Perhaps you’ve seen or even own some of the CD games for your computer by JumpStart. They’re everywhere computer games are sold and have been around for over 15 years. What you may not be aware of is that they’ve taken that world and put it online in a 3D world for kids to explore. It is quite the online world to explore as well!

I let each of my kids have their own screen name under my single account so they can each customize their characters, called Jumpees, how they see fit. They have a lot of fun changing up their name and appearance all the time with tons of silly options. What I like most about this online product they offer is it is always changing along with the seasons and holidays. Most areas will always look the same, but the world around it changes to  keep it fresh for the kids. For instance, it’s currently winter, and snowy conditions are everywhere in the world. It’s the closest my girls will likely get to throw a snowball this year!

There is so much to explore on the site that I don’t think my girls have been able to see it all. They’ve spent quite a bit of time on the site exploring the different areas and playing all sorts of various educational activities. The activities cover math, reading, and critical thinking skills for children aged 3 – 10. Each activity area is labeled with a sign that lets your children and you know what range is best to enter.

Navigation is handled by the mouse but in most areas the keyboard can also be used. Helping kids learn skills with the mouse and keyboard is important at a young age, since I think it’s a safe assumption they will be using computers their entire life. Kids are so lucky to be kids in today’s age. I would have loved this stuff as a kid. Sometimes I even sign in myself to play around with the games, but don’t tell them that!

Throughout the game’s activities, the kids can earn stars to unlock more activities and stories as well as coins they can use in stores. With these coins, kids are able to purchase clothing items and decorations for their house. They can also purchase pets, rides, and even add things to their JumpStart world like mazes and pools!

Something the online product also features is the ability to connect with and make friends while online. My girls are a little young to take advantage of this just yet, but as they get older and discuss their experiences with real life friends, they’ll be able to friend each other and send messages within the online world. After asking for some specific details aout the chat system I learned that the users are restricted to “canned” messages only. This means they can only say things like “What’s Up”, “I like to swim”, “You are funny”, etc… The messages do not allow for private information like birthdays, addresses, and full names. You always do see other kids running around and playing the games while you are and in some cases they must wait their turn. Never longer than a second or two though.

You should know the website app loads in a new browser window that disables all the little things in a browser that could allow your child to leave the site. There’s no address bar and no ability to right click. There is a full screen mode to remove the ability to click out of the window, which is nice to help deter from errant clicks.

The only negative element I have found with the product is reporting. I would like to see some detailed usage reports for each child that logs in. I would like to see what things they are playing the most and how they are doing when they do engage in the educational activities. For those kids that utilize the friends and messaging aspects, I think it would be extremely important to know who your children have interactions with. I know, I know, as parents we should always be right by their side and using the computer with them, but once they can fly solo we don’t always sit right over the shoulder. Still though, being able to track progress and identify problem areas would be a great feature.

The JumpStart online world is free to try out and play around with. However you will be limited in what you are able to see and do unless you purchase a membership. The rates are quite reasonable for the amount of content contained in the online world. They offer monthly, annual, and lifetime memberships and you can purchase online or acquire a membership card at several retail outlets. All the information you need are in the links below.

JumpStart Online

JumpStart FAQ’s

JumpStart Blog – A welcome addition for parents to get details on all the updates constantly showing up in the online world.

***FTC Disclosure: JumpStart provided me with access to the online product for the purposes of this blog review. However, the opinions and ideas expressed are solely mine and mine alone. ***