The LeapFrog Connect Service is pretty slick — I’ve purchased a couple of apps for Decker that he showed interest in and, surprisingly, he actually does enjoy playing them. (I can’t count the number of $0.99 apps that looked good to Decker but that he lost immediate interest in after a few minutes of gameplay.)
Now let’s talk about the games. I obviously don’t have every game available for the device, but LeapFrog was generous in providing a nice large collection of pre-loaded apps and a small number of cartridges to test out. I’ve also purchased three apps (to test the App Center and because I knew Decker would love them). I won’t go into a lot of detail, but I do want to give you a sentence or two pertaining to Decker’s experience with the following apps.
Scooby Doo: Spooky Spelling and Snacking (purchased by me) — Scooby and Shaggy are chased around a grocery store by ghosts and monsters. Decker has to fill in missing letters to three letter words after hearing the word pronounced. If he’s correct, he can tap on Velma, Fred, or Daphne to have them throw fruit and other items to scare off the fiend. Decker loves it! It starts out by giving you a hint to the missing letter with a faint outline of the missing letter that eventually disappears once the player gets the hang of the gameplay.
PetPad (included withLeapFrog) – I mentioned this one earlier. Decker checks in not quite every day, but close. But once he’s playing, he likes to make sure the pet is fed, taught a trick, and bathed before closing the app.
Camera (included) – Decker loves taking photos but he’s not quite got the hang of shooting video yet. The built-in features that allow him to edit the photos are fun for him and he’s already got quite a few photos of his family members and neighborhood kids.
My Stuff (included) – this is a folder where Decker’s videos and photos can be accessed and viewed. The Story Studio pages are also accessible from here (or within the Story Studio app — see below) as well as his drawings from Art Studio.
My Books (empty but will hold purchased eBooks) – initially empty, I purchased Decker an eBook that teaches three letters words and rhyming. All books purchased will show up here as well as their own app icon.
Roly Poly Picnic (provided by LeapFrog) — by far, one of Decker’s favorite games. You use the built in tilt sensor to control a roly poly that rolls around a maze of garden hoses, picnic baskets, eaten fruit, etc. He dives into holes and must find the first letter of words that are pronounced. The roly poly gets food rewards for correct answers that he takes back to Ms. Roly Poly to win. The game gets more complicated as it progresses and there are three levels of difficulty.
Story Studio (included) — I like this one very much, but Decker really hasn’t discovered it yet. The app lets you customize pages of a digital book about YOU! You take pictures, collect drawings, use the stylus to fill in words, etc… to fill in sheets about your family, hobbies, and more. The pages can be edited, new pages can be added in later, and the entire thing can be shared online with family members. I can’t wait for him to show some interest in this one so we can put together his own little book.
Art Studio (included) — Decker figured this one out quickly — he’s got a drawing app on the iPad that has way too many buttons and features, so this one is definitely perfect with its easy to understand buttons.
Jewel Train (provided by LeapFrog) — five levels of training and 25 levels of logic puzzles. Decker solved these in about 2 days. The game is probably recognizable to many — similar to the pipe-fitting games on iPhones and such. You have to rotate pieces of track to make one continuous track for the train to collect jewels along the way and get to the station/bank. I am truly proud of Decker as he solved all of the later, more difficult ones (for a 4 year old) on his own.
Jewel Train 2 (purchased by me) — just like Jewel Train, but with 5 more training levels and 25 more regular levels. No help from me on these needed — he solved them all in about 4 days (got distracted by Monkey Soccer).
eBook (provided by LeapFrog) — Just what it sounds like — a narrated story where the words are highlighted as the story is read. Decker and I go through the book at least once every other day — not his favorite thing to do with the LeapPad, but he doesn’t fight me on it and he actually reads along to some of it.
Monkey Soccer (provided by LeapFrog) — Decker’s newest interest — Decker answers math questions (starts out easy but gets harder) that allow him to recruit new monkey soccer players, each with unique skills on the field. After a series of questions, he places a number of the monkey players on the field (have to pick the right mix to beat the opposing computer-controlled side) and then uses the directional control button to play goalie and the A button to kick the ball.
Alphabet Stew (free after registering) — a 3×3 or 4×4 grid is used to create words from a series of letters. In one type of game, the words are listed for you and you simply find the pattern in the grid. Another game is timed and you find your own words. Like Boggle, but for kids. There’s also a two-player option. Decker hasn’t really taken to this game yet, but it was a free download after registering the product so I’m hoping he’ll discover it later. (Not sure how long the free game offer will last, but it did appear from the language of the welcome screen that it was a limited time offer.)
Sugar Bugs (purchased by me) — I really didn’t know what to think about this one — a game where the playing field is a mouth full of teeth that have green junk embedded between them, blue and green sugar bugs hanging off the gumline, and brown spots on the teeth. Yuck. But Decker absolutely loves this game. You use the stylus to brush, scrape, and suction off the nasty stuff.
LeapSchool (cartridges provided by LeapFrog) — this is one of those very involved games. Lots of mini-games embedded inside a a larger purpose. Decker’s had a little bit of frustration with this one as I believe it’s designed for 5 or 6 year olds and has some more advanced rules for the games. Still, a fairly nice looking game that I’m sure he’ll discover over time.
Cars 2 (cartridge) – a story and mini-games all in one. The story also progresses in reading level, so that more complicated words are added over time as your child demonstrates certain skill progression (not sure if this is based on skills in the Cars 2 game or in all reading games, but it is cool how it seems to know that Decker has mastered the one syllable words). The mini-games are fun to Decker, a big Cars fan. I knew this one would be a hit.
Pet Pals 2 (cartridge) – a more advanced version of the PetPad game — this one includes an entire town for your pet to wander around and about 20 new pet friends to find. You can play in the park, shop at a store, compete in a talent show, and more. The game has lots of hidden surprises that Decker’s always finding, and I think he’s growing into this game a bit. He was a bit frustrated at first because navigating around town requires tapping arrows and not touching random parts of the screen. And the town is fairly complex in its layout, so I think he’s having a hard time remembering how to get his puppy back home.
That’s it for the games that Decker has. He’s been playing with the LeapPad for about 3 weeks now and I’m still having to limit the amount of time he spends on the device. He doesn’t like that. That tells me, though, that the device is definitely providing him with some entertainment. On average, I’d say he’s spending about 30 minutes per day with the device and I’m happy with that. (Now that it’s cooling down in Atlanta, he’s wanting to spend more time outdoors which is fine with me).
So, what’s the verdict? I really didn’t want to approach this as a product review. I’ve seen the benefits of the LeapFrog products in the past with other kids (and nieces and nephews), and I know they put a lot of work into the devices and games they sell. I don’t think it’s possible to rate the device in terms of stars or a letter grade… instead, I think I want to look at the results I’m seeing with Decker’s use of it. When I randomly tell him a three or four letter word (the clean ones, come on!), I ask him what the first letter is… he nails it almost every time. When I tell him a word and ask him what the last letter is… again, he nails it. He’s even spelling on his own many rhyming word series such as cat-hat-rat-mat.
On the ride to school in the morning I play a game where I ask If I give you seven pennies and then I give you three more pennies, how many do you have? I generally stay under the number 20 with my questions and we do both addition and subtraction. He nails almost all of the addition but makes some errors on subtraction… so I’m looking to see if there is an app for the LeapPad that focuses on subtraction or at least more math play.
I watch as Decker carefully places his LeapPad in the bag… and when my wife or I ask him to go brush his teeth, does he actually seem to run to the bathroom now or is that just my imagination? The LeapPad even tells him when it’s time to change the batteries — I haven’t heard any complaints from him about the device dying as it prepares him with enough time to close his game and bring the tablet to me.
I don’t want to put the burden of my son’s education on a digital device. That’s not my goal here. But I know that Decker seems to learn better when he’s not aware that he’s actually being taught! The LeapPad succeeds completely in this manner (as do the other LeapFrog devices, I imagine). Decker sees a game… I see a chance for a subject to solidify just a bit more.
I saw a recent story on the news about how a school district in Maine is going to put an iPad in the hands of each and every one of its 250 kindergartners. Kindergartners! My son will be in Kindergarten next year. It’s an amazing world we live in, isn’t it? Naysayers are wondering whether this next batch of kids will be able to write with a pencil, but I have no worries — the same naysayers were saying my generation (X) was going to be ruined by the introduction of the home computer. Technology changes, folks… and what our kids today will play with and learn from will be a hoot for their own kids years from now.
But right now… today… Decker can learn to add, subtract, write letters, spell, and even brush his teeth better with the help from a device that knows his name, tracks his progress, and feeds his inquisitive nature at whatever speed he chooses to allow it.
