LA Food Truck Adventure + Iron Chef America = Kids Off The Couch

We have to smile secretly when we see our kids getting all excited about Iron Chef America and other cooking shows on TV. First, because we remember our own childhood when we typically wouldn’t have been caught dead in the kitchen (and when foods like mangoes, sweet onions and goat cheese would not have been found in our local supermarkets). And second, because seeing the kids excited about cooking can only be a step away from them learning to cook — right? In a world where fast food is abundant and the microwave can sometimes seem too slow, there’s nothing like watching your kids develop skills like baking, basting and marinating. Sampling the foods of different cultures is one of the bonuses of living in Southern California, so we spent an afternoon chasing the best of L.A.’s Food Trucks – those trendy versions of the old school taco trucks commonly seen at construction sites. From comfort foods like grilled cheese and fried chicken, to ethnic goodies like Korean BBQ and Israeli Couscous, to fabulous desserts galore, the food trucks have something for everyone. Our kids tried new tastes (chocolate/chili ice cream, anyone?) and stepped out of their culinary comfort zones. The best of all? We didn’t pay “sit down” dinner prices for some of the best food our city has to offer!

Click here for more tasty bits of wisdom including our favorite LA Food Trucks and staging your own Iron Chef competition!

Sweet Treats in Hidden Places!

UPDATE: This scavenger hunt is now over.

Bring out the magnifying glasses and maps! The scavenger hunt is back! This time we’ve joined forces with a long-time friend, Cupid, to ensure that candy hearts are spreading love throughout JumpStart.

Have your kids hunt for the hidden hearts all around JumpStart!

Located in MainStreet, Speed Drome, and DownTown, these hearts are sure to put a smile on your child’s Jumpee face. They come equipped with special messages that are worth the journey. However, the journey is not for the weak-of-heart! One may have to search behind trees, up in the sky, or even in the corner to find these special hearts. Don’t worry, though, because once your children start, they will not be able to stop.

Are your kids’ Jumpeez up for the challenge! We sure hope so!

For a little encouragement, we’ve created a quick riddle:
No matter how high and no matter how low,
When searching deep enough,
The amount of special hearts will be sure to grow!

To keep up with how many hearts have been found, your child can click on the JumpStart Communicator and then click on ‘Scavenger Hunt’. A candy heart hunt guide will pop up that has automatically crossed out the hearts that have been found and show what hearts still need to be discovered.

The Candy Heart Hunt Guide is a great resource that helps to keep track of what hearts have been found and which ones still need to be discovered.

We know that this is a scavenger hunt, and it may be challenging for your child’s Jumpee to find some of the hearts. So to assist with this, we have a few hints for each of the three participating areas:

DownTown:
Be sure to look all around the area, and don’t forget the beach, caves, and entrances found there!

MainStreet:
MainStreet’s water must have washed in a ton of love! Encourage your child to explore the bridges and the rivers that MainStreet so wonderfully offers. Also, in addition to the water, test out your child’s Jumpee’s sky-high skills by jumping on the purple rocks near the water! Excellent scenery and beautiful hearts are waiting!

Speed Drome:
Many hearts lay within this area! Once your child’s Jumpee is inside of the Speed Drome, search near the entrance (to the left and right) for easily-noticeable hearts! Don’t forget to explore all of the caves and roads!

Did your kids enjoy the scavenger hunt?  Let us know how it is! Good luck on the search!

Filed under: Just for Fun!

New Charm Contest for Windy Hollows!

Calling all Jumpeez: Windy Hollows needs your help! New pages have magically appeared in the JumpStart special spell book, and we need help creating new charms to fill them. So join in on the fun as we give your kids the power to create their very own charms for all of JumpStart to share! Just fill out the entry form and enter to win our Charms Contest!

Be sure to have your kids include the name of their charm, what it turns Jumpeez into, and a picture of the charm transformation. Encourage your kids to conjure up their most creative ideas! JumpStart will choose the top 10 finalists and post them on the JumpStart blog for everyone to vote on! If this sounds like something your child would like to do, please print out the Charm Contest Entry Form and mail in your child’s entries!

The winner will be able to share their charm with Jumpeez all around Windy Hollows and will also be awarded 1000 JumpStart coins for their charming creativity! Make sure to include the email address that you use to log in to JumpStart.com so we can correctly credit the winning account. Also, please note that only parents can submit the entries, and parent details will only be used to validate the winning entry. All entries must be submitted by mail before the deadline, March 16, 2011. Multiple entries are allowed, so if your child has lots of ideas, send them all our way!

Send Entries to:

Knowledge Adventure
Attention: Charm Contest
2377 Crenshaw Blvd., Suite 302
Torrance, CA 90501

Make sure your child’s charm is submitted by March 16, 2011! Let the charming begin!

Filed under: Behind the Scenes

Spread Some Love!

Put away the snowballs and winter coats – the last day of winter has come and gone! A new holiday is here, and we invited Cupid to JumpStart to help us re-decorate!  Now JumpStart is officially ready for Valentine’s Day and we want to make sure that your child’s Jumpee is in on the fun.

Cupid’s favorite addition: throwable hearts! This is an opportunity for your child to interact with fellow Jumpeez while spreading some love! Similar to throwing snowballs, have your child’s Jumpee look for the heart-in-hand button at the bottom of the screen to try it out.

Jumpeez can click on the heart-throwing icon to throw some love another Jumpee’s way!

Once your child’s Jumpee throws a heart onto another Jumpee, they will receive a special Valentine’s Day message.

A special message will appear on top of the other Jumpee’s head.

Do your kids feel the Valentine’s spirit? Encourage them to explore JumpStart and find all of Cupid’s fun activities he left us!

Happy Valentine’s Day from JumpStart!

Filed under: Just for Fun!

Kids Off The Couch – Please Be Our Valentine ?

Please, pretty please, would you be willing to show us some love this Valentine’s Day by filling out a survey? We can’t promise chocolate or rainbows, but do vow to listen to everything you say and use your suggestions to do a better job for you in 2011. Don’t you wish your significant other would promise as much!?

DIY VALENTINES: We’ve thrown a Valentine making party each year since the kids were in kindergarten and love how relaxed everyone becomes when cutting heart shapes with scissors and dreaming up silly love rhymes. Here’s all you need to do: make a quick run to a craft store and stock up on scissors, paste, stickers, ribbon, glue and glitter. Pile supplies in the center of a big table (don’t forget to cover the table with a cloth) and be sure to serve up something chocolate. You’ll be surprised what gets discussed when the subject is love! Click here to read our Popcorn Adventurethat paired Cocteau’s black and white classic Beauty and the Beast with a Valentine’s Day party.

IF YOU LOVE THE MUPPETS: The Hammer is hosting a free screening of The Muppet Movie on Sunday (2/13) at 11:00 AM as part of their Family Flicks film series. Parking is $3 below the Museum. Head over to Yogurtland after the screening for a yummy treat.

IF YOU LOVE MUSIC: The 53rd Grammy Awards are taking place at Staples Center on Sunday night (2/13) and will air on CBS. With an incredible line up that includes Mick Jagger, Barbara Streisand, Bob Dylan and Dr. Dre parents can talk about some of their favorite artists — and then, listen as the kids explain why they like Lady Gaga.

IF YOU LOVE FILM: The Aero Theater on Montana is hosting a fabulous film series this weekend called That Special Valentine’s Day Weekend: Romancing the Screenwith romantic titles ranging from Casablanca to The Notebook.

IF YOU LOVE CHOCOLATE: Our favorite local candy man is Jonathan at Compartes Chocolatier. We have a weakness for the Sweet Sloops made in Maine at Harbor Sweets. And, one of our newest subscribers has a chocolate making company calledChocoveda. We haven’t tried it yet, but sure want to!

IF YOU LOVE US: Don’t forget to fill out the survey. It’s only seven questions long and will be dropped into your in-box tomorrow!

Kids Off The Couch

If you like what we do, please tell a friend to sign up! info@kidsoffthecouch.com

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