Kasey the Kinderbot from Fisher-Price was a very popular gift for preschoolers this past holiday season. It seems like the majority of my friends with two to four-year-olds were giving the gift of Kasey. Initially I was also going to purchase one but after spending some time playing with the store display I decided to wait for the price to come down (after the holidays). Kasey's retail price is $74.99 but he can be found in the $50 dollar range at many discount stores.

Still, it came as no surprise that my 2 year old would eventually receive Kasey the Kinderbot from his Grandpa, who I'm sure saw the fancy display set up while browsing the toy aisle - and just couldn't pass it by. Personally, I think Grandpa wanted to play with it a bit himself. And of course, when it was presented to our little guy he wanted it out of the box right away to get started. In order to get started you will need to put in 3 D-cell batteries, which are not included with the initial purchase (but should be, considering the price paid).


A bit about the bot
The Kasey the Kinderbot Learning System is also known as "Your Get Ready For School Friend". It is a small robot, just over a foot tall (14 inches) made of grey plastic and looks like he stepped out of an episode of The Jetsons. When on a flat surface, Kasey's torso rotates, his arms move up and down, and his head turns. In addition to talking, his eyes also blink and his mouth and mid-section have flashing lights. The on/off button is easily accessible, and on the top of Kasey's right foot. On his back there is small backpack which is where you insert the different learning cartridges, as well as volume dial and brightness/contrast dial for the LCD screen. The screen is on Kasey's belly and is a small 4X4 inch LCD display screen with a colored button (red, blue, yellow and green) in each corner. There is also an orange "home" button which will take you back to the main menu at all times.

Once Kasey is turned on, we meet his assistant and friend Chip she is the host of all the fun games and learning activities that Kasey has to offer. With the initial cartridge that is incldued Chip will ask your child to select from one of the four areas (ABC Farm, Counting Kitchen, Playground, or GameRoom). Once that area is selected they can then choose from one of 4 different educational games or fun actvities.

The initial cartridge that comes with this learning system offers the following:


THE ABC FARM
-Feed The Letters - Sing and learn the ABC song. Select letters on the screen to feed to a chomping C (cookie). i.e. "Find the letter that comes after S?"
-Letter Sounds Listen to the sound and then identify the letter, Play the "silence game".. If they talk..they're out!
-Letter Barn - Match upper and lower case letters
-Farmer Wilkins' Farm - Match animals and food items to the letter they begin with. Its not just farm animals, i.e. W for Whale, the whale ate the watermelon etc

THE COUNTING KITCHEN
-Kitchen Spy Solves cases of missing objects (plates, pencils etc). Take a wild guess how many objects are missing - Chip will give you 4 numbers to choose from and then tell you higher or lower, you have 3 chances to solve the case.
-Make Cookies Identify shapes to make cookie cutouts for Kasey and Chip's friends.
-Try Kasey's Recipes Hone listening skills and take turns with Chip and Kasey to create a recipe. For example, to put 5 apples in the bowl you will need to press the blue button 5 times.
-Kasey's Magnets Kasey has 10 magnets, he picks a magnet and you (your child) needs to select which number goes before or after that number (from the 4 choices given).

THE PLAYGROUND
-Stretch Break Chip encourages kids to get up, stretch, touch their toes, wiggle, etc.
-Tag Chip Chip runs around the screen very fast and the goal is to press the button when she is in that corner to tag her. Its pretty quick - even I can only get it like 9 or 10 times!
-Dance Your child can choose from several dances and dance along with Kasey and chip
-Sing Sing along with Kasey and Chip, do the hokey pokey even.

THE GAMEROOM
-Help Chip Chip's room is a mess and you need to help Chip put away her toys. Pick items that are the same or different.
-Mixed up Masks Choose from masks on the screen and identify ones that are happy, sad, scared, etc.
-Magic Kasey assist magic tricks, play a game of memory and "What's missing?" or find where Chip is hiding.
-Kasey's Crazy Quiz Questions Kasey and Chip will ask questions. Answer 3 correctly and win. Sample questions might be "How many arms do I have?", or select which item is different on the screen.


OUR THOUGHTS ON KASEY


What we like..

Kasey's learning activities that come with the initial cartridge represent a variety of skill levels ranging from simple to more complex. My 2-year-old is able to complete several of the tasks and has fun while doing so. Plus, even when he doesn't necessarily "get it" he enjoys interacting with Kasey and watching Kasey come to life. He'll sometimes give Kasey a hug or hold onto his hand as he moves.

Kasey is upgradable. When your child masters the original cartridge you can purchase additional cartridges. They are available on a variety of topics including (Phonics, Words & Sentences, Addition, Numbers, Spanish, French, Living Things, and Wonderful World).

As a parent I appreciate that Kasey is unfailingly polite. He always says please and thank you. He greets kids with a friendly hello and says good bye before he signs off. Kasey is full of praise and even gives high fives!

For once, Fisher-Price was smart enough to include an on/off switch, volume dial as well as a contrast dial for the view screen. On the loudest settings Kasey is too loud but his voice level can be taken down to even a low whisper. Like many toys, Kasey will shut himself off if no button has been pressed for a period of time (this helps preserve the life of your batteries). First Kasey will ask you to please press any button. He'll even offer to play a different game. When there's no response he will clear his throat and ask again for your child to press a button. Then, if there's still no response he will sign off and turn himself off. My son does like to turn Kasey on and off repeatedly because of this sign on and sign off "speeches".

What we don't like..

Kasey is heavy! He must weigh several pounds (4 or 5) and is quite a bit for my son to carry around. Though he's not meant to be carried, you know your child will do it anyways. My son usually picks him up by his bright red antenna.

Unfortunately once Kasey has been lifted or tilted then he needs to be reset. There is a switch under his foot that needs to be slid from one side to the other before he will function again. Otherwise, you'll be pressing the on/off and nothing happened. The first time this happened my husband and I spewed explatives as we thought it had taken all of 5 minutes for our son to break this over $50 toy.

In order for Kasey to move his body he needs to be on a flat surface like on the floor or a desk or table. When he's on the floor and my son is sitting on the floor he really has to crouch down to see Kasey's screen. Its easier for him to see Kasey if he's eye-level on a table or desk. But, then the temptation to lift Kasey up is even more. So the cycle begins....

For being such an expensive toy (over $50 and $15 per additional cartridge), I would have expected a slightly more sophisticated technology. The display screen is a simple LCD screen and the graphics are very simple. It reminds me of the early gameboy screens. The screen is monochrome and has no additional lighting. This means Kasey can't be used if the room is too bright and once its dark he's useless. Both the addition of color and/or some lighting would make Kasey a lot more appealing. Kasey speaks clearly but sometimes the sounds are a bit choppy and I wish there was some sort of repeat button in the case you miss what he says the first time around - believe me it happens.


Overall
This is one of those reviews where I'm really torn on a recommendation. Kasey is a great learning toy and a load of fun, but he just has so much room for improvement. Though Kasey is recommended for children 3-6 years of age, I honestly feel that older children will be bored very quickly with Kasey unless you purchase additional cartridges. Of course, these cartridges are not included with the initial purchase and are $15 a pop (ouch!). On the other hand, my two-year-old truly enjoys playing with Kasey but he will only play with him for very short periods of time. I do feel that when he playing with Kasey he is learning - but he isn't learning anything spectacular that can't be taught one on one by a parent with pencil and paper or other non-electronic toys. Learning from a robot might be fun, but in no way is this toy a necessity for your child to "get ready for school".

I do recommend the product for a fun gift/gadget for those who enjoy electronic learning. However, please..before purchasing Kasey, go play with the one on display in your local toy aisle or go to the Fisher Price website and explore the product demo and certainly do not pay the full price.


http://www.fisherprice.com/us/kasey



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): Gift ($50)
Type of Toy: Educational
Age Range of Child: 12 to 36 Months