Math Blaster Online Learning Game by JumpStart

Math Blaster is a new award-winning game from the makers of JumpStart that teaches elementary school age kids to use math to solve problems for the characters. Featuring different types of math at all different math skill levels, Math Blaster turns computer time into a fun learning experience for kids in all grades.

We received a free subscription for Math Blaster and Avery, my 9 year old third grader, was very excited to try it out. Avery is a total math lover and a bit of a computer nerd, so he was in heaven playing this game.

He really couldn’t answer when I asked which game was his favorite, because he liked all the mini-games so much. I did, however, notice that he played one section a lot where he had to scale levels and answer math questions about tenths, hundredths, etc . . . to go forward. He played that particular section several times that I saw.

(Click any image to enlarge)

You can learn more about Math Blaster at www.mathblaster.com, the Math Blaster Blog, and the Math Blaster Facebook Page.   To find out more about the preschool learning games available through JumpStart at www.jumpstart.com.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive a 6 Month Membership to the Math Blaster online game AND JumpStart.com (ARV $48).

Limitations:
This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.

How to Gain Entries:

Leave a comment telling me what type of math your child could use more practice with. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1)  For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.


2)  For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3)  For 1 extra entry each, if you are a Friend of mine on Facebook and/or if you have "liked" the 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires Facebook page, then leave a separate comment here telling me so with the link to your Facebook profile.

4)  For 1 extra entry each, follow JumpStart on Twitter and/or "Like" Math Blaster on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment for each with the link to your Twitter or Facebook profile.


5)  Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

6)  Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

7)  Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

8)  Subscribe to A Blog of Goodies' feed (the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)


Random Drawing:

This contest will be closed on Monday, May 16th, 2011 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!

Giveaway & Review: JumpStart "Get Moving Family Fitness" (For Wii) [CLOSED]

The main reason I ever agreed to purchase a Wii console is the possibility of keeping my family active even during the hottest days of summer and the coldest days of winter. The JumpStart Get Moving Family Fitness game for the Wii is the first game that I have tried that really allows this to happen for the whole family, including out 3yr old twins.

Your trainer for this game is Brooke Burke, co-host of ABC's Dancing With the Stars. She has just the right personality to engage both children and adults. One of her most important roles is to teach the player the movements required to play each game. I love that these brief tutorials repeat themselves until you tell it to move on. This was very helpful for the children, who liked to practice the motions before they started each game, especially one they have not played before.

This game is mainly set up into two sections designed around seven sport categories. The two sections are Drills and Routines. Drills are for practicing certain skills for each sport and the Routines are for actual play. For my children, they prefer doing the Drills. If they had to create a customized routine for themselves, however, I would guess it might consist of Boxing, Dodge Ball, and Running. Those are their three favorite Drills because the motions are simple and our 3yr old twins can play right along with their 6yr old big brother with no problems.

Here are our two boys boxing . . .

The boxing is really sparring. Their targets are pads and their goal is to make the green boxing mitts hit the pads. As you can see, sometimes our younger son forgets to make jabbing movements, but he still moves enough so that he does hit the targets often enough to enjoy himself.

Here are our boys running a race . . .

Even though foot movement is not required for running a race, I think it is easier for them to pump their arms in a quick rhythm when they do move their legs. Plus I think it is much more fun when they try to run in place, not to mention that it is great exercise.

And here they are playing Dodge Ball . . .

Dodge Ball comes under the category "Balancing". The movements are really simple and this game is much more fun than having real balls (and other objects) thrown at you.

So far we have mentioned Boxing, Race, and Balancing. The other four sports are Volleyball, Baseball, Basketball, and Football. These skills were much harder to master for our children. Some of the movements were complicated. For example, the 3-pointer Drill for basketball required two consecutive movements. The player needs to jump and shoot. Even our 6yr old had trouble getting the hang of releasing the ball after he jumped. Still, despite the difficulty of some of the activities, my children thoroughly enjoyed themselves trying. There were no negative consequences for not performing well, unlike some other video games.

Watch out boys! Girls can box too!! . . .

I highly recommend this game for the entire family. It is a great value at $29.99 because every member of the family age 3 up to adult will enjoy it and get the benefit of the physical activity. You can find this JumpStart Wii game at GameStop, Best Buy, Target, Walmart, and other major retailers of Wii games.

Thank you to JumpStart for sending us a sample Wii game free of charge to base this review upon and for providing a second game for our contest prize.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive JumpStart Get Moving Family Fitness (for the Wii).

Limitations:

This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.

How to Gain Entries:

Leave a comment telling me which of the 7 sports available on this JumpStart Wii game do you think you (or your child) would enjoy playing the most. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2)

For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3) For 10 extra entries, blog about this contest linking back to this post AND JumpStart.com . Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments with the link to your blog post.

4)

For 1 extra entry each, if you are a Friend of mine on Facebook and/or if you have "liked" the 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires Facebook page, then leave a separate comment here telling me so with the link to your Facebook profile.

5) For 1 extra entry each, follow JumpStart_Erin on Twitter and/or "Like" JumpStart on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment for each with the link to your Twitter or Facebook profile.

6)

Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7)

Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8)

Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

9)

Subscribe to A Blog of Goodies' feed (the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

10)

Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

<br /> <a href="http://www.3garnets2sapphires.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd206/Busymonkeez/Graphics4Me/NEWBlogButton125x125.jpg" /></a><br /><br />

(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)


Random Drawing:

This contest will be closed on Monday, July 26th, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!

Review: JumpStart Pet Rescue for Wii (Rated Early Childhood)

The selection of console games with an Early Childhood rating is so small that I am actually using the word "selection" loosely. I have to commend JumpStart, a well-respected source of both online and boxed PC learning games, for bringing us the much-needed Pet Rescue for Wii.

Early Childhood rated games are suitable for children as young as the age of 3. That is perfect for us since our "3 Garnets" just turned 3, 3, and 6. Although the twins are not as tech-savvy as their older brother, they thoroughly enjoy watching him play this game, especially since their big brother is nice enough to make special characters for his little brother and sister. Plus he also lets them choose which pets he should adopt.

Here is a character that our 6yr old made for his little sister. He also let her choose a pet to adopt. This part of the game falls right in line with the popular trend of virtual pets and it is the part our children seem to enjoy the most. I think it is great that JumpStart was able to create a game in which younger children can experience owning a virtual pet. Many other console or online games are meant for older children who can read and type.

The map feature is very user-friendly. Although our 6yr old can read the signs, there are images on each sign for the younger users who cannot yet read. Some of the places and attractions your child can visit are the beach, the jungle, and Petland, which is my 6yr old's favorite. There are also learning activities found in places like the library and the supermarket.

There is an area where your child can teach his or her pet to do tricks. I very much like that their is a mini practice session where your child can grow accustomed to the wrist movements required to get the pets to jump, turn, and do flips.

I would like to show you my 6yr old's favorite part of the whole game. This is where he is able to choose a pet to adopt. The player can only have one pet at a time, so he often goes back to adopt a new one. All the pets are pre-named to make it easier for younger players.

After my son adopts a pet, he immediately gives it some food and water. Not every pet likes all the available food choices, so he must use trial and error to figure out what that particular pet likes to eat. Here he learned that pandas like to eat bamboo stalks. Next he likes to take his pet to the park to play fetch. Again there are many choices of toys.

After the park, he takes his pet to be washed. He will select the shampoo and create the lather. Then he will rinse off his pet. Sometimes the game will tell my son that he did not use enough shampoo and must wash his pet again.

I have to say that the actual rescuing of lost pets and earning rewards, such as gold stars, a virtual CD, and a red apple seem to be secondary to my son for the moment. He is thoroughly enjoying exploring the main parts of town. I think that after he has seen every nook and cranny, that he will be more interested in exploring the beach and the jungle. I also want to point out that the learning activities have not been challenging to our 6yr old thus far. We have not come even close to finishing the game, so I do not know if their are more difficult activities ahead.

Here is our 6yr old training his virtual pet to do tricks . . .

Pet Resuce for Wii certainly lives up to the expectations I have for a JumpStart product. To learn more about this game, visit Jumpstart.com . You can find this game at most major retailers of Wii games, such as Amazon.com, Walmart, Toys R Us, GameStop, Best Buy, and BJ's Wholesale Club.

Thank you to Jumpstart for providing a copy of this game for us to experience and for us to base this review upon.