Review: Learning with Leapfrog

I have been a fan of Leapfrog products for a while now – as well as being heaps of fun for children, they all have a learning and educational function too – a total winner in my book! We have been trying out the LeapPad 3, the LeapReader and the Read with me Scout – with the aim of showing the children that reading, writing and learning can be fun too!

Leappad 3 review

The LeapPad 3 is a fast, high performance children’s tablet pre loaded with 10 fun apps. You can buy game cartridges from most toy stores, and these include everything from maths games to books. We have a Jake and the Neverland Pirates maths game and a Little Mermaid game. The novelty of using a tablet to learn means the children are really up for the idea, and are actually soaking up heaps of information without even realising it. You can connect to the web using WiFi but the LeapSearch web function means kids can only access age appropriate content – so you don’t have to be looking over their shoulder every 5 minutes worrying about what they are watching.

As well as being intuitive to use and packed full of child friendly fun, the LeapPad 3 is drop tested and super tough, so you can relax a lot more than you can when the little monkeys steal your iPad!

Leapreader review

The LeapReader is designed for children aged 4-8 years, and helps to encourage and teach reading and writing. You simply log on to the website, connect your LeapReader pen and download the books that you have ready to use. Your child can then touch the pen on the pages of the book to listen to the story, practice reading the words and play games. You can also use the LeapReader as a writing aid – use the pen to trace letters and numbers, before progressing onto trying them independently and attempting some words. The LeapReader will only work on the special LeapFrog paper, and so there is no worry about your little one writing on the table or on anything else they shouldn’t!

LeapFrog recently teamed up with iChild, the leading child development and education consumer website, to provide 200 teachers with the LeapReader. As a result, 86 per cent said they would recommend LeapReader to parents and 79 per cent would recommend LeapReader to fellow teachers.

Read with Me Scout review

Finally, the Read With Me Scout, aimed at children aged 2-5. Max is 22 months, so towards the lower age range, but he has enjoyed the toy immensely and has gained so much from it. Essentially, Scout is a loveable dog who comes with a set of 5 books. The books are numbered and colour coded, and relate to the buttons on his collar – if you press number 1 Scout will read book 1 out loud to your child. The stories are short to hold the attention of smaller children, and full of rhyme and repetition to help with reading comprehension and understanding. Scout also has a number of songs and phrases that make him fun to play with even when you are not reading. 

Almost half of UK parents lack the confidence and know-how techniques to continue their child’s reading and literacy education at home productively, according to research by LeapFrog. In response, the brand has created a supportive guide to help parents teach and inspire a lifelong love of reading in their child. The ‘30 Ways in 30 Days‘ confidence boosting guide, by the multi award-winning educational toy brand, forms part of its 20th anniversary celebrations and offers parents playful solutions and tools to tackle reading with their child at home as part of their everyday family routine.

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39 Comments

  1. March 17, 2015 / 12:50 pm

    I’ve been wondering about one of these for my 4 year old. I’m very tempted as I think he would get a lot of use out of it. Great review, thanks.
    Iona@redpeffer recently posted…Who am I?My Profile

  2. March 17, 2015 / 2:28 pm

    We have one or two leapfrog toys and although I’m not generally fan of electronic toys, I really don’t mind these! #triedtested

  3. March 17, 2015 / 2:37 pm

    We love Leapfrog here too. My daughter had the original scout for her 1 st Christmas, and that’s where our love the the green dog grew… she still sleeps with it now over 5 years on, as well as the leap reader, and S has the phonic sound bucket thingy majigy . 🙂 #triedtested
    mummy M’s Memories recently posted…Coronation Street TourMy Profile

  4. March 17, 2015 / 8:06 pm

    I don’t think we’ve had any Leapfrog products as yet – not sure how we’ve managed that really! They look great x
    Colette B recently posted…Tried & Tested TuesdayMy Profile

  5. March 17, 2015 / 8:32 pm

    We have one of the regular Scout Dogs and he proved immensely popular with my toddler so I might have to look into the Reading one! It’s really interesting to read reviews on kids technology, my husband owns a couple of computer shops and we’ve been talking about doing a dedicated kid zone! #TriedTested

  6. March 17, 2015 / 9:07 pm

    Leapfrog and pad are all wonderful. I think they are such a super range.We love the Scout bear that can be personalised brilliantly. x
    Ali recently posted…Chatty Feet are happy feetMy Profile

  7. March 17, 2015 / 10:23 pm

    This looks fab! I’ve been considering a leap pad for S but thought I’d wait until next year (he JUST turned 3). We had Scout but never used him, I ended up giving him away to a friend. Will def. look into the leap pad after reading this x #TriedTested
    Natasha recently posted…The Shangri La, Cebu MactanMy Profile

  8. March 17, 2015 / 10:58 pm

    I’ve only heard good things about leap frog. If it encourages learning then it is worth every penny.

  9. March 18, 2015 / 5:21 am

    We have the purple read with me dog (I forget its name) and I think it is fab. We will def look at the other leapfrog items when the kids get older. Making learning seem like play is a winner for me
    Farmers wife and mummy recently posted…Timehop, Hop OffMy Profile

  10. March 18, 2015 / 11:10 am

    These both look great. I especially like the look of Read with me Scout – I think it would be perfect for my youngest whose 2. He got My Pal Scout for Christmas and he loves pressing his paws for tunes and loves cuddling him. The Read with me Scout seems good for the next stage as he is just starting to get into books. Great review #TriedTested

  11. March 18, 2015 / 2:56 pm

    We’ve had two leap reader pens now and really rate them. Been looking at the scout readers too so good to hear your opinion on them. Love Leapfrog products! x
    ghostwritermummy recently posted…Tuff Spot A-Z: H is for hospital!My Profile

  12. March 18, 2015 / 4:23 pm

    I like the idea of Read with me Scout. Tin Box Tot loves books and if there’s buttons to be pressed then she is all over it. It’s great to see toys with with a bit of research behind them, rather than just ‘what colour do kids like’. #TriedTested
    Tin Box Traveller recently posted…Family photo fail #WickedWednesdaysMy Profile

  13. March 19, 2015 / 10:02 pm

    I love LeapFrog products and the children have so many – they love Scout the most! All three of these products are on our ‘get at some point’ list – LeapFrog are so fun but educational too x
    Donna recently posted…The Changing Times of MusicMy Profile

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