JumpStart Advanced 1st Grade [OLD VERSION]

by Vivendi Universal

Product 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

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000639UW
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 20, 2002
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,889 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Jumpstart "Advanced" products are a keen investment., November 4, 2002

By 

"blueglassxwing" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: JumpStart Advanced 1st Grade [OLD VERSION] (CD-ROM)

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.