JumpStart World Kindergarten - E
Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this kindergarten software game uses technology in a new way. As children play, the game stealthily (but safely!) connects to the Internet to receive new content, thereby presenting a constantly changing world for kids' educational missions. Families need to be running Windows and have a broadband connection to play. When you buy or download the $20 software, you get the first two (out of 12) installments; additional installments, which open new places and missions in the virtual world, are $8 apiece. As kids learn to navigate, they build confidence about trying new things. The learning stresses essential kindgergarten skills, as well as social themes like friendship, sharing, and teamwork. Parents will get regular email progress reports and parent tips.
Families can talk about how the game's world is different each time they play. How does that happen? Which buddy do you like best? Why? What are your favorite areas to play in? Have you used your earned gems to buy a pet? What is your favorite way to move around the world? What have you learned while playing this game? Do you think about learning things while you're playing, or is it just about having fun?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Jinny Gudmundsen
Something new is happening in children's educational software, and it's very exciting. After years in development, Knowledge Adventure has rolled out JUMPSTART WORLD KINDERGARTEN, a personalized 3-D gaming world that's full of constantly changing learning games and fun activities.
JumpStart World Kindergarten creates its dynamic environment by making use of both the Internet and your computer's hard drive. While kids play within the JumpStart World, the program connects to the Web to send updates about their progress and receive new content based on how they're doing. But parents don't have worry about their children's safety, because their children are never actually playing online.
Upon entering this rich vibrant world -- where waterfalls flow, butterflies flutter, and virtual friends are always available -- kids pick a character to represent them while they play, using the computer's arrow keys to control movement. Then they set off on missions suggested by other characters they meet. For example, they may need to find floating red orbs (a clever way to get players to explore the world), interview other characters to solve a mystery, or buy something from the game's vending machine to help another character. Gems, the currency within the JumpStart world, are earned by playing learning games in either the Math Arcade or the Reading Arcade.
While going on specific missions is fun, kids can also decide to just explore the big open environment. Unlike other educational children's software, players don't have to follow a linear path. There's so much to choose from: Discovering a new path, bouncing on jump pads that send you flying across the world, taking a ride down a massive slide, swimming in a lake, talking to other characters, painting pictures, acquiring (and playing with!) pets, trying educational games, and much more. The game even builds in "recess" from the missions to ensure that kids have time to simply wander around the environment.
Because acquiring gems is an essential part of fully engage in the software's world, kids will need to frequently play the educational games that "pay" them. More than 15 games available at any time: Kids can match upper and lowercase letters in a concentration-type game, hop across moving logs to match shapes in a Frogger-type activity, collect letters in alphabetical order as they drive through a grid, and more. Then, once they've earned enough gems, kids can buy pets, decorations for their own personal cottage, music tracks to place in jukeboxes, and presents for others.
Every time kids enter this beautiful, dynamic world there's something new to find. The seasons change, holidays are celebrated, educational games change, and new areas open as more content is added. Plus, it can be personalized. When parents upload the game, they can enter birth dates and relevant holidays, add favorite photos, and create personalized banner signs for the airplanes that fly overhead. Even better, when kids make artwork within the software's art studio, their creations appear on billboards throughout the game world.
This product is meant to be explored over time. The initial boxed product (also available in a downloadable version on the software's Web site) costs $20 and contains the first two (out of 12) content installments. Those "starter" installments include more than 30 educational games and missions for kids; after installing the software, parents will receive regular email progress reports and tips.
After that, additional installments are available for $8 each, with each new segment building on the skills already learned. Each addition opens up new parts of the JumpStart World and includes new games and missions. After a year of exploring and playing more than 180 total math and reading lessons, kids will be ready to try JumpStart World First Grade and eventually JumpStart World Second Grade, both of which are currently available.
Families who enjoy this game might also like Didi & Ditto Kindergarten and JumpStart Frankie's Field Trip PreK-1st (a DVD game that features the same characters as those found in JumpStart World).
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Social BehaviorThe gameplay focuses on social themes like friendship, sharing, and teamwork. |
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CommercialismPlayers can make purchases using the game's currency of gems. |
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Educational ValueHelps kids master essential kindergarten skills, including counting, color and shape recognition, alphabet identification, and following directions. |
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