LeapFrog Scribble and Write

This is a great way to practice writing for pre-schoolers! I tried making my own workbooks for my daughter to trace letters and numbers but my efforts were always met with boredom. My 4 year old daughter uses this tablet all the time. It teaches her the sounds of the letters, how to write the alphabet (both upper- and lower-case), and numbers 1 thru 10. The tracing pad is a wonderful tool; there are two levels. In Level 1 the tracing pad lights up a completed pattern of dots to trace for a selected letter or number. A voice instructs how to trace - where to begin, how to move the stylus, and where to stop. After a letter is written correctly, the voice teaches the sound of the letter. When a number is traced correctly, the voice comes up with some activity (stomping feet, clapping hands) to do as many times as the number traced. Level 1 is a great introduction to letters and numbers and a beginning practice of writing. In Level 2, the writing pad lights up a path that the child must follow to correctly write the letter or number. A voice guides the child through where to start and how to move the stylus, but only one dot is shown until the child traces over it. So instead of tracing a pattern, the child is following a path to write the letter or number. While Level 1 is more accepting of writing outside the lines, Level 2 will not continue if the child has veered off course. Level 2 is great for an older child to practice writing clear handwriting. My daughter enjoys using the tablet to practice writing letters and numbers. It is much more engaging than my homemade worksheets. I like that both upper and lower case letters are being taught, and the corresponding sounds are emphasized as well. As she learns, the second level will help refine her writing skills. This isn't something that would be grown out of quickly. I really think this is a great learning toy and I'm very happy with this purchase!!

Disagree with the negative reviews. I saw some of the not-so-positive reviews before ordering, but ordered it anyway, and am so glad I did. The quality of the toy is excellent. My 3-year-old is totally enchanted with this thing - he's using it a LOT. As I said, we found no issues with quality - with normal writing pressure and room lighting, the lines appear just fine, and disappear with the easy-to-use eraser slider. I'm wondering if another reviewer is referring to the small adjustment period where the kid learns that holding the stylus is not quite the same as holding a pen or crayon, and during those few minutes the kid may have a hard time writing with appropriate pressure? Yes, fingerprints smudge it, but I haven't seen that intruding on the experience for the kid. I mean, if the screen gets cluttered with stray marks, it's easy to use the eraser and start the exercise over - which sort of surprised me, because I was expecting it to be like other toys and require a complex sequence of programming selections after the kid makes a mistake. Which brings me to one thing I really like about the toy - it's simple. It's not trying to be a computer. It's a writing tablet with limited playing options. Yes, that's a bonus from our perspective. The kid doesn't have to learn a complex set of options and selections before using it. Another great thing is that each exercise moves at a pace that is just right for the kid to follow - not so quickly he can't follow the instructions, and not so slowly he's sitting there yawning. But the best, absolutely best thing about this toy is how CLEAR the speaking voice is. Most kids' electronic toys have fuzzy recordings that can only be "best-guessed" by a kid who's already familiar with the order of the words - like the letter "f" sounding like "s" and "m", and only being identifiable as "f" because it comes after "e". Not this toy. Every word is well articulated. It's so great to see my kid understanding everything and NOT just listing to the toy's music because the sounds are nonsense. I was kind of afraid the toy would replace writing on paper for the kid, but I don't think that's going to happen. The toy provides some positive feedback (the fireworks are a particular favorite), which offers incentive. But it's not a replacement for paper, since there's not room enough on the screen for whole words with little-kid-sized letters. But there IS enough room for the kid to do small doodles and exercise his creativity. This toy is not totally the ideal dream toy, yes. I agree it would be nice if it had numbers practice, although that might take away from the "simplicity" aspect I like about it. And I'm embarrassed to admit it took me forever to figure out how the toy can be used just for doodling creatively, with no lights and sounds (the answer, of course, is to turn the toy off - duh! - so maybe this is something that should be included in the instructions for not-quite-gadget-literate parents like me). But for the price, and judging by what a hit this thing is with our kid, it's really great, and I'd not hesitate to get it for other young kids as a gift.

I bought this for my 2 year old grandson, and at first he used the stylus cord to drag the device along the ground. Apparently, he wasn't quite ready to learn his alphabet or numbers. Now that he's approaching 2.5 years old, he's suddenly taken an interest in this device. He uses it to write all of the letters of the alphabet, as well as numbers. He loves to draw the shapes of the letters, and is fascinated by the verbal response from the computerized voice. This is a great educational tool for learning and practicing the alphabet and numbers. Since this item has been subject to extreme abuse, and it still works perfectly, I can attest to the fact that it's quality built. The bottom line is that this is a fantastic item for young children. It will teach them writing, listening, and hand, eye coordination skills. Learning the alphabet and numbers is the first step to a lifelong skill, essential to all. I rate this a 5 star product for both durability, superb educational potential, and ability to maintain a child's interest. It's a fantastic, fun learning tool for numbers, the alphabet, and a host of other essential skills.

Habe diesen Artikel meinem Patenkind (3 Jahre) zu Weihnachten geschenkt und sie ganz begeistert davon. Ihr konnte es mit dem Auspacken gar nicht schnell genug gehen. Auch das das Gerät durch die schon mitgelieferten und eingelegten Batterien sofort funktionstüchtig war, fand ich klasse. Ich kann diesen Artikel nur empfehlen!

The product is very good and very helpful for my three year old to learn alphabets and numbers.

This is fantastic. My daughter received it for her third birthday. She loves those wipe clean books where you can practice numbers and letters and shapes and things, but is always leaving the lids off the pens! This has two levels, so when she's older we can move to the harder challenges. It has games and challenges and congratulates them when they've done well. It's a great size for her to just sit and play with it on her lap, and the pen is perfect size for tiny hands. It also fits into a holder on the back, so it's not just hanging loose when not in use. The screen is little, but it's fine for what it's used for, they're writing single numbers and letters, not a four page essay. There are two volume options, my daughter of course likes the loudest one, but it's not a bad volume. This is a great learning tool, non messy penmanship skills, learning letters and numbers. She's barely put it down since she got it.

Very good buy!

Very impressed with leap frog products. The make learning fun. I bought this for a 4yo little girl. The package was just like in stores. The scribble and write is not very heavy so it makes it easy for the kids to hold it. The pen has a very good grip which makes it also easy to use. My only complaint is that it is english only. The munchkin I bought it for only speaks french. I didn't know until I received it but considering that children are fast learners, she might speak english in no time haha! I would recommend it 100%