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Computer Time for Kids plus a Giveaway

April 26, 2009 · 82 comments

We have a winner!

Here are your random numbers:

10	

Timestamp: 2009-05-03 15:16:34 UTC

Niki! With four boys I am sure she will put her JumpStart subscription to good use!

While I was on four weeks of bed rest I needed ideas to occupy my little children to keep them out of trouble. My mom was here for part of the time, but there were about 10 days when I was on my own. I usually had the children bring a bin of toys and play at the foot of my bed so I could keep my eye on them. This worked well, but we needed to break up the day with other activities.

While I usually prefer my children to read a book, draw a picture, play outside, or build something, I do allow them to have limited computer time during the week. As the internet grows bigger every day, computer time has become more difficult to manage. We have some computer games, but many of them don’t work on our newer computers and I am hesitant to allow them online because there is so much junk out there.

A few months back JumpStart emailed me and asked if I would be willing to try out their online program for kids. Since I am always looking for good activities for my children I agreed to check it out by creating an account for me.

The first thing I did once I signed on was to create my character. This was pretty fun, as there are tons of choices for hair, clothes, eyes and even skin tone. Then I entered the JumpStart world. There are a variety of games and activities to keep your preschooler busy. You earn points when you play the games. Let’s just say I did pretty well on many of the games :) . I decided it was program worth sharing with my kids so I signed up my 4, 6, and 8 year old. The 8 year old is probably too old for it, but I wanted to see what he thought of it anyway since he has had exposure to Webkinz. All my kids loved playing the educational games. I had to set the timer to make sure they didn’t play over their allotted computer time and they asked to play almost every day. I even found my 8 year old “helping” my 4 year old in order to have more playing time for himself. I love programs where your kids are learning, but they think they are playing, don’t you?

On the JumpStart site there are two ways to play. The first is to sign up for a free account. This gives you access to many of the games and activities. There is also a subscription to the online site which allows you access to significantly more games as well as a message board for parents and a host of other features. One thing I do appreciate about their subscription is that one subscription allows everyone in your family to create an account. That is a great feature for parents of more than one child (or seven).

One of my readers will be given a three month subscription to the Jumpstart site. This is a great opportunity to check out the program and see if it suits your family. We have really enjoyed the site and I am sure you will too. To enter to win a three month subscription leave me a comment and just for the fun of it, tell me how many kids you have. If you don’t have any kids, you can tell me that too, but why are you entering? For a second entry you can Twitter about the giveaway and leave me a second comment. Contest ends Friday evening May 1st, Cora time.

Computer Time for Kids plus a Giveaway

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{ 82 comments }

1 Emily April 26, 2009 at 8:20 pm

This site looks like fun! I have 2 toddler girls.

2 Christy April 26, 2009 at 8:21 pm

Thanks for the great giveaway! LOL I love that Cora time! I have three children.

3 Michelle G April 26, 2009 at 8:46 pm

My son loves the Jumpstart games that he has, I didn’t know they had an online game as well. I’ll have to check it out. BTW, I have 2 kiddos.

4 Shannon C April 26, 2009 at 8:54 pm

I have 2 kids, 6.5 and 5. They’d love the games, they like to play Jumpstart at the library.

5 Michele April 26, 2009 at 8:56 pm

Hello! This site sounds very interesting. I have two boys. One graduating pre-k this year and the other entering pre-k next year.

6 Donita April 26, 2009 at 9:00 pm

Sounds interesting. I have two boys. A 3 1/2 year old who loves computer games. And a 6 month old.
We have a great library, so that’s a great idea! I’ll have to check it out.

7 jasmine April 26, 2009 at 9:20 pm

jumpstart games are great i have three kids

8 Rachel April 26, 2009 at 9:28 pm

I’ve got 3 kids (14, 11, and 3 – the second 2 are having birthday’s soon) and we have one on the way. But with our slow internet, we wouldn’t get much use …. BUT my sister lives next door with a faster internet and 4 kids (7,4,3,1 and I would LOVE to be able to give them a subscription! She has a blog too – 3 Grubs and a Blosson, there’s a link on my sidebar.

9 Amber April 26, 2009 at 9:30 pm

I am with you on monitoring computer time. It is very scary what is out there nowadays! I have 3 children!

10 Niki April 26, 2009 at 9:30 pm

This site looks great. I have 4 boys and have trouble finding sites that are suitable for my 4 year old :)

11 Michelle Stewart April 26, 2009 at 9:35 pm

I love your blog, I have three children so far:)

12 Chrissy Anderson April 26, 2009 at 9:37 pm

What a great site. My 3 yr old is going to love it. I have three kids 3,12, and 13.

13 Dana April 26, 2009 at 9:39 pm

I have 3 kids. Thanks

14 Heather April 26, 2009 at 9:45 pm

I have two kids, Alex is 4 and Lizzie is 2, and I am always looking for something for Alex to do that is quiet, while Lizzie Naps, and I attempt to get some Bible Study in.

15 Jenny April 26, 2009 at 9:57 pm

We have three little boys here and three months sounds like the amount of time something new on the computer might hold their attention. We’d love to try!

16 Monique April 26, 2009 at 10:00 pm

I love educational games for the kids. My husband thinks it’s tricking them. lol We have four boys 8, 6, 4, & 1 …I think they would like this site. :-)

17 Anne April 26, 2009 at 10:16 pm

I have a 5 yr old daughter and a 20 month old son. This site sounds fun :)

18 Carol April 26, 2009 at 10:17 pm

I have 4 kids. My older 2 played the JumpStart games a lot when younger, but we’ve never tried the online version. Would love to check it out.

19 MB April 26, 2009 at 10:19 pm

I have two boys. Our 3 yr old loves computer games…probably too much. But, they are mostly educational. He loves the “Great Big Fancy Word Game”. I think it’s on Nick Jr, can’t remember. But he learns great vocab that way. :)

20 Susan April 26, 2009 at 10:33 pm

I have 13 chidren. Two have unexpectedly flown the nest, 4 are still at home and the other 7 are foster children. The ages are 19,17,14,11,9,8,7,6,4,3,3,2 and 1. We have several older Jumpstart games and enjoyed them.

21 carrie April 26, 2009 at 10:36 pm

cool….I have 2 kiddos :)

22 rebecca k April 26, 2009 at 10:41 pm

Oooh.. thanks for the post! i am on partial bedrest and this looks promising! i have 5 children on the outside :-) and am pregnant with twins, so 7 total :-)
Rebecca

23 laurie April 26, 2009 at 10:45 pm

I am interested!!

I have four kiddos. 3 girls, and 1 boy (9, 7, 5, and 2 Yrs)

Thanks!!

24 kayla April 26, 2009 at 10:59 pm

I have seven children and two who really enjoy computer time.

25 Traci Peyton April 26, 2009 at 11:24 pm

We have five homeschooling little people. This sounds like a great way for my pre-schooler & K age kids to spend a bit of time while I work with the big kids.

26 staceyk April 26, 2009 at 11:32 pm

two kiddos

27 Julie April 27, 2009 at 12:07 am

Yes, my two boys would probably proclaim me “Mother of the Year” if I told them they had online access to Jumpstart for 3 months, lol! Thanks for the opportunity to participate.

28 Lynne April 27, 2009 at 12:39 am

I have 4 grown children, but I have six grandchildren who like to come to Grandma’s house and I’m always interested in doing fun computer games with them! :)

29 Katy April 27, 2009 at 12:40 am

This is so my area of expertise! I teach computers at a private school for 3 yo, 4 yo, and kindergarten through 8th grade! I just wanted to comment to tell you about a little website I set up so my students could find the links to their games. It is http://kmfj114.googlepages.com/. I list online games and cd based games (Bailey’s, Sammie’s, or Millie’s Houses). One of the best I have listed is spellingcity.com. You can actually save a list of your child’s spelling words and then they get to play games with the words. They think they are playing but they are actually learning! Also check out starfall.com and Math Man on abcya.com. My students love those and learn so much!!!

30 Serena April 27, 2009 at 12:47 am

Hm, I wonder if my 3 year old would enjoy this? I have two daughters–the second is nearly 8 months.

31 Heather M April 27, 2009 at 12:52 am

My 4 yr old would love this!

32 Laura April 27, 2009 at 1:10 am

My three year old already loves the computer and who so enjoy this, it sounds great. Thanks!!

33 Angela April 27, 2009 at 1:47 am

Both of my boys (aged 4 and 9) would LOVE this! Thank you for always sharing so many wonderful things with us!

34 Jazzymom April 27, 2009 at 1:55 am

I have a girl who would love jumpstart. :)

35 Kristen April 27, 2009 at 2:21 am

I have three little boys, ages 5, 4 and almost 2. They would love to be able to use Jumpstart.

36 Mama On A Budget (Genevieve) April 27, 2009 at 2:26 am

I have two kids (boy 4 and girl 2.5) who are just starting to have time on mom’s computer.

37 Deb G April 27, 2009 at 3:24 am

Hi, I have 2 boys ages 3 and 12. They both love their computer time and I think that the youngest would love the site. It is hard to find appropriate sites for him.

38 Trina April 27, 2009 at 6:15 am

Hi Toni – This does sound like fun, and my kids (boy 9, boy 6, girl 2) would probably really enjoy a new set of educational games as part of our homeschooling routine. It’s a nice way to break it up– and I agree, any time they are learning and don’t know it is a big plus! Thanks!

39 Tara April 27, 2009 at 6:58 am

This looks likea great prize. I have 3 kids!

40 Jenny April 27, 2009 at 7:18 am

I have 2 boys, aged 4.5 and 2! I would love to win this contest as my older guy loves playing games. Thanks for sharing!!!

41 Lisa April 27, 2009 at 7:40 am

my FOUR children (10, 8, 3, 2) love to play on the computer. I’ve heard of the Jumpstart games, but didn’t know about their website features. thanks for the chance!

42 Jenn April 27, 2009 at 8:21 am

Thanks for the great offer, I love when you check things out first!!!

43 Zainab April 27, 2009 at 8:45 am

Looks fun! I have 2 kids, ages 5 and almost 3. We’re *officially* starting homeschool this year :)

44 Courtney @ Sister To Sister April 27, 2009 at 9:22 am

It sounds really neat!

I have 3 kids-that’s why I’m entering! :)

45 Valeta April 27, 2009 at 10:46 am

I am always looking for new sites for my six year old. Currently we play neopets together and he plays on starfall.com

I have three kids ages 6 years, 21 months and 2 months. Honestly, the 6 year old got more computer time in the past three months then he normally gets. I don’t know how you can homeschool 6 plus take care of a newborn! You are a hero!

46 TravelinPilgrim April 27, 2009 at 10:50 am

What a neat site! I read through a little of “your story” too and found it very interesting! I can’t wait to hear more! We have four children, ages nearly 10 to 3. When you have a little “Cora time” stop by my website! http://www.travelinpilgrim.blogspot.com

47 hotpants™ April 27, 2009 at 10:59 am

I have 2 kids. My son is 3. He would love this.

48 Amy April 27, 2009 at 11:09 am

I am always looking for educational games for my younger kids. I have 6 kids ages 8 months to 15 years.

49 Nikki April 27, 2009 at 11:14 am

Thanks for the give away. I’ve enjoyed reading your site. I have 6 boys. 25 – 4.

50 Dineen April 27, 2009 at 11:45 am

Wow what a great site! My children would love it. I have an almost 7 year old daughter and a 5 1/2 year old son.

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