JumpStart - Review & Giveaway (Let the Adventure Begin!)

*This is a sticky post until June 16th. Please scroll down to find the most recent.


This is my first official blog review & giveaway, and let me say: I lucked out! What a GREAT product to review!

A little background on the company: "For more than 15 years, Knowledge Adventure has set the standard in kid’s software by creating the finest educational products for use in the home and the classroom. In addition to our CD games, we’ve launched a beta version of our first browser-based virtual world at www.JumpStart.com, for kids 3-10 years old. Kids can create avatars called Jumpeez for themselves and explore magical worlds, discovering and unlocking games, videos, and storybooks that teach everything from math to reading. Over the next year, we will continue to add more features, portals and learning games to this site. I encourage you to check it out at www.JumpStart.com."

In this day & age of technology and electronics, JumpStart offers a perfectly safe and challenging environment for your children to "explore" and enjoy adventures. As a parent I was very impressed with it, and even more so as an educator.

As a parent, online activity means a safety concern for me. After checking out JumpStart myself, I felt very comfortable (quickly). Once Aidan started playing around with it, I was hooked. He absolutely loves it! He can navigate around just fine on his own, which surprised me since we don't have any gaming systems in our home.
He had fun creating his own Jumpeez, the avatar you design for the game (this done while one of the characters talks aloud, guiding you). He went from game to game, time passing by & fun being had, without needing my assistance. The entire time, I knew there was no concern over what he was seeing, hearing, etc.

Aidan spent most of his time in StoryLand, the area designed with 3-5 year olds in mind.As mentioned, he had many, many choices here, from the Movie House, Learning House, the fun games, designing your own house...plenty to do. The music was quite spirited, too.

AdventureLand is the place to go if you have an older child, or your child wants more of a challenge. AdventureLand is best for ages 4-8, but even at age 29, my husband & I had fun playing around there. :)
Now let me just add in a bit here on my perspective as an educator (having taught, albeit briefly, before having kids).
There are 7 basic learning styles: linguistic, logical, spatial, musical, bodily, interpersonal, intrapersonal.
JumpStart is great because it truly incorporates all of these different learning styles. There is truly something for everyone. You improve your fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, all the while having a good time learning.
Things have come a long way since my first encounter with JumpStart, which was CD-ROM games for my 1st grade classroom.

As a more audio/visual learner, I loved the graphics and sound effects. Together they held your attention and motivated you to keep going. :)

And why not keep going? The further you go, the more points you earn, working your way into the Hall of Fame. Which kid wouldn't love that?

Aidan can't get enough of StoryLand. He loves going down the slides, visiting the mail truck, and of course meeting the Magic Rabbit. You know those games your kids want you to play with them, like Memory? There's a game like that right there in StoryLand!

I think the best thing about this is that it's fun, yet educational. There are math games, reading, phonics...you can even listen to stories being read!
For all ages and levels, there is something appropriate and fun. We need something like this in today's world.

The customer service is also a plus. I had some tech issues with the background at first, and I received a quick reply with suggestions on how to correct the problem. Good customer service is priceless! Not to mention you can learn a lot from their blog and Parent-page.

Why not get it for your own child or children?

JumpStart has graciously offered 3 months of membership free to one lucky person. It could be you! What a great time for this giveaway, too, with summer here, and some kids thinking they have nothing to do outside of school. (Have you heard it yet? "Mom, I'm bored...Mom, I have nothing to do...Mom, there is nothing to play with!")
To enter the contest:
1.) Leave me a comment here telling why you would like to win. (please include e-mail address if it's not in your profile)
2.) Gain an extra entry by posting on Twitter with a link to the contest. (please leave a separate content with your Twitter link) I'm @sharonsnest
3.) Gain even more entries by blogging about the contest, both linking to this post and JumpStart.

Leave me a separate comment for each entry.
You have one week until the end of the contest--contest closes next Tuesday, June 16, at 10p.m. EST.
At that time I will randomly choose one winner. I will send an e-mail to the winner, as well as post on my blog with the announcement.

Thanks to http://www.jumpstart.com/ and the professional team behind it all!
Good Luck!