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Actually LEARN with Tad's Great Day at the Letter Factory!Jul 03, 2005
By History_of_Art_Geek
I must admit that I've been skeptical of LeapFrog's claims that their products are educational. My son enjoys his LeapPad, and it certainly entertains him, but I've wondered if he's actually learned anything. Tad's Great Day at the Letter Factory has changed my view. The first time I popped it in the reader, we sat and worked on it for nearly an hour. I couldn't believe it! My son typically spends 15 to 20 minutes working a LeapPad book, so this was shocking to me. Then, characteristically he wanted to do it again.
Presently, my son owns 12 LeapPad books. Tad's Great Day at the Letter Factory is his current favorite, and it receives a lot of attention. He loves to trace the letters, especially the letter "I" because it's "i, i, i, icky..., and "Y" because it goes y, y, y, YEAH!" The activities are fun for preschoolers, and William enjoys the silly sayings, and interactive play. The mazes are challenging too. For example, the final maze asks that you pick up letter(s) and deliver them to a specific location. The activity requires children to listen to instructions, find and recognize the letter(s), and follow the path to deliver them. It offers praise along the way, which preschoolers appreciate.
William has recently started asking questions about words. For instance, the other day he asked if the word "car" started with "C," or "K" because it has the "c, c, c" sound. Last night he told me his pizza was h, h, h, HOT like the letter "H." I think the interactive play, and focus on phonics in the LeapPad Reading and Writing books is making the difference in his comprehension.
Two things to consider before purchasing a Writing book: firstly, don't leave a preschooler unattended with a pencil, and second, let them practice two, or three times before YOU erase the pages. I learned the hard way that my son, and a pencil can be a dangerous combination. After William got the hang of the book I stepped out of the room to unload the dishwasher, and when I came back there were ALL sorts of scribbling marks on the pages. The Magic Pencil automatically feeds when the lead gets low, but you have to tap it a couple times for it to work. This frustrates my son, and he'll start banging on the darn thing, and scrawling to get it to work. It does the trick, but makes a horrible mess. Also, plan to spend at least 30-minutes erasing the pages of this book. I keep the eraser out of my son's reach, because every time he sees it, he wants to use it. The pages will crinkle, and they will tear off the binding with too much friction.
My only gripe with Tad's Great Day at the Letter Factory, short of all the erasing, is that it only features upper case letters. You have to purchase the Kindergarten book to work on both upper, and lower case letters, so if your child is already practicing his letters I recommend the Kindergarten book instead. Overall, it's been very helpful, and I believe my son is actually learning from this book.
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