screen is used to remember progress from play to play. Drawbacks include limited challenge level of the activities; children will top out soon. However, they are also right on target in terms of developmental levels. The religious messages are indirect, delivered by the video introductions to each activity. For example, as the bugs find their way to one activity, one said, "God said He'd be with us while we are looking." At one point, the caterpillars pray, and random activities in the game are are attributed to God. There are eight short videos in the title, all of excellent quality. Of the eight characters in the program, all but one (Lucy, the lady bug) is male. This could be more gender-balanced. This would be an excellent addition to any Sunday school, or for parents looking for a solid set of activities for a preschool or kindergarten-aged child. Also see FLO: Return of the Water Beetles.
$29.95, Windows XP, Windows 98, Mac OSX
Teaches: respect, following rules, value of prayer and praise, memory, spatial reasoning, counting, seriation, mental math, adding, working cooperatively, interpersonal problem solving, planning
CTR Rating: 92%