My son and I have recently been introduced to the virtual world of Jumpstart.com. When I was asked if I’d like to try out a Jumpstart.com membership I said “Sure!”. My younger brothers and sisters grew up on Jumpstart computer games and I remember watching them play and being impressed at all they were learning from the computer game.
Jumpstart has carried on their mission to teach children through fun computer games and activities with their website Jumpstart.com. Jumpstart.com has many games that are free access to anyone who wants to play. They also have the option of purchasing a membership that gives your kids access to their online, virtual world. In both the free version and the membership your child can play games that teach reading, math, and creativity skills. With a Jumpstart membership you child 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. In addition to the online virtual world, with the membership, you can download 4 games that are geared toward different grade levels.
The virtual world that comes with the membership is, for a first time online virtual world gamer, expansive. My son and I have just barely scratched the surface of what Jumpstart.com has to offer. At 4 1/2 he hasn’t yet had much exposure to using computers so I generally have to sit right next to him and help him out while he plays. This isn’t always the most convenient thing for me, but it is much more effective for him to have a teacher/guide right next to him. It allows me to teach him when he encounters concepts he’s unfamiliar with. This actually happens quite often because his favorite levels are those designed for Kindergarten and up. There is a particular Math Blaster game that we had a lot of fun with, and that officially introduced Big Brother to Math. We got to fly a rocket ship through a tunnel, avoiding barriers and bombs, and when we’d reach the checkpoint we had to answer addition problems before we could proceed. Big Brother thought it was awesome! I love to see my kids excited about learning.
I found that the virtual world does have a bit of a learning curve. How much of a learning curve will depend on how old your child is when they start playing. I actually had a lot of questions when we first started playing and I found this page very helpful with answering questions about the different lands and the concepts taught on each land along with the age groups each land was designed for.
With the membership you can add up to 6 players on your account so all your kids can have their own profiles. There are also parental controls that let you decide whether or not your child can interact with other players online. At only $7.99 a month, I’d definitely recommend getting the subscription. It is less than you’d spend on something like a DVD subscription to netflix and it will teach your child so much!
Win it!
Jumpstart is giving one of my readers a 3 month membership to Jumpstart.com!
Disclosure: I was provided a limited time membership at no cost to myself, in order to facilitate a review. The opinions expressed are honest and are entirely my own.
About Amy @ Oh So Savvy Mom
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