Is your preschooler bouncing off the walls? The weather in our area is up and down. Some days are outdoor-friendly. Others, not so much. The heat kicked on in our home this week after some nice warm days. My preschooler needed hands-on activity during these home-bound days and Jump 1 was the perfect go-to game!
Right out of the box I have to say that this is packaged extremely well. After enduring my preschooler (and first grader's) heavy use, the box is still intact, we still have all of the cards (amazing, right?), and it is continually a family gameschooling favorite. My biggest pet peeve with games are the boxes. They always seem to break in our house. This one hasn't and I am impressed. It has a neat little box that slides in and out for easy usage.
These cards are larger than a traditional deck, perfect for little hands. I have noticed that when I ask my preschooler to clean up this game and his Uno game, Jump 1 is cleaned up much quicker. It seems that the thickness and the fact they are slightly larger makes it easy and less intimidating for my little guy to clean up.
This game has several versions, with instructions included in the box. We played both the recommended versions and my preschooler would sometimes come up with his own! Either way, he would be working on math without even realizing it. Little ones can focus on number recognition, sequence, addition, and subtraction.
When the game first arrived, I used it with my six-year-old. He loved it. The instructions were simple enough that he wasn't overwhelmed but the concepts were challenging enough that it didn't become boring for him. Of course, after we finished our first round, he was ready for more!After a few days of us playing the game on and off (to help work on basic math skills, of course!) his little brother wanted to join in. He knows most of his digits so he would be excited to see one he knew. If there was one that he didn't, he would sweetly whisper to me, "what is it?" and it was a great way to help him learn the digits he struggled with.
After a while, he would want to make up his own versions. I think he just liked the one-on-one time with mom.
Gameschooling is a popular trend within the homeschooling community. I completely am on board with that style, especially in the younger years. I have even seen it effective with my teens but establishing the habit with the little ones is key. When my oldest teen was little we had piles (and I mean piles) of board, dice, card games in the house. Most of them were educational in one way or another. Others were simply fun. When we both needed a break from the traditional schooling methods we would break out a game or I would ask him to recruit a sibling. To this day, he enjoys playing games and even collects vintage board and card games. Believe it or not, he would prefer to play a physical game than a video game.
Exposing your children to educational games at a young age is extremely beneficial. Not all of my kids took to games as he did but my youngest two now are. I simply need to have them available. Some kids grow out of them, others embrace them. I'm one that has always embraced them! To this day, I love board games which is why I am fond of the gameschooling concept. I don't use it as my only homeschooling resource, but a main one, for sure. Is your game collection stocked? If not, or you are just getting started, be sure to include Jump 1 by Timberdoodle!
Disclaimer: Many thanks to Timberdoodle for sending me the above product for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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