Leappad 2 and Early Learning

[mario]

Hello everyone,

I'd like to know what do you think about LeapPad2 and Early Reading. Do you think it helps? Do you think it is under the level for a kid who used LR?

I never had one in my hands. Besides these questions, I have also a concern where a a kid would'nt like to read real books later if he is used to a more fun kind of reading like LeapPad Ultra Books.

[cokers4life]

Like any good toy, its novelty wears off quickly.  My kids (3 and 4) got Leappads for their birthdays last year.   They play them once or twice a week now.  They however read books every day, and they love to read books.   

The Leappad offers lots of games outside of reading.  You will find excellent games that develop logic, spatial skills, and memory.  Their science games are very informative and fun to play.  They also offer "Little Pim" video series in multiple languages on Leappad now.   Their team umizoomi game is a great math game (I help my one year old play this game).   Their math games are not intense so there isn't a lot of pressured drilling of math facts.  I find most of the math fact drill game apps for other devices like andriod and the iphone to be great for drilling, but if you have a kid who shuts down when being drilled, then Leappad will offer a more comfortable learning environment. 

Their games and ultra ebooks are very intuitive.   Based on how well your child answers questions or plays a game, the game will increase in difficulty.   Children at  this age don't mind playing a game they have already beaten, and Leappad takes advantage of this.   One of their spelling game will increase in difficulty or you can set the difficulty to continue developing the child's spelling abilities.  I found this to be a common characteristic in many of their games.   

The ultra ebooks are great for reinforcing phonics with their use of intermittent games.  Not all their ultra ebooks are great though.  I find the character ones (thomas the train, cars, etc) to have too many games that don't develop any skill.   Their house name books are much better.   They also have ultra ebooks in French if you are considering exposing your child to another language.  I am hoping they come out with ultra ebooks in Spanish.  Their music game apps are okay, but they wouldn't make it on my must have list.   

As far as a kid who has used LR, I really don't know if these ultra ebooks or ebooks would be beneficial, but if you are looking to develop other skills than Leappad is still a great option.  The screens are smaller than most andriod and ios devices.   I find that my one year old has a little bit more difficulty navigating the Leappad than my iphone or the nabi we were given.  He however can get to where he wants to be eventually.   The apps are more expensive and certainly not free as most andriod and istore apps. 

Leappad helps you to keep track of how they are doing with each game they play and how long they play them.   This is a very nice feature to help you improve weakness and when to remove a game that is just simple too easy for them. 

Here is where I think the Leappad can go bad for you.  If you put videos up there, that is what they are going to choose to do.  If you don't reward them or give them an incentive for earning stars on their leappad, then they will do a whole lot of nothing on their leap pads.  I personally made a choice not to let their devices turn into portable tvs.  The leappad rewards them with stars for achieving certain objectives on each game, and I will not put another game on their device until they reach a certain amount of stars.   For ages 4 and under, I would expect to do a lot of side by side time with the leappad to get the most out it.  Sometimes they need a little help navigating through a game. 

Well, that is my experience with the Leappad.  I am pretty satisfied with the apps and the device itself. 

[mario]

Wow cokers4life

That was really helpful!

As far as I know, I think the LeapPad may not be the greatest thing in terms of technology, but its apps are great. I have Android and iPad devices, and although they are much better and much more powerful than a LeapPad, the apps aren't really that great. And also there is too much distraction.

Am I right?

You said you have a Nabi. What version is it?

I was considering to buy one instead of the LeapPad but I've read some reviews and I realized that the built-in Apps are just those free Apps you can download with any Android device, and full of ads. Is it true? I think a Nabi is a high-tech gadget but without the concern of a good curriculum. Also I saw several complaining on Nabi 2 about broken screen and non-access to the Nabi environment on the clouds.

[cokers4life]

I haven't had any technical issues with the Nabi (we have the original), but someone in our family got an extra one on accident with online ordering.   I never would have had it otherwise as I never really considered it. 

Here is what I will say about the Nabi.  If you are a control freak, this is the device for you.  That's why I like it.  Most of the apps pre-loaded are garbage apps in my book.  In the nabi mode, you can control what a child has access to.  Let's say you want them to focus on a particular skill or skills, you can remove all other apps that do not contribute to building such skill(s).   Being able to easily rotate apps in and out makes it a nice feature. 

The chore list feature isn't really effective.  A child can say they did their "chores" which is whatever you set it to be, and they can get their reward.   The question is "did they actually do the chores?"  I don't even bother with this feature.  Here is how the Nabi actually comes useful in rewarding:  You just tell them if they do such and such than you will agree to put on an app of their choice.   

The university apps which you can not get on any other device are okay.  My kids don't really use them independently.  I will use them occasionally, but Brain Pop is better than the university app and more appealing to my children.  They do like the Mee Genius Books which are nice to have when I've lost my voice.  They aren't the greatest books, but the free ones are based on classic stories which are the ones we have.  I have mostly math apps and one geography app. 

You also have mommy mode which will let you just use it without restrictions.   With all that said, I am much happier with the Leappad than the Nabi. 

I

[Korrale4kq]

You aren't finding any great apps for the ipad?
I know I had a difficult time finding anything great for the android system for little ones. But my ipad is overflowing with amazing apps that I have been using with my son since he was 22 months. You can buy a button to put over the home button that they can't press so that they stay on that app. You can also using locking folders to lock away apps you don't want your child to have access to. 

I have only see a  few of the leap pad apps and I have not been impressed. I was going to suggest that you get an ipad instead. But I understand the financial restraints. However if you have one, I highly recommend that instead of a leap pad or innovotab.

[mario]

Thank you cokers4life

Korrale4kq, I already have an iPad and I have two apps that I like for my son, one from Thomas and Friends and the other is Monkey Preschool Lunchbox.

What app would you recommend?

Another question: why Inno instead of LeapFrog?

[Korrale4kq]

I don't recommend innotab or leapfrog. I just think they are comparable products to each other. My first pic is an ipad.

As for apps... There are so many I don't know where to start.
The preschool prep apps were amazing for teaching my son his sight words. Thayer might be good if you need them for colors and shapes, and numbers also.
Preschool University is good for phonics.
Starfall is great for phonics also.
Bob book apps for blending and spelling.
Montessori numbers for early math.
Any of the Teach Me apps.

Pretty much any app from grasshopper apps and alligator apps.

I am Not a huge fan of Monkey Lunchbox. I liked Monkey Math better. 

[mario]

Thank you Korrale4kq,

I will check every app you said. Do you use free versions or did you buy them all?

[Korrale4kq]

I like free. I try the lite version everytime I can. Sometimes I like the lite versions so much that I pay for apps.
If there are no lite versions to test run I YouTube an app to see if there is more information about it.

Some apps that I paid for that were completely worth it  for us.

Preschool Prep Apps: They are 99c each. There are flashcards and a quiz game.  I paid $6 for 6 apps. But they are much cheaper than the $45 for the DVDs. I didn't get their shapes, numbers, letters or colors app because we not needed to learn sight words.

Teach Me apps: They are worth for more than the $1.99 I paid.

Bob books apps I think are $2.99. The lite version will give you a good idea if you think it is worth it. It probably is a little steep.

The most I have paid for an app is $9.99. Expensive for an app. But worth it for us. It is called EuroMath 3-5. I think it is a very inclusive math app that covers so many early math concepts. I didn't recommend it yet because your child might be a bit to young for it now.

Preschool University, Alligator and Grasshopper apps are mostly all free.

Pretty much if I find an app we really enjoy we see if that developer has other apps that we might like.

I also wanted to mention that there are quite a few threads in the forum here that mentions apps. I got a lot of suggestions from here. Here more so than many other website because our kids are early learners.



I

[mario]

Thank you Korrale4kq for your advices.

I'm still reading about IOS apps in this forum. As you said, there is a lot of posts about it.

[TeachingMyToddlers]

You can also using locking folders to lock away apps you don't want your child to have access to. 

Please give us a step by step! I have tried to do this before with a couple apps but I was unsuccessful and have not tried in a while. Do tell.

Hmmm...was just googling- do you use this? http://jaxov.com/2011/02/password-protect-apps-folders-on-iphone-ipod-touch-ipad/ or something else.

I found this to be very interesting! http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2012/06/12/apple-disability-friendly/15835/     http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5509

A new feature called “Guided Access” will be especially beneficial for students with disabilities like autism, Apple representatives said, by helping users to “remain on task and focused on content.” The offering allows parents and educators to limit access on a device to one specific app by essentially turning off the “home” button and restricting areas of the touch screen that respond to commands.

[Korrale4kq]

I don't lock any folders or use a button cover. on my home button. I have no idea why my son doesn't access any of my apps. He just plays the ones I have introduced him to. But he is also only allowed to play ipad with me nearby.
I just read that using  locked or hidden folder apps can be done with a variety of apps. I looked around at a few and it looked possible. i just filed the information away in my mind in case i need it for the future. Maybe it was here in the forum that I first heard about lock folders.

[Korrale4kq]

And I just checked out the guided access. Nice option.

[robbyjo]

Sorry for being a newbie, but is iPad really worth it for teaching 2 year old? Or should I look into Nabi or Leappad or something else? I'm somewhat nervous to hand over something as expensive as an iPad to my toddler.

[Korrale4kq]

I really think iPad is worth it. (And we are a low income family, so it took us a very long time to save.)
 My son learns so much via the iPad. At 3.5 he reads at a second grade level, he is doing 1st grade math. He knows all the US and Australian states. He knows many countries. I initially used the iPad for speech therapy for my son. Now ii can use it for vacabulary expansion. I cant use if for flashcards. He can read books on there in Kindle format (or pretty much any format) that he can borrow from my library. He can also talk to his family who live on the other side of the earth. He can also use a stylus to practice his writing. And he can use it to complete worksheets.

Shortly after I bought the iPad my laptop died. I don't own a laptop anymore. I can do everything from the iPad.
I edit photos and video. I can print. And despite what people think I can play flash content.

I am still struggling to find apps via the android system that are as good as the ones released on the iThing. Android may have better apps for adults. But not yet for kids.

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