Children need all the help possible to stay ahead at school.

Now many parents are buying learning software to give their child an academic lift and help them through the first years of learning.

Play And Explore Year 2 brings together a number of good activities and games to form a gentle interactive learning platform.

Designed for ages five through to seven, this software includes shape choosing games, an art workshop and a shopping game that kept me amused.

I thoroughly enjoyed matching all kinds of words, colours and pictures to ensure a snake was kept awake.

I excelled in the virus showdown where arithmetic is needed to protect the computer from a virus.

The way the software took real life situations and included them in a series of activities that were fun and educational is very attractive.

This is the mark of a truly successful piece of software, which should be on a lot of Christmas lists.

If nothing else it will guarantee a few quiet hours as the kids work their way though the puzzles.

Price: £9.99
Contact: 01480 496600
Feel good factor: 9 out of 10