Jumpstart Online Provides Educational Fun for PreK-age 10! Review + GIveaway!

About a year ago our family was introduced to JumpStart, an online educational program for children from preschool through about 6 years of age. When we first reviewed JumpStart, my son loved it. He went on for about 6 months almost daily.. and then it slowly faded. He went on every now and then, when the themes changed because of a holiday, or because he wanted to play on the computer. He loved seeing the new changes, but the educational games were not so educational for him any more. As a gifted kid, he runs into that problem often.


When summer began, on rainy days or 'boring' days Alex started visiting again, and noticed there were tons of changes. You can have a pet dragon now, (when I visited with him earlier, it was sleeping!), and there are more areas on the map. The Jumpeez (avatars, computer people, characters) can interact with their pet dragon and go through these different areas and worlds ('like Future Land and Story Land', Alex says), on learning adventures. MarineLand, FutureLand, and Uncle Milton’s Amazing Science Land are the new lands, and Alex says 'they're pretty cool', too.

I love hearing him play on JumpStart, and I love listening to him teach Abbie the new worlds. She's starting to get really good at the computer (now that her big brother has given her the ability to work on it alone) and enjoys her little Jumpeez too! The names of the Jumpeez are anonymous and fictional, and always gets a giggle from her as it pops up over her character's head, which is new to her!

Today, we got a "mission" as we signed on, and both of the kids were so excited!

They had to go and find pieces of a treasure map in order defeat an evil Sorcerer that is trying to take all of the energy from JumpStart.

They were even more upset when I told them that they could do their mission tomorrow, as it was bed time.

One of Alex's favorite places on the JumpStart map is the Stadium. At the Stadium, kids can go and play either football, volleyball or basketball (all with an educational twist!). The only thing Alex says that he doesn't like is the fact that they don't have soccer. Overall, he does enjoy all of the new upgrades they have done, and honestly has the desire to play every single day again. He's excited about it, and as a mom, that makes me excited.

I have a tendency to want to try all of the games my kids play, and before they played JumpStart for the very first time screened it completely. That said- I tried playing the volleyball game at level three today, and it was CRAZY! Even though the words are not hard it's like mind-hand-eye coordination at it's finest. Of course, if I wasn't still sick, and had a mouse for my laptop, it may have been easier.. but I digress!

I love the fact that you can link your Facebook account with your JumpStart account, so you can keep track of your kid's progress on Facebook, earn extra coins and meet up with friends (using top-secret-buddy codes to locate them).  If you prefer the traditional way, you can see your child's progress right in your email, or on your account page at JumpStart.com.

The bottom line is, now that Alex is older and brighter, he's found a place that he's familiar with to fit into his world that's both educational and fun. It's fun enough to keep him coming back to it, and once again, advanced enough that he can really learn and sharpen his skills on the educational side of it. The boy is happy, and mom is happy- win, win!

Speaking of winning... Our very good friends at JumpStart have offered one lucky reader their chance to score a 6 month paid subscription to JumpStart online!

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNER!!

Please refer to our WINNERS PAGE for more information on how to claim your prize!

This giveaway is open to residents of the US & Canada. This giveaway will end on August 15, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. The winner will be chosen using Random.org, and all winner information will be posted on our WINNERS PAGE and on this post. Any unclaimed prizes will be redrawn accordingly and at the discretion of 4BabyAndMom. Disclosure: I received a membership to JumpStart to review at no cost. This did not affect my opinion of the product and any opinions expressed are 100% that of 4BabyAndMom. Your experience with these products, website and companies may differ.

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Who Needs a Vacation? Backyard Safari Outfitters Brings Adventure Straight to Your Yard!

My kids are always searching for an adventure, and despite having a girl, they are always into "something" in our back yard. Both of the kids like to play in the mud, chase little lizards, and play with rolly-polies. The only bugs Abbie really doesn't like is spiders, mosquitoes and ants. (In her defense, neither do I.)

With only one car at the moment, many of my goals for summer vacation had to be rescheduled onto a jam packed weekend. I was struggling to find new things to occupy the kids with in our house or our backyard.

When a gigantic box showed up on my doorstep, I honestly had no idea what to expect inside. Thanks to Team Mom, our family was given the opportunity to review a great collection from Backyard Safari Outfitters.

As we pulled the stuff out, the kids eyes lit up like the 4th of July! Alex loved the cargo vest, because it made him look like a real explorer. Abbigaile thought the bug vacuum was a dust buster- until I told her what it was for. Alex took it from there, eager to see what kind of bugs he could suck up with it. The periscope sparked both of the kids interests, and although we have yet to experience using it underwater, the kids have enjoyed playing pretend with it. Whether they were camping under their bed, or the picnic table in the backyard, their imaginations ran with stories and tales of pirates and submarines.

Aside from allowing pretend play to soar, the kids have loved learning about new bugs and birds nests, using their new explorer gear. The periscope was perfect to allow the kids to get a sneak peek at our little birds nest in our front tree. I love the way my children's eyes light up when they're experiencing something new.

This summer, if you're looking to fuel your child's desire to explore, or just for a new experience to share with them, be sure to check out Backyard Safari Outfitters at www.BackyardSafari.com.

“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.” ~ Rachel Carson

Special thanks to Team Mom and Backyard Safari Outfitters for providing these products for us to evaluate and write a candid review about. This post is 100% our opinion.

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