You don't have to be a parent of a Special Needs child, a teacher, or a therapist to enter able2able giveaways. This giveaway is open to the U.S and Canada. You must be a public follower of able2able to enter. New to blog giveaways, and a little nervous? Check out able2able's Blog Giveaway FAQ's.

Both my children are a combination of introvert and extrovert. Clara-Bear's social skills took a big dive after a prolonged illness when she was two.  Chronic sensory overload and the pain and fear of a month in the hospital followed by months of daily follow-up and medical home care left her suspicious and anxious around strangers. 


Three years later the suspicion and anxiety is only for doctors appointments or new therapists, but the social skills still need work.  She loves to go person to person in a waiting room and grab their hands to make them clap with her, but she won't say "hi" or "bye" without prompting.  Eye contact happens after she gets to know you.  She rarely looks at faces when she says "bye" and if she waves it's usually after the person has left.

Then there's my Typically Developing 4 year old.  He is extremely confident and chatty around adults, but will try to avoid talking to children his own age because his speech is difficult to understand.  We assume this is the result of being medically homebound with Clara-Bear for his first three winters, but of course we'll never know why a child who loves to talk has so much difficulty with articulation.  The bottom line is that he also has anxiety about meeting and greeting new children.  I was thrilled to get this opportunity to review two interactive social skills CD-Rom's for preschool children from the UK based company Hometrain. 



Both Clara-Bear and Alan were really into the games and narratives from "Hello" and "How are You". They are both still working on their mouse skills so they are not ready to play the point and click computer games independently, but I don't mind. It's easier for me to carryover key words and concepts into everyday social situations if I am involved in this type of activity. Learning how they learn is an important part of my Mommy Homework and I don't believe that teachers and therapists should be the only ones who understand how my children learn.


Hometrain CD-Rom's are meant to be used at school, therapy, or at home. Teach Social Skills 1, "Hello", focuses on understanding how and why we greet, friendships, and ways to get to know a new friend better.

Teach Social Skills 2, "How Are You?" explores emotions, describes body parts and pain, why emotions change, language skills for difficult social situations, and teaches children a three step process to staying calm.


Videos of Claire and the same eight cartoon children are in both CD's. This creates a sense of familiarity and ties the two programs together for preschoolers.

"Going to School" is the most recently released CD-Rom. "Learning Together" a preschool teaching program for children with difficulty learning is also available for purchase. The list of stores selling Hometrain products in the U.K. is growing and inquiries from interested retailers in the U.S. and Canada are welcome.

IMHO - I like what I see and what I'd like to see:

I like what I see:

• Images are simple without a lot of distractions.
• It's easy to identify the emotions in the cartoon images.
• Claire does a fabulous job of explaining concepts and speaks very clearly at an easy to follow pace.
• The emphasis on modeling appropriate language with opportunities to practice.
• Stressful situations are addressed and children are taught an easy way to practice self calming.
• Identifying and communicating physical feelings are included.
• The Quick Guides included with each CD-Rom clearly explain the different interactive sections and remind you when printable resources are included on the CD.
• You can play sample games on the website and view sample pages from the lesson plans before buying.
• The website offers more than a place to stop and shop. It is really developing into a source of social skills and preschool learning resources.
• A contact number is included for questions.

Things I'd like to see:

• Prices in U.S. and Canadian dollars.
• Resource links for U.S. and Canadian clients.
• Lesson plans or a summary of how to use the social skills programs. They do a very good job of explaining this between the info on the Hometrain website and on the Teach Social Skills discs but I felt like I had to piece it together from several different places.
• A link between the Glossary of Terms and the Information section. The Glossary is really helpful but a little lost on the site.
• A contents list and more about "Learning Together." I'm not sure exactly what it covers or what type of learners will benefit from the program.
• A downloadable option to reduce the price while Hometrain is expanding retailers outside the United Kingdom.
• Apps! Not just to make the games more portable, but to give a touch screen option to children like Clara-Bear who do not have the fine motor skills to use a mouse.
• A more detailed summary of Claire and William's professional backgrounds and education. I had to listen to a radio interview in the About section and read Claire's Blogger profile to learn that she was a teacher with educational play and Special Needs experience. The quality of her work hints at her expereince, but American schools and therapy centers will want specifics before purchasing or recommending Hometrain products.

Hometrain understands that Special Needs children might need help with the elements of social skills and communication that come more naturally to other children. Their interactive products are fun and entertaining for preschool learners.  This makes it easier for parents and teachers to connect learning social skills with real life. I can't wait to see what they come up with next!

One lucky able2able follower will win two Hometrain CD-Rom's, Teach Social Skills 1 "Hello" and Teach Social Skills 2 "How are You?" (ARV $60).

Mandatory first entry: Like Hometrain on Facebook and leave a shout out comment on their wall saying you have entered the Teach Social Skills giveaway on able2able.

The mandatory first entry must be completed before you can complete any of the following additional entries! You can choose to do one or all of these additional entries in any order. There are a total of 12 possible entries.

For 1 additional entry:

• Follow the Hometrain blog
• Follow able2able on Twitter.
  
• Like able2able on Facebook and post a shout out comment on the wall.
  Current Facebook Fans may post an entry.

For an additional 2 entries (post a comment for each entry):

• Post a link to this giveaway on your Facebook status.
  
• Tweet the link to this giveaway.

For an additional 4 entries (post a comment for each entry):
Blog about this giveaway! Your blog post must include links to this giveaway and mention able2able and Hometrain. Include a link to your blog post in your comments.

It is very important that you post a comment for each entry. Why? Because a random number generator will be used to select the winner. Each comment will be numbered by Blogger, and I will use those numbers for the drawing. So if you combine entries into one post all your entries will not be counted. There will be no do-overs!

I will verify that the winning entry has met the requirements above, so if your comment for a FB status update is the winning comment then I might ask to see that link, etc. If I cannot verify your entry, then all your entries will be removed from the list and the drawing will be repeated.

The winner's name will be posted on able2able and I will also contact you. The lucky winner will have 72 hours to reply.


I was given a product sample for review. The developers did not edit or influence this review.