Jump Ahead Year 1 Reading & Maths (DVD case)

Frankie the dog navigates you through 18 different learning activities for Year 1 pupils (5-6 years old).

The game includes maths/Literacy/art and music activities and covers the following aspects of Primary National Strategy at year 1.

Maths activities include:
Addition and subtraction
Simple fractions
Telling the time
Money value
Quantities

Literacy activities include:
.../> Visual discrimination

Art and music activities include:
Art and creativity
Music
Memory and listening


As the game starts your child follows Frankie the dog into the schoolhouse, if you are playing for the first time you will be invited to type in your name, if you have played before then simply select it from the drop-down menu at the start. Click on the door knob and follow Frankie into ... more

Frankie the dog navigates you through 18 different learning activities for Year 1 pupils (5-6 years old).

The game includes maths/Literacy/art and music activities and covers the following aspects of Primary National Strategy at year 1.

Maths activities include:
Addition and subtraction
Simple fractions
Telling the time
Money value
Quantities

Literacy activities include:
Stories and poems
reading comprehension
Language skills
Visual discrimination

Art and music activities include:
Art and creativity
Music
Memory and listening

As the game starts your child follows Frankie the dog into the schoolhouse, if you are playing for the first time you will be invited to type in your name, if you have played before then simply select it from the drop-down menu at the start. Click on the door knob and follow Frankie into room 1.

Frankie is then introduced with the somewhat cheesy song "He's more than a mascot, he'll help you a whole lot. He's really super-silly. He's Frankie" (Imagine the naffest tune possible and you wont be far wrong - my 5year old daughter loves it though so i guess it's right for the target audience!) He then goes on to explain that you can "always count on me, click on me if you need my help"

Frankie then explains that there are lots of things to do in the classroom, click on anything that you see to begin.

In the classroom you can then choose from the following activites:

Telling the time (click on the clock)
Reading (click on the books)
Master memory game (click on the computer)
Listen to songs (click on the radio)
Paintbox (click on the paintpot)
Progress report (click on the A+ sign attached to the teacher's desk)

Telling the time
The telling the time game is straight forward, and you can choose whether to play against a friend or Frankie. the clock will then show a time which Frankie will read out loud. The aim of the game is to match the time on the analogue clock face to the correct time written in a piece of card.

Reading
When you click on the reading activity, you can choose which book you would like to read from the following titles:
Mother Goose Rhymes
The frog, the pig and the log
Bedtime Reading
The Sweet Machine
Lark in the Park
Pretty Planet
Berowne Bear's teaparty
The Grabdfather clock

When you have made your choice, the book opens and Frankie explains that the first page is tha table of contents and that you can choose which short story or chapter you would like to read. Once you have made this choice the book opens and Frankie reads aloud as the words and sentences are highlighted in red.

Master memory Game
This is a game of Pelmanism which allows children to match the word on a card to a picture of it. Frankie assists by reading the word and saying the name of the picture. You have to match the two together.

Listen to songs
Click on the radio to listen to a selection of maths/English songs (about numbers, days of the week, friendship etc..) As each song plays, Frankie dances.

Paintbox
A simple easy to use, paint/draw program. Pictures can be printed

Progress report (this one's for the parents)
This breaks down you child's score for each activity and provides how many correct over how many attempted. It provides scores for each of the following areas:
Vocabulary and spelling
Letter sounds and phonics
Comprehension
Visual discrimination and memory
Stories and poems
Numbers and counting
addition and subtraction
money value
fractions
other maths
co-ordinates
science
time
Each report can be printed.

That completes the activities in the classroom, so now it's time to head to the lunchroom (dining hall).
Here you will meet the school cook - a jolly opera singing lady with the biggest bun in her hair that i've ever seen, and yes she also has a purple rinse - classy!

Activites to be found here:
addition
fractions
measuring and following recipe instructions
Visual recognition and matching.

Addition
To play this game click on cash register. A tray with food on it will appear. Click on each item to find the price, and then use the digits on the cash register to add them up. For example, Hamburger 40p and beans 16p, what is the total cost of this meal.

Fractions
To play this game click on the Hamburger. A plate divided into quarters will appear and you need to put a spoonful of a specified item into the tray.

Click on the kitchen door to access:

Matching the key to a picture game.
Click on the pizza. Frankie appears with a selection of ready made pizzas. he will then describe the pizza he is looking for and provide a key to show what each item looks like. For example a pizza with pepperoni and flies (yes flies!), your child then has to select the correct pizza. This is a race against the clock type of game.

Cooking machine game
Frankie is making something in the kitchen! Follow the instructions to add the correct quantity of each ingredient into the mixing bowl.

Almost there - only two more areas to visit.

The school bus
Use the direction buttons on the steering wheel (North, South, east and West) to guide the red school bus to a new location.

The playground
Play outside with the bottle caps that your child has collected from completing the activities inside the schoolhouse.

SO IS IT ANY GOOD?

Well, if you can filter out the slightly annoying Americanisms of this game, then yes it is! It covers some essential early reading and mathematical concepts in a colourful, interactive way. It is easy to navigate and the instructions are always read aloud so that your early reading child won't be put off and can follow the instructions easily. There are lots of different activities, so your child won't get bored.
each activity has 3 levels of difficulty - so even when they have mastered the easier levels there are still opportunities for further practise. Year 1 pupils are ICT literate and will have no problems navigating this game. I'll hand over to our 5 year old (Year 1) daughter for the final part of this review.

"I like playing this game, i love the cooking game best, Frankie is good. I can play this game on my own and i like it best when i help E (younger sister) to play it" 

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