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Sharing, taking turns, cooperating and apologizing are important skills for preschool-aged children when they begin academic and social interactions in a growing environment. As their world expands beyond the boundaries of their home, their behavior with other children, as well as adults, can sometimes be less than desirable. Preschool Playtime , a new CD-ROM from Social Skill Builder Inc., of Leesburg , VA
, addresses the common behavioral issues of preschoolers and provides computer-based exercises for children that teach appropriate behaviors for social interaction.
Preschool Playtime offers five levels of role-playing exercises. In each level of the program, real-life children are presented in real-life situations-in the park, in a play group, at preschool, and on an outing. The child using the program is asked to identify correct behavior related to social interactions such as taking turns, sharing, apologizing, cooperating, maintaining personal space and listening. Each level gradually increases in the complexity of the situation. In addition, there is a level that focuses on appropriate emotions, ranging from happy and excited to mad, sad and silly.
"Social skills are acquired through practice and repetition," said Jennifer Jacobs, MS, CCC-SLP, co-founder of Social Skill Builder and mother of a preschooler. " Preschool Playtime helps the learning process by modeling correct actions and words and then giving children the opportunity to practice. The computer program is interactive and user-friendly, making it fun for children to select the right behaviors in each situation and 'play' over and over again."
Every parent can recall a shopping excursion that was cut short due to the inappropriate actions of a child, a play date that ended early because the children couldn't cooperate, or a problem in nursery school because a youngster acted out. Preschool Playtime teaches correct behaviors so that such situations can be avoided.
" Preschool Playtime is an exceptional technological tool that teaches vital social skills in an interactive way. The vibrant graphics paired with video and still pictures of actual children fill a void when it comes to teaching pragmatic skills to young children," said Karen Vinson, MS, CCC-SLP, who works in the public schools in Austin , TX
Preschool Playtime is designed for speech-language pathologists, educators, counselors, occupational therapists, psychologists and parents. The program retails for $69.99.
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