Team UmiZoomi is a popular Nick Jr. cartoon about three tiny super heroes who use their mighty math powers to help people in the city. Now your child can join the team and learn math skills on an adventure. A rocket is missing some parts at the Astronaut Center, and it’s up to Team UmiZoomi, and your child, to help find the missing parts at the aquarium and playground in this adventure on the Nintendo DS.

In Adventure Mode, play a string of mini-games as you search for the rocket parts. Each mini-game teaches a math-related skill, and you use the stylus and touch screen to control the actions. It’s especially neat how the game shows how you use math skills in everyday life. Use shapes to build a submarine to get into the aquarium. Then fix the seahorse tank by measuring out pieces of tape the same length as the cracks in the glass. Later, help clean up the playground by sorting trash and learn number sequences by fixing the hopscotch boards.

As your child plays each game, it’ll adjust the difficulty based on your child’s performance. And it can get pretty advanced if your child is adept enough. Numbers can go all the way up to the 40’s, and even I learned a few new names for shapes. Do you know what the name of a nine sided shape is? Well, this game will tell you! Parents can also check the progress of each game their child has played.

Kid Factor:

Even though reading skill isn’t needed to play this game, number recognition is important to fully enjoy the experience. The range of math skills taught goes from Pre-K to Kindergarten and even some first grade math. The game is just like watching an episode of the cartoon. But that’s also a bad thing because it’s about as short as the cartoon as well. Kids will probably replay the game, just like how they watch and re-watch their favorite shows. And there are some extra Team Training puzzle games as well. But kids may still finish and get tired of the game faster than you might want them to. Team UmiZoomi is rated EC for Early Childhood.

Tags: Game Reviews