I have quite a few Magna Doodle's that we have purchased at Toys "R" Us and K-mart. The very first one we purchased within a few times using it, we lost the pen and the string broke. At that time my children were around the age of 2 and under. So when the next birthday came, I decided to purchase another Magna Doodle. The picture displayed here is one that we have as well as a school bus one.

We keep a children's table in the living room and the bus magna doodle is there and the pictured one is on a filing cabinet in the living room as well.

Both of my preschoolers have Autism and although my youngest is just three and a half years old, and he does not speak, he will sit and draw. This is one of the few activities that he is capable of sitting for. The speech therapist uses one in her sessions due to my insistence.

My older son will be 5 this March and also is autistic and he loves to draw, and he traces his horses, and watches a disney video that does drawing tips and he sits the Magna Doodle down on the floor and copies the drawing tips from the television.

We also watch a Phonics video where the woman teaches children how to write letters in small caps and large and my son uses the magna doodle to do this as well. He draws in the lines to copy what is done on the video.

I have many pictures that I have taken of my son holding up the magna doodle displaying his works of art. I have even submitted one to be displayed at a rally in Washington, DC this April 8, 2000.

So we are advertising the magna doodle along with my son's drawings on a regular basis. I look forward to adding more to our collection for his birthday coming up.


***November 2000 Update ***

I have read this review from the perspective of a consumer and find that I told of why my son liked the product with little information on how the Magna Doodle works.

There is a slot for the yellow pencil that is still attached to the string. This is blue with a handle to carry to another location. My son carries it this way but prefers to hold it from the bottom thinking he may lose his drawing.

No other type of marker should be used on this since but the magnetic pen or the stampers that come with this. There are six with stencils to trace a house and a face. The top part of the Magna Doodle is still working so my son uses this for drawing snakes and reptiles. He tried to wipe a marker he used in error with a baby wipe, but the result is a mess in the middle of the Magna Doodle.

The bottom of the Magna Doodle is the red knob to slide to the left to erase the drawing. Then slide back to the right side to wipe the slate clean and begin the next work of art.

Now that another holiday season has arrived I am planning to purchase the same one again. We have the school bus Magna Doodle, but this blue one seems to be the preference for my five- year old. My son now takes care in storing this in a position not to alter his drawing.

My son has spent many hours utilizing the Magna Doodle while perfecting his drawing technique. This has also helped in working on his pincer grasp. This is a great product in teaching eye hand coordination and cause and effect. If you are looking for an addition to your day care center this might be the item to purchase. When homeschooling this is also an item to utilize in the daily studies.

Magna Doodle requires minimum parental supervision and promotes independent play, especially during the winter months when the weather may be too extreme for outdoor exploring.



Recommended: Yes