Super Duper® Publications specializes in fun learning materials for kids. Their colorful catalog boasts over 250 pages of products and games pertaining to listening skills, inferencing, early skills, social skills, and much more. It even has a section devoted to autism.The Schoolhouse Review Crew reviewed three different products from this company:
- Jeepers Peepers game for ages K-Adult
- HearBuilder ®Following Directions Home Edition for grades K-3 (Software)
- HearBuilder ®Auditory Memory Home Edition for grades K-8 (Software)
Our family reviewed HearBuilder® Auditory Memory Home Edition. It's an interactive software program that helps children sharpen their memory skills. Kids will join top secret Recall Agents, Joey and Kim, on a secret mission as they try to protect Memory Town from Dr. Forgetsit and his wacky schemes. - Memory for Numbers (3-7 digits)
- Memory for Words (3-5 words)
- Memory for Details (1-4 details)
- Auditory Closure (sentence completion)
- Memory for WH Information (2-3 sentences/2-4 questions)
Each activity or mission has multiple levels of difficulty, which means that children must master simple memory tasks before moving on to more complext ones. Reward games appear after the completion of a level in each activity and badges can be earned for each completed mission.
Home Edition Features:
- Can use with 1-4 children
- Choose levels of play for each child (Play All, Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Expert)
- Monitor children's progress
- Print progress reports
- Add background noise at expert level to give children practice listening in noisy situations
Installation
HearBuilder® Auditory Memory is a snap to install and is compatible with Windows® or Macintosh®. You can check full system requirements here. This program runs almost entirely from your CD-ROM drive. However, because it stores records on your hard drive, children who are using the program should play on the same computer to continue saving data each time they play.
Using the Program
Getting started is easy. You simply type in child's name under New Player then click Play Game. Each time your child plays after the initial set up, you can choose his/her name from the Returning Players list.
Next, you will choose a play setting (listed above under Home Edition Features). I chose All Levels for my two children who used this program. Children must demonstrate 80% accuracy to move on to the next level of play. If your child needs extra practice listening with competing noise, choose Expert level.
To select an activity, you can choose from five different missions on the Choose Your Mission menu. Example:
I let my children choose which activities they wanted to do each day, and after 30 minutes of play hard work, they earned candy. Notice the briefcase to the right of each mission -- they contain memory strategies for each of the activities. The strategies will automatically appear if your children miss three or more items in a set of ten, but you can click on them at any time for helpful hints.
The Agent Status button at the bottom of the screen serves as a way to gauge progression for each activity. Badges can be printed here as well.
Each mission is explained in detail in the instruction booklet included with the CD-ROM. There's also 30 minutes of video on YouTube explaining exactly how this program works.
To try out some of the activities for yourself click here.You can monitor your children's progress by clicking on Progress Report. It lists scores from all sessions and tasks they have completed. It shows the game played, the date, level, score, and whether background noise was included. Here's an example of my daughter's Progress Report:
My 7 year old daughter really enjoys learning with HearBuilder® Auditory Memory. It's challenging and fun at the same time. I love that she can play on her own. My middle son, who is 10, thought the whole secret mission theme was too kid-ish for him. The learning activities themselves weren't, though. He even mentioned how difficult the Numbers mission was as he advanced levels. My almost 13 year old son really wasn't interested in trying it out.
For us, this program made a great summer time activity. I would recommend it as a fun and educational way for your children, especially younger ones, to improve their listening skills. You can order HearBuilder® Auditory Memory Home Edition for $69.95 on the website. Order between now and the end of August and receive 30% off!
Coupon Code: BLGAM30
Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Crew, I received this product, at no cost to me, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are mine
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