..er, mice. Or is it mouses?

When Beatrix Potter, the author/illustrator of the Peter Rabbit books, first approached a publisher, she specified the size that she wanted the books to be. The publisher asked her why she wanted the books to be so small. "They're for children," she replied. "Children have small hands."

In the spirit of Miss Potter, kidzmouse.com has designed a mouse ergonomically suited to the very young. The fine motor skills for manipulating the mouse effectively often don't develop until a child is 4 or 5, and even then the mouse is a little big for a child's hand. We've made do with regular adult-sized mice at work, because most of our users are 7+ years old. But since you're putting together a system especially for Jess, it might be worthwhile to look into a child's mouse, as it will encourage holding the thing properly, thus helping to form good non-carpal-tunnel-syndrome habits for later, and head off frustrations that stem entirely from immature muscle control.

I've never seen them in action, but they received a glowing review in the November 2001 issue of School Library Journal.

Also (I should have thought of this earlier) Scholastic's Parent and Child Online includes software reviews here. You can break out the software selection by topic, by targeted skill, by character (Barney, etc.), and by age range. They also include a digital download for some games, an abbreviated desktop version at a lower cost. Of course, they're trying to sell the software, so the reviews are all positive, but Scholastic has an earned reputation of being so clean they squeak, of delivering a quality product, and of excellent customer service.

Another source for suggestions: any children's libraries and nursery schools you have in your area. Day cares might also be a starting point, but my experience with day cares is that they usually can't afford to charge what it takes to get enough computers for the children, let alone a suitable suite of software. The exception would be day cares affiliated with major industries or professional organizations, as they would be subsidized by the parents' employers. Nursery schools tend to be a little more upscale, and therefore more apt to have some computers for their students.

Have fun shopping!

Regards--
Mary Anne