Keyboard Town Pals - TOS Review

It's

REVIEW DAY

&

I am sharing with you...

A KID, A COMPUTER, AND AN HOUR

Learning to Type is Fun, Fast and Easy!

Keyboard Town Pals is a typing program for children ages 7 through age adult.  Brought to you from the creative members of the popular show Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, this program uses vibrant colors, puppets, musics and humor to teach proper typing position and technique.

Sunny

A succession of eight videos, 5 to 8 minutes in length, your student learns along with Sunny, correct placement of their fingers on the keyboard or as KTP affectionately calls HomeKey Street where your fingers live, as well as uptown and downtown friends.  Each letter has its own character/puppet and name.  Your student learns by practice with the video and helping hands practicing over and over going uptown and downtown.

The creators say if you have an hour they can teach your child to type correctly using the PALS or Purposeful Associated Learning System at their own pace.  When your child associates 'A' with Amy they are making the visual, auditory and kinesthetics, i.e. body position, hand position, muscles etc. needed to create a new and lasting memory of the placement of 'A' on the keyboard.

I was a little fooled by the claim that it only takes an hour.  But, once in the program you soon realize that watching and using the entire program takes about an hour in one sitting.  Once your student begins the program he/she can come back for practice as many times as necessary to train their little hands and memory in proper positioning.

My little girl (5) was so excited once she saw the program because of the fun puppets and music.  She tried to make use of the training but found herself unable to use her hands the was they were instructing her.  She continues, slowly, to try though.  So the age recommendation is correct.  Age 7 is where your student is developmentally ready with the motor skills necessary to accomplish this program. 

PALS

My boys, ages 10 and 13 were a little less impressed with the childish nature of the characters.  They are boys so the program seemed very silly to them.  But, as I was classically trained in high school, proper typing technique, this program shares a fun way of learning above the hunt-and-peck method to teach them proficient typing skills. 

Check out 'A' Amy, who lives in the first house on HomeKey Street as she visits 'Z' zebras her favorite animal in this sample video:

You can purchase your Keyboad Town Pals at the KTP Shop HERE :

CD-ROM $35.00


  CD-ROM Bundle $45.00


 CD-ROM plus Companion Product $40.00

  Web Based $30.00

As a reviewer I was contacted about reviewing the web-based program.  After going back and forth with KTP we never could get the system to work for me.  I was supposed to receive an activation email.  After many attempts KTP sent me the CD-ROM version which worked perfectly. 

I enjoyed this program for the efficiency of which they train students to type the right way.  I found it to be a bit childish for the older children and would like a program that would appeal to older children at their level. 

From My Heart to Yours,
Mindy B.
Revelation 12:11

Disclaimer: I received this product free of charge for the purposes of sharing my honest opinion and review.

You can read more Reviews from my Crew Mates at The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew HERE