|
Making knowledge an adventure is not just a philosophy at Knowledge Adventure: it guides their software development from original concept to the final product.
“[Parents] can trust us with their children,” says Leslie House, vice-president of the Kids business unit at Knowledge Adventure. “When a parent buys JumpStart, they know that their child will be treated as a unique and bright learner. JumpStart promises to be the software that inspires kids to learn and rewards each experience with confidence-building feedback. All JumpStart products are created with the participation of teachers and educational experts who are at the forefront of pedagogical trends.”
Knowledge Adventure’s production team focuses on educational content, but also on making the games fun, with the goal of creating a compelling experience that excites and engages the child in the activities. “Because we know that kids learn best when they are fully engaged, we make each product with ‘engagement and control’ as one of our top priorities,” says House. “We test each product from concept through execution with our kid experts to insure that we meet their intellectual and imaginative demands.”
This rigorous methodology begins with intense research and includes kids advisory teams, family testing, and the extensive involvement of child development specialists, teachers, and educational experts.
One example of this is the “multiple intelligences theory,” which is the educational concept behind the seven JumpStart All-Stars. These characters represent math, art, music, reading, physical athletics, science and leadership. The idea is that different children will benefit from different approaches to the educational content, especially in content retention. An example would be a boy that the software determines would learn best with the help of Casey, the athlete. For that child, the software will encourage him even more than other children to get up and do physical activities as he’s playing the computer game.
The JumpStart All-Stars and their educational
themes.
“Our new JumpStart Advanced line is based on two years of research and brainstorming around the multiple intelligences theory,” says House. “From that experience, we have created a product that brings some of the most powerful trends in education to the marketplace.”
Curious George Reading and Phonics benefits from the company’s educational research as well. The game takes an unusual approach to early reading skills by deliberately not linking the learning of letters to the QWERTY computer keyboard. “Young children just learning their ABCs can get confused by the grouping of letters, and at the same time, have difficulty finding and pressing them on the keyboard,” says Bernadette Gonzalez, director of development at Knowledge Adventure. “The game design in Curious George Reading and Phonics features interactive flashcards in several of the activities, [which allows] kids to focus on one letter at a time and master the basics before progressing to more complex reading concepts.”
“Knowledge Adventure has a long history in the kids’ interactive marketplace,” adds House. “We have always maintained and will continue to maintain a focus on the needs and aspirations of kids in today’s world. It is because of that focus that we are able to create products that provide ‘good for you’ experiences in areas of both learn and play.”
If you liked these games, check out:
Hulabee Entertainment Infogrames Kids Games Tivola Games More Kids Games
JumpStart Advanced Preschool
In JumpStart Advanced Preschool, your child helps organize an adopt-a-pet program, learns letters, phonics, counting, shapes and colors, and hones other pre-kindergarten skills. This game includes activities that teach more than 50 preschool appropriate skills.
JumpStart Advanced Kindergarten
JumpStart Advanced Kindergarten offers plenty of educational action as your child builds a car to race in five arenas. This game allows kids to play against a computer opponent or against each other.
JumpStart Advanced 1st Grade
JumpStart Advanced 1st Grade is filled with educational activities, disguised as a scooter race, that are appropriate for children starting grade school. Kids get to decorate the race tracks with their own custom designs and collect wild gadgets, such as snowball throwers, to enhance their scooters.
In JumpStart Advanced 2nd Grade, kids answer the question “Who is playing pranks on the residents of Jumpstartville?” Children learn new skills and play with unusual gadgets in curriculum-based games as they solve the mystery.
Curious George Downtown Adventure
In Curious George Downtown Adventure, kids work through logic puzzles and earn cool gadgets (trampolines, balloons, ladders and bowling balls) for George to play with. They also get to exercise their imagination and critical thinking skills as they create wild contraptions. Hint buttons keep the gameplay from becoming too challenging for younger players.
A playful program, Curious George Reading and Phonics focuses on pre-reading skills of letter, sound, and word recognition. With a variety of locations (Downtown, the Museum, the Candy Factory, the Park, and the Circus), children learn letters and phonics in a fun adventure game setting.
 |
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||
 |
|||||||||
Do you have comments for these featured games? Send us a note.