Leap Frog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Set: "Every Letter Makes a Sound"
Written: Dec 30 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: fun, colorful, teaches phonics
Cons: none worth mentioning
The Bottom Line: It may have batteries, but this is a terrific toy for teaching letters and the sounds they make.
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| pippadaisy's Full Review: Leap Frog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Set |
My cousin's wife always buys my children unique and useful gifts (like the Alex Toys Finger Crayons she sent last year), so I have to admit that I was surprised to find the Leap Frog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Set for my son in the box of gifts she sent before Christmas. I should have trusted her judgment.
~&~ The Basics ~&~
Included with the Leap Frog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Set are 26 magnetic letter tiles and the base unit, which is also magnetic to cling to your refrigerator. The letter tiles are actually raised, colored letters on an arch-shaped white base, with consonants being blue, green, and yellow, and vowels being red.
The base unit has a navy back and a two-tone green and blue front. The top section, which is green, has the arch-shaped slot for the letter tiles, surrounded by the alphabet in raised letters. Leap stands jauntily to the left pointing at the letter tile area. The bottom section, which is blue, has the speaker, music button (a red quarter note) and the volume control, which has three settings: Off, )) for low, and ))) for high.
When you turn the unit on, it plays a short little tune, and then waits for play. Put a letter tile into the letter area, and then press it. Once you have pressed the letter down, Leap begins his "song" which is really a chant set to lilting music. For example,
"S. S says ssssss. S says sssssss. Every letter makes a sound; S says ssssss."
You can also press the music button, which has Leap singing the Alphabet Song, which sounds more like the island version, with what I SWEAR are steel drums in the background.
The Leap Frog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Set takes 3 "AAA" batteries (included) which are inserted via the standard screwed-on battery door on the back of the base unit.
~&~ Parents Perspective ~&~
I don't know of a single home that doesn't have at least one set of refrigerator magnets with all the letters of the alphabet. Prior to the arrival of the Leap Frog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Set, we had two: the basic plastic variety, and a wood laminate set with animals. I actually sighed at the thought of adding another magnet set to our already crammed refrigerator until my children actually started playing with this toy. It rocks!!!
First of all, unlike a lot of phonics toys I've read about on this site, if a letter has two sounds like "G" or "C" or vowels, the Leap Frog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Set will give you BOTH the sounds, not just pick one. So Leap's chant for a vowel sounds like,
"A. A says ay. And A says ah. Every letter makes a sound and A says ay. And ah."
You aren't left explaining to your child that yes, "A" DOES make that sound, and just because character XYZ didn't say it on the toy doesn't mean it doesn't make that sound.
I only have two itty bitty complaints about this toy. One is that the sounds can sometimes be a bit muzzled. My husband in listening to it, thought that "N" said "ssssss" rather than "S" but my kids don't seem to have that problem, so I think it may be that their parents attended one too many loud concerts in their day.
The second isn't really a complaint, but a warning. The box front states "CAUTION: Product contains strong magnets" and they aren't kidding. Hold them in front of a metal surface and they will attach themselves with a resounding "snap." I'm worried just having it sit on the other side of me that it might be too close to the computer and mess up my hard drive.
~&~ Play Value ~&~
My kids LOVE this toy. LOVE it. In fact, my son stood in front of the refrigerator today for over 20 minutes playing with it, which is an all-time record considering he usually goes through the house looking like the Tasmanian Devil, leaving a path of wanton destruction in his wake.
In addition to the regular play value of letter magnets, where children can make words on the refrigerator, you have the added bonus of having them beginning to learn to read. I'm not a fan of the battery, but I'll have no problem buying more to keep this toy fully operational!
Until Epinions gets photos working again, and to see more information on the Leap Frog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Set, visit the Leap Frog site at http://www.leapfrog.com/do/findproduct?ageGroupID=ages_preschool&id=fridgephonics
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): gift
Type of Toy: Educational
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years
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pippadaisy
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Reviews written: 1086
Trusted by: 177 members
About Me:
Divorce seriously cuts into the amount of time for reviewing.
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