"What Shall We Do Today?" Feedback thread

[AnnMumsnet]

Dear "What Shall We Do Today?" Tester

Many thanks for being a tester for the Playhouse Disney 'What Shall We Do Today?' web based interactive tool with your child aged 2-5. We hope you are enjoying the website.

Please use this thread to record which activities you've done, your thoughts on the website in general and on the activities.

Playhouse Disney would also love to see any pictures or artwork which resulted from any activities undertaken - you can upload the images onto your MN profile or if you have online storage (ie Photobox/Flickr etc) please post a link so other Mumsnetters can see what you and your child have been doing!

Thanks

MNHQ

hello have been on again tonight and my main query is why does it open a new page for everything?

All we have done so far is have a go at 2 of the games-DS1 (4) and DS2 (2) really loved the handy manny fairground game and was something they could both achieve. We also did the Mickeys Clubhouse musical maze which I thought was excellant as it was introducing instruments & how they sound and both boys found it achievable. We are going to print out some pictures and do some colouring tomorrow. So far so good - DS1 found the instructions easier to follow than cbeebies & didn't really need my help (although the whoops of support were appreciated) and DS2 although needed to be shown where the keys were to press he was pretty good !

aristocat, I noticed that; it really annoying, as it makes it run even slower.

If anyone could tell me if it is just my pc making it run slow, I'd be grateful... you tube also runs slower than it used to I think, but other websites are fine

Ok today we played the Mickey beanstalk game. As an overall concept, he enjoyed it, although the sequence of branch length was a bit tricky for him. And god it grated on my nerves, the whiny 'where is boo boo chicken?' dialogue!

e also did coconutty bowling, which ds2 loved, esp doing the opposite of the point ie going into the mouths. ds1 loved it too; he's 6. We've never seen ooo and Aah before, both boys thought they were very amusing.

We looked at some Bear in the Big Blue House, but it didnt hold his attention.

I've had a play tonight as i have put dd to bed and have decided that tomorrow we will be dancing and singing. Will let you know how we get on.

We've been on tonight - I agree that there needs to be an age selector as the suitable range does really vary. For instance, DS decided to give Lucky Dip a go - he got two games that he enjoyed, and then a school age project on electricity, which he didn't approve of.

We liked dancing to the Hot Dog dance, and being Handy Mannys tools

Watched one activity clip, on playing Cold-Warm-Hot, and actually, it was great for explaining to DS how it actually worked

DS has a complaint though - why does nothing go to full screen ? Even on DH's big monitor, it's hard to see somethings properly. DS says that Cbeebies does it, so PlayhouseDisney should do it too.

I don't like the ad links to Club Penguin and some other older childrens sites - we kept getting them opened by mistake

YY I'd like to see full screen, especially when you have a lot of kids crowded round a laptop!

I have played a bit with DD and had a look this evening once she was asleep.

It IS slow to load. Can be frustrating. (DD is used to it, though, as Disney Princesses is hopeless sometimes.)

I also find it quite difficult to navigate, with all the different subsections. There's a huge a amount of choice and even if you go for the What Shall We Do Today/Lucky Dip you've got over 100 games and activities to scroll through. Somehow this seems easier on sites like CBeebies because they present them like icons so you can SEE what you're choosing from, rather than having to flick through them all.

We played the bug hunt - DD enjoyed it but found it quite easy. I agree that an age indicator would be good.

Having explored a bit, we're going to investigate more tomorrow. What would anyone recommend for DD, she's four and 9 months?

Ds (5) was keen to play on the site when he returned from school - also wanting a game (like his sister earlier).

He found a balancing game from bear in the blue house very diverting for ten minutes and though it was probably a little too easy for him - he really enjoyed working out which objects to place on the scales to get the right balance, and found the encouraging soundbites a real boost! 'you're really good at this'

So in all he is very positive about his first encounter - and impressed that he is helping Disney with the site development.

Well this morning we've done some dancing and the beanstalk game and the slide game.

Wrt the dancing it would be much much better if it could go truly fullscreen. We have a netbook so it's tiny and dd struggled to see some of it really.

The beanstalk sequence bit was beyond her but the rest of it was ok, with a bit of explanation from me.

Dd loved the slide building game though. She thought it was great fun to see the characters sliding down it having fun . My only issue with it was that the medium level wasn't much more exciting than the easy level, there was only one other shape you could use, I think some more funky shapes could have been added. That said, dd was very happy with it.

Am hoping to try out some of the crafty things and outdoor things over the weekend and plan on having a look tonight to make sure I can pick something she's capable of and will enjoy doing. Anyone have any top picks?

Oh and I agree with the poster who said it's a bit annoying having to scroll through all the options available. Dd got a bit bored while I was doing that.

We had a look at the electricity project and that was really enjoyed. DD just 3 is a bit young to navigate it by herself so really needs assistance to do that.

But agree with others that the cbeebies website she can navigate herself as it is clicking on icons. She wanted to watch some videos so found those and they were really good when we got to them.

However, ds who is just 6 (so I know is not in the age range) was looking at it with dd (3) and he is put off by the advertising banner underneath for club penguin as he really doesn't like the site.

Yes, my 3 year old DS loved the electricity project too, and it occupied him for 20 minutes by himself Handy Manny's carnival game was enjoyed just now - he preferred the teddy prize to the gold trophy etc.

DS was desperate to do the Mickey's Animal Parade activity just because of Mickey Mouse, and he quite enjoyed the process but found the end result rather boring (as did I). He loved the goofy's slide activity and spent ages changing the characters.

He is getting the hang of listening to the instructions and clicking with just the left mouse button, and I left him for five minutes whilst I loaded the dishwasher - is that really bad?! - and he did several activities all by himself.

We ended with an off-screen activity, which I think is quite a good idea to get them back into the real world. It is the the footsteps trail activity idea and he is doing it now, very keen.

We've had a quick look.

Are we meant to be looking at the whole website or just the "what shall we do today" bit?

Wasn't overly impressed with Agent Oso but DD (4) liked the Handy Manny story bit and got bored with the Cocnit Carnival game on the Jungle junction bit.

Couldn't do any of the print-out activities as I've run out of black ink

We have played again this afternoon (it is KiddingAnxiously here - I name changed, is that a problem?)

Again it does take a while to load, would this be my OS?

We played on the Handy Manny make a toy game, DS really liked this. As he is not really able to control the mouse, he was able to point to what he wanted and really felt in control. We played this game for ages.

We played the hint and seek game, but he was more interested in pointing things out to me than understanding the clues. If I asked him to look out for something he would shout when he saw it.

We have printed some of the colouring pictures.

I do agree that the dances should open in full screen and also I would like to know which activities open a pdf before I actually open it. DS was so funny doing the Mickey/Minnie dance, I can only say that unfortunately he seems to have inherited my lack of coordination!

Am I right in that you can visit all of the activities/games/songs etc on the site from the "What shall we do today" main screen?

dd's just been on for the first time and she is very impressed, she loved elyvans coconut parade as she didn't find it too hard or too easy, so that was great, she loved zooters zippin zip along, she really enjoyed making the scene and then making them all go fast around the course. jungle junction is definitely a favourite, we just did the mickey mouse beanstalk game which she also enjoyed.. i don't think its taking very long to load so not a problem for us

i think the screen needs to be bigger it seems to be a waste of all the space around the outside and she seems to be leaning in a lot more than she does on beebies.

will be back tomorrow or later as she wants to try out the handy manny games

Same as Soupy, we weren't sure if we were supposed to look at the whole site, or just 'What shall we do today".

DD has played on Jungle Junction (Zooters Zip Along and Coconut Clean Up), the Beetlebugs Nature Trail, Handy Manny Toy Factory and Little Einsteins.

Quite slow to load and really annoying that it wont go full screen. Made Zooters Zip Along a bit pointless as the characters keep going off screen. I've shrunk the page to 75% so that DD doesn't have to keep scrolling up and down, but it is a silly annoyance that could be easily sorted.

DD really enjoyed the Nature Trail and it was about the right ability for her. Coconut Clean Up was a hit as well.

She made toys in Handy Manny - enjoyed herself 'making the most silly one I can'.

The only one she hasn't liked so far was Little Einsteins. She likes decorating pictures and using the computer to colour in, but wasn't impressed by this version. It was too hard for her (and her mouse skills are quite reasonable) and didn't hold her attention.

Going to try 'What shall we do Today", tomorrow and will report back in

Many thanks for the opportunity MN

I tell you what i really, really like about it....

the fact it's not sexist, by that i mean a tab to click for girls here, and another tab for boys here, theres no over use of the pink for girls and blue for boys sterotyping, that even elc and fisher price have dissapointly started brainwashing our children with. for that i give disney kudos

the fact it is so unisex with lovely bright multi colours, is a big big bonus.

First look today with DS 3. Liked the lucky dip feature which came up with Jo-Jo's jukebox which was great fun - he liked choosing which song and who did what move. Also looked at Handy Manny and the tool dance.

Oso scene maker which he found easy to do by himself.

DD1 (aged 3) and I have played on this site yesterday and today. We played on Special Oso yesterday - she liked getting the medals and making the scene. She could do the scene herself. The assignments were easy for her to do by herself too.

Today we had a look at the What Shall we Do Today section. We watched a couple of videos - so now we have plans to make train bookends - but DD1 would also like to make an Oso medal for herself.

We finished with a couple of stories - Dog Cafe and I Don't Want a Guinea Pig went down well before bed. Will there be more stories added as time goes by I wonder although DD1 does quickly choose favourites.

I have used this a few times since we got picked, DD loved the Pots and Pans with Bear and I like that she is able to use it herself, I move the mouse onto Lucky Dip button and she keeps pressing until she likes one. You can't do this on cbeebies, her mouse control is not very good.

Also too echo another poster I love that there are no seperate sections for girls and boys, although I am sure Disney Princesses will make it on there soon!

We play sink or swim at home, and she loves playing at nursery, she watched the video and tried to guess what was going to float or sink and I think she had more fun than doing it herself (no wet sleeves I think)!

Spent some time on it tonight with DD2. She played some of the games on the 'what shall we do today?' bit.
1st she played Bunnytown Art Studio. She said 'It's brilliant'. Good for mouse skills. Easy for her to do but she enjoyed it.

Game 2 was Make your own Higgly town Hero' where you have to mix and match higgly heroes then you can add extra items ie tie. Very hard to get the item to go where she wanted it. So she ended up with a bow tie moustache! Which she did find very funny! Soon got bored of it.

Game 3 The golden carrots. She said'It's quite fun but hard to move the boat'.

Game 4 Zooters Zippin Zip along. Played this for quite a while making the vehicles stop/go/speed up/slow down. Only problem was that the track was off screen on both ends so she couldn't see them all the time.

Had an explore today with dd, aged 3. She loved doing the hot dog dance, and we're making plans to make a den behind the sofa tomorrow. Only complaint is that because I have a laptop, the inability to go to a full screen means that its small for her to see the instructions while she's dancing!

We did the ourdoor activity watering plants, which is great as she has a couple of pots planted, and it helped to explain why they need watered.

Hoping to have a look at the bear in the big blue house section next time we're on.

My first impression is that the home page doesn't really grab your attention and it isn't immediately obvious what there is to do. Once I'd played around with it it seemed more interesting but if I hadn't been selected then I might not have been drawn in enough to try the site out. I think if you made the centre bit where you scroll through options etc a bit bigger or get rid of the fussy background that would help and maybe a short bit of text explaining what the site is about. I like the way you can tailor the choices you make by character, time etc.

We watched the video for playing animal charades and I think it worked very well to watch how the game worked first & the kids really enjoyed playing it. I think more games like this would be great & perhaps some party games ideas?

The kids then played the Mickey beanstalk game. DD (5) went through it with me once then managed to do it herself with a little prompting but the branch sequence was too complicated. Ds (3) enjoyed helping her out and they would have happily just sat and played the game over and over. From my point of view I think the commentary was too fast (and too American!) - slower clearer instructions would work better.

My other point would be that we don't watch the disney channel so my kids aren't familiar with many playhouse disney characters. If you really wanted to hook in more people then it'd be worth adding in stuff for the more ubiquitous/well known Disney characters. If there were some Disney princess games then it'd be hard to prise dd off the computer!