Vtech – MobiGo Touch Learning System (3-8)
Handheld learning/gaming system for kids.
Helps develop rudimentary skills in counting, spelling and problem-solving. Touchscreen gives gameplay a contemporary feel, while slide-out QWERTY provides an introduction to the standard keyboard layout. Engaging, interactive gift.
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LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer Learning Tablet (Ages 4-8)
Impressive learning tablet for kids. Interactive device with a large, in-color touchscreen.
Comes with 4 apps, but has a over a hundred other games, apps, ebooks, and other digital media available. Educational materials cover a broad range of subject matter, including reading, math, science and music, among others. Also includes a built-in camera. Long-term teaching and entertainment value.
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Laugh & Learn Smart Screen Laptop (Age 6-36 mos.)
Nice introduction to some of the fundamentals of learning, such as counting and ABCs.
Lots of other cool features, such as songs and words. Moreover, it provides little tikes with their own laptop, so that they are no longer obsessed with the real thing (parents with small children will understand).
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Cool Toy: Baby Einstein Discover & Play Piano
Another interactive product that combines fun and learning. There’s an emphasis on counting, as the keyboard consists of five, large numbered keys.
Depending on which mode you are in, pressing a key can play musical notes or portions of classical music. In counting mode, the toy announces the number of the key before playing music. In addition, there is a language selector which allows for hearing the numbers pronounced in either English, Spanish or French. Finally, the discovery mode allows a child to hear certain animal sounds such as a cat’s meow.
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Excellent Teaching Gift: Leapfrog Phonics Pond (10 & Up)
Another Leapfrog product that teaches kids while they are having fun. With an emphasis on phonics, this interactive toy has seven activities for children to choose from (e.g., spelling, music).
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Entertaining Gift: Fisher Price Storybook Rhymes (Ages 6 mos. – 3 yrs)
Another good product geared towards combining fun and learning, Storybook Rhymes does a fine job of introducing the rudiments of letters and numbers.
Presented in the concept of storybook, it goes over numbers 1-3 and the first three letters of the alphabet. It also introduces three basic colors. The book contains classic nursery rhymes (e.g., “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”), which are sang as the child flips through the pages. It is a fun, interactive toy that kids will enjoy.
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Great Gift: Leapfrog Scribble & Write (Ages 3 – 5 yrs)
If you ever wanted your youngster to begin learning the alphabet, the Leapfrog Scribble and Write is a great way to start.
Leapfrog, for those unfamiliar with the company, develops toys and games that merge education and fun. While not everything they put in the marketplace is a home run, the Scribble and Write is one product that probably is.
The S&W (see left) is crafted to teach the alphabet, and it does so in several ways: tracing upper-case and lower-case letters; drawing shapes; and guessing letters. Basically, letters and shapes, shown in the form of red dots, appear in a traceable writing area. Verbal instructions voiced by the S&W prompt children to trace the object which appears using an attached stylus. (In the “guessing” mode, a letter is drawn on the tracing surface and children are asked to identify it by pressing the proper alphabet button on the S&W.)
In brief, the Scribble and Write is a great way to get your child familiar with the alphabet, both in terms or recognizing letters and writing them.
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