LeapFrog LeapReader (Review)

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During the Summer, The Boy was fortunate enough to be sent the new LeapFrog LeapReader (for 4-8 year olds) to review. I was intrigued to see how this was any different to a few of the LeapFrog products that we have, namely the Tag Junior and the Scribble & Write, and was pleasantly surprised to see that it actually incorporates the best bits of many of the pre-existing LeapFrog learning toys.

Essentially the LeapReader does two things:

  • develop reading skills
  • develop writing skills

It also is marketed as developing listening skills because children can listen to audiobooks and trivia quizzes (there is a headphone jack port to prevent disturbing those around them), but for me this isn't the biggest selling point.

LeapFrog LeapReader

The LeapReader looks like the Tag reading pen (it also works with most Tag books), but with added extras; there is a 'nib' (in addition to the scanner for reading) which means that it can be used for 'writing' on the special paper provided with certain packs or books. It also has play/pause and next/previous track buttons, along with a 'home' button for audiobooks, and volume controls.

Developing Reading Skills – LeapReader

There are several different ways to interact with the LeapReader when reading a book, options to 'read the page' along with 'sound it, say it' and 'games' mean that each page in a book can be explored extensively. The purple book icon allows a child to hear the story read, and the green star starts up a game or quiz. This is great for first stage readers, those who want to read independently but don't have the decoding* skills or phonological awareness to 'segment and blend'* a word.

As a primary school teacher I am interested in the way that these type of learning tools use phonics to help a child 'read' independently. I'm a harsh critic of those that use the incorrect pronounciation of phonemes, it is counter-productive to their reading skills and makes a teacher's job harder. Therefore I was interested to see how the LeapReader did; was it going to be guilty of using the schwa, the 'uh' sound that so many of us learnt when reading, which is actually wrong?

I was very pleasantly surprised to hear it doing a fairly decent job actually. Common letters which can feature the 'uh' sound if mispronounced are: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w. Out of those it correctly pronounced f, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, with it unfortunately using the 'uh' sound on b, c, d, g and w. I can forgive it c, d and g (they are quite tricky) but not w. Maybe that's just me being fussy, but I don't think it's helpful for such a potentially excellent learning tool to be getting some right and some wrong. However, I was very pleased to see the LeapReader explain to the user that certain letters blend together to make a different sound (e.g. e+e = e, e+a = e, i+e = i) although I'm confused as to why it uses the letter names and not the sounds to explain this (see the above video for more information).

Essentially I like that this gives the child more control over their reading, allowing them to 'read' independently once they have learnt the basics from a parent or teacher.

* Decoding is the process that readers go through when they are working out what the sounds in a word join together to make. Segmenting is splitting it into phonemes (letter sounds) and blending is joining these back up together to make a complete word.

Developing Writing Skills – LeapReader

In the review pack that we received was a 'Learn to Write Letters with Mr. Pencil' book, which also has separate practise writing paper.

LeapReader - writing

I really like the story of the Doodlebugs which guides the child through the book, and the way that they can practise on both the book and the practice paper which has been included in each section. The Boy very quickly realised though that once the paper has been 'written' on, then it's been used and there is no replacement for it. He can go over it again once or twice, but then the reader can't pick up his 'writing' correctly and it doesn't work as well. That is frustrating. The other point that he found frustrating is that the LeapReader is determined to finish the instruction he's saying and will not be interrupted. The Boy worked out very quickly what he needed to do, but wasn't able to start until the Reader had finished the instruction; it has caused a few 'grrrs' from both him and me when using it.

The LeapReader does pick up very quickly if an error has been made, and it has really helped him to find another way of practising letter formation without it feeling like I'm schooling him. As a left-hander he does find that sometimes the plastic rim around the nib gets in the way and marks the paper before the nib does, which confuses the LeapReader. It mean that he needs to check his pencil grip more frequently, so it isn't really a bad thing. The book covers upper case angular letters first (L T F E I H) rather than 's a t p i n' (initial letter sounds which children are taught to read) or 'curly caterpillars' (a c d e g o q s f – the first letter formations taught). However, it can be good for children to experience different fonts and formats, and therefore it's 'all swings and roundabouts'. If it engages children in writing and allows them to feel accomplishment then the order is pretty harmless.

The story used to teach children the letter formation is fun and engaging. The technology identifying the writing is very clever and it encourages correct pen grip.

Overall Impression

When I posted a picture of the LeapReader on Instagram, someone commented that they'd be interested to see this review as they felt it was a parent's place to teach their child to read and write, not to leave it to a piece of technology. I do see their point of view and of course the primary learning resource for any child is a parent or carer, however I know from professional experience that there comes a time when a child wants to do things independently and not be reliant on adults all the time. They want to feel that they are in control of their learning, and that they can manage without help; using an inanimate object like this (just like using a dictionary to learn a word's meaning) can be a boost for their confidence and help further consolidate what a child has learnt with an adult's help.

The LeapReader is a learning tool that can be used in a variety of ways, the appeal of this toy is that it gives a child control and independence to further their reading and writing skills. Overall I think it is a very good resource, particularly for promoting letter formation and sight recognition skills.

The LeapFrog LeapReader is available from a variety of toy retailers and online here with a RRP of £39.99 and includes a LeapReader, activity sampler book, and Learning Paper writing sheets. Supplementary books typically cost from £12.99-£16.99 (The Learn To Write Book is £16.99).

LeapFrog LeapReader

I was sent this product to review as a member of the LeapFrog Blogger Panel. My opinion is honest and unbiased, and based on my experience as a primary school teacher of twelve years, and a mother of a four year old son.

'Tidy Books' Book Storage (Review & Giveaway)

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I'm pretty sure that our home is like many other young families' homes all over Britain in that the vast majority of the children's toys and books are stored in a large, cuboid, storage system from a well-known Scandinavian company. It's efficient, cheap and it works.

Only it doesn't.

It doesn't work for books.

Granted they fit, and you can actually get a lot of them in the sections, but the problem that I've discovered is that The Boy forgets that they're there. For the vast majority of the time he does not remember about his fifty or so books in the dining room storage unit because he can't see them.

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Gardening Play Table

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Before The Boy was born, I was a keen gardener (albeit slightly lazy on the maintenance side) and I'd achieve good results. Unfortunately I haven't grown any vegetables in three years now, but this is the year to change this as The Boy is so interested in where fruit and vegetables come from and how they grow. Understanding 'the world around us' is a part of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework and I'm keen to give him activities for contextual and experiential learning as much as possible.

With this in mind, and because it was freezing and I didn't want to stand in the garden in 1°C, I set up a gardening play table for him in his seconded water table.

We used:

  • seeds (carrot and peas)
  • soil
  • plastic pots (I've used the degradable compost pots before but they never seem to work very well and these are reusable)
  • a range of tools (I always provide a range of equipment whatever activity so that he learns which are the best tools for the job)
  • paper markers and a pencil (writing opportunities)

children's gardening

He was so keen to get to work and plant the seeds; we had a huge discussion about the differences between a carrot and a pea seed, why the carrot seeds didn't look like a carrot when the pea seed looked like a pea, how the plant would grown, where the vegetable would grow and how big they would be. I can't wait to see his face when the pods start to grow on the pea plants. I've always found pea plants quite high maintainence for very little result, but the look on a child's face when they pop open a pod and see the peas nestled inside is worth it.

One of the things that I was very pleased with was seeing him write the labels for the seeds. I wrote one out so he could see how to shape the letters, but as he hasn't practised many letters outside of his name before I wasn't sure he'd manage it. He studied how I wrote the letters, followed my instructions and wrote them really well. This is a great excuse to get some pre-literacy mark-making practise in without him even realising!

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Sciencesparks3

Reading Eggs (Review)

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phonics development

A few months ago I was asked if we'd like to trial the Reading Eggs program; a web based program designed to help children prepare for school by developing their awareness of phonics, or as a booster for children who are struggling to engage with reading skills.

I'd heard about the subscription service but in all honesty, having spent a long time trying to find iPad apps with decent pronounciations of phonics to help The Boy, I was more than a little sceptical that it was just going to be another American voice mispronouncing 'm' and 't' and, quite frankly, winding me up.

I was wrong (not something I admit readily!).

Creating the account is easy; there is the ability to register for a free 14-day trial (with no credit card information entered at all) and the child's name is entered before selecting whether they have some reading experience (allowing for a test to be done placing the child at the right point in the system) or starting from the beginning. I chose to start him from the beginning, because although he has a good awareness of the alphabet and most phonics, I wanted to give him the opportunity to really benefit from the program.

When the child first enters into the land of Reading Eggs they are presented with a map of their progress with a pathway snaking through the land, cute characters and graphics aplenty. They are then taken onto the first of the letters with several different games to help them practise their recognition of the letter, and to practise the formation.

reading eggs 1

The Boy really enjoyed working through the vast majority of the games on each lesson; spotting the letter in a wordsearch format (both upper and lower case), identifying the specified letter in each word, finding the letter as it moved around the screen, etc. These were the most effective games for him. He also liked the challenge of trying to improve his time on forming the letter quickly, there are a few time challenges like this which work really well in challenging the user.

Every child has different preferences of course, and The Boy was a little frustrated with the game where he had to drag the word against the correct picture; drag and drop with a mouse is difficult for a 3-5 year old (luckily we have an infant sized mouse we can use) and the game needs to be completed twice, which he found frustrating having struggled to do it correctly once. However, this game is not on every level and is one small aspect which for my son was frustrating, others may like it.

reading eggs

I've noticed a vast improvement in his awareness and reading ability since starting on the program. He hasn't reached the end yet but when he does we'll be able to assess his reading age to see how he's progressed. I do think that Reading Eggs has helped him hugely with his phonological awareness, and ability to decode words then segmenting the phonics back together to create a word.

Accessing the parental dashboard, The Boy is currently on level 30, and has a reading age of 5 years with a sight vocabulary of 12 words and knows 74 of the 237 phonic skills. I feel very happy with his literacy development, and reassured that he hasn't suffered from not going to state nursery this year.

As both a primary school teacher and a parent, I can't recommend the Reading Eggs program highly enough.

I was given an extended short-term subscription in order to review this service. My opinions are honest and unbiased.

Winter Play Dough

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Play dough is a basic toy and craft item for all pre-schoolers. How many of us spend hard-earned pounds buying the badly spelt version in cute little plastic tubs? You know the bright yellow tubs with an impossible lid to remove? The stuff that gets stuck into carpets, clothes, hair, eyes, etc. and dries out within half an hour if not replaced to the safety of the tub? And that you then curse because you'll need to find another fiver to replace?

Two years ago I discovered that play dough can be made easily and cheaply, and the version that I use from The Imagination Tree lasts for ages in the fridge (my last batch lasted for eight months!). The Imagination Tree has a variety of recipes available but I prefer this no-cook play dough recipe, and so does my husband who does the washing up!

Winter Play Dough

Basic Recipe:

  • 2 cups plain flour (I use the value range)
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • ½ cup salt
  • 2 tbsp cream of tartar (a powder which comes in pots like baking powder)
  • 1 cup of boiling water (you made need to add more. Anna recommends up to 2, but I always need to add more flour, so start with less)
  • few drops glycerine (optional adds more shine!)
  • Extras:
    • white glitter
    • silver glitter
    • silver star confetti
    • white foil confetti
    • peppermint essence

Other equipment:

  • snowflake, snowmen and star cutters
  • Winter-coloured beads and string
  • magnifying glass
  • bubble wrap
  • sequins and beads
  • stampers, moulds
  • cake cases and birthday candles

I gave The Boy a tray full of goodies and the mound of play dough and waited to see what would happen; it wasn't long before he was exploring the texture and shapes with the bubble wrap and the magnifying glass.

play dough activities

It wasn't long before he was doing his James Martin impression though and baking me cookies and a cake, glad to see I've trained him well. And of course, no Winter Play Dough activities would be complete without the obligatory snowman!play dough activities

I'd seen some play dough mats on the Internet, but most of those designed for Winter also encompass Christmas or Thanksgiving, so I decided to make my own with invitations to play and design on them.

play dough activities

You can download a copy of these winter playdough mats here.

'My Jolly Phonics' Kit (Review)

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For the past six months, The Boy has shown an immense interest in reading and is able to recognise 80% of the alphabet and pronounce the sound (or phoneme) correctly. He astounded us a few weeks ago by leaning over Mr. TBaM's shoulder and reading a simple CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) word correctly, and then floored us when he continued to read the next ten words correctly by sounding them out (segmenting).

The 'My Jolly Phonics' kit we've been sent to review has come at exactly the right time!

Jolly Phonics is the most widely used programme in schools for teaching children how to read. It splits the 42 phonics into progressive groups to learn, and addresses them in a fun manner.

Inside the beautiful storage bag is:

  • a parents' guide;
  • Jolly songs;
  • activity books;
  • Jolly Stories;
  • Jolly Phonics games CD;
  • Jolly Phonics DVD;
  • a packet of coloured pencils (in an outside pocket).

The parents' guide does a brilliant job of explaining the different stages to reading using the method of 'synthetic phonics'. In this case 'synthetic' refers to 'synthesising' the letter sounds together to create words using techniques such as segmenting and blending. It's an incredibly well explained guide and one that helps to understand the process of learning to read a lot better.

Every phonic in the Jolly Phonics programme has a character and action associated with it. Jolly Songs is a brilliant resource for helping children to learn these, and because it's a CD it can be played while doing another activity and through sheer osmosis, the actions and sounds are learnt. The accompanying booklet has suggested games for parents to supplement the songs.

Inside the kit are seven activity books; one for each of the seven groups of phonics. The activity books are really good quality; full colour with a good mix of stories, discussion points, sticker activities, practical games to play, physical activities developing both gross and fine motor skills, and notes for parents. I think the activity books are one of the best resources that Jolly Phonics producs.

Jolly Stories is a hardback story book with seven stories inside; one for each group of phonics. The pages are thick, colourful and have a large focused letter on them which the child can trace with his finger to develop formational skills. The stories focus on the characters and Jolly Phonics actions in context, and are a great way of consolidating the relevant phoneme.

I had some trouble installing the Jolly Phonics Games CD and had to put it on my school laptop as it wouldn't load onto my own machine. Both are running Windows 7 so I'm not sure what went wrong (The CD can be installed on both Windows and Mac machines). During the setup it's possible to select either precursive or print letters, and suggests that in the UK we install the precursive font, which I did anyway because that's what I use in the classroom. There are three levels of play; easy, medium or hard, with plenty of activities and games within each one. I would like to point out that it's worth reading the manual because some of the games (even in the easy level) rely on understanding how to blend phonics together, and this would cause children trouble unless they've got a firm grasp on the basic phonics of that level first.

The Jolly Phonics DVD features episodes from the 1995 television series which, as they are 17 years old, aren't of a brilliant recording quality. However the content is just as relevant. It actually reminded me a little of Fingermouse from my own childhood and the characters, props and images are bright and attractive. The only thing that jarred my professional nerves slightly was the inconsistent pronounciation. The first episode focuse on 'S', 'A', 'T' (the first collection of phonics taught), yet pronounciation ranges from 'sss' to 'suh' and 't' (blunt ended) to 'tuh'. This 'uh' sound, the schwa, is avoided at all costs in phonics teaching nowadays as it gives a false phonics awareness. I think the variation in the way the phonics were said sends mixed messages to young children learning to read.

As a parent I have found this set invaluable, as a teacher it was just as helpful. I specialised in teaching junior aged children who can invariably read by the time they get to my class. I've never been taught how to help a child read, and it's only through common sense, and now my own practise with The Boy that I really appreciate the different processes involved. However, many parents who don't know where to start when supporting their child in learning to read are scared of 'getting it wrong' (rightly so) and this starter kit is a great toolkit for exactly this purpose.

Overall it's a really good resource and I would recommend it.

I was sent this product for the purpose of this review, my opinion as a parent and teacher are honest and unbiased.

Christmas Storybooks For Pre-Schoolers #1

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Earlier this year I was sent a large selection of books from Little Tiger Press to review and I have to say that they remain The Boy's favourite storybooks for bedtimes and sofa-snuggle sessions. I think the reason that he is so taken with them (and that we enjoy reading them with him) so much is down to the innocent stories, invariable featuring animals brought to life with personalities and names (they remind me slightly of the Brambly Hedge books of my own childhood), and the beautiful illustrations.

I've been sent some of their Christmas books for The Boy and us to enjoy, and I want to share them with you. Not because this is a review and I have to, but because I truly believe they are delightful books which your own littlies will love.

I've Seen Santa!
In "I've Seen Santa!" (by David Bedford & Tim Warnes) it is Christmas Eve and Little Bear is greatly looking forward to seeing Santa, but is so concerned that he might forget about him that he decides to stay up after Mummy Bear and Daddy Bear have gone to bed to check he comes. Throughout the course of the night (before Santa arrives) he catches both Daddy and Mummy Bear checking that everything is ok because they too are worried. Will Little Bear get to see Santa?

This book is available in both a normal paperback, and a paperback with a story CD read by Lesley Sharp and Jason Isaacs, who read the story beautifully. We've got a few story CDs and the Little Tiger Press ones are some of the best because of the way that they read the story through twice, allowing for the child to follow it page by page on the second reading.

This picture book and CD set has an RRP of £7.99 but is on offer with Amazon for £5.99 at the moment.

The Best Christmas Ever!
Millicent Mouse is looking forward to Christmas greatly, and with only one day left to prepare she busies herself making apple-nut pie and hot honey punch, and gathering ivy and berries to decorate her home. While she is out in the crunchy snow, she discovers a great many animals who need her help and kindness, which she willingly gives. That night she goes to bed without anything prepared for the next day, but the contentment of knowing she's helped her friends. Will they repay the kindness?

"The Best Christmas Ever!" (by Marni McGee & Gavin Scott) is a heart-warming tale of friendship and selflessness which helps to illustrate to children one of the important aspects of Christmas: giving without expectation of reward. RRP £5.99, Amazon has it for £4.49.

Dear Santa
"Dear Santa" (by Kathryn White & Polona Lovsin) tells the story of Little Bear (a different one to the one above!) who, while playing in the snow, finds a letter addressed to Santa. Distressed that someone might not receive their Christmas presents if the letter doesn't get to Santa, Little Bear sets off with Rabbit to deliver the letter by hand (or paw, rather). Along the way they meet a host of helpful friends who help them in their adventure, but once lost in a snow blizzard who can rescue them?

In this hardback book there is also a letter-writing kit so that pre-schoolers can write (or draw) their own letter to Santa, which is a lovely touch and makes this book feel that much more special. RRP of £7.99, available from Amazon.

The Very Snowy Christmas
Big Mouse and Little Mouse are busy on Christmas Eve making food for the next day's festivities and decorating their home. Little Mouse is eager to find some beries and eventually, after straying a bit further from home than normal, finds some but is alarmed when 'the sky starts falling down' around him. He rushes home through the 'sky' which has settled onto the ground to ask Big Mouse what to do, but his journey home is full of new discoveries which he needs some reassurance about.

"The Very Snowy Christmas" (by Diana Hendry & Jane Chapman) introduces snow to young children in a way which many can identify with. This is also a picture book and CD set read by Lesley Sharp and Jason Isaacs, and is available from Amazon for £7.19 (RRP £7.99)

Santa's Special Letter

This one is my favourite book out of the five for the interactive qualities throughout. "Santa's Special Letter' (by Josephine Collins & Gail Yerrill) tells of Father Christmas' final preparations in getting the presents ready for all the chilldren (and creatures) of the world and loading up his sleigh. When he starts to check them off against his list, he discovers that he has missed a letter and hasn't got the present ready. His helpers, including Pip the Mouse, help him to find the red and yellow letter so that he can make that elusive present. Will he have it ready in time?

One of the best features of a book for pre-schoolers is encouraging interaction with the book and interest in reading on to discover the story. In "Santa's Special Letter" there are red and yellow envelopes scattered throughout the pages, each containing a letter to be read, and plenty of flaps to lift and a beautiful final pop-up to enjoy. Top marks for this book! RRP £8.99 with an Amazon price of £5.39. Bargain, buy it now!

Little Tiger Press has a whole heap of Christmas picture books which you can enjoy with your children, if you don't fancy one of those I've highlighted, please explore the others in the range; there's bound to be one for your family!

I was sent these books for the purpose of this review. My opinion is honest and unbiased.

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I CAN: Why Oracy Is Important

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Before you can write you need to be able to read, and before you can read you need to be able to speak.

Developing oracy in young children is essential: it helps them communicate with the world, express their emotions, desires and intentions, and encourages social interaction.

"Mummy, I'm trying to concentrate!"

"Actually mummy, that's a hexagon not an octagon."

The Boy talks. A LOT! And yes I'm aware that I sound like every other mum out there who's proud of their child and wants to 'show off', but that's not my intention. I talk a lot, and I have always chatted to The Boy no matter what we're doing. It shows because he chatters away nineteen to the dozen, and is quite confident to start a conversation with someone and explain his thoughts. I put a lot of this down to the parent-facing pushchair that we used to use and the fact that his baby car-seat was next to me on the front seat. We were able to communicate all the time.

Last week I spent time in the nursery unit in school, and it was an eye-opener for me to see 'elective mute' children, among other children who had difficulty articulating the most basic of needs and thoughts. It made me realise that just because The Boy has difficulty pronouncing 'l' or 'r' correctly, it doesn't mean that he has difficulty with his speech. My time there compounded the research conducted which shows that in some areas of the UK, over half the children starting school don't have the skills they need to learn, make friends and succeed.

I was sent a fantastic activity set a few weeks ago called 'Chatting With Children' by I CAN (The Children's Communication Charity). The pack contains a parent guide to the enclosed games designed for 3-5 year olds to support speech, language and communication development. The guide describes why oracy is so important, and that there are specific key skills needed for learning to talk:

  • listening and attention ('Concentrate on what I'm saying' has been a common phrase in this house, to Mr. TBaM as well as The Boy!);
  • understanding what is said;
  • learning and using new words (The Boy is very good at rolling words around in his mouth until he pronounces them correctly);
  • speaking in sentences;
  • talking socially (modelled language from the adults in their life).

The games are on a set of cards (about the size of a paperback) and can therefore be used at home or out and about. The set allows for games to be dipped in and out of, as required, but they are designed to be used every day and a six-week programme has been included. I really like the programme (and cards) because it is split into an activity for each area of Oracy skills, one for each week with a theme assigned like food, animals or clothes.

oracy skills

This set of cards above are some of the activities suggested for the week on 'Animals' and include: 'Name The Animal' (applying information to previous knowledge), 'Guessing Game' (listening to information and drawing conclusions), 'Let's Draw' (learning positional language), 'Story Relay' (linking sentences to make stories), and 'Secret Action Signal' (encouraging eye contact).

I think this is an excellent set of cards to help prompte Oracy with young children. Even though The Boy talks for Britain, we still love having a go at the games and it has helped him to develop deeper Oracy skills; essential to help him when he starts school next year.

The I CAN Chatting With Children pack is available directly from I CAN for £7.99.

I was sent this product for the purpose of this review. My opinion is honest and unbiased.

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