Recently I had the opportunity to share the LeapReader Reading and Writing System with my daughter’s daycare, as well as her 4k class. I was really excited for this opportunity as I love being able to help out the school in any way possible; and being able to donate these wonderful learning tools was a great way for us to give back.
The items that were made available to us from Leap Frog were:
- Two (2) LeapReaders™
- Pre-loaded with LeapReader™ books and learning apps
- LeapReader™ books including:
- Learn to Write Letters With Mr. Pencil Writing Workbook
- Join Dot, Dash and Mr. Pencil on a musical learning adventure featuring interactive stroke guidance, exciting sound effects and engaging activities. Practice writing the alphabet with the LeapReader, and learn about upper- and lowercase letters and letter sounds.
- Talking Words Factory Writing Workbook
- Join Leap, Lily, and Tad for word-writing fun at the Talking Words Factory. More than 40 hands-on activities explore early phonics and introduce short vowels, consonant blends, rhyming, word families and word writing.
- LeapFrog Disney-Pixar Monsters University 3D book
- LeapReader brings the story of Monsters University to life with exciting 3D effects and helps build reading comprehension and vocabulary skills! (3D glasses included.)
- Get Ready for Kindergarten book
- The Get Ready for Kindergarten multi-subject book includes a broad range of curriculum including math, science, reading, social studies and more with engaging art and fun audio elements like music and silly sound effects. It is designed to introduce nearly 40 essential Kindergarten skills linked to future academic success.
- Talking Words Factory Flash Cards
- This Early Reading flash card set helps develop core phonics skills by letting children actively play with word sounds and recognize how they come together to create words. Mix and match letters to build more than 100 words featuring short vowel sounds. More than 400 interactive responses and 5 spelling, rhyming and singing games reinforce word-building fun.
- Two LeapReader™ Sampler books
- Product Fact Sheets
- Activity Sheets
- Learn to Write Letters With Mr. Pencil Writing Workbook
Playing with the LeapReader
Although I love this set, and the other adults really like what the LeapReader has to offer, the biggest thing to think about here is what did the kids think? They had tons of fun, and most would have kept playing for hours if they could have!
The kids really liked that they could ‘read’ a story all by themselves, and that they could play games right in the books! Even the younger kids who weren’t quite ready for learning to read yet really enjoyed playing with the books. All the kids loved using it and helping each other out. The system was a huge hit!
My own son and daughter already have the Tag reading system, and all of the Tag books they have also work with the LeapReader system. My son, who is in 1st grade and wasn’t able to attend this party, had a chance to try out some of the books at home before the party.
I let him try the Read Write Listen book that came with the reading pen. Since he already has some reading skills I didn’t think the book would be too challenging for him, but one of the things he really liked was the “magic paper” as he put it. He was so excited that his pen actually worked like a real pencil on the special mess-free writing paper that he told me I had to come check it out and see this magic paper! He was so curious as to how this worked that he kept doing the activities on the sample paper (he is usually reluctant to do any type of homework so this was a huge plus for me).
Thoughts on the LeapReader system
We know the kids really liked it, but what did the adults think? We all agree that it is a great tool to help kids discover reading and get a head start on learning how to write and sound out letters. For older kids who are struggling, it can be a fun way to help them learn. For younger kids it is a great way to introduce concepts in a fun way.
Flashcards: The flashcards that came with the kit were a little advanced for the age of the kids in this group, but I think they could be an amazing tool for later in the year once the kids have started learning more about the alphabet and how letters form words. They just aren’t quite there yet.
Books: The books are really great tools, and we like that the kids can use this system to help them recognize letters as well as sound out letters and words.
Batteries: No Batteries! Yes, that is right… we love that this is a rechargeable system that requires no batteries. Our Tag pens take batteries and it is seriously a pain to change them out all the time, so to have a system that doesn’t need batteries is a huge plus!
LeapReader Pens: We noticed the pens are a little quiet, so in a loud classroom it is difficult to hear the stories. The solution to this I guess would be to ensure everyone has headphones to use.
Activity Sets and Special Writing Paper: The activity sets are truly a great learning tool! The combination of reading and writing is a great way for kids to practice reading skills, then use the interactive writing guidance to learn to write! The only thing that was a little disappointing is that the ‘special writing paper’ is not reusable. This means that you will have to purchase more paper for the kids to use. Although I personally love the writing paper because it is fun for the kids to use, it may not be suitable for a school environment if budgets are tight.
More on the LeapReader
The LeapReader solution includes three essential experiences:
- Learn to Read: Sounds out words, reads sentences, and lets kids play games and puzzles.
- Learn to Write: LeapReader gives children interactive guidance as they practice writing letters and numbers on special mess-free writing paper.
- Learn through Listening: Audio books, learning songs and trivia challenges build comprehension skills and vocabulary.
LeapReader Key Features:
- A library of 150+ books, workbooks, audio books and more
- Available in green and pink and blue
- A sampler book and four apps are included with purchase ($20 value)
- Includes a USB rechargeable battery
- Holds audio for up to 40 books or 175 songs
- Learn more: leapfrog.com/leapreader
Don’t forget to check out LeapFrog on Social Media:
Here are the products featured in this post:
So tell us….
Have you tried this or any of the previous Leap Frog reading systems? What is your favorite thing about the LeapReader system?
The Mommy Bunch was provided these products from LeapFrog as part of a promotional program. All opinions are our own.
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