Customer Reviews

JumpStart Advanced 3rd Grade [OLD VERSION]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

We have used Jumpstart for three years to help our child prepare for the upcoming grade. We find it necessary to sit with our child to work with Jumpstart. Recently a teacher commented about Jumpstart- that it is a program for children who are advanced for their grade level and preparing to gear up for the next grade. It is not a preparatorial tool for those on middle ground. The child's vocabulary and other school skills must be several notches above average to use this program without parental assistance. A program for above standard achievers.

We got this game for our daughter a few weeks before entering third grade. One of the three disks is amazingly good -- you play a variety of educational games to capture villanous robots who are changing the past to prevent key inventions. This larger game is made up of smaller games, like one where you answer historical questions (and get to choose again until you get it right) and then the narrator tells you a bit of trivia related to that question (e.g., pasturizing milk). My daughter loved this game and learned a whole lot in the process. There are math & reading & logic skills, but also a lot of general knowledge. After playing this game, she knows a lot about famous artists and recognizes all of the famous statues. The game conveys a lot on history and geography in a really enjoyable format. The other two disks have games that are similar but not quite as fun.

I can't imagine why the other reviewers didn't like this game. My daughter played the whole thing on her own, learned a lot, and enjoyed herself immensely.

StoryMaker is my internet nickname and you can call me that. JS Adv. 3rd Grade is fun. I only entered 3rd grade but I like JS Adv. 3rd Grade a lot. I like the learning activities - fun! Only, I've never finished it. I've never even saved the first robot. That's because the time machine quiz was too hard for me and the only way to exit in the TMQ it is to use the Alt, Ctrl, and Delete keys (hold them down at the same time) because the go back/exit button dosen't work at that point. So I just play the activities lots more times and never finish. (My sister, Russian Blue Witch, has finished it 2 times!) Good software, but you can't finish it if you don't know lots of history and you need to memorize years and dates. Signed, StoryMaker. "Gotta trust the kid's review!"

I was about six or seven when I got this game. I liked it, a bit, but found it had too many things I hadn't learnt in it. I don't live in America, and over here, we don't have History as a particular subject until we're fifteen. In Primary School, we have "Topic" and in Middle School "Humanities". I found the artistic games too hard, and I didn't even like the characters or scenario, although I used to say "I'm supposed to stop the world from getting too weird." The only character I really liked was the villain, a smirking eight-year-old girl named Polly. But anyway, I just advise you-ONLY GET THE GAME IF YOU THINK YOU KNOW YOUR HISTORY!

My 2nd grade son loves Jump Start 3rd grade! I helped him through some questions, yes, but what a great learning adventure. He has played the game many times and has captured all of the robots. We have even given the game as a gift to friends who enjoyed playing it at our house.

Honestly, we've not put much time into actually using the program but won't be either. I have an "Advanced" 3rd Grader and she does not like this Game. The introduction to the game is very, very long and she looses interest. There appears to be no way around the introduction into areas that are "fun". There is also not an "Exit" or "Escape" route to shut off the constantally talking robot. We need quicker access to the "fun" so that we can actually learn something, and this game doesn't do that.

I am so disappointed by this product that I am considering returning it to the company for a refund. The three discs are little more than extended video games with a smattering of academic challenges-- in fact, the second disc is ALL video games except for a short game through which the child earns tickets by answering simple questions. The tickets are then "spent" on meaningless video games, like using arrow keys to maneuver a robot over waves. Lots of learning, right? I really expected more, and since I paid full price for this nonsense ([money]) I am even more bothered that I now own this. The best, or least bad game is the first disc, but even this vaccilates between drivel and strangely impossible games that have no intellectual merit whatsoever. Like clicking on an animated globe that supposedly shows the zodiac but is so small it might as well be a tennis ball covered with white dots. No child could possibly learn to identify the night sky through that-- anyway, I could go on and on, but be forewarned and don't buy this unless you can get it practically for free.