JumpStart 1st Grade

In JumpStart 1st Grade, kids get to pal around with Frankie, a hyper yet sincere pooch who would probably be the most popular boy in the class. Frankie is excited to go on a treasure hunt but first must gather clues by helping out inside the school. Six activities within the schoolhouse earn clues: Cooking up Spelling Soup, cooking in the Measurement Kitchen, counting funds in Money Madness, engaging in Pogo Stick Math, reading from the Bookshelf Bonanza, or playing a teacher's Bean Bag Science game. There's also a music room and an art room. In our tests, the organ with point-and-click keys provided a lot of free-form fun. It also provided a welcome break when the slightly too-long educational games begin to feel, well, educational.

JumpStart Around the World lets kids travel to far-flung places like Brazil and China aboard anything from a train (landmass permitting) to a blimp (if you have enough money to buy passage). Kids must purchase their passage, which is a good lesson in pocketbook economics. Each of the four modes of transportation involves a game, and once in a country, kids can chose scrapbook souvenirs ranging from postcards to fun facts to brief audio language lessons. We thought the budget and the language lessons were engaging and educational tools. But the brief skimming over each of the 12 destinations got was the cyber equivalent of being trapped on a tour bus. (Ages 5 to 7) --Anne Erickson

Amazon.com Product Description
In this deluxe two-CD-ROM software set from JumpStart, kids learn essential first-grade skills and then take off to faraway worlds of fun in an adventure around the world. AdJust-for-You Learning Technology auto-adjusts to your child's pace. Kids learn addition, subtraction, fractions, measuring, quantities, telling time, parts of speech, phonics, reading comprehension, basic science, music, art, synonyms and antonyms, counting money, world geography, and cultures of the world. In disc one, children join Frankie the Dog and his canine friends on a fantastic exploration of the first-grade schoolhouse. Kids can explore the cafeteria, playground, and more as they play over 20 skill-building activities. With disc two, kids climb aboard the next boat, plane, train, or zeppelin and take off to faraway worlds of fun on the all-new Around the World CD-ROM. Kids can play four different games and visit 12 different cities, where they'll learn phrases in different languages, hear music of other lands, and collect souvenirs.

The children are introduced to basic skills, in this case addition, subtraction, fractions, measuring, quantities, telling time, parts of speech, phonics, reading comprehension, basic science, music, art, synonyms and antonyms, counting money. Each skill is learnt with a game, Spelling Soup, Vending Machine, Lost and Found, and Bean Bag Science to name a few of the many activities. Each game is well constructed, has three levels, and the ability to track progress should this be desired.

Typically each Jump Start has a meta-game, in this case, clues for a treasure hunt. The treasure hunt is slick and adds to the enjoyment.

Though we have spent many hours on first grade reading and first grad math, we spent more time on first grade than on both these other activities together. Lots of fun, lots of learning.


Great introduction of new concepts!   June 7, 2002
Michelle (Woodland, CA United States)
10 out of 11 found this review helpful

This is perfect for 1st graders who want a fun way to practice the new skills they are learning, and it is a nice way to introduce new concepts to younger children.
I bought this program for my son who is just finishing Kindergarten. I was looking for something to prepare him for 1st grade and have been very happy with the many different activities that the software includes. However, I will say that unless your child has been exposed to 1st grade concepts, such as fractions, parts of speech, or counting change, you may want to walk your child through each activity before leaving them to explore the game on their own. My son has found the game easy to navigate, but the activities are a bit challenging given that he has not had prior experience to some of the concepts. This is by far is favorite game and I have seen him make great progress in the few short weeks that we have had this software. My daughter, who is just finishing up her 1st grade year, has had no difficulty at all with this game and enjoys working towards the incentives! Well, worth the money!


Wonderful and creative   August 24, 2001
C. Perkins (Blaine, Ky United States)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

This software allows three different levels to fit each child with quite a few activities ranging from music, reading, math, and geography. It rewards a child with a token to play another game and collect more tokens. My son loves this game and has played it for many hours all ready. It improved his reading and math skills until he is in the highest level in his grade. I strongly recommend it for all 1st graders and some kindergarten children.


Challenging, yet fun!   July 16, 2001
Amy Weichseldorfer (Baltimore, Maryland United States)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful

My six year old daughter was having trouble reading. Each night she would come home from school with a new reading assignment. As horrible as it is to admit, I have very little patience. And despite my best efforts, I didn't seem to be helping her. So I searched the internet for some reliable software that could do what I just couldn't. I came across the Jump Start series, and immediately purchased 1st Grade. She couldn't wait for me to load it into the computer!! And afterward, she spent countless hours playing with Frankie and the others. Then much to my surprise (and relief) her reading grades went steadily up. It was a bona fide success!! And as an added bonus, when she had trouble counting money, Jump Start 1st Grade was there! I'm so pleased with the results that I've purchased the 2nd Grade, and Typing games as well!!


Educational and fun!   September 18, 2002
Todd E. Newman (Valparaiso, IN)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

It's tough finding something for kids to play while not spending a fortune and wasting brain space on senseless games. The Jumpstart series are great because they offer great ways to learn while keeping things simple and fun in a cartoon-like format. The software is easy to install and I found that my 1st grader could easily navigate the program without getting stuck. She sat on it for hours!! I was surprised to see the fun she had with the program and look forward to purchasing further copies. I was surprised that fractions were used, but it was in a kitchen setting where kids could bake cakes, cookies, etc., while being told to add 1/4 cup, 1/2 teaspoon, etc.. I found that interesting and a good way to get into that form of math.