My Personal Tutor: Preschool and Kindergarten

• Platform: IBM PC Compatible
• Release Date: 1997
• Genre: Educational
• Style: General Early Childhood
• Similar Games: Astro Word (Macintosh), JumpStart 2nd Grade (Hybrid PC/Mac), JumpStart 1st Grade (Hybrid PC/Mac), My Personal Tutor: 1st & 2nd Grade (IBM PC Compatible), JumpStart 3rd Grade (Hybrid PC/Mac), JumpStart 5th Grade (Hybrid PC/Mac), JumpStart 4th Grade (Hybrid PC/Mac)

Game Description

Professor P.T. Presto uses Microsoft's new TutorAssist technology to help kinders and pre-K students get a handle on basic skills which they'll need before they enter grammar school.

In the Preschool Workshop, Jub Jub the Monkey, Roary the Lion and other animal friends introduce patterns, counting, smilarities and differences, matching and sorting and other activities. When they head over to Alphabet Playhouse, Rosy Raccoon shows them how to create magic using letters of the alphabet. Kids learn all about upper and lowercase letters, phonics, rhyming, simple spelling and more. After that, they can jump on Reader Railway and take a trip to the circus with Rusty Raccoon, who takes them through activities which emphasize vocabulary, memory development, reading, storytelling and much more.

Overall, there are more than 100 games and activities, over 90 learning objectives, 26 interactive storybooks, over 20 animated songs, and more. Professor P.T. is there every step of the way to assess each student's development and decide whether or not to bring in one of more than 100 multimedia tutorials to help them brush up on skills which are lacking.

Roots & Influences

Educational software has a long history going back to the programs of the 1960s which taught math and other subjects using multiple choice and number input.

Review: Overall

The My Personal Tutor series is one of the better educational products available for parents who want to supplement their child's education at home. The Tutor Assist technology which sends the student through tutorials in areas where their skills are lacking is important, because the program is actually assessing a student's performance the way a teacher in a classroom would.

With 4 CDs, there is more than enough material to keep a young child entertained for hours on end. The characters are well done, although perhaps a little more originality could have been used in their names (Roary the Lion, two raccoons with names starting with "R"). Professor P.T. Presto, though, is a very engaging character who is animated well. He guides the child through the broad view of every course and is the one who administers tutorials and the help lessons. There are also three levels of difficulty for every activity, so students who have mastered a lesson can return and try it on a harder level.

Another important aspect of this package is the fact that the activities are not only entertaining but also easy to navigate. Some educational software seems to have been developed without the age of the user in mind, but My Personal Tutor: Preschool and Kindergarten makes sure that everything is simple and self-explanatory wherever possible, and help is always a click away. Among the best are the reading lessons, which are lively and fun.

Parent's progress reports are another important feature of this program. No matter which CD is in use, each student's progress is monitored for inclusion in a report which parents can view at any time. This is a great help for parents who really want to stay involved with their children's education The use of technology in educating children has been controversial for a long time, but software such as this really show how education can be enjoyable for kids as well as adults.

Review: Enjoyment

My official 6-year-old playtester enjoyed this quite a bit.

Review: Graphics

Well done, especially Professor Presto.

Review: Sound

There are lots of voices, songs and incidental music, and there is always the option to switch them off.

Review: Replay Value

See the description for how much is packed into 4 CDs. There is a lot here for kids.

Review: Documentation

The documentation is extensive, and there is even a separate coloring book for offline fun.