9/21/11: JumpStart.com Virtual World Review and Giveaway

I recently learned that in addition to the CD games my kids love to play from Jump Start they have launched a browser-based virtual world at http://www.jumpstart.com/, for kids 3-10 years old.  This is perfect for my two as they are 4 and 6 and my son's favorite class in school right now is Computers!  What better way for them to learn than using something they already love and to learn some computer skills along the way. 

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.  You can see Lauren creating her Jumpeez here.  They are able to customize and name them. 

Most areas in JumpStart are great for all ages. However, some areas are designed with specific age groups.  There is:  StoryLand for Ages 3-5, AdventureLand and MarineLand for Ages 5-8, and FutureLand and Poseidon’s Hangout for ages Ages 9-12.

Both of the kids had fun playing next to each other but I learned also that they can play together in their virtual world  by using the tools provided under Manage Kids in the Parents section to exchange and input buddy codes.  So far they have played around in many areas including StoryLand and AdventureLand.  Evan especially liked racing in Shipwreck Lagoon as he loves racing games.

And Lauren played around in Windy Hollows which she said looked like Harry Potter and had fun flying around.

For parents there is also a JumpStart Blog at http://blog.jumpstart.com for information about the latest additions to the game. A great place that I started out with was the JumpStart game guide.  This way I could find the areas that have skills we should work on including pre-reading, reading, math, and writing. 

I only wish I had tools like this when I was a kid.  What a fun way to learn.  The kids are going to have a lot of fun exploring.

You can join JumpStart.com, so your family can start enjoying the great learning fun.  In the Parent’s Area you have your password and can enter kids to the account.  It’s also where you will decide whether or not to allow them to interact with other kids in the virtual world and if so, to create their “buddy list”, the only people they will be able to interact with. When you sign up for a membership, it includes access to JumpStart.com, Learning Adventure’s other virtual world, MathBlaster.com AND four downloadable games to play right on your own computer. 

You can try it out and explore JumpStart.com for free, but to use all the areas, levels and other worlds, you’ll need a membership. The membership is good for up to six kids and you can decide if you want to take part month-to-month (only $7.99/mo), annually ($74.99/yr) or the best value, a lifetime membership ($149.99).

Want to win a 3 month membership to JumpStart.com? Here is how to enter:

1 entry for each item:

- Comment here on this post as to what land in JumpStart.com your child will want to enter first. (comment section at the bottom). Note if you are logging in anonymously please include your email so I can contact you. Also if you have problems, just Preview the comment and it should work. Make sure you see Comment posted.

Additional Entries:

- Subscribe to Evan and Lauren's Cool Blog (and verify the subscription to be valid) and leave a separate comment that you did.

- Subscribe via Google Friend Connect to Evan and Lauren's Cool Blog (on the Right hand side)

- Already a subscriber (thank you) then leave a comment stating you are

- Share this link on your Facebook page and leave a comment here stating you did.

- Follow me on Twitter @galiberti If you already follow me, just leave a comment here that you are a Follower.

- Tweet this Giveaway (you can do this daily): Win a three month membersip to JumpStart.com from @galiberti and your kids will have fun learning. http://bit.ly/oYtsHw  #Giveaway

Contest closes Friday, October 7th, 2011.

Winner will be chosen by Random.org and contacted.

Disclosure: I was provided with a JumpStart membership at no cost by Knowledge Adventure in order to test the products’ abilities and give my own personal opinions on it. The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but were not influenced by the company or the free product provided.