JumpStart Advanced Preschool

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Worth the $$
Review: I bought this for my almost 4 year old. She played it joyously for about 3 weeks. The songs are great in it, and the graphics are beautiful; the pets are adorable, you earn rewards so you can feed, pet, brush, and play with each different pet. If your child needs to learn to use a mouse, this is a perfect, throughly enjoyable game. My almost 4 year old, now, is bored of it, though; it's not challanging enough - does not advance to a high enough level for a four year old. But since it is 'preschool' it's done its job. My 4 year old has her choice of about 40 (yes forty) different educational games that range from preschool to grade 2 and she loved this one the best out of all of them. If you want to purchase this as a gift for someone who has a 2-3 year old, your gift will be the hit of the party, and the whole year, in fact. It's extremely well-done. Children advance quickly in home computer games -- faster than they do in school because they have so much time to access it. So even a 3.5 year old would adore it. What is important, i found, was this game gave my child the emmense *confidence* to throughly learn a _whole_ game! Something her 5 1/2 year old sister does on a routine basis. It would take a two or just-turned-three year old a good long while to tire of this game. Of all the jumpstart and reader rabbit games i have bought, this one was kindest, gentlest, and most entertaining (the "I am a Horse" song is worth the cd alone.)

A nice feature added to the 'advanced' jumpstarts is the 'assesment test' -- which, after you childs name is typed or clicked into the box at the beginning of each game -- you can click on and you child can take a quick 'test' to determine which level the game should set each catagory of learning at. Each catagory (shapes, music, colors, alphabet) can be set at a 1-3 level. When you take the self-assesment test, the computer will show you what level your childs responses earn her. And then will autmatically adjust to each level for you, or you can over ride it and set them yourself manually. All the Advanced jumpstart products have this. It's helpful to a parent. There is also a 'report card' like thing inside which shows what part of the game your child is playing and how many guesses and right responses she or he is earning. In preschool it's a nice feature, but as you go up in Jumpstart Advanced, it's a real eye opener as to what your child is doing and learning.

Do not confuse this Jumpstart program with any other jumpstart preschool versions. All versions differ completely. It must say Jumpstart _Advanced_ preschool. It is only one disc. Highly recommended. I can't wait to move her on to the Jumpstart Advanced Kindergarden game. I have the Jumpstart Advanced Grade One and her five 1/2 year old sister loves it!

Rating:
Summary: THE BEST PROGRAM OUT THERE FOR LITTLE ONES!
Review: I GOT THIS PROGRAM FOR MY 5 YEAR OLD NEICE RIGHT BEFORE SHE STARTED KINDERGARTEN AND SHE LOVES IT MORE THAN ANYTHING!
IT IS A GREAT TOOL TO START OUT WITH BEFORE THE KINDERGARTEN ONE BECAUSE IT BUILDS THEIR CONFIDENCE AND SETS THEM UP FOR SUCCESS WHEN THEY REACH FOR THE NEXT LEVEL.IT IS ALSO VERY GREAT IF YOUR CHILD LOVES ANIMALS AS MUCH AS MY NEICE! SHE IS VERY AWARE WHEN SHE'S BEING TAUGHT AND DRILLED BY OTHER PROGRAMS AND HATES IT, BUT WHEN IT'S DONE HERE IN THE MOST CLEVER WAY YOU'VE EVER SEEN SHE LOVES IT AND LOVES LEARNING! IT HAS EVERYTHING YOUR CHILD NEEDS TO GET A SOLID FOUNDATION THAT IS CRUCIAL BEFORE MOVING ON. MY NEICE HAS TRIED THE KINDERGARTEN ONE AND SHE DOESN'T LIKE IT AS MUCH RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THE KINDERGARTEN ONE HAS RACE CARS AS THEIR REWARD FOR LEARNING AND SHE WOULD PREFER WORKING FOR PET SUPPLYS THAT YOU GET ON THE PRESCHOOL PROGRAM. WE LOVE THE MUSIC,THE ANIMALS,THE LESSONS, THE REWARDS, THE GRAPHIC DETAIL,AND THE WHOLE PROGRAM!

Rating:
Summary: Ok but not great
Review: I think the makers of this game tried to accomplish too much by attempting to cater to children of too many ages. My two year old loves the songs (the quality of the recordings is great) but they are too fast for him to sing along. He's learning how to use a mouse but this game doesn't allow you to drag items in the traditional way and that's very frustrating for him. The games are challenging for him because he's just beginning to show an interest in numbers and letters but I can't imagine him wanting to play this when he's 4 which is the sentiment of some other reviewers that have older children. I think an early 3 year old child would get the most out of this game.

Rating:
Summary: Ok but not great
Review: I think the makers of this game tried to accomplish too much by attempting to cater to children of too many ages. My two year old loves the songs (the quality of the recordings is great) but they are too fast for him to sing along. He's learning how to use a mouse but this game doesn't allow you to drag items in the traditional way and that's very frustrating for him. The games are challenging for him because he's just beginning to show an interest in numbers and letters but I can't imagine him wanting to play this when he's 4 which is the sentiment of some other reviewers that have older children. I think an early 3 year old child would get the most out of this game.

Rating:
Summary: Cute, but below preschool level
Review: This is a definite improvement over the previous versions. The pet aspect is really cute and the colors/graphics and activities are better. Although this is called "preschool", the age says "2-4". This is definitely at the lower end of preschool...I think it is more accurate to call it "Toddler". My four and a half year old daughter, who is in preschool, loves playing with the pets, but there is absolutely no challenge for her to learn. It is way too easy, so I went out and bought the kindergarten version which is more appropriate for her age. Again, my mixed review is it's cute and improved, but if your child is over 3 years old and knows her A,B,C's, skip to the kindergarten one.