Teaching children the alphabet at home, during or before they are in kindergarten, is proven to be an effective method of fostering their developing minds. At a young age, people are at their most curious stage and always eager to learn about interesting new things. Studies on children ages four, five, and six suggest that teaching them the alphabet whilst at home is a great booster to the learning curve they are already getting at school. One DVD in particular, the Leapfrog Letter Factory to be precise, has been of great help to teaching the alphabet to children ages six and below.
A bit of history
Leapfrog Enterprises Inc. is a children’s toy company in Emeryville, California, that targets the learning needs of children. Mixing three things, technology, teaching, and playing, the company creates highly interactive, fun, and educational toys for children. Since its founding back in 1995, the company has taken on a pitched effort in an attempt to combine learning and playing together. By far those efforts are proving to be very successful. In fact, Leapfrog Enterprises now sell its products overseas, to ten countries besides the US. In 1997, the company was backed by the Knowledge Universe and its founders; brothers Lowell Milken and Michael Milken, and Oracle Corp’s CEO himself, Larry Ellison. In the coming years Leapfrog Enterprise obtained Explore Technologies Ltd; and in 1999, it launched the LeapPad, which quickly became a flagship product.
Latest Leapfrog
In addition to the company’s lineup of very popular educational products, the Leapfrog Letter Factory is an effective method of teaching children the alphabet. The Leapfrog Letter Factory DVD not only teaches letters and their familiar sounds to children, but it does so while providing great entertainment to both the parent and the child. Typically, parents would not allow their children to sit for more than half an hour watching TV, but with Leapfrog Letter Factory, and its partner DVD, the Talking Word Factory, parents find themselves helplessly indulging their kids’ newfound educational hobby. The great thing about this is that either of the DVDs are short enough, and do not exceed their tolerance for their children watching TV for too long. To quote a few parents, ‘this doesn’t turn their kids to zombies who want nothing but to sit all day and watch TV’.
In kindergarten, teachers consider the Leapfrog Letter Factory to be an invaluable method of teaching the English alphabet. In contrast to other educational media, the DVD brings life to individual letters. It brings emphasis to various memory triggers so that children could more easily be able to familiarize the alphabet. The letter ‘C’, for example, is partnered up with the word ‘cold’. And so it clatters like it’s really C-C-C-C-Cold.
The show features amusing characters—Professor Quigley, Tad, and Lily—while on a fun trip to Leapfrog’s Letter factory. Through singsong talks and rhymes, children can effortlessly familiarize themselves with the sounds of each letter, and the meaning associated with them. Long story short, the DVD is yet another excellent addition to Leapfrog’s never-ending lineup of educational playthings for children.
This toy got a five out of five star rating. LeapFrog My Pal Violet is a learning toy that entertains at the same time. The fact that it’s an interactive companion for your child, usually recommended for three years old down to six months, means that this cuddly creature will be lighting up, playing music and speaking your child’s name and reciting their favorite things in a singsongy voice that children love. This toy signifies the advances made possible in the world of children’s toys, thanks to high tech computer geeks working endless hours, chasing that one device that’s going to change the world. My Pal Violet simply hooks up with your computer and uses an internet connection application through the USB cable, which is included in its package.
What’s not to like about the LeapFrog My Pal Violet?
As I mentioned before, the voice is calming and soothing for a child and is designed with plush, colorful, cuddly fabric. Young girls love this as much as babies. Whenever it plays music or speaks, it lights up and has a little nametag that is attached to it. The paws have sewn in detailing, rather than glued on decals, and the nametag is made from durable plastic that is unlikely to snap off. There are no pieces that are considered removable that could be construed a choking danger. These toys get lugged around, they get their ears gnawed on and will be carried and dragged everywhere. They never complain, and it can stand up to even the toughest workout.
There’s a closure with Velcro, which holds the compartment for batteries, off and on switch, volume control and USB port safely inside. Yes I said volume control; not just on and off. This little puppy can either be set for quiet, normal or completely off. If it is manually turned off, the child will not be able to initiate sound with the usual pressing of the paws; rather an adult will have to switch on the master control. Balanced sound is provided by speakers, which are inside of this plush cuddly buddy. And you will need a screwdriver to open this battery compartment, which uses AAA batteries (three of them) when the sound begins to be distorted.
What does LeapFrog My Pal Violet say and what does it do?
As I said before, it will mention your child by name (or in the case of your child having an extremely unique name, nicknames are available) and lists some of your child’s favorite things. It plays lullabies as well as other music, such as upbeat, up-tempo songs that are instrumental for sing-alongs or instructional; song choices and musical notes are selected by pressing the symbol on the left paw. Pressing the right paw conjures up little sentences that will help your child learn about colors, emotions, words and more. Pressing the right foot provides your child with five individual picks of bedtime or naptime calming music. Pressing it once gives you music for 2 minutes while pressing it twice plays music for five minutes.
And pressing the foot three times runs 10 minutes; just a little extra time for your child to spend with their cuddly LeapFrog My Pal Violet buddy before blissfully drifting off to sleep.
You know how much you love your tablet. Perhaps you’ve got a new IPad or something similar. Well guess what? Kids love them too. And the LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer is something they will really love. It’s a tablet, more or less a “learning tablet” made especially for children. It’s got a touchscreen and a number of different apps. And the good news is that their tablet is going to be a lot less expensive than yours.
The LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer Does What?
OK, so the important question is what can you child do with his new LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer. Well quite frankly, there’s simply too much to go into here. So instead let’s look at some of the more popular activities and apps.
For starters, there’s the Story studio, which combines writing, art and audio. You can take it a step further with the Art, Photo and Animation Studios. There are apps that cover just about any subject your child will take in school. Think about a curriculum that includes geography, math, language, art, reading, music and culture. And that’s just for starters. There are many more. Plus you can get flash card activities. You child can create movies and photos with the built in camera. And of course there’s an eBook reader.
And that’s just what’s included. You can purchase more activities and games by simply connecting the LeapPad to the internet or purchasing additional cartridges.
Should You Get Your Child A LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer?
In a word, yes. And if you already own a Leapster Explorer you should know that anything you’ve already purchased for that will also work on the LeapPad. So upgrading is seamless and if you have more that one child their games can be shared. Children under age four may or may not be ready for something like this. But it has enough challenging apps available that it will grow with them as they get older. It’s not often you find a learning tool that will keep a child’s attention for a long period of time. This will.
And kudos to the folks at LeapFrog for making this durable and kid friendly. The last thing you want is for something this costly to break easily. The LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer was built to withstand most of what your child can dish out, including drops, dirt and bumps.
Any Negatives?
Sure. For starters, if you child loves playing games, in spite of all the things we said were included, it’s probably less than you would like. That means more money out of your pocket. And since the LeapFrog LeapPad Exlporer retails for around $100, you’ll surely be spending more than you have become accustomed to for a handheld electronic device. But remember this system does more too. Not too many devices, for instance, include a video recorder. And you’ll save a little money since this device now accepts batteries that are rechargable.
Let’s sum up that major features of the LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer
It’s a handheld and portable tablet computer for children
Comes in green and purple
Has a built in camera and video recorder
The touch screen is 5 inches and can be operated by using a finger or stylus
It has a durable design
Special online areas allow parents to track their child’s progress
Has 2GB of memory built in
Comes with a 1 year warranty
Has over 100 cartridges available for purchase and works with Leapster Explorer titles
When you open the box you’ll get the LeapPad, a CD that will install software on your computer, a USB cord allowing you to connect to the computer and a stylus for operating the device.
The bottom line is that the LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer would be a good choice for your child. In fact, the cost may be the only thing that should hold you back. That doesn’t mean it’s a wallet drainer, and if you already have some Leapster game cartridges it will make this even more affordable.
As a parent, it’s natural for us to want to give our children the best opportunity to learn and develop quickly. And that’s why the LeapFrog Learn and Groove Musical table is so popular. Parents love it because it brings the world of music and learning to their children. And kids love it because it is just plain fun.
This is a toy for younger children. It’s recommended for kids ranging in age from 6 months to three years. And this is not a new toy or one that is suddenly going to be popular this Christmas. It’s actually been popular for years, and is always near the top of the list when popular toys are rated. Through a myriad of activities your child will be stimulated both visually and auditorialy. Motor skills will also be developed. Plus there are activities which can help your youngster learn the alphabet. He can learn colors. He can even learn opposites. In other words, this simple interactive table provides tremendous opportunities for your child to develop.
The LeapFrog Learn & Groove Musical Table itself is made of a molded plastic that is very sturdy. The bright colors will capture your child’s attention immediately. For babies the table can sit flat on the floor. Attach the legs and an active toddler can play while standing up.
You want your child to have lots of ways to learn and develop during his earliest years, and this table can provide them in a playful way. For the younger kids there’s the spinning maraca that he can play with while listening and singing along with the ABC song. He can also play a tune on colored piano keys. By doing so he’ll learn motor skills and can learn more about colors as well.
Counting to 10 is learned by moving the trombone slide. And by moving the sliding cello he’ll learn the meaning of going up and down. Tap on a colorful drum and he can learn about primary colors and shapes. And the book is one of the more popular parts of this toy. With this feature of the LeapFrog Learn and Groove Musical Table your youngster can hear more than 40 different songs and melodies. There are instrument sounds and nursery rhymes that will have him singing and dancing quickly as it goes from music mode to learning mode.
Children will also develop memory and problem solving skills through this superb interactive toy. Every where you look there is something new to open or close, push or pull, or even turn. And with the simple flip of a switch you can change everything from English to Spanish. It’s a wonderful way to introduce your youngster to a foreign language.
You will have to spend a bit of time assembling your LeapFron Learn & Groove Musical Table, but it’s not difficult at all. You’ll also need 3 AA batteries to run it. Those batteries are not included so make sure you buy them ahead of time so your child can start playing right away. With so many lights, sounds, music and other great activities included, this is a wonderful and innovative learning table for your young child.
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