Product Discussion: Leapfrog Phonics Pond
Phonics, as most of us probably already know, deals with teaching the basic concepts of reading through speech sounds. Leapfrog’s Phonics Pond implements this idea in a neat and enjoyable teaching tool. (Many of you with smaller children may already be familiar with Leapfrog, a company that regularly puts out a wide array of products that incorporate both learning and fun. For my money, Phonics Pond does a great job of integrating the two.)
First, let’s look at the physical layout of this product. Aesthetically, Phonics Pond presents all the consonants of the alphabet (in lower-case letters) as yellow push-buttons on purple fish icons. Vowels appear as red push-buttons on green frog icons. At the upper right corner is a “Help” button labeled with a question mark.
Phonics Pond actually teaches in a multitude of ways. A slidebar on the right lets you indicate which of the following seven activities to formally initiate:
Discovering Letters – Children press the letter of their choice and are rewarded with the name of the letter.
Finding Identified Letters – Phonics Pond asks the child to find a specific letter of the alphabet, e.g., “Find the letter O”.
Letter Sounds – Children press the letter of their choice and Phonics Pond imitates the sound the letter makes.
Finding Letters by Sound – Children are given the sound of a letter and asked to identify it. (This is essentially just the reverse of the “Letter Sounds” activity.)
Spelling – Various 3-letter words are spelled out, and children are asked to press the corresponding letters that make up that word.
Random Spelling – Children are asked to press any three letters to make their own word. (Should the letters pressed not form an actual word, Phonics Pond will still sound out the letters themselves. In addition, certain inappropriate words will be ignored if spelled, whether by accident or design.)
Music – Children are prompted to press a letter, which will cause music to be played – mostly perennial favorites like “This Old Man,” “Yankee Doodle,” and the like.
Overall, Phonics Pond seems to do a great job of teaching through the concept of phonics. Even better, it does so in such a way that children will actually enjoy learning. Finally, this would seem to be a product that will have long-term utility, especially in households with more than one child.
Cool Gifts for Kids and Teens
Below you will find cool toys and gifts for kids of all ages. We’ve tried to order them chronologically per the manufacturer’s suggested age range for each (and using our best estimates when no age was given). Because we at Cool Toys and Gifts are big proponents of education, you may find that many of the toys for younger children are also teaching/learning products.
Hoverboard with Bluetooth Speaker: A unique gift!
Kindle Fire HD 8 (Kids Edition): Amazon’s popular tablet in a kid-proof case!
Baby Einstein Discover and Play Piano: Lots of musical fun while learning to count!
Fisher Price Storybook Rhymes (Ages 6 mos. – 3 yrs): Good for introducing toddlers to basic numbers, letters and colors.
Laugh & Learn Smart Screen Laptop (Ages 6 mos. – 36 mos.): Great learning tool!
Power Wheels Batman Lil’ Quad (Ages 1 – 3): Little Tikes will enjoy riding on this powered vehicle.
Step2 Easel with Magentic Letters/Numbers: Great for drawing and writing letters and numbers.
GeoAir High Flyin’ Airport (Ages 30 mos. – 7 yrs): Loads of fun remotely controlling an airplane attached to a track.
Leapfrog Scribble & Write (Ages 3 – 5 yrs): An excellent tool to help pre-schoolers begin learning the alphabet.
Step2 Real Projects Workshop (Ages 3 – 7): Kids learn by working on actual projects – hours of fun!
Vtech Mobigo Touch Learning System (3 – 8 yrs): Handheld learning device that teaches through games.
Air Swimmer Remote Control Flying Shark (3 – 15 yrs): The name says it all! Exceptionally cool gift!
Leapfrog Leappad Explorer Learning Tablet (Ages 4 – 8 yrs): Impressive learning tablet built for kids.
Angry Birds: Knock on Wood (5 – 9 yrs): Real-life version of the app sensation!
Fijit Friends Serafina Interactive Toy: Great interactive toy!
Perplexus Original Interactive Maze Game (8+): Challenging and addictive maze game!
Spy Gear Spy Video TRAKR (Ages 8+): Fun remote-control vehicle with a spy camera.
Rory’s Story Cubes (8+): Simple but totalling engrossing game! Encourages creativity!
Dropmix Music Gaming System (Ages 8-15): Make your own cool music!
Nerf Lazer Tag Phoenix 2-Pack (Ages 8 -15): Thrilling and fun – avoid getting tagged out!
Snap Circuits (Ages 8 & Up): All-around awesome gift! Kids of love it! Learn about electronics while building your own devices.
Easy Bake Ultimate Oven (8 yrs & Up): Another classic that’s never gone (or going) out of style.
Flybar Foam Master Pogo Stick (Ages 9 & Up): It’s just fun.
Leapfrog Phonics Pond (Ages 10 & Up): Great for teaching phonics!
Rubik’s Cube: Addictive fun for kids and adults alike!
Wowwee Robosapien Humanoid Toy Robot: Extraordinarily cool gift!
100-Trick Magic Show Suitcase: Magic is always fun, and this one comes with a multitude of magic tricks.
Celestron AstroMaster 70AZ Recfractor Telescope: Cool telescope!
Piano Play Mat: Kids will enjoy playing on giant piano keys.
Simon: Another classic game that is totally enthralling. Improves memory!
Canon Powershot Digital Camera: Great digital camera.
Harvil Air Hockey Table: Endless fun!
The Hunger Games Trilogy Boxed Set: The most titillating, teentastic book series since Twilight
Minecraft Stop-Motion Animation Studio: Make your own Minecraft films!
Bloxels Build Your Own Video Game: Build your very own video game!