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Encouraging Heroes. You can be one too.

I checked in at JumpStart.com again this weekend, and wow. They just continue to grow and grow! If you’ve got kids in the elementary grades, this is a terrific choice of online game. JumpStart works in educational elements all over, woven in with current books and movie themes. Currently, you can interact with the characters from the movie Madagascar. I played bumper cars with them tonight! That’s only one of just hundreds of activities available. There are 15 separate areas in the overall game, and within each area is a nearly endless supply of games, activities, and quests.

Just in the last several weeks, a couple of new areas have been developed. You can now go to Central Park, Coney Island, and Times Square in the JumpStart New York section. Given that I got to go to NYC for the first time last summer, it was especially fun for me to explore those areas.

From the parent perspective, JumpStart has a lot to offer. The JumpStart Moms section has informational articles, printable worksheets, and activity suggestions. And if you want to entertain on the go, there are nearly a dozen mobile apps for both the JumpStart and Math Blaster themes. Very nice!

Memberships to the site cost $8.99 USD per month, but that allows up to 6 children to have their own account. My boys have all enjoyed growing a “Mythie” which is a dragon you can hatch and care for until it’s old enough to take your character flying a la How to Train a Dragon. Very fun. It’s also possible to buy an annual membership or even a lifetime membership. If you’ve got kids on the younger side, the lifetime option is the way to go. A little costly up front, but definitely a money-saver in the long run.

Here’s a quick clip to show you the site in action.

Interested in trying it out? JumpStart is letting me give away a 3-month membership to the site! It’s a fantastic opportunity to try out the game and see if your family likes it. With all the nasty weather outside, this is a great time of year to try out the game. To enter, just use the Rafflecopter widget below. Entry options include commenting on this post with your favorite Madagascar character, following Jumpstart on Facebook or Google+, or tweeting about the giveaway. Good luck!

Contest ends 02/08/2013. Winner to be chosen by random drawing and notified after contest ends. No purchase necessary.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I was provided with a JumpStart membership at no cost by Knowledge Adventure in order to test the products’ abilities and give my own personal opinions on it. The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but were not influenced by the company or the free product provided.