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Best of all, your child is having fun while involved in these activities. The absorption of new knowledge, the mastery of new skills, a sense of accomplishment and success in a "grown-up" world - these are exciting rewards that are vital to a child's development.
===Your Child and the Computer===
The Texas Instruments Home Computer is a rugged, durable device designed to be easy to use and care for. Just teach your child to give the computer the same good care and respect he or she would give a television set, record player, radio, or any other piece of electronic equipment:
# Keep snacks and beverages away from the console and keyboard. (Peanut butter and orange juice are not recommended for the computer's diet.)
# Don't hammer on the keyboard or place heavy objects on it.
# Don't touch the module contacts. These are recessed in the module to help prevent accidental soiling and/or damage.
You'll want to sit down at the computer with your child and help with turning on the computer, inserting the module, and selecting a first activity. Special "screens" of instructions, identified by a "parent figure" in the upper center screen, spell out in detail how to play each activity. Read these carefully to your child, and join in the fun as he or she learns to use the computer. In a short while even very young children, working alone, with a parent, or with an older friend, can have enjoyable, positive learning experiences with these specially designed activities.
===The Early Learning Fun Activities===
There are four categories of activities in the module: Numbers, Shapes, Sorting, and the Alphabet. Within each group the activites are arranged according to difficulty, with the simplest exercises first. This "developmental" arrangement helps your child learn the skills he or she needs to progress through the activities.
====Number Activities====
These activities are designed to teach and reinforce basic number concepts, such as identifying numbers, distinguishing between numerals, counting, and to familiarize your child with the location and use of the number keys on the keyboard. By seeing a group of shapes on the screen and identifying a numeral with them, your child takes an important step from a pictorial to an abstract representation of the number. He or she learns that the numeric symbol - "2" for example - represents a concrete quantity of "things" - two apples, two books, etc.
====="Counting Up"=====
Introduces in sequence the numbers 1 through 9. The concept of counting is presented by showing a numeral and a corresponding number of shapes. At the beginning of the activity, the numeral 1 floats to the center of the screen. The child then presses the number key '''1''', and one shape pops on the screen. Next 2 floats to the center; the child presses '''2''', and two shapes pop on the screen, one at a time. The activity continues in this way through the numeral 9.
