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JennGM
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| Posted: Sept 08 2006 at 7:59pm | IP Logged
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I've dutifully searched and read the old threads, but when I go to the Leap Frog Site or aisle at Toys R Us I'm completely overwhelmed.
Ds will be 3, recognizes letters, but he's only at the beginning of the reading and writing stage.
We have the Fridge Phonics, and I'm planning on getting the lowercase extension.
There are such rave reviews of the Leap Frog, but I'm so confused as to which products? What DVDs? Mary Chris raved about the videos...but which ones?
My son got to play with the Phonics Writing Desk on vacation and really liked it. Anyone else have good experience with that?
With all these rave reviews, are you talking about actual Leap Pad programs? Which ones? I don't want to put ds on automatic pilot with computer games. Some things seem to be a little twaddly, and I want to steer away from that.
Can you help someone who is clueless? Thanks. 
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: Sept 08 2006 at 8:12pm | IP Logged
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My favorite Leap Frog product is the DVD "Talking Letter Factory." It is great. Dd has learned all her letter sounds from it. "Talking Word Factory" is good too. I don't care for "Math Circus" as much. We have the Fridge Phonics like you do and it compliments the "Talking Letter Factory" DVD well. I was thinking of getting the Word Whammer Fridge Phonics, too, as it goes with "Talking Word Factory" DVD.
My grandson has the My First Leap Pad Alphabet Bus and we are disappointed with it. The pen doesn't always recognize where you are pointing it so you get wrong answers alot.
I've been tempted by the other products, but just can't see the cost of the books and games, etc. The phonics desk does look good, though.
I am especially tempted by the Explorer Globe. It looks great!
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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Jen L.
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| Posted: Sept 08 2006 at 11:57pm | IP Logged
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The Letter Factory DVD is on sale for $7.47 at Amazon!
link
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Jen
dh Klete,ds (8/95),dd (12/97), dd (11/00), and ^2^ in heaven
"...the best state in which to glorify God is our actual state; the best grace is that of the moment..." St. Peter Eymard
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Marybeth
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| Posted: Sept 20 2006 at 2:03pm | IP Logged
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We have two dvds (letters and pre-resding) which ds really enjoys. Our Leap Pad is wonderful especially on cold winter mornings...something fun to do and not having the tv on is a huge bonus!!!!
Our library allows you to check out different books/cartridges for two weeks. I like having the Leap Pad b/c everything for it so far we have received as gifts. 
My girlfriend's kiddos really enjoy the writing desk. She got it for one of their Christmas or b-day gifts last year. She has every Leap Pad toy/game/etc. on the market and highly recommends it all.
Mb
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Karen E.
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| Posted: Sept 20 2006 at 2:12pm | IP Logged
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My "Ramona" also loves the Talking Letter Factory DVD, and we just got the next one (Talking Word Factory) that Theresa mentioned.
We also just got a Leap Pad, and she loves that, too. So do her big sisters.  They spend time together on it, learning the names of bones in the body, going over state capitals, etc. (it came with a "sampler" book that has bits and pieces of things for different age groups.)
As Marybeth said, it's great for gifts -- my mother and sister always ask me for gift ideas, and now I can ask for more Leap Pad books.
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Karen E.
mom to three on earth, and several souls in God's care
Visit my blog, with its shockingly clever title, "Karen Edmisten."
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Mary G
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| Posted: Sept 20 2006 at 6:18pm | IP Logged
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JennGM --
DEFINITELY get the DVDs -- they are a great way to learn sounds and blends....my kids really like those.
We have the leap pads -- the "My First" and the regular Leap Pad. They are amazingly better than I thought they'd be. We have the Leap Pads that allow writing -- so that's a good way to practice.
My 3 yos uses the "My First" and the 6 and 7 yo dc use the other. The only thing I don't like is that you really have to use it on a flat surface, otherwise the book slides out of the sensors -- a bit frustrating for the little ones.
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MaryG
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5athome
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OK I will be the odd one out -- we loved the DVDs but my kids hated the Leap Pad & my first Leap Pad. They do enjoy the Leapster handheld game.
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Cici
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| Posted: Sept 21 2006 at 8:36am | IP Logged
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Chiming in with 5 at home here. We love the DVDs here, too. The all time favorite was talking letter factory. Math Circus, not so much.
We bought my dd the My First Leap Pad for monthly plane rides to visit Daddy for awhile - it never seemed to be a big hit. She's 4.5 now, and it seems to be growing in popularity - but the books seem so twaddly to me (I am somewhat of a book snob, though) and I'm not in any hurry to replace the batteries. FWIW, too, we have the "learn to write" book (I can't remember the real title) but it never seemed to capture her attention. Even now - while she diligently writes "notes" and "lists" - that book is NOT a hit.
Thinking back, I would have skipped the My First Leap Pad - waited until she was older (like now, I guess?) and bought a leap pad for older kids that you can write with, etc. Or maybe now leap pad at all?
Good luck!
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JennGM
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| Posted: Sept 25 2006 at 3:32pm | IP Logged
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Thanks, everyone. I started slowly and bought the Talking Letter Factory DVD and the lowercase letters to add to our existing Fridge Phonics. I do think we need to move onto blending...he really knows all his sounds quite well. The DVD is great.
The LeapPad I'll look into for Christmas. Thanks again!
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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JennGM
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| Posted: Sept 27 2006 at 5:17pm | IP Logged
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At our Costo they are offering the Fridge Phonics Deluxe pack, but also some loose DVDs, so I picked the next two levels of the phonics DVDs. My son is just sounding out letters and making words in one day! It hasn't completely clicked, but I am just amazed!
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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Karen T
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| Posted: Sept 28 2006 at 11:20pm | IP Logged
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5athome wrote:
| OK I will be the odd one out -- we loved the DVDs but my kids hated the Leap Pad & my first Leap Pad. They do enjoy the Leapster handheld game. |
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You're not alone. My kids liked the Letter Factory and Word factory (I won't say loved, but they liked them enough to watch a few times). But the Leap pads have been a huge disappointment. I bought two at a consignment sale, plus an assortment of books, to use on a long car trip we took in May. My kids at the time were 6 and 4.5. Neither would play with them very long and they both needed help to follow them and figure out what they were supposed to do. There were just too many different possible activities on each "page." Also, one book we have is a math book that says preschool to 1st grade I think, but many of the pages required reading in order to do them, like matching numbers to written number words (ie, 'five' and 'sixteen' etc). my 6 yo is still not reading and these were impossible for him to do.
I had resisted getting these things b/c I felt like they were just one more electronic entertainment gadget, but I thought they'd be great on the car trip. A big waste of space in the car and big waste of money, too (one of the pads I'd bought on consignment turned out to have a short in it and not work, so at the last minute I bought a brand new one so they'd each have one - mistake!)
Karen T
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Topic: Need Help with Leap Frog
