JumpStart Preschool

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JumpStart Preschool
Developer(s)Knowledge Adventure
Publisher(s)Knowledge Adventure
Platform(s)
ReleaseJuly 1995[1]
Genre(s)Edutainment

JumpStart Preschool is a 1995 educational video game and third installment of the JumpStart franchise by Knowledge Adventure, after JumpStart Kindergarten (1994) and JumpStart 1st Grade (1995). It would later be re-released as JumpStart Preschool on August 26, 1998 and superseded by a new title JumpStart Advanced Preschool in 2002. It is also known as Jump Ahead Preschool in Europe.

Development and release[edit]

The game, which was "researched and developed under the direction of preschool teachers and parents", was shipped on August 28, 1995.[2] Bill Gross, founder and chairman of Knowledge Adventure, noted it was the company's first educational software program that "includes the full preschool curriculum".[2] JumpStart Preschool was made available through computer software stores, mass merchants, computer superstores, book stores and computer specialty stores.[2] A three-title bundle called JumpStart Preschool Deluxe was released on September 3, 1996, featuring JumpStart Preschool, JumpStart Pre-K and an Activity Discovery Book.[3] Of the 1998 re-release, Peter Doctorow, vice president of product development at Knowledge Adventure noted it was the first JumpStart program to include the company's new Kid's Assessment Technology (where players complete a cross-curricular assessment test and difficulty levels are automatically determined) and Parent Resource Center (which links progress reports between JumpStart titles).[4]

It was adapted as the 1999 direct-to-video animated film JumpStart Preschool: Who Left the Juice in the Caboose?.

Plot and gameplay[edit]

The title focuses on educational concepts for preschoolers, specifically covering: reading readiness, memory development, numeral recognition, and auditory discrimination.[2] Preschool teachers and caregivers could track the player's improvement via a Progress Report, while JumpStart's Adaptive Learning Technology tracked the player's success-to-attempt ratio and modified the difficulty accordingly.[2]

Critical reception[edit]

SuperKids praised the game's "cute characters, amusing activities, and magical worlds".[5] The Chicago Tribune noted the surreptitious learning opportunity of the game, which had a façade of fun.[6] Cyber-Reviews deemed the re-release superior due to the "improved graphics, motivational rewards (this is important information for the parents) an assessment technology that customizes for a child's individual needs".[7] Young kids and computers deemed it a "solid program with well-designed activities".[8] Child Care Information Exchange noted that while it contained more activities than Millie & Bailey Preschool, they "lack the range of concepts and the skilful embedding" offered by the latter.[9] MacUser suggested that players were meant to 'graduate' from JumpStart Toddlers to JumpStart Preschool, then to Kindergarten, 1st Grade, and 2nd Grade.[10]

Commercial performance[edit]

According to PC Data Interactive, in the period of January 1996 through March 1998, in aggregate dollars JumpStart Preschool was the best selling preschool software program.[4]

Awards[edit]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
1999 JumpStart Preschool Interactive Achievement Award for Computer Educational Title of the Year (0–8 years) Won[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Knowledge Adventure® Ships all-New Version of JumpStart Preschool®, #1 Selling Preschool Software Program". www2.knowledgeadventure.com. Archived from the original on 2 September 2000. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Knowledge Adventure Press Release". 1996-10-24. Archived from the original on 24 October 1996. Retrieved 2022-01-20.
  3. ^ "Knowledge Adventure Announces JumpStart Preschool Deluxe". 1998-02-04. Archived from the original on 4 February 1998. Retrieved 2022-01-20.
  4. ^ a b "Knowledge Adventure® Ships all-New Version Of JumpStart Preschool®, #1 Selling Preschool Software Program". 2000-09-02. Archived from the original on 2 September 2000. Retrieved 2022-01-20.
  5. ^ "SuperKids Software Review of Jump Start Preschool". www.superkids.com. Retrieved 2022-01-20.
  6. ^ "THREE TOP CD-ROMS GIVE KIDS A HEAD START ON READING SKILLS". Chicago Tribune. 12 April 1996. Retrieved 2022-01-20.
  7. ^ "Kids! Spanish from Syracuse Language, JumpStart Preschool from Knowledge Adventure and The Baby-sitters ClubCastle". www.cyber-reviews.com. Retrieved 2022-01-20.
  8. ^ Buckleitner, Warren; Orr, Ann C.; Wolock, Ellen (1998). Young kids and computers : a parent's survival guide. Internet Archive. Flemington, N.J. : Children's Software Revue. ISBN 978-1-891983-00-9.
  9. ^ Child Care Information Exchange July-August 1998: Iss 122. Internet Archive. Exchange Press Inc. July 1998.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  10. ^ MacUser May 1996. May 1996.
  11. ^ "Second Interactive Achievement Awards - Computer". Interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on November 4, 1999. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
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