Amazon.com Review

Don't let the word advanced in the title scare you. It doesn't mean that your child must be a genius to enjoy this program. It does mean that JumpStart has worked hard to create a program that delivers a specialized educational experience that will both challenge and engage kids. JumpStart has abandoned the unimaginative classroom setting of earlier versions of JumpStart 1st Grade and instead opted for a hipper venue: a scooter race. The makeover isn't merely cosmetic. Unique additions include seven learning buddies who can tutor your child based on his or her skills: your budding Picasso might do best with the artistic Kisha as a helper; your active child could get coaching from sports-star Casey, whose help is more movement oriented.

A kid could get lost in all of this audio, visual, and educational stimulation. There is simply a lot going on here: a quiz to match learning styles with the appropriate buddy; another quiz to set difficulty levels; a collapsible toolbar that changes game levels, reveals progress reports, stores power-ups, and accesses learning buddies; eleven games with activities ranging from pizza-making (fractions!) to news reporting (writing!); plus power-ups to collect, tracks to build and scooters to customize, all leading up to the big payoff--a scooter race to end all scooter races.

Fortunately, designers did a good job with the flow of this program, and it is easy to forgo the quizzes and just get on with playing games, collecting rewards, and building the best scooter in the universe. JumpStart Advanced 1st Grade assumes fluency in counting, spelling, and reading. Also, this is not a good first program for a kid who has never used computer software before. Concepts like fractions, decimals, sentence building, punctuation, and science are explored here. There's a place to create printable artwork and compose save-able tunes, but the strongest emphasis is on the three Rs. (Ages 5 to 7) --Anne Erickson ... Read more

Features

• Provides superior interactive game play tailored to each child's individual learning style
• Fun activities that encourage active learning through movement games
• Skill leveling that automatically adjusts game play and content to each child¿s growing abilities
• Enhanced motivational game reward structure
• Advanced curriculum to better prepare kids for the next grade

Reviews (1)

The Jumpstart "Advanced" products are a keen investment.
I think the thing to keep in mind is: what a child may have no knowledge of today they can pick up tomorrow, next week, next month. That said, Jumpstart _Advanced_ Grade One assumed a lot. And I far prefer that than for them to dumb it down so it's easy to beat quickly, and a big waste of money to you.

To me, Jumpstart Advanced Grade One *is* advanced. It's got Grade Two cirriculm coming on strong. But so what? The child playing it doesn't know the difference between grade one and two 'ideals' so they play, and the game naturally advances as they do. And that's what's great about these Jumpstart Advanced, they do, in fact, *advance*!

Without partental supervision or help, this is a CD for a child who can now read (or at least take a shot at sounding out) 'See spot run' and has a basic grasp of phonics. Having watched my 5 1/2 year old child play it over the last month, I have not noticed *any* phonics in it. But she plays the Reader Rabbit Phonics CDs and the Jumpstart Phonics CD, in addition with this one. If your child has no phonics skills, get a phonics CD ("Reader Rabbit I can Read! with Phonics" is good)I can sit beside them while they play and help them out while i do the laundry. It's astounding how fast they learn if you teach them to sound things out.

This particular CD, the Jumpstart Advanced 1st Grade is a very full, rounded CD. It's teaching them fractions (they build pizzas and have a list: one half pepperoni, one quarter green peppers, etc), reading, addition, subtraction, grouping, analyzing, etc.

It's entertaining. It assumes. But far better that then them have played it out in 3 weeks or become bored of it because it's too easy.

Worth the money. I plan on getting *all* the jumpstart Advanced products. I have the Jumpstart phonics one, and the Jumpstart Advanced preschool which was a huge hit.

Jumpstart Advanced (no other previous Jumpstart products *but* the Advanced) has thoughtfully included an assement test your child can take over and over again and which will automatically reset the levels of learning they are at by the score results - you can also take the test then adjust them manually if you like. There's also a report card of sorts that allows you to see which parts of the game they are playing and how many right answers they score. I never mention what they are scoring to them, but it is interesting to see what they do and what they like and what needs work.

Great product. Well worth the pennies. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Renegade spy Max Masters has unleashed an army of minions that are carrying out his devious schemes to get revenge on the Spy Masters team! Now it's up to you to put a halt to his villainous deeds. Create your own secret identity by choosing your "cover" from head to toe, then earn the state-of-the-art spy gear you'll need to accomplish your missions. But don't forget to claim your gear; you'll need the power to defeat the villains. The more missions you solve, the more spy gear you earn. Then take all the spy gear you've earned into each new Spy Masters title.

Navigate your way through 3-D worlds with underwater caves, an eerie pirate ship, a submerged secret lab, and beyond. Play more games in the Spy Masters series and unlock more of the 3-D worlds. Also play online! Start a team of your own or join one--use the spy gear you've collected to snag your rival team's flag. Get to work saving the day while using your knowledge of science, logic, math, and language arts. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

JumpStart 2nd Grade from Knowledge Adventure is an expertlydesigned collage of games certain to engage any young child. The characters arethoughtfully drawn and animated, and the games are intriguing--they'reeducational, too, but don't tell your kids!

In the Logs game, children help a gopher cross the river and make his way towardthe correct answer to a math problem--much like the old game Frogger butwith an educational twist. Players also encounter a Save the Universe game(science), a vault that must be unlocked (spelling and vowels), and even a basicmusic-notation game--well over 20 interactive games in all, plus printableactivities. Why should the fun--and learning--stop when the computer shutsdown?

The first of two CD-ROMs is part audio CD, containing 10 sing-and-learn songsthat can be used in any CD player. As parents, we love this feature; it's greatto be able to take the music on the road to reinforce the ideas and factschildren are learning when they play the game.

JumpStart 2nd Grade also features built-in Internet hooks for exchangingmail with other JumpStart users and downloading more adventures. And asan added bonus, the program comes with a 30-minute animated VHS story, "Why Didthe Bus Stop?" While its animation is not the most elaborate, the tape featurescharacters from the game and helps children learn about counting, telling time,and the five senses.

The JumpStart series is popular, and for good reason: the folks atKnowledge Adventure invest a great deal of time and money into their products,and it shows in this worthy member of the series. (Ages 6 to 8) --MikeCaputo ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Excited about Learning
I love ALL Jump Start Learning Activities. I bought the Kindergarten, 1st Grade and 2nd Grade. My son loves these programs also, he can't wait to get started on 3rd Grade. I'm so happy to see my son playing with this educational game and I'm sure any parent would want to see their children excited about learning.

We love it!
We find this 2nd grade Jumpstart to be very fun and entertaining. My daughter (twin #1) loves the log ride (math and vocabulary) and football field math. Daughter #2 likes the bone vault (vocabulary and math) and the classroom where she can do art and vocabulary. We all giggle about some of the silly rhymes. Both also like the record player. They do not like the save the universe game, as it is hard to hear the clues. They give it two thumbs up.

Boring....
I bought this for my six year old son who has thoroughly enjoyed the Reader Rabbit series since they have flexibility built in. This software is so rigid that he lost interest in about 10 minutes and announced that we could give it away.It is not fun.

JumpStart 2nd Grade
This is good game that will prepare your child for the 2nd grade but may not work with Windows XP Home Edition.

Excellent educational tool
My daugter just finished her 1st grade. I needed to give her some challange for the summer, so I bought this softwear. My wife loved it, because now my daughter spend a lot of time on it instead of driving my wife crazy. Plus, my other daughter (she'll be in 1st grade) is learning a lot form her sister by just watching her. My daughter comes to me with some questions (why? / how?) which helps me explain things to her visaully. I also bought Jumpstart woorkbook for both of my daugters and they work great. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Does your 6-year-old yearn to learn the Hindi word forelephant? Or would she or he rather explore the tried and true settingof a classroom? This two-CD-ROM set from the JumpStart peoplewill satisfy both adventurers and homebodies and help them witheverything from geography to spelling.

In JumpStart 1st Grade, kids get to pal around with Frankie, ahyper yet sincere pooch who would probably be the most popular boy inthe class. Frankie is excited to go on a treasure hunt but first mustgather clues by helping out inside the school. Six activities withinthe schoolhouse earn clues: Cooking up Spelling Soup, cooking in theMeasurement Kitchen, counting funds in Money Madness, engaging in PogoStick Math, reading from the Bookshelf Bonanza, or playing a teacher'sBean Bag Science game. There's also a music room and an art room. Inour tests, the organ with point-and-click keys provided a lot of free-formfun. It also provided a welcome break when the slightly too-longeducational games begin to feel, well, educational.

JumpStart Around the World lets kids travel to far-flung placeslike Brazil and China aboard anything from a train (landmasspermitting) to a blimp (if you have enough money to buy passage). Kidsmust purchase their passage, which is a good lesson in pocketbookeconomics. Each of the four modes of transportation involves a game,and once in a country, kids can chose scrapbook souvenirs ranging frompostcards to fun facts to brief audio language lessons. We thought thebudget and the language lessons were engaging and educational tools.But the brief skimming over each of the 12 destinations got was thecyber equivalent of being trapped on a tour bus. (Ages 5 to 7) --AnneErickson ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Buried Treasure - lots of fun, lots of learning
The Jump Start series is very entertaining. My son started with Jump Start Toddlers when he was three. He has since gone through the Pre-school, Pre-k and Kindergarten. At five he is busy with First Grade and with Second Grade, although Second Grade is still too difficult.

The children are introduced to basic skills, in this case addition, subtraction, fractions, measuring, quantities, telling time, parts of speech, phonics, reading comprehension, basic science, music, art, synonyms and antonyms, counting money. Each skill is learnt with a game, Spelling Soup, Vending Machine, Lost and Found, and Bean Bag Science to name a few of the many activities. Each game is well constructed, has three levels, and the ability to track progress should this be desired.

Typically each Jump Start has a meta-game, in this case, clues for a treasure hunt. The treasure hunt is slick and adds to the enjoyment.

Though we have spent many hours on first grade reading and first grad math, we spent more time on first grade than on both these other activities together. Lots of fun, lots of learning.

Great introduction of new concepts!
This is perfect for 1st graders who want a fun way to practice the new skills they are learning, and it is a nice way to introduce new concepts to younger children.
I bought this program for my son who is just finishing Kindergarten. I was looking for something to prepare him for 1st grade and have been very happy with the many different activities that the software includes. However, I will say that unless your child has been exposed to 1st grade concepts, such as fractions, parts of speech, or counting change, you may want to walk your child through each activity before leaving them to explore the game on their own. My son has found the game easy to navigate, but the activities are a bit challenging given that he has not had prior experience to some of the concepts. This is by far is favorite game and I have seen him make great progress in the few short weeks that we have had this software. My daughter, who is just finishing up her 1st grade year, has had no difficulty at all with this game and enjoys working towards the incentives! Well, worth the money!

A satisfied Customer
I for one spend time with my sister. and ever since she was four,
she spent a lot of time playing with this game. The first time I saw it, I thought: "what a colorful, eyecatching game!"
and when I actually sat down to try it, jumpstart amazed me even more. the fun characters, the talking dog... who could not love this game? the level of difficulty is even adjustable, and it gives the parent a full report on how the player is doing in diffrent areas. so it was great for me to see that I found this game not boring and long but, amusing. even to me. :)
I would definitely suggest YOU, go out and buy this for your child.

Educational and fun!
It's tough finding something for kids to play while not spending a fortune and wasting brain space on senseless games. The Jumpstart series are great because they offer great ways to learn while keeping things simple and fun in a cartoon-like format. The software is easy to install and I found that my 1st grader could easily navigate the program without getting stuck. She sat on it for hours!! I was surprised to see the fun she had with the program and look forward to purchasing further copies. I was surprised that fractions were used, but it was in a kitchen setting where kids could bake cakes, cookies, etc., while being told to add 1/4 cup, 1/2 teaspoon, etc.. I found that interesting and a good way to get into that form of math.

Poor interface
The user interface design of this game is not intuitive. As an adult, I had a hard time figuring out what exactly the program wants you to do. Instructions were confusingly worded and unclear. Not sure all the activities have much educational value. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

In JumpStart Learning Games: ABC's, the JumpStart gang has a mystery on its hands. Someone spilled juice in the JumpStart train's caboose and didn't clean it up. Children join Eleanor Elephant and friends on a fun-filled train adventure to deduce "Who left the juice in the caboose?" As kids travel to different locations and play learning games, they earn clues and use their deductive reasoning skills to solve the mystery. Along the way, kids can also listen to six fun songs, which reinforce letter recognition, letter sequencing, and letter sounds. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Jump Start ABC's
My son really enjoys this software. He loves the cartoon characters and the fun songs that they sing and dance to. I like the way each word lights up while the characters are singing songs. That way you can follow along. He learned to recognize his letters by playing this CD. It's a good way for a young child to develop listening skills and to follow directions. My son really likes playing the sled race while finding words that begin with the same letter. I like the fact that there are three levels of play. (easy, medium, hard). When you master the easy level you can go on to the next level. I would recommend this CD to anyone with young children ages 3-5, because they will learn pre-reading skills in a fun and motivating way.

Very Average
The music was nice, but the dialogue was too long.... My three and 1/2 year old became easily bored. He was only interested in the sled game. Its good for kids who can keep focused on something for a long time.

Great for learning ABC's!
My 3 1/2 year old loves this software. It has helped him learn abc's, upper/lower case, matching, finding, letter sounds, etc. I was very happy with this. The only disappointment was that after he'd mastered the 3 different activities, there wasn't another level with new activities. Still fun, though!

Jumpstart ABC's
My 4 year old son loves this game and I don't even think he realizes that he is learning as he plays. It is exactly what I was looking for. This gives him the ABC recognizition that his preschool teacher told me to work on with him. Another wonderful thing about it is that it was easy enough for him to comprehend and figure out what to do and now he plays on it all by himself.

A delightful learning experience
This software delivers great bang for the buck. My son is almost three and he loves this program, which is designed to help children learn the alphabet. He calls it Juice Caboose. It has numerous characters that are fun and the music is charming. The exercises are challenging, but not impossible.

I believe that interactive learning software is a much better way for children to spend time than watching TV or videos. This is a good program because it holds the child's attention and creates a fun learning experience. I recommend it highly. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

In this game, kids apply lessons in language arts, math, history, science, art, and music to rescue 13 lost friends before they turn into monsters. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

My boy actually doesn't really like it.
I've usually been quite pleased with Jumpstart products, but my boy who is usually quite easy to get to go play educational games doesn't like this one. He says it keeps sending him back to the same thing over and over even if he gets a perfect score. I think he would have just liked a little more variety.

Great fun! She forgot she was learning!
I recently bought Jump Start 4th Grade for my daughter. She loved it! It quickly became her favorite computer program. She introduced two friends to the program and they went out and purchased it as well! She prefers this computer game over television, so it was well worth the money. You won't be disappointed! ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Really good children's software is fun to play with, encouragesexploration of the program, is forgiving, and teaches something. JumpStart Artist is all of those things, and more. As one might expect from JumpStart(a quality series if ever there was one), JumpStart Artist helps childrenbecome comfortable with their own creative skills, while at the same timeteaching a little bit about art history and artistic styles.

The CD-ROM revolves around a handful of activities, ranging from freeformpainting to virtual puppet making to a matchmaking game that introduceshistorical pieces of classic art. At any point in the game, the animation islively and helpful, and accompanied by a friendly soundtrack. Don't think thatthis isn't enough to do--there is plenty of material here for any little artistto explore.

Our favorite feature of the program is the variety of artwork presented in thematchmaking game. Broken down into five categories, there are examples rangingfrom Seurat's Sunday in the Park to Tanner's The Banjo Lesson, andeven Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Can. The purpose here is teach kidsthat art comes in a variety of styles, and that not all art looks like MonaLisa. Not only is each piece pictured, but there is a series of buttons onthe side that describes the style of painting, how it was done, and otherinteresting details. Also, the name of each painting and the artist ispronounced audibly by the narrator, teaching children the proper pronunciationof such names as Matisse and Seurat.

This is a fun and educational CD-ROM, with plenty of depth to keep theblossoming artist involved and interested. --Mike Caputo ... Read more

Reviews (8)

more that a kids software
This is one of our favorite jump start programs. I was not sure who likes it the best: my eight year old, the five year old who has all ready build an amusement park.(you earn parts for this as you play), grandma(she bought this one), or me who was able to create my very own piture that as became my wall paper. This art program was bought for my five year old who is into scrapebooking with grandma. There are some sections that I find somewhat hard like the make a quilt. There are other sections that are for everyone in the house to do like make your own piture or Frankie's tent where you can make pitures that will go into a story/song/movie that is where most of our ride piece have come from. There is a tent that your child will learn about shapes and mixing paints. You also will learn difern kinds of art and even a mini game where you play with CJ and Edison. My age range 4 to 100.

Fun, entertaining, different
My son really liked this artist program. We first rented it from the library, and then he liked it so well we bought it. This program is different from a lot of the other artist programs out there becaue it teaches art fundamentals (i.e. what is texture, introduces kids to the color wheel, asks kids to re-create a pictures that are already drawn by causing them to match patterns, introduces them to mixing colors, etc.) It has a movie area where the pre-drawn pictures you color come to life in a movie.

It teaches foreign language. One of the movies is about a pinata, and it teaches the Spanish words for big and small. It is extremely enjoyable for preschoolers (age 4), yet it is complex enough that a young grade school child would not think it was too easy or too young for them.

Fun & Creative
I bought this for my daughter when she was 4. She is now 5. From the start this was one of her favorites and she still plays with it once or twice a week. She likes the colors and textures and variety. I like the fact that it is a creative toy that captures her imagination and it does not contain people or situations that I feel are inappropriate for small children.

Jump Start rules
This is an excellent example of what childrens software should be. This product could hold my childrens' attention for probably hours, by having them to use their own imagination instead of just "finishing" someone elses' idea. They have even found ways to play with three of four children at a time. We have had this product for over a year and it is still the one they reach for first. Jump Start products are always way ahead of the rest and this one is no different.

Ideal for homeschooling
Featuring art curriculum based on the National Standards for Arts Education, JumpStart Artist introduces students in kindergarten through third grade to the elements and principles of art, art history, the cultural significance of art, art production and display. Featuring drawing, painting, quilting, puppets, and collage activities, students are drawn into the diverse world of art as they develop understandings of basic art concepts using a collection of more than one hundred famous artworks, folk art, and cultural crafts drawn from around the world. There are fun activities introducing students to such fundamental concepts as line, shape, form, texture, value, space, color, symmetry, pattern, focal point, contrast, mood, symbols, and style. A True Color, 32-bit palette enables students to experiment with blending tools for achieving realistic color-mixing effects for their own creations. There are three levels of complexity that provide students with progressively challenging experiences. JumpStart Artist is ideal for homeschooling, and strongly recommended for traditional classroom art appreciation curriculum supplementation. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Good value...Not great
We bought this for our 4 year old daughter. The real "plus" here is that this set is a great value -- 3 games in one package.

The "Artist" game is by far our dauther's favorite. It has a lot of different activities, including making your own movie. The "teaching" component mostly consists of very basic instructions about lines and shapes.

The "A,B,C" disc has a few games related to the alphabet that introduces the child to the letters. It also has some songs that aren't really very interactive.

The "1,2,3" disc is, well, to put it mildly, dumb. There are only 3 different games -- matching numbers (which is sadly the most interesting game), matching quantities (gets kinda tedious after a while), the last one involves maneuvering a dog around to find objects in a sequence (unfortunately, the dog doesn't always go where you tell him).

Overall, don't buy these games because you think they will make your kid smart. Just buy them for fun.

OK, for what it is.
The main advantage of this package is that you are actually getting three different modules in one box -- ABCs, numbers and art. So, from an economic standpoint, it's a good deal.

These games are suitable to begin with a 4 or 4 1/2 year old. (They are a little advanced for my 3 1/2 year old, but she can muddle through as long as Mom or Dad are nearby to help her out of a jam.)

One unfortunate component of this software is that there is no way to turn off the on-screen instructions (in the form of animated characters). After a while, it gets kind of annoying, but our daughter doesn't seem bothered by it -- yet.

The quality of the animation is so-so. The lip sync is chronically off, but I've seen worse on kids' software. It will play on Windows NT without any problem, as well as on Macs (but only in Classic mode).

My main criticism of this kind of product in general is more philosophical, than practical. In my opinion, it's important to look on "edutainment" software as a fun supplement to bookwork and parental interaction, not as a substitute for them. My husband and I work with our daughter every night on her letters, numbers, drawing (fine motor skills) and aural skills (reading novels aloud) for at least 30 minutes. If we were relying on edutainment software for her education in place of our one-on-one efforts (as well as restricting her television intake), then all she would be learning is how to be desensitized by annoying music and flashing lights.

As long as it's viewed as "fun" and not real education, then this software serves its purpose -- light-hearted reinforcement of already mastered concepts. ... Read more

Features

• Young students will design their own scooters and race them on nine loopy tracks they can customize
• If they succeed in navigating the track, they'll earn cool new gadgets to power up their scooters & be the best racer around
• Along the way, they'll learn important things like measurements, fractions, and basic science
• They'll also learn other important skills like algebra, sentence structure, sound recognition, punctuation and more
• Kids will love learning and be more prepared for first grade when you use JumpStart Advanced 1st Grade!

Amazon.com Review

Toddlers explore a bright garden world where they can make snails count and critters with instruments play the Blue Danube Waltz. Their playmate is an engaging duckling named DeeDee, who's visiting her grandmother. DeeDee's gran has a heck of a fun place: there's a Treehouse of Shapes, a Numbers Pond, a Garden of Colors, a Musical Waterfall, a forest full of Peek-a-Boo Animals, and ABC Toadstools in the garden. Go inside and there's Gran, all set to play Picture Playtime. All seven activities can be initiated and played with a sweep of the mouse or by hitting random keys--no clicking required. Parents should plan on guiding younger toddlers around this program. DeeDee's explanations are no substitute for seeing Daddy do it.

JumpStart Toddlers sneaks the learning in everywhere. While you're counting in the Numbers Pond, sweeping the feather cursor over a lily pad makes a letter of the alphabet pop out, and DeeDee cheerfully interrupts her counting to utter "A!"(or whatever the letter is). Letters also appear like subliminal advertising behind the Musical Waterfall. Music is everywhere on this CD-ROM as well; each activity has a corresponding song, belted out in DeeDee Duckling's Broadway best.

We occasionally find JumpStart's characters a bit cloying, but whoever designed DeeDee gave her some of the very same qualities that make toddlers so endearing. DeeDee fidgets, rubs her nose gleefully, and chews on the ends of her bonnet ribbons.

The Learning Scrapbook that comes packaged with this CD-ROM is simply a series of printable templates that parents can use to build a baby scrapbook in that cutesy JumpStart graphic style. (Ages 18 months to 3 years) --Anne Erickson ... Read more

Reviews (27)

What are you thinking?
Ok.. I do not own this title. I am looking for something to buy for my 18 month old since he's bored with jumpstart baby. I have a major issue with most of these reviews --- MANY people say that a big problem with this software is that it requires the parents to be there and do it. DUH. These are toddlers - little kids! Of course a parent should be sitting right there helping out!!! My son loves moving the mouse around because I taught him how to do it, not some software. (white curser on black blackground did the trick, btw). I have no intention of plopping my baby down in front of the computer and walking away. It's just like watching the TV - a parent (or other adult) needs to be sitting right there explaining stuff and interacting with him. I don't understand how you can give a bad rating simply because it requires an adult to interact with the child. If there's something wrong or bad with the software, I want to hear it. But saying it's bad because it forces a parent to spend time with the kid is not a good reason for a bad rating!

Great start for beginning computer users
At around 2 years old my son began showing interest in computers. His dad is an IT Administrator so our son was around computers all the time. Also, he was (and still is not) interested in learning the traditional way (through books, play, etc.), but rather through computers. We were NOT disappointed with this piece of software! Through this program my son has learned most of the alphabet, shapes, numbers and colors. We have had this one for about six months and he has not lost interest in it.

However, there are some things that I was not pleased with. First, this product is recommended for children 18 months-3 years. It would probably be more suited for children 2 1/2 to 4 simply because it requires basic knowledge of how to use a mouse and the program does NOT teach this skill. Also, the concepts it teaches (letters, numbers, shapes, colors, music, animals, memory skills, etc.) are more geared toward the preschool crowd. Second, the layout is "busy" and it is hard to see all of the different entrance areas (even for me an adult). Finally, another minor complaint (it is very minor) is that the duck's voice can get annoying after 15 minutes or so for me, but my son enjoys it so this is tolerable.

Overall, I highly recommend this software, however, for children over the age of two.

Teaches Mouse Skills
Regardless of what other reviewers said this is THE ONLY SOFTWARE WE HAVE FOUND THAT TEACHES MOUSE SKILLS. We bought this software along with toddler verisons of Reader Rabbit, Winne the Pooh, and Sesame Street when our oldest child was about two. For over a year she was frustrated with not being able to make the games do what she wanted. Then one day we helped her 'find the animals under the leaves'. The game responds to mouse movement so clearly that in less than an hour she had it down. Now she can use the mouse to do what she wants in all her computer games with little assistance. Unfortunately, the kids stepped on and broke our Jump Start Toddler CD. We have been trying to teach mouse skills to our younger children using the other games we have, but the games just aren't cutting it. We'll be getting another copy of Jump Start Toddler soon.

My advice is to buy it at 18 months. Play the 'find the animal' game once every 3 weeks. When your child is able to understand how the mouse works, they're ready to play more often and try the other games on this software. Then get the preschool versions of Jumpstart and/or Reader Rabbit ready for the day they get bored with the toddler games.

Very disappointed
Jump Start Baby was fantastic so when my twins became toddlers I decided to buy Jump Start Toddlers. The graphics and sound quality are fine the but usability is not easy and very erratic. Take the counting game for example. 10 fish are displayed on the screen and it is supposed to count from one to ten so the child can learn to count. What happens is if the keyboard is clicked (which it is all the time) it goes on to the next group of fish to count. So basically your child is just hearing the number 1. This also happens with the colors. The flowers change color and as soon as the keyboard is clicked it goes on to the next color to change cutting Dee off in mid sentence. I think the product would be really good if this feature were fixed. We have stopped using this product.

Diappointing
This game is very disappointing. There is actually very little to do and see. It requires a parents help to point and click the mouse and has very little interaction. Other CD's capture my 21/2 year olds attention for 3x as long. It is rather expensive and keeps a young childs attention for only 10-15 minutes. I read several other reviews saying it would be better for older kids - but my 5 year old daughter complains the CD is boring with nothing to do. I suggest Reader Rabbit or Fisher Price Little People instead. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

A mysterious villain called the Prankster and his battalion of robots are causing out-of-control weirdness everywhere you turn! You've been recruited to join the secret Spy Masters team to stamp out the trouble. Create your own secret identity by choosing your "cover" from head to toe, then earn the state-of-the-art spy gear you'll need to accomplish your missions. But don't forget to claim your gear; you'll need the power to defeat the villains. The more missions you solve, the more spy gear you earn. Then take all the spy gear you've earned into each new Spy Masters title.

You must stop the Prankster, using your cutting-edge gadgets to halt his slick tricks and army of trouble-making robots. Navigate your way through 3-D worlds with ancient cities, abandoned amusement parks, the robot factory, and more. Play more games in the Spy Masters series and unlock more of the 3-D worlds. Also play online! Start a team of your own or join one--use the spy gear you've collected to snag your rival team's flag. Get to work saving the day while using your knowledge of history, geography, math, and language arts. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

This game deserves ten thumbs! ( if you have ten thumbs that
Ok ok I can't really say I've had the pleasure of buying this game (frankly I think it's a bit over priced ) but I can say I've purchased Knowledge Adventure's previous merchandise before it has always had complete satifactory. I've bought a few of there items in the past and they were very educational and benifitial .Knowledge Adventure trys to make there software educational and fun . That's what's important right? You wanna teach your children and help them to learn yet try to catch there attention with something at a children's level. This spy idea sure did catch MY attention ! I think it's one of the best ways to teach children instead of forcing facts in to there heads with telvision shows all the time and work books. In conclusion I'd like to say this item sounds like a good way of teaching your children langauge , math facts and so on . Go ahead and buy it!

great game
This game was challenging even though I'm a strait "A" student in 8th grade I learned alot from it. If you want to learn or your parents want you to buy a fun educational game this is the one. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Enter the world of Jo Hammet, a 5th-grade gumshoe who's hot on a case. While visiting the museum on a field trip, she uncovers a sinister plot to destroy all of the city's factories! Her mission is to find clues leading to the capture of the mad genius, Dr. X. Armed with her wits and her skateboard, Jo plays curriculum-building games while dodging Dr. X's goons and searching for clues to unravel the mystery. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Forget-About-It
We have several JumpStart levels, and so I thought 5th grade would be okay, but I was wrong! It starts out with a looong cartoon intro. Then you are forced to go through a politically correct interview of a "rat" before you can start with a crossword puzzle that stopped us cold.

One of the questions it asked in level one (the easiest) is who is (1548) the Venitian artist of the same town? So, we had to go through the "museum" of baroque art, look at every picture, read every description, and still didn't fine the answer!

I took art history in college, not in the 5th grade! Now I can't even return the ...junk!

Poorly designed, way too frustrating
Despite good reviews for other JumpStart programs, the 5th grade one is very frustrating. The opening scene gives no guidance for what the child is supposed to do and the dialog between the two characters is way over their heads. My daughter was totally frustrated and lost all enthusiasm for trying this program.

Be a detective
Join Jo Hammet, kid detective as she captures Dr x. before Hooverville is destroyed. Put on your thinking, playing and excitement caps! You will play a crossword (Geography and arts) at Hooverville Museum then you will proceed to the station to pick a math lock (Math) and get in , to eavesdrop on a fill-in-the-blanks speech by henchmen of Dr. x! Skate over (you will control Jo's skateboard and run away from the henchmen, if you get caught by them, you will go to jail. You will sequence the boxes with the biggest under and escape from the window! It's math skills you require here.) to Bertie's Juice bar to work on fractions and prepare sodas to get stuff from Bertie. Go over to Jimmy's Junkyard and arrange the tangram like the picture above and get something you need to disarm the bomb Dr x is preparing. Then it's over to Maggie Mead's underground artifact place! Be careful of the rolling stones. You have got to buy this CD! It's educational too! I have it, IT'S COOL...

Dry and Difficult
Not enough action, to much research. To heavy in art history and not enough material a child can expect to find in a 5th grade classroom. Our son gets too bored because the navigation is to difficult.

Step Down for Jump Start Series
After loving Jump Start 3rd and 4th Grades, I was very disappointed in Jump Start 5th Grade. It is difficult to navigate and some of the material is far beyond the knowledge of any 5th grader I know.

To solve the Art History crossword puzzle you are supposed to go to the gallery and do research. But the gallery is so hard to use that my family usually resorts to randomly guessing letters in the puzzle rather than try it. As an educated adult, I don't even know more than one of four clues in the puzzles without research or guessing.

If the other subjects were as unreasonable as Art History, I would have given an even lower rating. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Don't let the board sports hype on the box fool you--the better part of this two CD-ROM set is a techno-noir whodunit that has very little to do with extreme sports. We'll begin with this, since it is the best part of JumpStart 5th Grade.

Dr. X is about to destroy Hooverville's power plants, unless a fifth grade sleuth named Jo Hammet can stop him. Jo, and players, begin their odyssey in a museum: a distraught father and a chatty rat clue Jo in that all is not well in Hooverville, and before you can say "Bauhaus," a true sleuthing adventure begins. Players must explore the museum's art, geography, and cultural exhibits, and use what is learned during that exploration to answer a fairly challenging crossword puzzle (we guarantee parents wouldn't be able to churn through it--unless they majored in art history). Completion of that, in turn, unlocks further mystery-solving/town-saving adventure. Moving through the rest of the game involves breaking codes, solving complex math problems, understanding word relationships, and dozens of other advanced skills that make up today's fifth grade curriculums. This game is no cream puff--we found the easiest of the three levels challenging. Also, this program adheres to the "throw 'em in and see what happens" philosophy of gameplay. Just figuring out what Jo must do becomes a lesson in problem solving and logic.

Now, there's a second CD-ROM in this set that feels like it was created seven years ago by a bunch of X Games fans with no kids of their own. It involves a place called Adventure World, where players engage in "awesome" sports like in-line skating, snowboarding, rock climbing, and mountain biking with the help of a very nondiverse group of teammates with names like Jess and Zack. The games are all standard-issue racing fare. They might be a good diversion from the academic rigors of saving Hooverville, but most fifth graders we know roll their eyes at overuse of words like "excellent" and "rockin'".

The strength of the first CD outweighs the silliness of the second one. Buy this set and your child will learn that using their brain to save the town is infinitely more fun than using their board to shred the slopes. (Ages 9 to 11) --Anne Erickson ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Educational Software?
This program is more about earning points than learning. It's more like a video game. The plot is really weird. In the beginning you have to interview with the rat before you start
"Playing." After the interview you do a cross word puzzle on famous artist. Come On! In 5th Grade you learn American History! No American History on this program! I get frusterated a lot because it's so hard to exit the program. You click all these buttons before you exit! Poorly written Software! I Give them a F-- for editing. I don't have fun using it! Knowledge Adventure is the worst software company. I like Clue Finders 5th Grade MUCH Better. Use that program. Stay away from all Knowledge Adventure products.

reading blaster or adventuress
My daughter could not read or do math i purchased reading rabbit and math blaaster for each grade level and her grades have excelled to A's & B's before she was failing ..So I cant add a better self learning increase this has built up her self asstem mom needs spelling too. frances roe ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Join Casey Cat, Pierre Polar Bear, Frankie the Dog, and the rest of the JumpStart pals on a fun-filled phonics trip to Camp Readalot. Explore the campsite, play games that reinforce phonics and reading skills, and collect special merit badges. Exclusive Read 'n' Respond feature lets you practice phonics by interacting with the computer, using speech-recognition technology. Have tons of fun, but don't forget to write Mom and Dad! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Big Disappointment
We own other Jump Start Products. This is certainly not up to their usual standards. Trying to use the microphone is extrememly irritating. I don't know if it's because my voice is the voice of an old person or if its because my grand daughter does not speak plainly (do most three year olds? but the voice interaction is very unsatisfactory as it never seems to understand what we say and keeps asking us to repeat it.

A review of Jump Srart Phonics - good but not phonics.
The software is very user friendly, in fact my two & a half year old is able to navigate it and enjoys the activities. It teaches alphabet and words and has stories but does not really teach PHONICS per se. Great beginning tool for 3 to 5 year olds but would not expect a first grader to gain much from this product. The Jump Start products have met our expectations so far. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Join Hopsalot on an enchanting adventure through the four different lands of Music World. The magic and harmony of the Land of Music are being threatened by Sir Sour Notes, and the instruments need your help. Help Hopsalot restore the Royal Orchestra to King Harmony's kingdom by collecting the sour notes scattered about the land. Along the way, you'll play games that teach important music skills such as beat, rhythm, tone, and melody. (Ages 5-8) ... Read more

Reviews (4)

My child was frightened by Sir Sour Note...
My 5-year old was frightened by Sir Sour Note, and to this day (over a year later) she refuses to play this software. Now my four year old won't either because of the first child's fright. It is a shame that Jumpstart couldn't find a way to encourage a child's exploration of the wonders of music without this 'Hollywood' gimic of good and evil. Shouldn't an introduction to music be a joy, not a traumatic experience?

Fair
My 5 year old is using this program, but he won't put it in and go on his own. I have to keep after him to do the rhythms, would rather just go on and explore. Doesn't hold his interest at this stage, more like school work. I see a lot of merit in it, however, and am using it as part of his homeschooling curriculum.

piano instructor
JumpStart Music is a great program. I am a piano teacher and I use this program as supplementary learning. I have students of all ages and they all really enjoy JumpStart Music. It teaches them to follow rhythmic and melodic patterns at a level they can understand and the animation is great. I recommend this product to all children who have a liking for music.

Hurtful not helpful
Between the character Sir Sour Note actually frightening my child and the goat which leads the rhythm section insulting my child's attempts ("That's BAAAAADDDDDD"), I was very disappointed that Jump Start would release such a product. What should have been an enjoyable introduction to music was actually a very negative experience. By the way, the goat also reprimanded my attempts to repeat his rhythms and I've been playing the piano for 30 years! Imagine a 5 year old thinking they can't get it right and giving up. VERY DISAPPOINTING piece of software. ... Read more

Product Description

This playful adventure is so much fun, toddlers don't even realize how much they're learning!

Features

• Fun learning activities
• Positive on-screen response to any keystroke
• My Learning Scrapbook to chronicle all the "firsts"
• Personalize, import photos and print your scrapbook

Reviews (1)

Jumpstart in the Classroom
This software is used in a self contained classroom with Autistic students.They all love this software and I need another copy of it. ... Read more

Features

• Kids will go on fun-filled expediations where they'll learn about importants events and time periods
• Go back to the time of King Tut, explore the New World with the Pilgrims, sail to Asia with Marco Polo, experience the culture of the Incas, and be the first person to reach the South Pole
• Teaches kids history, geography, and navigational skills as they play
• Ages 6-10

Amazon.com Review

If James Bond suddenly decided to become an elementary school teacher, his curriculum might look something like JumpStart Advanced 2nd Grade. A secret-agent frog uses globetrotting and gadgets to outwit the nefarious Dr. O. Kids must visit each of the seven continents and play games, meet secret agents, and gather parts to build a crime-busting contraption that would make "Q" proud.

This program uses JumpStart's new All-Star system, which matches a particular character to your child's learning style: reader, athlete, musician, team leader, artist, scientist, or math whiz. Once a character is selected, requests for help receive a tailor-made reply. For example, the musician will help kids with reading comprehension by having them imagine the sounds the story makes. These helpers can be selected on the fly--if the artist's help leaves your kid in the dark, she or he can consult with the math whiz for a different perspective on the same problem.

Some of the seven multilevel games tackle a variety of subjects--kids may be asked to form contractions or do complex subtraction to navigate a river in the Amazon basin. This variety breathes some life into the otherwise standard-issue activities--game blandness is the weakest point of this program. Strengths include opportunities for kids to learn about the flora, fauna. and geography of the various continents with point-and-click exploration, and a final gadget-assembly task that requires logic, experimentation, and persistence to complete. This final challenge (fans of "The Incredible Machine" will recognize it) may even teach parents a thing or two. Just like other JumpStart offerings, this program has progress reports, so parents and teachers can spy on their junior spy's efforts. (Ages 6 to 8) --Anne Erickson ... Read more

Features

• Provides superior interactive game play tailored to each child's individual learning style
• Fun activities that encourage active learning through movement games
• Skill leveling that automatically adjusts game play and content to each child's growing abilities
• Enhanced motivational game reward structure
• Advanced curriculum to better prepare kids for the next grade

Features

• Youngsters will test-drive their learning abilities by getting ready for a wacky car race
• They'll learn about art, addition, counting and other skills -- and use those skills to build their own crazy racers
• Other skills presented include number recognition, science, subtraction an more
• Prepare your kids for kindergarten the fun & easy way -- with JumpStart Advanced Kindergarten!

Reviews (1)

best for foreigners
Game using voice recognition and correction of pronunciation are very helpful for many foreign kids including adults. It gives pleasure and educational effects at the same time. Today There are lots of native speaker teachers everywhere. but Everyone cannot have opportunity to learn english from them and also decicde their english is good or not. That is why this will be the best english teacher for foreign kids. ... Read more