Explore the world's amazing animals! Go face-to-face with wild animals as you witness fascinating habitats filled with untamed adventure. Includes over 40 unique animals in 16 action-packed activities!

Amazon.com Review 

When a bat named Batney Ears started singing like Britney Spears, not only were we hooked--we also learned about echolocation. JumpStart: Animal Adventures is a lush mix of entertainment and education that does detailed justice to the wild world of animals.

The program starts with the news that Habitat magazine is looking for kids who love animals to enter a contest. To fill out the four contest-entry forms, kids must explore a temperate forest, an African savanna, a rain forest, and a tide pool to gather animal information, photographs, and points. Each habitat has three screens, with gorgeous graphics and rich, ambient sound. Leafcutter ants, elephants, crabs, and 37 other creatures gladly share information about themselves and their environment. Clicking on certain animals will yield a catchy video (imagine crabs sounding like Green Day as they sing about limb regeneration) and games.

The games, which can be adjusted to three difficulty levels, give this program a seamless feel, adding depth to the educational experience. For example, when kids click on a beaver, the beaver launches into a detailed explanation of why it builds dams. The beaver then invites players to cut trees for a dam, adding that they must be small trees because beavers can't move larger ones. After the correct trees are gnawed down, kids can complete the dam by fitting the downed trees into a dam-shaped puzzle. After that, they're invited to gather mud from the riverbank, then help the beaver use his tail to pack the mud into the dam. Your child will play four games, hone spatial and sorting skills, and develop an in-depth understanding of the phrase "busy as a beaver." And this is just one animal in a program that has dozens of creatures to learn from.

Goal-oriented kids will love relentlessly progressing toward the various rewards the program offers, culminating in a quiz show called "The Animal Smarts Game" that can be played alone, or with a friend. Free-form exploration is also an option. We were impressed with the way JumpStart: Animal Adventures immersed us in exotic environments, and treated games as a teaching tool instead of an afterthought. (Ages 4 and older) --Anne Erickson

Amazon.com Product Description 

JumpStart: Animal Adventures brings kids face-to-face with wild animals in their natural habitats. Filled with untamed adventure and fascinating fun, Animal Adventures challenges players to become animal experts by identifying more than 40 animals and collecting their photos. Along the way kids will help a squid escape a poisonous fish, race zebras away from hungry predators, swing from the treetops with titi monkeys, and much more. Plus, Animal Adventures includes dozens of printable animal stickers for kids to collect and trade.

Animal Adventures's four exotic animal habitats offer hours of adventurous fun: the African savanna, a temperate forest, the Amazon rain forest, and a tide pool. Each habitat comes with its own set of animal games and activities. Kids interact with and learn about a variety of animals, including elephants, monkeys, snakes, giraffes, rhinos, hippos, and cheetahs. A total of 16 action-packed animal activities place kids in the animals' real-world, wild habitats, or kids can create their own animal habitats.

JumpStart Advanced Preschool World is a whole new play-to-learn world designed for little fingers and big imaginations. Your child will be delighted by furry friends and engaging games in a colorful personalized 3D neighborhood. You can add photos of family and friends to decorate the world and your child can add pictures created in the Craft Corner. Watch your child giggle with delight while taking a ride around town square in the fire engine. The best part is that he or she will also be learning fundamental pre-reading math and critical thinking skills the whole time the fun way!Key Features of JumpStart World4-CD Set includes printable storybooksOver 60 games and activities teach over 25 skillsUnique 3D design and immersive play make kids feel like they re inside a world of adventure and learning.Children create a character that looks just like them to play throughout the world. They can choose clothing hair styles and eye shapes and colors and more. Then they can change the character at any time!Kids can make the world their own with rewards that they ve earned through the learning games or with pictures and crafts created in the Craft Corner.The World changes with the seasons and holidays using a real-time calendar. You can select specific holidays for your child to celebrate. Add in a birthday and JumpStart characters will wish your child a happy birthday!You can check your child s progress in the Parent CenterSkills Taught:Pre-readingPhonicsLetter sequencingUpper and lowercase lettersLetter sounds and recognitionVocabularyRhymingListening skillsSocial StudiesSocial ConceptsCommunity awarenessHealthy food choices and exerciseThinking SkillsPatternsSortingFollowing directionsSpatial and deductive reasoningProblem solvingEarly MathCountingNumber recognitionQuantitiesArtColorsShapes and patternsCreativityMusicMusic appreciationInstrument recognition and the sounds each one makesComputer SkillsUsing the mouseBasic commandsFormat: WIN XPVISTA Genre: ED

Amazon.com 

JumpStart Advanced Preschool World is a whole new play-to-learn world designed for little fingers and big imaginations. Your child will be delighted by furry friends and engaging games in a colorful, personalized 3D neighborhood. You can add photos of family and friends to decorate the world and your child can add pictures created in the Craft Corner. Watch your child giggle with delight while taking a ride around town square in the fire engine. The best part is that he or she will also be learning fundamental pre-reading, math and critical thinking skills the whole time--the fun way!

Over 60 learning games and fun activities teach over 25 skills.

Children create their own characters to play in the world!

As they learn, children fill up their backpacks with rewards that can be used to decorate or even add music to their world!

Key Features of JumpStart World

• 4-CD Set includes printable storybooks
• Over 60 games and activities teach over 25 skills
• Unique 3D design and immersive play make kids feel like they're inside a world of adventure and learning.
• Children create a character that looks just likee them to play throughout the world. They can choose clothing, hair styles and eye shapes and colors and more. Then, they can change the character at any time!
• Kids can make the world their own with rewards that they've earned through the learning games, or with pictures and crafts created in the Craft Corner.
• The World changes with the seasons and holidays using a real-time calendar. You can select specific holidays for your child to celebrate. Add in a birthday and JumpStart characters will wish your child a happy birthday!
• You can check your child's progress in the Parent Center

Skills Taught

Pre-reading

• Phonics
• Letter sequencing
• Upper and lowercase letters
• Letter sounds and recognition
• Vocabulary
• Rhyming
• Listening skills

Social Studies

• Social Concepts
• Community awareness
• Healthy food choices and exercise

Thinking Skills

• Patterns
• Sorting
• Following directions
• Spatial and deductive reasoning
• Problem solving

Early Math

• Counting
• Number recognition
• Quantities

Art

• Colors
• Shapes and patterns
• Creativity

Music

• Music appreciation
• Instrument recognition and the sounds each one makes

Computer Skills

• Using the mouse
• Basic commands

Barbie Fairytales: Barbie As Rapunzel lets young girls live the experience of being a fairytale character!

Amazon.com Review 

Don your tiara and pick up your wand, for only true, good princesses can enter the enchanted world of Barbie as Rapunzel.

Rapunzel and Prince Stefan have organised a masked ball, but they didn't invite the local wicked witch, Gothel. When Gothel finds out, she is furious and promptly casts an evil spell over the castle and its inhabitants. The prince is turned to stone, the jewels from his crown are scattered around, and the enchanted castle is immersed in darkness. When Rapunzel and her trusty purple--and very cute--dragon friend enter the doomed castle, they are challenged by the witch to find the jewels in order to rescue the prince and restore the castle to its former glory.

One of the most magical, creative packages on the market, this interactive adventure really is superlative. The graphics are fantastic and pixels do not stick between screens. The movement is fluid and controlled and the sound is excellent.

This package also develops basic PC skills, creativity, and imagination, and encourages colour recognition, shape matching, hand-to-eye coordination, and cause-and-effect recognition skills. The accompanying music completes the magical experience.

Barbie as Rapunzel is accompanied by a clear, comprehensive instruction booklet that should probably be read by a parent before commencing. That said, instructions are given throughout the quest in a clear, slow voice and objects flash onscreen to reinforce the message. The help section can also be accessed at any time. The manufacturer recommends this package for children ages 5 and older, and though help may be required to begin with, a computer-literate 5- or 6-year-old will soon get the hang of things and be able to play alone. All in all, a superb package that kids, Barbie fans or not, will just love. --Susan Naylor, Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com Product Description 

Use your creativity and imagination to help Barbie and her purple dragon friend, Penelope, break Gothel's evil spell. Handsome Prince Stefan was turned into a stone statue by the spell, and his enchanted castle lies in ruins, with the royal jewels that will set him free hidden--only Barbie, as Rapunzel, can break the wicked spell. And once Gothel's spell is broken, the prince freed, and the castle restored, kids can celebrate with Stefan and Rapunzel at a brilliant masquerade ball and save their creations in a magic memory scrapbook that can also be printed.

In Barbie as Rapunzel: A Creative Adventure, kids journey through eight interactive activities, including Magical Mosaics, Design a Throne, Garden Maze, Princess Paintings, Magical Masquerade, and more. The Magic Paint Box guides kids creatively through each activity. It's filled with tools, like a magic wand, twinkle sprinkles, and living stickers, so kids can paint, add textures, and even animate objects, as they help Rapunzel rescue the prince, find the crown jewels, and restore the royal castle.

JumpStart Artist introduces children to the magical world of drawing, painting, puppets, collage, and more. With countless ways for children to express themselves artistically, they'll have all the fun they can imagine!

Amazon.com Review 

Really good children's software is fun to play with, encourages exploration of the program, is forgiving, and teaches something. JumpStart Artist is all of those things, and more. As one might expect from JumpStart (a quality series if ever there was one), JumpStart Artist helps children become comfortable with their own creative skills, while at the same time teaching a little bit about art history and artistic styles.

The CD-ROM revolves around a handful of activities, ranging from freeform painting to virtual puppet making to a matchmaking game that introduces historical pieces of classic art. At any point in the game, the animation is lively and helpful, and accompanied by a friendly soundtrack. Don't think that this isn't enough to do--there is plenty of material here for any little artist to explore.

Our favorite feature of the program is the variety of artwork presented in the matchmaking game. Broken down into five categories, there are examples ranging from Seurat's Sunday in the Park to Tanner's The Banjo Lesson, and even Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Can. The purpose here is teach kids that art comes in a variety of styles, and that not all art looks like Mona Lisa. Not only is each piece pictured, but there is a series of buttons on the side that describes the style of painting, how it was done, and other interesting details. Also, the name of each painting and the artist is pronounced audibly by the narrator, teaching children the proper pronunciation of such names as Matisse and Seurat.

This is a fun and educational CD-ROM, with plenty of depth to keep the blossoming artist involved and interested. --Mike Caputo

Amazon.com Product Description 

JumpStart Artist is designed to promote the awareness and practice of art among children. Its painting and drawing tools include watercolors, oils, tempera, spray paints, colored pencils, chalk, charcoal, and more. Its arts and crafts tools allow kids to make stamps, stickers, buttons, puppets, collages, quilting, and stitching. The animated movies feature brings to life the pictures children make. Four games teach art fundamentals in an interactive carnival setting.