Rating: 
Summary: Great for a 4 Year Old!
Review: My son is 4 and he gets very bored with some games (ie Dora). This game has so many facets to it that it keeps him VERY occupied, and he really enjoys being able to customize things like stories. I wouldn't suggest it for a younger child, unless they are very proficient on the computer. Yeah for being Mac compatible!!
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Product
Review: My toddler loves this product. There are games to teach him shapes, colors, letters, numbers, and even drawing. Each game has 2 levels. He loved the shape game and mastered it rather quickly. It was nice to have a 'level 2' option so he wouldn't get bored. It's easy for a child to navigate. The game allows the child to just let the mouse hover over what they want OR when they figure out how to click on things, the game will respond as well. It's hard to find things that keep my son's attention but this is a winner whether he's playing by himself or with one of his parents.
Rating:
Summary: A must have for parents and educators
Review: My two year loves this program! They regularly play it at her daycare and in the six weeks she has been there she has learned to count to nine and she can sing the whole ABC song. I think this program is wonderful for children and it is in an easy to learn format. The songs are great too, music is very important and kids love it!
Rating: 
Summary: It isn't working on XP
Review: On the case it says it's compatable with XP, but I can not get it to work on my computer. QuickTime seems to be an issue. It's been very frustrating. It does work on windows 98, unfortunately the new computer are mostly XP now. The kids do like it, but I'm very dissappointed with the XP problem.
Rating: 
Summary: CD are easily destroyed
Review: One annoying hidden "gotcha" is CD copy protection. You can not make a copy of the CD for your kid. Even worse you can not install the game to the hard drive. Each time you want to play the game you must insert the original CD into the CD player. None of this is disclosed on the box.
Bewarned if your kids are young and do not fully understand how to properly handle CDs. With our tile floors the CD was very badly scratched within days.
The very idea that the game can not be installed on to the hard drive for quick easy access while the original is kept safe makes this a one star product. Look at other games that are friendly for parents and their children.
Rating:
Summary: Pass on Jumpstart Typing
Review: The graphics are high quality, but the interface, navigation system, and strategy are horrible and non-intuitive. Also, it seems to teach more letter recognition than typing. And of course, like most Jumpstart products, it does not completely install to the hard drive, forcing you to use the CD every time, which after a few handlings by children, quickly becomes scratched.
Rating: 
Summary: Software has problems with audio
Review: This looks like it could be a very beneficial product. It installed easily on Windows 2000 and some audio works- there is music playing and a rabbit that speaks, but when pointing or clicking on items in a room, the text pops up in spanish but there is no audio to pronounce the word. This is a problem unless the parent speaks spanish and intends to sit at the computer the entire time and pronounce the words for them. Tech support was prompt but not helpful. Product info doesn't list Windows 2000 as an operating system for this product, but it is listed on the cd itself.
Rating:
Summary: Not the best I've ever seen
Review: This package has three sub games. Only one sub-game seems to be practical and useful (hard mode seems chanllenging). Others are too difficult to play (not math work but movement control); pinball is ridiculous.
Overall it's not so bad at all.
Rating:
Summary: Spelling Bee study aid is disappointing.
Review: This product is good in that it allows users to enter their own spelling words. It is disappointing because the study games do not require a user to spell the words only to recognize them among incorrectly spelled words or to add a missing letter. If the program does not already contain the words you intend to add you will need the hardware to add the correct pronunciation. Personally, I'd like a more stripped down spelling study aid that would drill words from custom lists.
Rating:
Summary: Overly complicated, poorly thought out
Review: This review is for Jumpstart Advanced Kindergarten.I really have to question the impartiality of some of the reviews of the JumpStart products on this web site, based on my experience with two of the Jumpstart products, which I think are some of the worst kid's software I have encountered. The activities are confusing in their structure, overly gimmicky and the activities are poorly graded for difficulty, some being pathetically easy for my 3 year old and some being way too hard. The voiceovers are grating and overly patronising, even for a 3 year old. It seems like the design of this software was driven by games programmers with little knowledge or understanding of early learning concepts. In contrast I have found the Disney CDs such as Pooh preschool, Pooh Kindergarten, Mickey Preschool and Mickey Kindergarten, to be beautifully animated, well graded and intelligently structured. Another standout is the Blues Clues CD, my daughter loves this one. The Dr. Seuss Preschool CD is also excellent.
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