JumpStart 2nd Grade

JumpStart 2nd Grade is a personal computer game released in 1996 by Knowledge Adventure.

In this game, the player becomes part of a JumpStart Pen Pal Club, and explores a schoolhouse full of activities with guides CJ and Edison while helping their pen pals solve puzzles and riddles.

Characters

 * CJ
 * Edison (Newton in EU Version)
 * Mr. Brewster
 * Arvin
 * Gilda
 * Gopher

Gameplay
The game begins with the player signing up for the JumpStart Pen Pal Club. Mr. Brewster, the mail bird, will help the player sign in.

The game takes place at school during after the teacher has left for the day. The player meets CJ the Frog, an ardent self-styled "adventurer", and his firefly friend, Edison, who is more of a pragmatic straight man. The two of them reveal a secret elevator behind a bookshelf that leads to several different floors.

Each floor contains at least one activity. Each activity has three difficulty levels: Scout (level 1), Explorer (level 2), and Trailblazer (level 3). Completing activities awards the player points. Points can be used to obtain post office stamps, which appear in the player's Stamp Book.

At the Mail Room, Mr. Brewster will often bring mail from JumpStart Pen Pals who need answering questions and solving problems. When the player decides to help a pen pal, they will be recommended to an activity that relates to the pen pal's query. Once the player has found the solution, they can send a letter back to the pen pal. However, the letter will require a stamp from the player's stamp book to be delivered.

Locations and Activities

 * Classroom
 * Painting Easel - An art activity that includes two famous paintings to color in, as well as a sticker book to create a scene with.
 * Bookshelf - Here, the player can choose from a selection of six stories to read in three grammar books.
 * Blackboard - Songs and animations that teach grammar play on the blackboard.
 * Clubhouse
 * Jukebox - The player inserts different coins and bills of U.S. currency into the jukebox to hear music.
 * Computer - The player can type anything they want, and print it out if they choose.
 * Treasure Tree - The player tests their memory by making matches.
 * Fish Tank - The player must follow instructions to feed the fish.
 * Lookout - The player uses a clue to determine which planet in the Solar System is being "invaded" by malevolent robotic aliens. After the player selects the correct planet, C.J. and Edison fly there in a rocket and the user then has to play an arcade-styled game to save that planet.
 * Mail Room or Post Office - This is where Mr. Brewster lives.
 * Other activities accessed with the Elevator:
 * Boiler Room - The player helps recycle items.
 * Football Field - The player figures out how many yards the players of the JumpStart team advance on the field, and uses subtraction to save the JumpStart team from penalties.
 * Bone Vault - The player solves problems to open the mysterious Bone Vault, which, predictably, contains bones. Inside the vault are various objects the user can measure with, by means of a scale and a ruler.
 * Cave Writings - The player decodes words written in American Sign Language, Braille and "Larvaic" ("language of the larva") using a key. Prior to the activity, the player must get past Arvin the caterpillar by answering a biology question.
 * Cricket Band - The player creates music with a band of crickets who jump up and down on piano keys.
 * Log Ride - The player solves math or spelling problems to help five gophers make it across a subterranean river so they can guide CJ and Edison through their tunnels. After the game is completed, CJ and Edison are taken to a cave filled with traffic signs. Once there, CJ and Edison explain the meaning of whichever signs the user clicks on.
 * Ice Cave - The player solves math problems to freeze ice bugs so that they will fill a sixteen unit grid. After the player completes the grid, the ice floor breaks which leads to an old pirate ship that is frozen in the ice. There the user will find a map with all seven continents on it. When clicking on a continent, CJ will inform the user about an interesting fact regarding it.

Songs

 * 1) We're Gonna JumpStart 2nd Grade
 * 2) It's a Noun
 * 3) A Goat in My Room
 * 4) Panama Parrot
 * 5) Science
 * 6) Caterpillar Blues
 * 7) Shoo Fly
 * 8) Marching Band
 * 9) Jumpin' Rope
 * 10) Yankee Doodle
 * 11) Melody and Harmony
 * 12) The Cave
 * 13) The Race
 * 14) La Cucaracha
 * 15) Pen Pal
 * 16) I'm Gonna Recycle
 * 17) Ballgame

Educational Concepts

 * Carry Over Addition
 * Borrowing Subtraction
 * Multiplication
 * Numbers
 * Time
 * Money
 * Nouns, Verbs, and Adjectives (Grammar)
 * Vocabulary
 * Phonics
 * Solar System
 * U.S. Geography
 * Music
 * Musical Scale
 * Measurement
 * Logic
 * Geography

Deluxe Release
Circa 2001, JumpStart 2nd Grade was re-released as part of a Deluxe 2 CD Set. The game JumpStart Around the World was included with it.

Credits
See JumpStart 2nd Grade/Credits

Associated Books
The JumpStart Summer Vacation Activity Book for 2nd Grade draws inspiration from this game, as well as the Scholastic workbook JumpStart 2nd Grade Spelling Challenge.

Trivia

 * Strangely, the current cover art uses artwork of CJ from JumpStart Math for Second Graders plastered onto the 2000 cover art (with the background being gold instead of purple).