Friday, April 10, 2009

Jumping in with Jumpstart-Week 1


Recently, my kids have been introduced to Jumpstart, and are learning without realizing it.

Jumpstart.com is an "award-winning adventure-based 3D virtual world that is super-personalized, wildly imaginative and really fun".

Jumpstart is not just a game though, it teaches children how to use a mouse, the ABC's, shapes and colors, numbers, math, reading, and critical thinking skills "so kids get a real jump start in life".

The 3 Dimensional aspect is really appealing to my children, and they've loved making their own avitars, adopting a pet and using the interactive maps to navigate around.

I especially love that the virtual world it is age appropriate for each child. My children can log in under their name and it will take them to areas appropriate for their age. My twins use the 0-4 years of age section, while my 5 year old uses the area for 4-7 year olds, and so on.

Major retailers everywhere like Target, Costco, and Toys R us carry a variety of the DVD's, or one can exclusively play online at Jumpstart.com.

My kids play with THE LEGEND OF GRIZZLY MCGUFFIN which has 2 available levels to play with 10 additional levels to open up with one's online account.

I LOVE that one can customize the "adventure" for one's child by sending them special messages.


Jumpstart is a company I can "jump" behind and really support.
As a part of a new model of PR, two other bloggers and I have the opportunity to review Jumpstart, get you in touch with representatives from Jumpstart with questions, and then GIVEAWAY some pretty generous Jumpstart gifts.
Jenna at Stop, Drop and Review has already blogged about her experience with the software and online world, and Carissa at GoodNCrazy has as well. Be sure to stop by to read their reviews and get more information on this new concept of PR.
Next week, Erin from Jumpstart is making herself available to all of us for a little Q & A.
Let's start a dialogue. What's most important to you in helping your children to learn?
I've "learned" over the years that making the learning process fun is fundamental. Safety is of utmost importance to me as well. Jumpstart provides a fun, safe learning environment for my children, so I give it 2 thumbs up.
What about you?

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35 comments:

Clark Captions said...

Awesome Angie! That looks like so much fun! I'll have to check in to it. Thanks!

T Rex Mom said...

Gosh, it sounds like something I would want to play. My husband and I both enjoy computer gaming so we are certain our little one will have an interest in the computer very soon. We already gave him an old keyboard. Guess we can soon invest in this.

All of the information about early learning you mentioned sounds good to me. I guess the only thing that I would add about what I feel is important for my child would be that he has an interest and it works for him developmentally - i.e. either not too easy or not too hard. But it sounds like this program allows for that already.

Thanks for sharing. Very cool that you got to do a demo.

Salty Incisor said...

I loved jumpstart for my oldest but now i have a mac I haven't looked into it to see if they do mac
But it is a great program because it seems like they appeal to all learning styles at once

Melissa said...

Oooooooooo thanks Angie.
I'm gonna go to this.
My kids don't know how to use a mouse or computer.
I think this might be the answer.
My kids at school LOVED jumpstart.

Live.Love.Eat said...

Definitely going to check it out. My son loves hopping on the computer and I would let him more knowing that he is getting something out of it.

Tony@ That One Paticular Harbor said...

It is amazing how quickly kids learn this computer stuff. My 8 yr old acts like she has had a laptop since she was 4. We are now earning computer time as with 2 of them mousing across the kiddinet I had to find a way to make it work for me so I could be there so they don't land on some inappropriate site as my 5yr old would tell you.

Carissa(GoodnCrazy) said...

Awesome Angie.. ! I'm sooo alliterate today... :)

Thanks for working on this with me! I'm excited to see next what's up for next week!??

Michelle said...

My girls loved Jumpstart computer games when they were younger. They are a lot of fun.

brunger bunch said...

Learning has to be FUN, or my eight year old wants nothing to do with it. I like that it is on the computer..which both my kids love, and is interactive:)

Laurie said...

We are so on the same page! Joey has recently taken an interest in wanting to learn to read. So we too are using fun computer games for introducing letter sounds. I will have to check this one out. It is amazing to me how good these little ones are on a computer.

Swirl Girl said...

We are going to check this out.

I thought Webkinz were great because it taught responsibility and was safe (in that you could only 'speak' through a predefined dictionary)...but for the little non-reader in the house - she could't play the games.

Rachael Schirano \\ Rachael Schirano Photography said...

lydia adored jumpstart when she was younger, i cannot wait to let the little ones try it out when they get a bit older.

Marie Reed said...

I will have to check it out. I use time4learning during vacations but it's getting a bit stale! My kids need something new:) I'm over from Amy's round robin!

Amy said...

Thanks for stopping by and answering my Aloha Friday question! Really helped to know that it's ok to not respond to every comment. :)

What a cool program you're reviewing today!!! I haven't introduced my kids to the computer yet, but I'm thinking I will when they're about 3ish or something, good to know there's good stuff out there for them to play with!

Unknown said...

The kids love those! My 3 year old knows how to get on the computer find his games and start them. They learn quick! Thanks for coming by and for sharing. I'm following you now.

Amy said...

It is so neat to see they have something like this for children. Mine is still young but I want to check this out. Thanks for sharing and coming to my Round Robin party.

Lorie said...

My kids have always liked Jumpstart too. It is a good learning tool....it works really well with my special needs son too.

Stephanie said...

I'm heading to the website to check this out. I haven't had V on the computer much at all, but this sounds like a nice place to begin. I agree that learning needs a fun element, but I also see the need for a fine balance b/t good ol'fashioned learning and fun!

Just Lisa said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Just Lisa said...

I try to put a learning spin on everything we do... like if we're walking in the park and see flowers, we'll have a conversation: "Oh, look at the pretty flowers! How many are there? And which ones are purple? How nice! And flower starts with F, what other words start with F? Firetruck, right! What color is a firetruck...."

Maude Lynn said...

My daughter loves this kind of thing, but I'm always a bit worried about safety. On the other hand, I don't want something that requires me to sit right there the entire time that she's playing with it. Yes, I'm terrible!

latree said...

that's fun!

Ibit and Ar learn how to use all the features in a computer game by them selves. i often be surprise with what they found and learned

Jen said...

this sounds like a fabulous program. Hayden LOVES to play computer. I am totally going to have to look into it more. I will be back.

carrhop said...

Fun stuff! I am transitioning my kiddos to several curriculum subjects that will be done on the computer--they are loving it! Glad to see we have some co-comp-learners!

Blessings!

ChefDruck said...

My children love to learn on the computer, this is a great recommendation. Thanks!

Unknown said...

We have Jumpstart and my son loves it!

Jan Holt said...

You might also check out the Reader Rabbit series if you haven't already. My daughter also LOVED the Freddie Fish mysteries to solve too and they really helped her develop critical thinking skills AND computer skills. Thanks for visiting my blog!

Anonymous said...

It amazes me that 5 year olds are more technologically savvy than me!

Katy said...

That rocks! Looks like he was having fun.
Thanks for coming to visit my blog. You guys have a wonderful Easter.

Mozi Esme said...

Looks like fun! And yep, fun is a major component in learning... As is meeting the child where he's at - figuring out what interests him and engages him and using that to educate...

Jennifer P. said...

Hey--I'm doing a Jumpstart review too! LOVE them!

Kelly Deneen Raymond said...

Wow - I'm super intrigued! I will definitely have to check out this learning option when Delia gets a bit older. I want learning to be a fun, rewarding experience, and it sounds like this game system allows that. Nice!!

tiarastantrums said...

I'm going to have to give this a try for the kids!

Erin at JumpStart said...

Hi everyone - I just wanted to say thanks so much for all the comments. I hope everyone who jumped over to visit JumpStart.com enjoyed it. Please let me know if you have any questions...I'd be more than happy to help!
And special thanks to Angie for the wonderful post.

Shannon said...

I got Sammy on Jumpstart and he loves it. He like video games and I feel a little better knowing he is learning and playing age-appropriate games. THanks for the review!