Rik: Jim, it's her first birthday -- she can't follow instructions yet.
Jim: Sure she can. Watch. Bailey, smash your hands into the cake and rub them all over your face.
[Bailey chuckles as she does so.]
Rik: Now hose her down so she can tear open this birthday present: Knowledge Adventure's JumpStart Toddlers.
Jim: Great gift, Rik. Knowledge Adventure has done a terrific job on its JumpStart line of early-learning software.
Rik: When Bailey's 3, she'll graduate to JumpStart Preschool, then on to JumpStart Kindergarten u, JumpStart 1st Grade, and JumpStart 2nd Grade d. Beginning this fall, 3rd Grade and 4th Grade will also be available -- and they'll link up with Knowledge Adventure's Web site.
Jim: There's a lot to be said for leading a kid through a well-thought-out, grade-based sequence of activities.
Rik: And the JumpStart series is quite rich -- 1st Grade and 2nd Grade each include enough activities to fill a full school year.
Jim: I like the wide variety of activities: everything from the three Rs to the three As: art, arcade-style games, and astronomy.
Rik: Not to mention brain-teasers, geography, and music -- all age-appropriate, all fun.
Jim: Practical too: Each title tracks how well your kid's doing and then adjusts its difficulty and suggested activities accordingly.
Rik: From Preschool on up, you get a progress report that details your kids' proficiency in several areas. You can track as many as 99 kids at a time -- perfect for teachers with multiple classes.
Jim: Good manuals, good online documentation, songs you can play on your audio-CD player -- what's not to like?
Rik: Well, navigation can be confusing, and some of the music is cloying.
Jim: But you can't fault the life lesson taught in Toddlers' "Duck Song": "I quack in the morning. I quack at night. I quack until I get it right."
JumpStart Toddlers
Rating: Very Good (4 of 5 mice)
Ages: 18 months - 3 years.
A new software category: lapware. With your help, your little one will learn basic computer skills along with number, shape, and letter recognition. Fewest activities in the series.
JumpStart Preschool
Rating: Very Good (4 of 5 mice)
Ages: 3 - 5.
A wealth of activities -- along with Kisha the koala and Pierre the polar bear -- teaches prereading and premath skills. Most activities are great, but navigation could be easier.
JumpStart Kindergarten
Rating: Acceptable/Very Good (3.5 of 5 mice)
Ages: 4 - 6.
A solid group of games and activities -- BeBop the hamster's hide-and-seek game alone is worth the price of admission. Don't bother with the lame painting module, however.
JumpStart 1st Grade
Rating: Very Good/Outstanding (4.5 of 5 mice)
Ages: 5 - 7.
Over a dozen activities will engage even the most jaded first-grader. Songs and animations entertain, and a milk-cap-acquisition scoring scheme motivates.
JumpStart 2nd Grade
Rating: Outstanding (5 of 5 mice)
Ages: 6 - 8.
The best of the bunch, this well-animated collection of activities is organized around a challenging pen-pal game. Highlights include surprisingly sophisticated tunes and pleasantly silly Mad Libs-style storybooks.
Price: CD-ROM, $35 each (estimated street).
Company: Knowledge Adventure, Glendale, CA; 800-542-4240 or 818-246-4400; http://www.adventure.com/.
