JumpStart Preschool-1st Grade Learning Playground (Numbers - Artist - ABC's)

The "Artist" game is by far our dauther's favorite. It has a lot of different activities, including making your own movie. The "teaching" component mostly consists of very basic instructions about lines and shapes.

The "A,B,C" disc has a few games related to the alphabet that introduces the child to the letters. It also has some songs that aren't really very interactive.

The "1,2,3" disc is, well, to put it mildly, dumb. There are only 3 different games -- matching numbers (which is sadly the most interesting game), matching quantities (gets kinda tedious after a while), the last one involves maneuvering a dog around to find objects in a sequence (unfortunately, the dog doesn't always go where you tell him).

Overall, don't buy these games because you think they will make your kid smart. Just buy them for fun.


OK, for what it is.   March 20, 2003
 7 out of 9 found this review helpful

The main advantage of this package is that you are actually getting three different modules in one box -- ABCs, numbers and art. So, from an economic standpoint, it's a good deal.

These games are suitable to begin with a 4 or 4 1/2 year old. (They are a little advanced for my 3 1/2 year old, but she can muddle through as long as Mom or Dad are nearby to help her out of a jam.)

One unfortunate component of this software is that there is no way to turn off the on-screen instructions (in the form of animated characters). After a while, it gets kind of annoying, but our daughter doesn't seem bothered by it -- yet.

The quality of the animation is so-so. The lip sync is chronically off, but I've seen worse on kids' software. It will play on Windows NT without any problem, as well as on Macs (but only in Classic mode).

My main criticism of this kind of product in general is more philosophical, than practical. In my opinion, it's important to look on "edutainment" software as a fun supplement to bookwork and parental interaction, not as a substitute for them. My husband and I work with our daughter every night on her letters, numbers, drawing (fine motor skills) and aural skills (reading novels aloud) for at least 30 minutes. If we were relying on edutainment software for her education in place of our one-on-one efforts (as well as restricting her television intake), then all she would be learning is how to be desensitized by annoying music and flashing lights.

As long as it's viewed as "fun" and not real education, then this software serves its purpose -- light-hearted reinforcement of already mastered concepts.