This game lets young players show Periwinkle the early-education ropes, guiding him through math, science, reading, and time-telling drills in a cheery game environment. Players select rhyming fridge magnets to build language skills, eventually making poems of the words they identify correctly. Counting and adding activities in the sandbox make elementary computation a snap, while a poster of the solar system provides a gateway to fun and interesting facts about all the planets orbiting the sun. Children can adjust the difficulty level of gameplay, adapting each exercise so its degree of challenge is just right. Successful learning is rewarded with printable activity pages, providing opportunities for learning and entertainment away from the computer.

There are only so many ways to bundle up basic education drills, and the core content of Blue's Clues Kindergarten is not radically different from most preschool learning programs. Its tone is bright and friendly, though, making it one of the most genuinely playable games of its type. With appealing characters and well-designed activities, it delivers its educational content gently, mixing it with a solid dose of low-key humor. And for players who need a short break from the learning action, there is a hide-and-seek game. The prospect of tracking down a lurking Joe provides just the right breather for kids before they return to the task of showing Periwinkle what kindergarten is all about. --Alyx Dellamonica

Product Description
It’s Kindergarten Time at Blue’s House!Product InformationPeriwinkle is nervous about going to school and to help him overcome his fearsBlue and Joe transform Blue’s house into a pretend kindergarten classroomwhere the games are all about science telling time rhyming art creativitymath and more! Play Refrigerator Rhymes in the kitchen tell time with Ticketyplay a math game at the Sand Table with Shovel and Pail and at Peri’s fort -it’s Super Science! Features the Blue’s Clues host Joe who loves to playHide-and-Seek throughout the game!Skills Learned Letter Recognition Sound Recognition Pre-reading Rhyming Math Classification Counting Addition Subtraction Telling Time Creativity Science FactsProduct Features Lots of surprises and educational clickables 3 difficulty levels that can be set to challenge each child Includes Print and Parent Areas with ways to continue the learning off the computer Count add and subtract Periwinkle's unique collections at the Sand Table Help Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper find the words that rhyme and match them up on the refrigerator Inside Periwinkle's Fort discover interesting facts about the Sun Moon and planetsWindows Requirements Windows 98 Me XP or Vista Pentium II 233MHz or higher 64 MB RAM 8X CD-ROM drive 60MB free hard disk space for minimum install 4MB Windows 98 Me XP compatible SVGA video card compatible with DirectX version 8.1 or higher Windows 98 Me XP compatible sound card compatible with DirectX version 8.1 or higher DirectX version 8.1 (included) or higher Mouse requiredMacintosh Requirements Macintosh 8.6 or higher  and OS X 233MHz G3 or higher 32MB of RAM 60MB free hard disk space for minimum install 24X CD-ROM Drive 2MB video card Mouse required