Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Reviewing JumpStart! & A Give-Away!!!


Before we moved a few months ago, I was lucky enough to get in contact with JumpStart about reviewing their website - a virtual world experience made up of educational games, storybooks, videos and more. Of course, I was thrilled to accept. They have been amazing to work with and have allowed me lots of time to explore and get familiar with their website - not to mention their patience with my moving and taking so long to get this post up.

So...what is JumpStart? From the JumpStart Blog:

JumpStart®, an award-winning brand from Knowledge Adventure®, has set the standard in kid’s educational software for over 15 years. Today, the JumpStart experience is more engaging, interactive and fun than ever! In 2009, we introduced JumpStart.com, an online adventure where 3-10 year old kids master the skills needed to succeed in school and in life through exploration, discovery and learning. By blending interactive adventures and award-winning learning games into a safe, customizable online world, JumpStart inspires minds and JumpStarts self-confidence… the fun way.
Really...that description is exactly what you'll find at JumpStart.com.

Kids start their adventure at JumpStart by creating their own Jumpee, a character they control through the JumpStart world. Kids can then choose from several different lands and adventures to explore with their Jumpee. With Frankie, the dog, as a guide and lots of other fun JumpStart characters, it's easy for kids to find fun. Kids earn coins and JumpStars as rewards for completing activities.




So...that's the basic overview...now for the good stuff.

What we liked about JumpStart...

I asked Jewel, my 6 year old what she liked about it, her response..."Everything!" She liked creating her own character, finding games and adventures that were challenging and still fun, getting rewards and seeing her progress. Adventure Land is designed for kids in Kindergarten - 2nd grade. This year hasn't been too challenging school-wise yet for Jewel, so it has been so fun to find fun challenges that really to help her to grow while having lots of fun and positive reinforcement. (I'm posting a few screen shots for your viewing pleasure...if you can't see them well, click on the image for a larger/better view)

Adventure Land - Jet Pack 1

When I asked Alfredo, age 3, about JumpStart, he jumped up and down and asked if we could play! At age 3, he is at the youngest age for which JumpStart is designed, and so most of the time he needs help from me to play games, but I love spending the time with him. Story Land is designed especially for younger players, and it fits him just right! He loves the stories and learning activities in Storybook land. It's fun seeing him count, match lower case letters and I just can't get enough of his giggle as he get a "present" at the end of each activity!

Story Land - Number Games

Story Land - Eleanor

The kids really do have fun with JumpStart, but as a mom, what I love about JumpStart is that the games and activities are all educational! They are teaching reading, phonics, math, computer skills to mention just a few of the benefits of these games. The kids love that it is designed for them, and I love that they are having so much fun learning. Another feature I love is that my kids are able to find games suited for their age and ability level.

To be honest, I feel like we've only scratched the surface of what's available in terms of fun and learning at JumpStart. I'm looking forward to lots of fun for my kids for a long time at JumpStart!

Membership at JumpStart.com costs a very affordable $7.99 a month , with yearly memberships at $74.99. Besides all of the fun at JumpStart.com, members can download full boxed product games for FREE! I can't believe all they offer to their members! Here's the best part!! JumpStart is offering one of you a free three month membership!!! Yes, people...that means it's time for a give-away!

To enter this awesome giveaway, all you need to do is visit JumpStart and then come back here and make a comment telling me what you think you and your kids would like about a membership. The deadline for submitting comments is Saturday, Oct 10th at midnight. You can earn an extra entry (entries) by referring your friends here, make sure to tell them to say in their comment that you sent them! The winner will be chosen by random selection. I will post the winner on my blog and the winner will have three days to claim the prize.

Oh, and while you're at JumpStart, check out the JumpStart blog. It has lots of fun information about the games at JumpStart.com, but it also has fun ideas of things you can do at home with your kids. A recent post about a Bubbling Cauldron has me getting ready to get my Halloween on!

Good luck! Let the give-away begin!

11 comments:

Nik and Dawna said...

If I remember correctly...the CDRoms of Jumpstart were my favorite...wayyyyy back in the day.

Sprout said...

Hey Leslie how are you? This JumpStart thing looks totally awesome. My 5 year old is so into computers and would love the variety and learning this offers. I think I would have fun too.

Nay said...

We have also enjoyed the Jumpstart CDRoms -we can check them out at the library. How is the loading time on the Jumpstart website? Some websites/games have long loading times and kids attention span isn't long enough to wait for it every few minutes.

Leslie said...

Thanks for your question "Nay" - the load time will depend on your connection. I have a broadband connection and the load time doesn't seem to be too much of a problem for me. I have never had one of my kids have trouble waiting for the game to load. Although, I would recommend that a parent get familiar with the website and what's available first. That was the part that bored my kids...the time I was trying to figure out what to do to make it work for them. I don't think older kids would have any trouble with that though. :)

Richelle said...

My son loves to play on the computer. I am always looking for new fun and educational games that are for his level. This sounds great!

Chelan said...

I know my daughter would love it because she loves to play games on the computer and I'd love it because she's kind of having a hard time in school right now and this would help learning be more FUN :-D

Dacia said...

my kids love computer games. This looks like a lot of fun. I love games where they can learn at the same time.

Rex.Moldy Blog said...

I have used these before in the schools and it would be fabulous to have some at home! Thanks for the info! We need to get together!!!

Kyleen and Brent said...

Wow, thanks for the info. It looks like a lot of fun and we were thinking of starting my oldest on computer games anyway. so this is great. I will definantly give others the info. Thanks

stephanie said...

This sounds really cool and it would be more productive than the hours my kids spend on miniclip!

jjba said...

Looks like a great idea! I am sure my kids would love this!