One of my biggest fears, as a mom, is that my kids will have difficulty learning how to read.   Reading is one of the biggest foundations of learning, and it always amazes me how kiddos learn to read in different ways.  My kids are hands on, techy/gamer type learners.  The LeapReader by LeapFrog is a fantastic way to combine learning with fun, innovative technology!

Learn to Read

Touch LeapReader to any page to sound out words letter by letter, read sentences in lively character voices and play fun games that build comprehension.

Learn to Write

Use LeapReader to trace letters and numbers, and write words stroke-by-stroke with interactive guidance as magic ink appears on special mess-free paper.

Learn through Listening

Develop listening skills, comprehension and imagination with LeapReader’s popular audio books, trivia challenges and learning songs.

When Kylie was little, she picked up on letters and words at a very early age.  By the age of three, she was pushed up to the four year old pre-k class, and she was reading really well by four years old.  She hasn’t slowed down since!

Braxton, on the other hand, was slow to learn and is a fairly slow reader even though he was in Pre-K when he was younger.  Don’t get me wrong, he can read, and he can read well, he just doesn’t like reading as much as the others, and he takes his precious time.  He’d much rather be playing video games or Legos.  Even though he’s a bit older than the age group for the LeapReader (4-8), it helps keep things interesting for him when he needs to read but doesn’t really want to.

When Hawk started Kindergarten, I was really concerned that he would be more like Braxton and not like to read.  He didn’t have the Pre-K start at education like the other two did, and he showed no signs of wanting to read.  Not too long into his Kinder year, he picked up on sight words and started reading fairly quickly.  He’s really amazed us.  He likes to read to Jett, and the LeapReader blows his mind!  He can’t quite understand how it knows which book we’re reading!

Jett, although only two years old, has started showing signs of wanting to play with books, and he loves to be read to, so we are excited to be prepared for him to learn to read and write.  I am definitely going to look into the LeapReader Junior for ages 1-3 for Christmas.

For the party, we invited all of our friends, and Kylie (now 14) lead the younger ones during story time.  (This was the best way to keep the littles from fighting over the LeapReaders!

Elijah, who had to leave early, is one of our homeschooled friends.  He’s actually one of the kiddos featured in our Embracing Homeschool series, and we decided to let him take home one of the LeapReaders we received for the party so that he could continue learning at home during the day!

One of the cool features of the LeapFrog LeapReader is that you can plug in earphones while you’re learning to read.  Not only does Elijah use his LeapReader at home, but he also takes it with him to doctor’s appointments and while he’s in the car.  According to his mom, he takes the LeapReader with him (without the books),  because it has books and music loaded on it already.  He has a lot of fun with it.   When he’s ready to learn, he says:

“I need my LeapReader so I can go on a LeapFrog adventure!”

We love that learning is fun with LeapReader.  Our LeapReaders came loaded with awesome audio book apps, a music app for learning songs, and a triva app with animal facts!

Some of the products that we love from our LeapReader Ready, Set, Read & Write Party that you may want to check out are:

  • Learn to Write Letters with Mr. Pencil Writing Workbook
  • Disney • Pixar Monsters University 3D (complete with 3D glasses!)
  • Get Ready for Kindergarten
  • Talking Words Factory Writing Workbook
  • Talking Words Factory Flash Cards

This is the perfect gift for the little ones in your life for Christmas.

Disclosure:  I received free LeapFrog products in order to host the LeapFrog sponsored MommyParty.  The opinions expressed here are my own.