Leapfrog Learn and Groove Music Mat Review

I've fancied getting the girls a music mat for some time but I'd been worried about the cacophany of noise but thanks to the new Leapfrog Learn and Groove Music Mat, there is some order, some fun and some learning applied to this musical mat.

The Leapfrog Learn and Groove Music Mat is ideal for children from around 2 years to 5 years old who are just learning about counting up to ten as well as spotting and naming colours and animals.

The music mat is a great way of encouraging movement as well as a fun way of kick-starting your preschooler into thinking about numbers and sounds. I like watching Holly walking through the living room, noticing the music mat and then switching it on as a bit of an impulse to have a play, a dance and a bit of fun.

The music mat has three modes - one is simply an exploratory mode, each circle on the mat makes a different noise with a different musical instrument and when you stand on it, the instrument makes a short noise to explain the character or number on display. String the noises together by stepping or hopping from one circle to the other to make a little percussion ditty!

In music mode, each creature on the play mat sings a little song as you dance around the mat and songs and phrases about the numbers help you to pick the different animals and sounds out. Holly enjoys this mode most.

I quite like play mode because this one really gets your children thinking. The console asks you a question such as "Find the tiger" or "Jump to number 2" and your child has to step on the correct colour, number or animal to make a noise.

We like the fact that the Leapfrog Music Mat folds up to a quarter of its normal size for when you want to store it. This means I can keep it in the corner of the living room so that it is there for whenever Holly fancies playing with it. The Learn and Groove Music Mat costs around £24.99. I'd recommend it for children from about 2 years old who are very confident on their feet and are excited to get learning their numbers.

Leapfrog Scout's Goodnight Light Review

It is four years since I wrote a review of a Leapfrog bedtime lullaby toy; we've used our Twinkle Twinkle Little Scout almost every single evening for over four years now - we even take it on holiday. I've searched high and low for an equivalent to send to my sister as a gift and finally Leapfrog have brought out a new bedtime toy for preschoolers - the brand new Scout's Goodnight Light from Leapfrog. I'm very excited.

Scout's Goodnight Light is part toy, part bedtime lullaby player. It comes in the shape of a space rocket featuring Leapfrog's Scout and Violet puppies. The toy acts as a night light that projects coloured numbers or brightly coloured planets and space shapes onto a darkened wall or ceiling. It plays music, games ideas and lots of short fun phrases that encourage learning about numbers, colours and space.  The Goodnight Light comes with a handle so it is easy for you to carry around the house or for little hands to carry when they want to project images in the dark.

We use the Goodnight Light from Leapfrog for playing lullabies to the girls when we want them to settle down for the night. The music features lots of Leapfrog classics that you may recognise if you have a cuddly Scout friend of your own as well as a mix of lullaby classics. The music isn't as gentle or soothing as I'd like (in fact I'd say it was a bit loud even in the quietest mode) but the music really does help the girls settle. You can elect for the music to also be accompanied by soothing lights - either solar system or brightly coloured numbers; these change colour and brightness as the timer counts down. You can choose 10 or 20 minutes of music and we find 20 minutes is about right for our girls at present.

Holly really enjoys Scout's Goodnight Light; it is the last thing she hears at night and when she wakes up, the first thing she does is hide in her wardrobe and play with it; pressing the button to listen to music and see the mesmerising lights; she really is taken by it.

As well as music, the Goodnight Light will play environmental noise (we used to find this good when the girls were tiny babies)  and solar noise (effectively white noise) which is ideal for newborns. I think it's a fabulous bit of kit which is perfect as a bedtime lullaby player from birth, right through to preschoolers like Holly.

Scout's Goodnight Light costs around £9.99 from the Leapfrog Store.

Leapfrog Imagicard Letter Factory Adventures

Both Lara and Holly are really enjoying using the Leapfrog Epic at present.  They use it a lot more than they have done any previous incarnation of the Leapfrog kids tablet and I think this has a lot to do with the speed and responsiveness as well as the wider range of games/apps on it.  Our recent discover is the Leapfrog Imagicard games which are interactive card games that come to life when you use your Leappad or Leapfrog epic to take a picture of the card to unlock fun educational games and activities.

Letter Factory Adventures is a Leapfrog Imagicard game suitable for children from 4 to 7 years and I can confirm that both Lara (nearly 7) and Holly (nearly 4) are playing it, enjoying it and gaining from it.  The game features cards with the recognisable Leapfrog characters posing with different letters of the alphabet.  Different cards unlock different games related to the letter sound.

For Holly, the spelling pirate game is perfectly pitched - change the letters to make new words while keeping the primary vowel sounds the same.  This is a great way of learning that the vowel letters make a consistent sound even in different words.  Even just seeing these first words on the screen is great practice for her to see and recognise how familiar words are written.

I've enjoyed sitting with her playing rhyming games - I need to read and help direct her on occasions but it is fun to listen and identify matching sounds, or to match the letter on the card to letters on the screen.

Lara, being a clever bean, quickly worked out that she didn't actually need the cards to be able to play most of the games in Letter Factory Adventures.  Lara has spent quite some time playing this game which is interesting because I wouldn't have said she necessarily needed to practice her spelling, vocabulary or basic vowel sounds but there is obviously something there that brings her back to play.  There are little games and videos and so many different things to do in this game.  I think Lara enjoys the challenge of trying to get all the answers to puzzles right, first time, within a time limit so even though the puzzles themselves seem easy to her, there is further skill needed!

The Letter Factory Adventures Imagicards come in a metal presentation case.

  

Leapfrog Epic - Kids Tablet Review

Last year, when I first found out that Leapfrog were producing their first tablet to run the Android operating system, I was over the moon.  This was ground-breaking news that could finally close the gap between kid tech and adult tech.  At Christmas we became the proud owners of a new Leapfrog Epic tablet so I thought I would share my experience so far...

For me, the exciting thing about Leapfrog issuing an Android tablet was the new levels of freedom we now have for choosing apps.  I think this will help increase competition and will eventually cause the price of specialist Leapfrog apps to have to drop to compete with the enormous app market.  Using parent mode on the Epic, I was able to install Amazon Underground which in turn allows me to side load onto the tablet almost any suitable app from the Amazon store.  For every app you install, the Epic allows you as a parent to restrict which users of the tablet can access it.  I had great plans for letting Lara use Netflix, but stopping Holly from using it.  Unfortunately, I've never managed to get the Netflix app to work (due, I think to network configuration issues on the tablet that I can't quite fathom).  

After the initial euphoria at having worked out how to install android apps, I've actually found it hard to find any good value kids apps that I genuinely want to install to the device!!! In fact, given the library of Leapfrog learning apps that we have built up, I'm very happy with the choice and options at Leapfrog, even though they are more expensive than many of the "public" kids apps.  At least with the Leapfrog apps I can clearly see the educational value and target age range for each game and the quality of graphics and game play is consistent! You can use any of your library of purchased leappad apps that you have stored in your leapfrog learning account but you can't use leappad cartridges.  You can also purchase new apps directly from the device when you are in parent mode.

The Leapfrog Epic is highly customisable.  You can choose which apps each child can use, and which they see on their home page.  They can customise their own home page by moving icons and characters and elements of the screen.  It is a 7 inch display on the screen (the same as other leappads) and the screen quality and ease of touch screen use is great.  I like the removable bump-protector around the outside; this is another demonstration of where kid-tech has seamlessly met adult-tech.  The tablet comes with a stylus which is joined by a small cord to prevent it from being lost.

Leapfrog Epic includes a full internet browser which, in parent mode is unrestricted.  You can set up a list of permitted websites (it comes with a small range of recommended kid-friendly sites) from which your child can choose to explore using the Leapsearch browser.

Lara seems most impressed with a few of the smaller apps on the tablet which simulate those she sees me use - the weather app is one of her favourite!!!

A couple of other small observations I have about the Epic may both also be down to the move to the Android operating system. The UI looks fab - I love the little bubble icons on the homepage and it makes it easy to find the apps the girls want to play. I have also noticed that it is fast! Even games we've been used to playing on previous Leappad incarnations seem noticeably faster on this tablet. Yay!

Lara and Holly have enjoyed using the camera on the Epic to play interactive games such as Leapfrog Imagicards.  I'm sure we will unlock more of the magic as the months unfold.

Leapfrog Imagicard - Blaze and the Monster Machines

Blaze and the Monster Machines is the brand new set of Leapfrog Imagicard games.  This is the first time that Lara and Holly have played with Imagicards from Leapfrog and we have all been very impressed - this clever bit of technology really brings the Leappad tablet to life and it is a fun and engaging way to elevate a card game into something really interactive.

Imagicards are a set of playing cards featuring your favourite characters.  Blaze and the Monster Machines is the latest theme of cards to appear on the scene featuring lots of the 4-wheeled favourites from Nickelodeon.

Both of my girls love traditional card games (I wake up to find them playing cards of some sort most mornings) such as happy families and uno.  In the past we haven't had a lot of success with card games that are intended to tie into apps or games - its the cards that usually interest the girls more than the tech.  Largely I'd say that Holly and Lara feel the same way about the Imagicards and I've already seen them playing the "offline" games recommended in the instructions - there are counting games and science games recommended.

But the real power of Imagicards is when you pair them with the a Leappad tablet (we've played successfully on the Leappad Ultra and the Leappad Epic).  Once you have downloaded the matching app for the cards, you use the camera on the Leappad tablet to "capture" images of the cards of your choice.  Different cards unlock different games and challenges.

Holly has most enjoyed playing racing games using her Imagicards.  In the racing game you need to answer simple maths questions to gain bonuses and extra speed - these are just about manageable for Holly now (she is 3 and a half).  There are also questions about forces, a foundation of science and maths principles.  For instance, you have to choose the right speed to approach a ramp in order to avoid an obstacle.  Holly hasn't quite grasped this yet but enjoys the challenge.

Inside the app you will also find cards which set you missions you need to complete.  And others which unlock the ability to create your own Blaze-themed selfie!  There is a Blaze and the Monster Machines quiz and some simple science questions designed to make you think about shapes, materials and forces.

I think the thing that Lara and Holly enjoy most though is simply seeing the cards come to life.  When you take a photo of a card, it really does make it look as if the card is coming to life with a bit of sparkle!

One of the little things I really appreciate about this game is that you don't NEED to have the cards available to play. I always worry about games which have a dependency on something that can easily be lost of damaged so it is nice to know that there is a digital card picker available for when the Imagicards aren't to hand!

  

Leapfrog Frozen Favourites

All through November, Leapfrog were inviting you to vote for your Leapfrog favourites on their facebook page.  Your favourite games and books for Leappad, Leapster GS, LeapTV, Leapreader and Leapreader Junior.  The votes are now in and the nation's favourite Leapfrog content has been revealed as:-

LeapReader Junior - Disney Princesses
LeapReader - Paw Patrol
LeapPad - Frozen
LeapTV - Paw Patrol

Of course, we all have our own favourites but Holly is largely in agreement.  Right now Holly has her very own favourite Leapfrog games - the Disney Frozen games for Leappad and LeapTV.

The Disney Frozen game for LeapTV is an interactive game to be played with the Leapfrog learning games console plugged into your TV.  The game features a series of mini-games set around the Arandelle winter festive; each game which practices first number skills and rewards your child with fun activities to take part in.  The game is recommended for children aged 4-7 years old but I'm finding that Holly is eager to play and in fact, many of the first levels of each of the games is well suited to her.  In one game she has to identify from sight, numbers between 10 and 20.  In another she has to match patterns of numbers in sequence.  Some of the interactive points in the game which require strong hand-eye co-ordination (such as making Anna and Elsa skate around a rink, or selecting points on the screen) are perhaps better suited to a slightly older child but Holly absolutely loves the magic of the game.

Holly's favourite element of the game is building jewellery with the snowflakes that she has earned from her maths puzzles. Once she has chosen the layout of coloured snowflakes she can stand in front of the screen and take a photo of herself "wearing" her new jewellery creation!  We love this game and it is a brilliant opportunity for us to help her practice her counting skills while immersing herself in the wonders of Arandelle.

Holly also has a Disney Frozen game to play on the Leappad (not Leappad 1) - this is a reading learning game with simple spelling and reading skills for children aged 4-7 years.  Once again, the game is just a little advanced for Holly but she is so eager to play that she is really stretching herself.  This is wonderful to watch - Holly is just learning to read and she can quickly recognise letters but has to push herself hard to sound them out and put them together.  One particular mini-game that I've been very impressed with sees Olaf challenge you to build flower-patterns by spelling out words using the letters from a bigger word such as "ballroom" or "snowflake" (I'll forget I saw a spelling mistake in the game itself).  I'm so impressed that, using the visual clues on the screen, Holly is able to put together words and string together letters.  She doesn't realise it, but this game really is helping Holly to read.

And that is perhaps the most satisfying thing of all.  As a big Leapfrog fan, I've always sought to use Leapfrog games and books to support Lara's reading and maths skills in a fun way.  But with Holly, she has access to them much earlier in life than her big sister did and now I can genuinely see that the games and books are teaching her.  They are more than just fun ways of re-inforcing a message; they are learning tools.  What better way of helping Holly on her learning journey than through the medium of Anna and Elsa - her two favourite princesses!

The Frozen game for Leappad also includes handwriting skills for tracing letters (perfect for Holly to practice pen control) and a read-along story with which you can interact.

   

Leappad Epic - Leapfrog's First Android Tablet for Kids

I can remember the first year that I discovered the Leapfrog Leappad learning tablet, and its Vtech competitor, the Innotab.  I clearly remember the dismay, as a software developer, that neither kids tablet was running on a standard operating system.  Last week I received the wonderful news that this year Leapfrog are launching the Leappad Epic, their first kids learning tablet to run on the Android operating system.  Woo hoo.

As a software developer, some of the reasons why a kids tablet built on the Android platform is so appealing are :-

* More sophisticated user interface elements which, these days, come naturally to children and will be more like other tools they see and use
* Access to a wider range of kids favourite android apps (limited to those you approve, as a parent)
* Ability to draw upon industry expertise for app development; this should mean that the Leapfrog content is more diverse and cheaper to develop in the future.

The Leapfrog Epic promises to "grow with your child" and I'm looking forward to trying out its promise of content that really adapts to your child's age and ability. Little things such as the ability to remove the chunky bumper around the outside of the device mean that the Leappad epic is the first Leappad that will really hold appeal for children from age 3 upto around 10 years old. With every release of the Leappad, the Leapsearch browser evolves and I shall be interested to see how it sits on the Android platform, and how flexible I find it for Lara who has an insatiable thirst for knowledge (far beyond the content currently available on her existing Leappad Ultra).

As with all Leapfrog products, the Leappad epic is designed to encourage learning through play and the Leappad epic looks to be their most configurable, tailorable kids learning tablet to date. It has a quad core processor and a 7 inch touch screen. We CAN'T WAIT!!!

Leapfrog Number Loving Oven Review

It is quite hard to believe that Holly still has another 13 months until she will start school... in fact, I'm not really sure how she is going to cope between now and then as she asks, every morning, whether she can go to school instead of nursery.  Holly can write her name, she is eager to learn to read and can identify and write all of the letters of the alphabet.  Holly is already performing simple arithmetic with her fingers and can count beautifully.  I'm trying to find as many ways as I can to feed her thirst for learning and try to keep things exciting for her until she starts school - I think I'm going to need as many ideas as I can get!

The Number Loving Oven from Leapfrog is one of my ideas for helping Holly to practice her basic school readiness maths skills such as counting, sharing and simple fraction sills.  Leapfrog's Number Loving Oven is one of a few new preschool learning toys launched this summer to help your under 5's practice the skills they'll need once they get to school.

The Number Loving Oven is a compact toy oven and hob which allows your child to role play while practicing their numbers.  The Oven sings about the ingredients and encourages you to select the correct oven timings and temperature, she also encourages sharing.  The Oven comes with plastic cupcakes, bread, pizza, baking tray, service slice, frying pan and oven tray.  One of the challenges that the oven will set is to cut the bread or the pizza into the correct number of pieces using the serving slice, this helps to practice sharing a whole and breaking it into simple fractions.

Holly very much enjoys the oven and finds the singing very cheerful.  In our house, as big Leapfrog fans, we can all often be heard singing our favourite Leapfrog songs but the Number Loving Oven has a few ditties that I think will be memorable for the rest of our lives - we particularly like "put an egg on it" which brings a smile to all of our faces.

I think that the Leapfrog Number Loving Oven ticks an awful lot of boxes for us - counting, maths AND cookery.  Simply cutting the bread into pieces and then sticking them back together again can keep my two occupied for quite some time!  That said, I think that Holly could have done with this toy about a year ago - indeed, it is recommended for children from age 2 upwards and I think it could really boost learning for a child who is just starting to learn and read numbers.

Although I love the role-play element, I don't think I'd recommend this oven as your sole role-play kitchen product as it is quite small.  The knobs on the cooker turn and the hob makes a crackling sound when you place the frying pan on it but it is just a bit cramped to really get the creative role-play juices going.  Holly prefers to play with it as an interactive toy where she listens to the instructions, places the correct items in the oven and then sings along to the songs.

Now, I wouldn't be Mellow Mummy if I didn't also mention that REAL cookery with pre-schoolers is also an incredible way of teaching preschool skills.  Cookery with kids can be wonderful fun and is always packed full of educational opportunities that you probably never notice (weighing, measuring, finding ingredients, counting cupcake cases, splitting eggs...).  If the Number Loving Oven is the catalyst that can get you and your preschoolers cooking together in the kitchen then I'll be happy!!!

You can find out more about Leapfrog products on their Facebook page which is packed full of ideas and competitions.

  

Leapfrog Discover Summer Club, and Leapreader Interactive World Map Review

The end of term is here, and the end of year one for Lara who has really enjoyed the past year at school. The six weeks holiday ahead of us seems like a long time but I just know it will whiz by.

Leapfrog know how important it is to keep our children learning, but with a little less pressure, during the school holidays so that they can build upon all the reading, writing and maths skills they've acquired during the school year. Lots of parents worry (not me though, as I'm the mellow mummy!) about their children returning to school in the autumn having forgotten some of the things they've learned so Leapfrog have set up the Discover Summer Club to help provide ideas for six weeks of fun learning activities to keep kids laughing, thinking and secretly learning over the summer.  There are free downloads and a regular email with activities... PLUS the chance to win a Center Parcs break.

As part of the Leapfrog Blogger Panel, Lara was sent a copy of the Leapfrog Leapreader Interactive World Map which is an absolutely brilliant learning resource.  I would go as far as to say that it is the best Leapfrog product I have tried since I first discovered Leapfrog products, nearly 6 years ago.

The World Map is designed to work with the Leapreader interactive reading aid.  The map has two sides, one traditional atlas-style map and the other is a more illustrative map with pictures of people, animals and landmarks across the globe.  As you place the Leapreader onto the map it will read the name of the country and tell you about the things you are looking at.  As a first introduction to world geography, it is an incredible tool. Lara instantly took to it and wanted to explore every detail of the globe.

Both sides of the map feature a series of interactive games that you can play with the Leapreader pen and which encourage you to explore the map and learn fun world facts.  Our absolute favourite of these games involves locating as many named countries on the map as you can within a fixed time period.  There are three levels so it is as suitable for a 4 year old as it is for a 40 year old.  In fact, grown-ups seem to find it an irresistible challenge once a record is set that has to be beaten.  Would you be able to locate Guineau-Bissau under pressure?

I'm really pleased that Lara is enjoying her interactive world map because I have fond memories as a child of exploring my parent's printed world atlas - this feels like the equivalent! In just a couple of weeks I've seen Lara's knowledge of countries, continents and points of the compass improve noticeably.  I'm also glad to see that Lara has a renewed interest in her Leapreader (many of our existing books are now a little young for her).  I'm looking forward to seeing how often Lara dips into this map over the school holidays.

  

Leapfrog Imagicard and the Leappad Platinum - Exciting Stuff!

One of the things I enjoy most about being on the Leapfrog blogger panel is finding out about the latest new products; around this time of year, Leapfrog announce their headline-grabbing new release that is almost guaranteed to be at the top of the Christmas present lists this winter.  This week, Leapfrog announced the launch of LeapFrog Imagicard, a ground-breaking digitial learning experience.  The Imagicard from Leapfrog offers a whole new way to play through a magical collectible card experience that brings characters and learning to life on the next generation of LeapPad learning tablets – LeapPad Platinum.

With LeapFrog Imagicard games, children are presented with new ways to solve problems with 30+ interactive collectible cards that come to life on their LeapFrog tablet. Children use the camera to simply “capture” the card on the screen, bringing one of their favourite characters magically into the game and unlocking more ways to play. 

LeapFrog Imagicard launches with three interactive games that feature favourite characters including LeapFrog’s Letter Factory, PAW Patrol, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Each game features LeapFrog’s adaptive learning technology which personalises the experience for each child. LeapFrog Imagicard is also backwards compatible with all LeapFrog LeapPad tablets with the exception of LeapPad 1. In addition to the multi-levelled downloadable digital game and interactive cards, LeapFrog Imagicard comes with a tin for easy storage, and a play mat for card sorting and offline games. All 30+ cards are also digitally included in the game, so children can still play the full games while on-the-go - meaning you don't have to risk losing the cards when you're out and about.

I'm sure we'll discover more about the Leappad Platinum in the coming months but on paper the LeapPad Platinum is LeapFrog’s most durable tablet ever with a shatter-safe screen and a wrap-around bumper. It includes 8GB memory to hold up to 40,000 photos or 100+ game apps*, two cameras and video recorders and 10 apps.

Leapfrog Cinderella Leapreader Book Review

Holly has really developed an interest in book, reading and exploring words.  I'm amazed at how, having just turned three, Holly has already grasped that the words on the page are there to be read...the fact that she can't read them yet doesn't seem to bother her! This is a big step in a child's reading journey and its one that should be encouraged and celebrated!  It is how I knew that Holly was ready to move on up to the big girl's Leapfrog Leapreader to start exploring the Leapfrog Early Readers range of interactive books.

I think I introduced Lara to the Leapreader a little too late in life - she had already started reading simple sentences but didn't often see the Leapfrog books as a reading opportunity, more of a play opportunity. She still does.  That said, the games always have a good learning foundation such as word play or story comprehension and Cinderella, The Heart That Believes is no different.

But for Holly I am keen that the Leapreader books are the start of a reading journey and so far she has seemed very interested in using the tip of the pen to point at the words as they are read back to her.  Holly has a very short attention span so she tends to flick quickly from one page element to the next so it is a good job that the sentences are short and simple; this also makes them ideal for first readers as it makes the sentences seem less daunting.

The girls haven't escaped the Cinderella fever that has swept the nation and have rediscovered their interest in the classic Disney animated movie.  They were very excited when I downloaded the companion audio onto their Leapreader pen.  This Disney Princess book has proven very popular with both Lara and Holly.  The Early Reader series is suitable for children of around 3-6 years old.

Cinderella, The Heart that Believes tells the story of the Cinderella animated movie.  As you place the Leapreader on the words, it will read them out loud to you.  You can also read it yourself and are encouraged to sound out the words.  On some pages there are interactive games to play...on others there are lots of different pictures you can point at to hear conversation, sounds and music to accompany the pictures.

Holly is very taken with her first Leapreader book and has enjoyed exploring her way through it; it reminds me very much of seeing Lara, shortly before she started school, experiencing the joy of the understanding.  I'm hoping that this is just the beginning of Holly's Leapfrog self-reading journey.

Leapfrog LeapTV - Disney Sofia The First Children's Console Game Review

The LeapTV from Leapfrog is an educational learning console that turns your TV into an interactive gaming experience for little people.  I will admit that we don't very often use our LeapTV because, until now, Holly had really been too small to play on it and when her big sister did so, she really wanted to join in but we've recently discovered Sofia the First for LeapTV which is a game suitable from age 3 upwards and, as Holly's co-ordination, learning and understanding is improving, she is able to join in.

Sofia the First, Picnic Games on LeapTV features the Disney trainee princess taking on lots of training challenges in preparation for a grand royal picnic.  Your child has to use the hand-held controller to navigate through the gardens to find picnic challenges to play such as growing and arranging magical flowers for the table decorations to flying Sofia's magical horse, Minimus.

Some of the games practice very basic phonics skills which is perfect for Holly who has recently grasped the concepts of letter sounds and can recognise her first simple letter shapes.  The growing game encourages your child to select one letter shape over another based on the sound and Holly feels very proud when she gets it right.  The flying game encourages hand-eye co-ordination and it is really interesting to see the different levels of skill between Lara (nearly 6) and Holly (nearly 3) as they play with the interactive controller.  Holly has to concentrate very hard to get the characters on the screen to do what she intends them to do but she really does understand the concept of cause and effect.

I like this game (I wouldn't play it myself!!!) for Holly as the language is clear and the instructions easy to follow.  My one concern is that there is quite a lot of time at the start-up of the game where we have to sit and wait for the game to be ready to play.  Additionally, as each mini-game loads up it seems to take FOREVER for the game to load.  This is a big problem for someone as small as Holly who simply doesn't understand the delay and quickly loses interest.

That said, for a slightly older child such as Lara, there is a lot to get out of this game.  Many of the mini-games that use numbers, letters or vocabulary are quite easy for Lara now but she enjoys the challenge of completing them so that she can earn medals (and there are lots of medals to earn).  Lara can see and explore all of the more in-depth parts of the game such as collecting gems and hunting for horseshoes.  This is the secret which causes them to come back to a game over and over again.

Disclosure: I am a member of the Leapfrog Blogger Panel and was sent the LeapTV game to review.  All opinions are my own.

 

Leapfrog Alphapup Review

As members of the Leapfrog blogger panel, we love discovering their range of educational toys and Lara has spent quite some time exploring their rich content for reading and learning technology but Leapfrog are also known for their wonderfully simple learning toys for toddlers which encourage an interest in the basic fundamentals of all learning paths for the future.  The Alphapup is one such Leapfrog toy.

Holly has just started learning her alphabet with us, and at nursery and she has very much enjoyed meeting the Alphapup because he talks the same language as her - the ABC!

The Alphapup is a pull along toy suitable for early walkers up to preschoolers.  The keys along his back play the names of the letters of the alphabet when pressed, along with their basic phonic sounds.  At this age, little people learn through reptition and imitation of sounds that they hear.  

The Alphapup waddles along as you pull him (or her!) and he sings one of his three happy tunes.  Alphapup has one or two cheerful phrases to accompany the singing too.

We like the Alphapup because of his unending happiness and cheerful bright colours.  I think Holly is just about grown out of the Alphapup though because the lead is a bit too short for her to comfortably hold when she is walking upright.

The Leapfrog Alphapup costs around £16.99

How to help your child to read - 30 ways in 30 days

Both of my girls have grown up with Leapfrog learning toys.  For me, Leapfrog's unique blend of fun and education has, on many many occasions, been a trigger point for encouraging reading and interaction with books from a very young age.  This week Leapfrog have launched their "30 Ways in 30 Days" guide in which educational expert Janette Wallis gives 30 daily tips and ideas of activities to try at home to help instill a life long love of reading. 

Holly is just 2 and yet she loves to sit and explore a book, either with an adult or on her own.  She regularly uses her own Leapfrog Tag Junior Reader, or her sister's LeapReader to interact with the pages of a book, building her understanding of the relationship between the words on a page and the story it tells.  While it may be some time before Holly can actively read, these early interactions with books as stories, or as games, are her first steps on the road to reading.

The 30 Ways in 30 days guide is really designed for parents of slightly older children, like Lara.  The 30 tips range from ideas for how to whet your child's appetite for a story, to practical tips on the best way to target reading material to your child's reading abilities.  From ideas for writing letters to your child's favourite author, to completing themed wordsearches.  This guide contains sensible tips for parents, whatever level of confidence you have in your own ability to encourage a love of reading and writing.

One of the tips in the 30/30 guide from Leapfrog is to consider allowing your child to stay up a little later than normal, so long as it is reading time.  This has worked very effectively for us with Lara.  Yes, there are still nights when both girls will pester to watch another episode of their favourite TV programme but, more often than not, Lara will jump at the chance to have a special late night so that she can read a chapter of her latest book.

Lara enjoys reading her Leapreader books as a special treat.  Her reading has progressed so quickly that all of the LeapReader books are now well within her abilities to read unaided but she still enjoys the magic of having a story read to her, and certainly enjoys the interactive puzzles that feature in most of the LeapReader books.  This Doc McStuffins LeapReader book is designed for slightly older readers to read on their own and Lara has seemed as happy reading the story with and without her LeapReader.

For us, a story (or six) at bedtime has become part of our family routine.  However tired or stressed we all are at the end of a long working day, we all enjoy the wind-down of a story with the girls.  But for many people, last thing at night isn't the greatest time for a story; as parents we shouldn't feel that reading opportunities are restricted to the traditional bedtime routine; one of the great 30/30 tips is to find a different regular reading time that suits your own family.  Perhaps first thing in the morning, or immediately after a meal?

You can find out about the LeapReader, the 30 Ways in 30 days parental guide and other Leapfrog news on twitter and facebook.

Leapfrog Leappad Disney Games Video Review

Myself, Holly and Lara are proud to have been asked to be 2015 Leapfrog Blogger Panelists this year and to start 2015 we have been trying out some of the educational games from Leapfrog available for the Leappad learning tablet and Leapster GS handheld console.

This month we were introduced to two mathematics games for the Leappad featuring some of our favourite Disney characters - The Little Mermaid and Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

Lara very much enjoys using her Leappad at present; she is nearly 6 and I think she has really grown into the right age range to make the most from her learning tablet.  My girls own a Leappad 3 and a Leappad Ultra XDi and the Leapfrog games cartridges run on both.  The games cartridges (or online downloads of the same game) are more expensive than many iTunes or Google Play games but with Leapfrog I do know that the games will be a good quality, totally advert-free and will have a good educational grounding.

I found both Jake and the Neverland Pirates (recommended for ages 3-5) and The Little Mermaid Ariel's Princess Adventures (recommended for ages 4-7) to have clear numerical and mathematical themes. I particularly liked the Little Mermaid games which mixed girly "fashion" activities with fairly challenging number pattern recognition up to 100 and I could see Lara enjoying the challenge of the puzzles and the reward of the play.

Leappad games can be bought as plut-in cartridges for the Leappad or Leapster GS range OR downloaded from the Leapfrog App Center online, or through the Leapfrog Connect software which can be downloaded for free and connected to your Leapfrog products.

Leapfrog LeapTV Review

We have been quite incredibly excited in the run up to trying out the Leapfrog LeapTV gaming console.  The first video gaming console designed solely for young children - a LOT of fun, with a big helping of education along the way.  From the very first moment, earlier this year, when the launch of the LeapTV was announced to us as Leapfrog blogger panelists, Lara and Holly have been looking forward to trying out the LeapTV gaming platform for themselves.

The LeapTV console connects directly to your television using an HDMI cable (provided).  The console comes with one controller which can be used in two different ways - as a traditional hover and click hand-held device or as a wireless pointing device - you twist the handles to move it from one mode to another and some games require one style of usage over another.

The LeapTV comes with one free game, a Leapfrog Pet Play World which allows your child to create their own pets and lead them through a pet world which requires you to interact, play games and really explore all of the features of the LeapTV from one place.  The final mode of play is a totally hands-free mode and there are several sub-games of Pet Play World that make the most of this feature.  Using the motion-sensing camera for the LeapTV your child stands in front of the television and the motion sensor helps them to feel like they are part of the game.  Very much like Kinect, but tailored and designed specifically for small people (something Kinect is traditionally very poor at!).  The girls took a while to get used to this play mode, but once they realised that their arms and body were causing the effects of the game, they were delighted.

The LeapTV console is designed for young preschoolers upwards.  I would say that the content of the games I've tried to date are reflective of this - perhaps a touch older as a starting point than many other Leapfrog toys but certainly something you could expect your child to be using before they start school.  Lara (age 5) took a good few tries to get used to the controls (in all three modes of play) but she was really eager to give it a try.  Holly (and advanced 2.5 year old) has some way to go before this will naturally come to her.

There is a wealth of content already available for LeapTV and games cost around the same as a kids equivalent on other console platforms.  With Leapfrog content I have the confidence that it will have been written specifically for small people, and tested for content and appropriateness and that, every game has an underlying learning objective (such as maths, reading, reasoning or phonics), however strong.

While the LeapTV may currently lack some of the more powerful cloud-based, interactive, sharing capabilities of the big-named brands of gaming console, this isn't a negative in any shape or form when it comes to a play system for children.  In fact, knowing that the LeapTV is limited to Leapfrog games comes as a comfort to me.  The price, also compares favourably for a family gaming console. You can buy additional hand-held controllers for multi-player gaming in some of the LeapTV games.

    

Leapfrog Ultra XDi Review

As members of the Leapfrog Blogger Panel we have been trying out some of their most popular kids tech in the run up to Christmas and we were most looking forward to the Leapfrog Leappad Ultra XDi because it promised to be the ultimate kids tablet.

The Leappad Ultra XDi has a larger, higher resolution screen than the Leappad 3, and a larger volume of storage (8GB) for photos and music but it isn't as fast (and I would say it was quite noticeably slower) than its smaller counterpart.

The Leappad Ultra XDi is a tablet device designed for children from 4 years to 9 years old - I'd say this was a very good age recommendation.  My daughter is now 5 and is using her Leappad more and more every week - she uses it for everything from listening to her Frozen storybook to playing spelling games.  From dressing up Barbie to completing spy puzzles.  We have downloaded and tried out games which are currently far beyond her maths and comprehension capabilities but on the other hand we also have games which are simple enough for her younger sister (2.5 years) to have a play with.

 The Leappad XDi comes with a large selection out of the box apps (about 11) and lots of others that you can either download directly to the device, through your PC or Mac using the Leapfrog Connect software or by purchase in store or online.  Lara most enjoys the themed games and story books with big, recognisable characters such as Barbie, Minnie Mouse, Monsters Inc. and Frozen.

Both of my girls are active users of an iPad tablet and I regular readers will know that I am a big fan of the learning opportunities that non-kid-specific tablets offer.  However, in the Leappad Ultra XDi I've seen the first signs that a Leapfrog tablet really could become Lara's primary learning tablet because it is beginning to offer features that appeal to both her, and to us as parents. Things we all love about the Leappad Ultra XDi:-

• The screen size on the Leappad Ultra is a good 7 inch touch screen which is about the same size as many adult tablets - small people find big screens easiest to use.
• The quality and range of the downloads is always increasing.  While you will still pay a lot for games or stories which feature your child's favourite movie characters, there are plenty of affordable apps available to download and every single one of them represents a learning opportunity and you can have confidence that they have been pre-screened for suitability and quality for children.  However, I would still say that Android and iOS apps still present a far better value for money and a broader range.
• Wi-Fi comes as standard on the Leappad Ultra XDi.  It was pretty much stress-free to set up and I'm impressed with the speed and level of connectivity that the device gets around the house.  My two girls can connect their Leappads to play games together but we don't really make the most of the Wi-fi connection because we find the kid-friendly Zui browser (Leapsearch) very restrictive.  Lara tried to do some research into Racoons for school on hers and managed only to find one silly youtube video.
• The Leappad Ultra XDi comes with a built-in battery and comes with a mains charger.  I've found the Leappad Ultra XDi to hold its charge very well.
• The stylus for the touch screen is attached to the tablet so that you can't lose it.
• It is sturdy enough and tough enough to withstand being dropped by Lara's little sister!
• You can store photos and MP3 music files on it, this is something that Lara is just beginning to get into and I can see her using more and more as she gets older.  You can also save to your computer the artworks and images your child creates on their tablet.

Currently, Lara's most played with game on her Leappad Ultra is the Barbie Malibu Mysteries (spelling, sorting, searching and of course... fashion selection!).  You get three free downloads when you first set up the Leappad Ultra XDi and I chose a simple maths game called Cha Cha Chicken.  I've also downloaded Lara some games for learning the first concepts needed towards programming and computing (spy games and puzzles).

I like the rotating screen functionality on the Leappad Ultra XDi (you can lock this in the parent settings so it doesn't rotate).  My only real gripe (other than the cost of the downloads) is that it is too hard to alter the volume on the tablet - I'd appreciate a button to do this quickly and easily.

Disclosure: As a member of the blogger panel I was sent the Leappad Ultra XDI for review but my opinions are my own and I pride myself on honest feedback

   

Leappad 3 Review

Leappad3 Kids Tablet

As part of the Leapfrog blogger panel, my girls were lucky enough to be sent one of the new Leappad3 learning tablets to try out.  In the past, we have tried the Leappad Ultra (this year replaced by the Ultra XDi) and also the closest competitor, the Innotab in its various forms so it was a very interesting comparison.

My initial reaction when I saw the new Leappad 3 was "wowzers, that screen is tiny" but actually, at 5 inches (diagonally) it isn't any smaller than the screen on the Leappad2 - it just seems a WHOLE lot smaller than the 7 inch screen on the Leappad Ultra and Ultra XDi.  For an older child, I don't think the small screen is a problem but with an age recommendation of 3-9 years old, I think a younger child (such as Holly) would struggle with accuracy when using the touch elements of the small screen.

The Leappad3 is all about compactness.  It is a neat, light tablet but packed with tech.  It has both a front and rear-mounted camera, an integrated soft-headed screen stylus (attached to the tablet so that you won't lose it) and it comes with a number of games and creativity apps installed by default.  As Leapfrog fans, we already have a lot of apps downloaded ranging from £2.50 simple maths apps right up to the pricer big-named characters such as Frozen, Minnie Mouse and My Little Pony (which can cost as much as £20).  We were tempted to download the Frozen soundtrack but we already have it as a digital download from iTunes and it is a shame to have to pay for it all over again so that Lara can play it from her Leappad.

The single biggest draw for me of the Leappad 3 over the other kids tablets around is the speed.  Compared to other dedicated kids tech (Leapfrog, VTech or even kid-specific Android tablets) the new Leappad 3 is noticeably faster.  I don't know the tech spec but I do know that the speed at which apps loaded and screens transitioned was instantly noticeable compared to previous Leappad incarnations.  It is a big improvement and one which I think will mean that we use the Leappad as much as, possibly more than the family iPad.  I also like the clean and easy to use parent settings for configuring wi-fi set up.

I won't dwell on the Leapsearch capabilities other than to say that I don't feel kids tablets should bother.  For me, a good set of parental controls on your broadband account is a better way of limiting web content.  Lara came home from school this week wanting to find out more about the topics of "Dead Sea Scrolls" and "Hannukah", neither of which she would have been able to using the "kid-friendly" browser on the Leappad.  But Cat videos... oh yes.

Lara's favourite elements of the Leappad are definitely the learning games.  Recently she has discovered Lula Ladybird (a maths and spatial awareness game) and Secret Agent U which is a game for slightly older children to build basic computer literacy skills with some very basic software, hardware and networking concepts (I admit it, I was won over by the geekiness).  Holly also likes to play with her sister and most enjoys the Petathlon games app which accompanies the Leappand activity watch that they both use; it is a great way to bring the two Leapfrog toys together.  They both enjoy taking photos and it is very easy for me to transfer them to my laptop but they aren't particularly high quality so I'm not expecting many keepers!

Leappad 3 Lula the Ladybird

The Leappad 3 comes with a mains adapter for charging but we don't use it - I tend to charge it via USB from my computer while I am synching it with the Leapfrog Connect software (so that I can upload new games, take a look at Lara's learning journey and have a sneaky peak at the photos she has taken!).  I'm loving the idea of being able to 'tweak' settings on the Leappad to encourage your child to practice specific skills (although we don't currently own any games that support this).

Other than the tiny screen, I'm very impressed with the Leappad 3.  I'd prefer it if the grey colouring on the front wasn't already scraping off (not very kid-proof, that) but I think that's largely cosmetic and it would be EXCELLENT if it didn't reset the volume (up to about 75%) every time you switch it off.  I expect the Leappad 3 to be one of our most-used pieces of kid tech in the Mellow household.

Leappad 3 Selfie