TECHNO TOTS LEARNING AT ITS BEST

Alex Ellis, 3, played with a CDROM painting puzzle game at Little Rascals Daycare near Cape Girardeau. The program teaches colors and promotes hand-eye coordination.

A Bugs Bunny mouse pad appeals to youngsters using a computer.

Red rover, red rover, send Tommy on over and tag, you're it are games most of us were eager to play when it was time to go outside. Today that isn't the case, however. According to day-care personnel, children would rather stay inside and "play" on the computer.

So, is this electronic "playing" doing the children any good. Yes, it is. Although the children call it playing, what they're actually doing is learning. Sherry Bollinger, director of Care A Lot Learning Center in Kelso is quite proud of her computer curriculum. Children as young as 2 are allowed to work on the computer with programs that are geared to their capabilities. "Many of these kids have computers at home so they already know what the mouse is and what it will do."

Care A Lot's program begins with basic keyboard use and progresses from there. Children learn their letters with Sesame Street and Fischer Price programs. There are programs for color and number usage. Reading programs allow the children to follow along while the computer reads. Each word is highlighted as read, which promotes recognition of the words.

"We also have programs that deal with feelings and brushing your teeth," said Bollinger. The computer will ask questions and the child answers by placing the mouse on the proper picture.

Care A Lot has two computers and a printer for student use. There is a puzzle game where they can create a picture and print it, which allows the children to share with parents what they are doing. "Everyone is allowed on the computer at least one time a week," Bollinger said.

Students who come to the after-school sessions also have programs that will help with school studies. Programs for capital letters and alphabetizing help kindergartners and first-graders improve skills.

Oregon Trail, a social studies program, takes students on an imaginary journey. A variety of problems arise along the way and they are challenged to find solutions.

Sue Bippen, director of Little Rascals says the computers at the center are a big hit.

"Sometimes these kids know more than we do about the programs," said Bippen. Little Rascals also has programs that teach basic color, number and letter skills. According to Bippen, the success of computer learning at an early age is the patience a child possesses. Many adults would just give up if things didn't seem to be working out, but the infinite patience of a child will allow him to stay with the task until it is mastered.

Kindercare Learning Center under the direction of Martha Denson has joined the computer age. Kindercare, too, offers a variety of learning programs for student use. Reading, the alphabet, letter recognition and colors are just a few of the things covered by the programs. Kindercare also has a program that allows students to draw a picture and then print it allowing the "artist" to share the work.

What if your children don't go to a day care that has computers? Does this mean they will be left behind? Many area day-care centers are in the process of adding computer usage to their programs. Many elementary classes have computers in the classroom to boost learning at an early age.

Babbages in West Park Mall offers a variety of learning programs for home use. Store manager Michael Warden says the Jump Start pre-school and kindergarten programs are quite popular. Another good seller is the Reader Rabbit series. Computer programs make good gifts. "Our sales of young learning programs always picks up as Christmas approaches," said Warden.

If your children ask for a mouse house or a talking screen saver for Christmas don't be alarmed. They've just progressed into the computer age where -- just maybe -- learning is fun.