Wii JumpStart Get Moving Family Fitness Review and Giveaway

This past Christmas, my girls received a Nintendo Wii game system from Santa and boy were they thrilled as can be.  Trying out different games together during family time has been a blast.  I was even playing it on Christmas Day - remember this was my due date.  My husband had a lot of fun laughing at his pregnant wife trying to play Wii. Well, this is what Wii games should be all about- being together and having fun as a family.
 

Recently, JumpStart released it's third Nintendo Wii game: JumpStart® Get Moving™ Family Fitness. Here is a detailed description of JumpStart's newest game: 

Get Moving Family Fitness: Sports Edition Featuring Brooke Burke gets the family active with more than 15 sports challenges, including basketball and speed skating, in 11 exotic arenas, such as the moon, a dinosaur jungle or a volcano. Players can design their own characters to race and play, keep track of personal best calories burned, engage in routines for an extra challenge and compete head-to-head or play solo. The game can be played utilizing the Wii Balance Board™ or simply with the Wii Remote™ and nunchuk.

My little product testers, ages 6 and 8, enjoyed their experiences with this new game.  Speed skating was their top pic from all of the 15 sports challenges, followed by volleyball and basketball. They claim that it helps their muscles and arms feel more flexible. Too cute- my little fitness gurus.

Sunshine said she thought this arena was funny because the cows would moo at her as they were playing. It's good to see my 8 year old being playful instead of trying to grow up so fast!

Compared to other Wii games that we have played, my husband and I think that JumpStart® Get Moving™  has a lot of variety  and is appropriate for younger children. (designed for ages 4 and up) We limit our children's time on video games, but like the idea of having a game that encourages movement for indoor play.  This would also be a great indoor activity when the weather isn't cooperating outdoors or for family game night.

 Favorite Features:

*creating their own character
*choosing different backgrounds- thumbs up to the Egyptian and the Underwater Background

Disappointments:
 My 8 year old did mention that she doesn't like the fact that you need the Wii balance board for some of the games. Obviously, we don't have a Wii balance board, so we weren't able to play a couple of the games.  Some of the movements can be challenging at first, which causes a bit of frustration for young ones, but once they stuck with it, they were able to figure it out better than Mom! 

Overall, my family was pleased with the product and will continue to play and "get moving" together.


Do you have a Wii game system at home?  How would you like your own copy of  JumpStart® Get Moving™ Family Fitness?

**To Purchase-















**To WIN JumpStarts Newest Wii Game-
Visit JumpStart's Website- which game do you think your kid's would enjoy? Leave a comment.  Don't forget your contact information just in case you are my lucky winner. (blog or email address) 

For extra entries:
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(Giveway ends 8/12/2010- 12:00 EST time)

*For even more chances to win and to read another review, visit my friend Chels at Fantastic Find! I also liked this detailed review on Common Sense Media- if interested.

Have fun playing with your kids!

Jen

ps.  In the mood for a good laugh? Take a peek at me playing Wii on my due date.  Go ahead and make fun of me, I'm a good sport.  :)

Disclosure: I was provided with a copy of JumpStart® Get Moving™ Family Fitness 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.

I am an affiliate for Amazon,therefore receive compensation if a product is purchased through an affiliate link.

RandomResult.com Numbers
Pick numbers beetween and . Distinct:
Sequence=1
Draw stat: sum=11, avg=11.00
Draw date: 2010-08-13 13:24:01
11-winner

Creative Summer Games!

Last week at Kidz Kamp was challenging, but sooo much fun. I helped with games for our "rookie" campers- ages 6-8. I had the pleasure to work with around 150 kids. (not all at the same time!) If you are working at a camp this summer or will be helping out with games for a family picnic, etc., I thought it would be fun to share a couple of the games that we played this week.

Water balloon Tarp Toss
Materials:two tarps and a large bin of water balloons

You can use a volleyball net or just tape a line between the two teams. The object of the game is to work as a team and toss the water balloon with the tarp across the net or line and have it land in the other teams tarp. The kids love this, especially if the balloon doesn't land in the tarp, but on them! Start with one balloon and then add a couple more and see how they do. Lots of fun- one of my favorite games. I actually learned this game teaching at Camp Invention.

Sponge Races
Materials- Sponges, 4 buckets, water

You need two or more teams (just get more buckets)for this wet and wacky relay.

The kids take turns filling up the sponge with water and racing down to the other bucket and squeezing as much water as they can into the other bucket and then racing back with the sponge for the next child in line. They want to be the first to win the race, but the object of the game is to have the most water in the bucket as well. Be prepared for the kids to go crazy with the sponges after racing. I got hit with a number of wet sponges last week!! Crazy fun for sure.

We also had helmets with buckets attached to the top and the kids tried to throw wet sponges into the buckets.

Beach Ball Fun
Beach Ball Relay: The kids had fun racing with the beach ball between their legs. Hard to do, but fun. Some of the kids would jump instead of run.

Partner Beach Ball Relay: You need two beach balls for this game-one for each team. Pair up the children. Put the beach ball between their backs. They must race with the beach ball trying to keep it from falling. If it does fall they need to reposition it and continue with the race.

Keep it Up: Very simple. You've probably played this with balloons. How many times can we hit the ball without it touching the ground. Can't touch the ball two times in a row!

Beach Ball Tarp Throw: Same as the water balloon toss game above, but you use a beach ball. Sheets work well for this game, also.

Marshmallow Dodge Ball
This was so much fun, but oh so sticky once the marshmallows started melting in the sun. I actually got stung by a bee later in the day as I was cleaning them up- just a word of caution. The kids just loved this, though. You'll only need one marshmallow per child, because they will just keep tossing all of the marshmallows back and forth at each other. I spray painted two lines far apart that they kids couldn't wail the marshmallows at each other. They had to stand between the lines to throw the marshmallows. What a fun battle to watch! I got hit with quite a few marshmallows myself!

Hula Hoop Fun
Hula Hoops are great for games and obstacles courses. One game that the kids have enjoyed at different camps that I have helped with is the hula hoop race. You can have two or more teams. One hula hoop for each team. Line the kids up in a straight line and have them hold hands. The object of this race is to get the hula hoop from one end of the team to the other without unclasping hands!




I hope that I gave you some fresh ideas for your summer fun picnics or camps. Please share your creative game ideas!

Take Care!

Jen

Creative Chalk Games

Sidewalk Chalk- fun for learning numbers and letters and for playing simple outdoor games.  Besides the traditional hopscotch, I thought that it would be fun to play a couple of different games with the kids.  The girls enjoyed trying something different and it tied in a little bit of math, too! Try out some of the fun games below with your kiddos.

Bulls eye- Directions: Using your chalk,draw a bulls eye.  Put a 10 in middle, a 5 in the next ring, and 1 in the last ring. Using a small stone (or bean bag), toss 3 times to get the highest score.  Add the total of the 3 throws.  The person with the highest score wins.  Sunshine enjoyed creating her own version of the game. She added a spot for 100 and one for 1,000.  Practice other math facts by having different numbers in the rings- 2, 4, and 6 for example. For younger children have 1, 2, and 3.

Positive/Negative Bulls Eye: For older children, you can make a bullseye, but have 1 and -1, etc. to practice adding positive and negative numbers. Draw a number line to show positive and negative before playing the game.

House- Directions: Using your chalk, draw a house with a door, two windows, a roof, and a chimney.  Write numbers one to 5 on each shape.  Toss the stone trying to get each part of the house in the least number of throws as possible.  Also can play like the game above- add the numbers to get the highest score. 

Awesome ideas from Family Fun! (Can't wait to try out some of these!)
Beyond Hopscotch
Chalk It Up!

Make your own sidewalk chalk:About.com-sidewalk chalk

Other ideas:
-chalk and water painting using spray bottle or large paint brush
-new 3D chalk available with glasses
-share abstract art and create own abstract creation with chalk

Do you have any fun ideas to do with sidewalk chalk?  Be sure to comment and share your creative ideas.

Jen