I spent A day with The Wiggles for only $20 and you can too!
Written: Sep 07 '02 (Updated Sep 07 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The Wiggles, Educational & Entertaining
Cons: Only available from Wiggles Online Store!
The Bottom Line: Hoop-Dee-Doo! Its Wiggly Software!
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| marytara's Full Review: A Day with the Wiggles |
Our household is currently what some may call Wiggles Obsessed. Yes, its true. We love our Wiggles and everything and anything to do with them. So, you can imagine how thrilled I was to find they made The Wiggles themed preschool software. Quickly, I purchased up A Day With The Wiggles CD-Rom for $40 AU, (which means around 20 US Dollars) at The Wiggles Online Store.
The Wiggly, Wiggly Background
If you are not familiar with The Wiggles, they are a group of four Australian grown men with backgrounds in Early Childhood Education who sing and dance around and perform children's tunes. Each member of The Wiggles (Greg, Murray, Anthony, and Jeff) wears their own color (Yellow, Red, Blue, and Purple) and has a distinct performance personality. The Wiggles are joined by a few of their friends which include: a pirate (Captain Feathersword), a dog (Wags the Dog), a green dinosaur (Dorothy the Dinosaur), a purple octopus (Henry the Octopus) and a few other friends - which add to the fun. Their biggest appeal is the 6 and under crowd with a strong toddler contingent making up quite a large fanbase in Australia, US, and Canada.
The Wiggles can be found on Playhouse Disney since the Spring of 2002, where they've gained a lot of US popularity. My family recently had the opportunity to see The Wiggles Live as part of their North American Tour, and will be catching them again in November 2002 during their US Tour. The Wiggles are a class act and enjoyed by the whole family. If you have a child who is 6 or under, I recommend you check them out. The television program, CDs, videos and DVDs are all top notch in Children's musical edutainment. If interested, I've reviewed many Wiggles items and these are all linked directly from my Epinions profile page.
Before We Begin, Some Wiggly Software Requirements
A Day With The Wiggles from DATAWORKS comes on CD-Rom and is compatible with both Windows and Mac.
The minimum requirements (listed on the box) are as follows:
Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP - minimum of 16MB Ram (32MB recommended), 4X CD-Rom (8X recommended), SVGA display, Mouse, and Sound Card
Power Macintosh - System 7.5.3 or higher, minimum of 16MB Ram (32MB recommended), 4X CD-Rom (8X recommended), Minimum 256 colour display
Ready to Wiggle?
Installing A Day With The Wiggles is a cinch. Just put the CD-Rom into your CD-Rom drive and an auto-run menu pops up. You have 2 options, to either install it or run it. The first time, you'll need to install it which takes about 5 minutes, and then I rebooted my computer (which for me was like another 5 minutes). After that all you have to do is click on "Run A Day With The Wiggles" to get started.
A Day in Wiggles World
Chances are good that if you are purchasing A Day With The Wiggles, then you are a Wiggles fan and familiar with their movies. If you are familiar with the Caveland song on Hoop-Dee-Doo or Jimmy The Elf on Yule Be Wiggling, then you've already seen how cute computer-generated 3D Wiggles can be. In A Day With The Wiggles, each of the four Wiggles and their friends is brought to life via computer graphics. They almost look rather like the characters that you see and control in programs like The Sims. Each computer likeness is pretty good, but not without some flaws. For example, though Greg is significantly taller than the others in real life, in the program they are all about the same height (Oops!). Plus, their fabulous smiles have been replaced with rather scary looking grins (says this Wiggly Mama). Wiggly kids will probably not notice the differences too much since the voices and sounds are all done by The Wiggles themselves.
A Wiggly Interface
After loading the program you will transported to Wiggle Town. In the town there are 12 different icons/hot spots that when clicked upon will start an interactive activity or game. Before the activity begins, a Wiggle or Wiggly Pal will give a friendly greeting and provide any instructions on how to "play". To exit the activity or the program there is a bright red stop sign in the lower right hand corner. The interface is very easy for preschoolers to use. Children need to know how to move a mouse and click it in order to successfully complete the interactive "games". My son likes to use a mouse but has no concept of how to use it (yet), so this is a game that we play together. Its more fun that way, anyhow!
12 Wiggly Games with Purpose
1. Clicking on Greg who is standing front and center in Wiggle Town will lead you to Greg's Magic Colouring Book. In this activity children can color in blank coloring pages of The Wiggles & friends. Simply click on the color that they want to use then click on the portion of the picture to magically fill in with that color. After "coloring" in certain segments the characters will talk to you and tell you what a great job you are doing. Out of all the various coloring sheets the easiest ones to do are Greg, Murray, Anthony, Jeff, and Wags. Captain Feathersword, Henry the Octopus and Dorothy the Dinosaur have more small areas (i.e. Captain's magic buttons) which make them a bit more advanced - the small areas require the ability to precisely control and select using the mouse. Parents will probably be called to help at least once on these pages. The good news is that there is an eraser tool that can be called into service for when you turn all of the Captain's head purple, or something like that. This exercise helps teach colors and also creativity.
2. Dorothy loves her roses and is planting a garden. Join her in Gardening with Dorothy the Dinosaur as she plants seeds one by one. Use the mouse to control a watering can and watch them grow. If you water the right spot, a flower will appear. If you forgot where she planted it, the computer will give audio clues first and then a visual reminder. Start out with 1 seed, then 2, then 3 and so on. This activity reinforces counting and promotes observation and memory skills.
3. Greg wants you to help him Find Wags the Dog's Bone. This game is a Wiggles version of Blue's Clues. Wags has lost all of his bones in various spots all over the backyard. Greg calls out clues and it is your job to navigate around the yard in order to find the bone. After correctly following clue by clue, for example - find the birdbath, now check out the pond, where is the butterfly, etc. - the last clue will include a Wiggle who will pop up and then the bone is found. Wags does a dance when he has his bone again. This game promotes listening and well as following directions.
4. Anthony is seated outside of the Wiggly House and is reading a story. Selecting Anthony will initiate Storytime with Anthony. This is a bit of a twist on a traditional storytime where children sit around a listen to a story being read to them. Instead, kids get to participate in the story by helping Anthony with an activity on each page. The story is about preparations for a Dorothy the Dinosaur's birthday party. The first task is helping create a party invitation by dragging and dropping different decorations onto the page. When the invitation is to your liking you turn the page. Other activities in the story include selecting balloons, filling a vase with flowers, stacking presents and then icing a cake. All of these activities are completed by drag and drop with the mouse and very few clicks here and there. Kids can feel a sense of accomplishment as they complete each task and at the party they get to see all of their completed "work".
5. Towards the far edge of Wiggle Town is a theatre, going inside the theatre to Sing Along with The Wiggles, or more accurately watch The Wiggles perform. You can choose from three different music videos, We're Dancing with Wags the Dog, Toot Toot Chugga Chugga Big Red Car, and Do the Wiggle Groove. These are the same videos that can be seen on Wiggles movies. The clips are not full screen size though - we do wish they were. This activity is for entertainment purposes and also fun to sing along.
6. Selecting an outdoor stage and Dancing with The Wiggles will commence. This module is pretty much just for fun, but a definite favorite. In it you and your child will select a Wiggle and then make them dance. Once selecting a Wiggle a series of 4 dance moves will come up in boxes along the bottom of the screen. Music will begin and you can click on various dance moves. Some of the moves are quite silly and totally out of sync with the music, but thats half the fun. When you tire of that particular Wiggle and the 4 moves, select a different Wiggle. Each Wiggle (Jeff, Murray, Greg and Anthony) has their own music and silly moves. It would be nice though if there was a way to make more than one Wiggle dance at a time. This game fosters and appreciation for music, rhythm and dancing.
7. Since Henry is busy trying to learn how to juggle, Murray is taking care of his underwater band. Join Murray and the Underwater Big Band and try your hand at conducting. Murray is actually underwater here, wearing crazy goggles and his nose is painted red (I gather that its sunscreen). Wiggles tunes are spinning on the clamophone, to change the song just click on it. The underwater big band needs a conductor - and that is you (or your child). Just click on each of the various fishy friends who are playing different instruments to attempt to play along with the music from the clamophone. Kids learn all about making music.
8. Wake Up Jeff!, Anthony calls out as Jeff is happily snoozing away. In Dreamtime with Jeff a big cloud shows what Jeff is dreaming about. The cloud is surrounded by animals and kids need to pick out which animal Jeff is dreaming about. Once the correct animal is selected, then Jeff will morph into that animal. The animals include (but not limited to) a giraffe, cat, dog, lion, and tiger. This game is similar to a puzzle and helps teach kids shape recognition as well as animal sounds.
9. Click on the Big Red Car and start your engines with Driving the Big Red Car game. On your screen you will see a birdseye view of Wiggle Town and a lot of different roads with arrows on them. You'll be told to drive the BRC to various destinations to complete a task. Click the arrow and the car will go in that direction for a few inches. Some of the places you'll go include Dorothy's house, the bakery, and the garage. Listening is the key to success in this game.
10. Ahoy There Me Hearties! Hop on board the pirate ship and try to unlock Captain Feathersword's Treasure Chest with different shaped keys. Each chest requires a different shaped key to open up each differently shaped lock (for example round, heart, square, teapot, octogon, etc). Once the chest is unlocked a treasure is revealed. Some of the treasures are more traditional (coins) while others are children's toys, or even a feathersword. This game deals not only with shape recognition but also logic and problem solving.
11. The Wiggles love to eat, and Dorothy is cooking up some special treats. Make a visit to Dorothy's house in Wiggle Town for Cooking with Dorothy the Dinosaur. She's in her kitchen and making up special pies using her recipe book. The book is open to a page with a different letter on it each time. For example, if it says "P", then Dorothy will be making "P-Pie". She needs help choosing ingredients that begin with the letter "P". Behind her in her cabinets the ingredients are all full of different items. Mousing over the object, she will tell you what it is. If it begins with the selected letter, click on it and add it to the pie. Once all the ingredients beginning with that letter are chosen..in the oven it goes, and onto the next letter. This exercise helps teach the letters of the alphabets and phonic sounds.
12. Henry the Octopus is learning how to juggle, but this is quite difficult with all his tentacles getting in the way. In Juggling with Henry the Octopus, Kids can help Henry juggle one ball at a time (up to 3 balls) by clicking on certain balls when Henry asks for them by color and pattern. For example, Henry will ask for the yellow ball with green dots, etc. This mode helps kids with both color and shape recognition as well as following directions and listening skills.
Target Audience
A Day With The Wiggles is recommended for kids ages 3 and up, though I play this with my under 2 year old and find it to be appropriate. My son (20 months old) is absolutely tickled that The Wiggles are on the computer screen and though he can't figure the mouse out quite yet, he tries. Most of all, he enjoys the time spent with me and The Wiggles having so much fun and learning lots of good stuff, too. In fact, he loves it so much that he climbs up into my lap the minute he sees The Wiggles on the screen - ready to Wiggle!
If your child enjoys The Wiggles, the odds are good that they will enjoy this interactive software product. Based on my experience I would say A Day With The Wiggles will be most enjoyed for 2-5 year olds (and Wiggly Moms and Dads). Older children will be able to "play" the program by themselves and younger toddlers will need parental assistance.
No matter what age, I feel that programs like this are best enjoyed by both parent and child playing together. It is never to young to begin learning so don't let it stop you if your child does not yet meet the minimum age recommendation of 3 years and up. Any wiggly fan will enjoy this program. I am sure that even the littlest of Wigglers will enjoy this program as lapware.
Do The Move Called The Wiggles Groove!
Recommended:
Yes
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marytara
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