Motivating Mum UK

From Ultra eBooks to videos, music, games and more, LeapPad2 works with an ever-growing library of more than 325 game cartridges, downloadable apps, eBooks, videos, music, and more!

LeapPad 2 Features:

• Front-and-back cameras – Capture your world in two ways with front-and-back cameras and video recorders!
• Large memory – Keep more apps and personal creations at your fingertips with 4GB of memory and improved battery life!
• Library of 325+ games, apps, videos, music and more – Explore eBooks, videos, music, learning games and more with characters kids love. Play with game cartridges OR download apps online!
• Auto-levelled reading experiences – Explore interactive stories that automatically adjust the reading level to keep kids engaged and learning!
• Creative play – Create art, learn about animation and direct animated movies with your own pictures and voice!

LeapPad 2 Review:
I was excited to be sent a LeapPad 2 to review, it is a great looking learning toy with many great features and I was interested to see how well the recommended age range (3-9) would work with my own children aged 3, 6 and 8. It arrived on a day when my son was off school a little ill, so I had Kyle (6) and Guinevere (3) to help get the LeapPad2 up and running!

My first impression of the LeapPad 2 is that it is a nice size and does have a good sturdy feel to it. Amazon have it priced from £69.47 and for all the features I think it is good value.  It is also available in pink.

Once inside the box there was a little ‘Quick Start Guide’ and despite the impatient protests I plugged it into the PC to set up the Leapfrog Connect, this was very simple and didn’t take long.  We then set up a profile for each of them (there is space for up to 3 profiles and 1 guest profile), then I handed it over.

Kyle had no problem at all working out how to use the LeadPad 2; he took pictures, recorded videos and played games with no trouble at all.  The biggest problem I have had is getting if off the children long enough to have a good look at it for myself!  At the same time it is great to be able to play the games with them and watch how quickly they learn whilst playing a game.

Things I like about the LeapPad 2:

•  The children love it and have played with it continually.
•  The games are educational and fun for their ages.
• The books are great to read, I like the fact that letters and phonetic sounds can be used to help while the child is    reading.
• The activities, noises and games are very engaging.
• There is a huge range of apps available, creative, maths, reading…
• The reports available through the Leapfrog ‘Learning Path’ when the LeapPad2 is connected to the PC. I can easily see which games they have played, how long they have played them for, what they have achieved, areas they need more practice at and there are also suggested recommendations.
• The games become more challenging and the children collect stars and badges as they complete each level.
•  The pen is attached to the LeapPad 2 and saves endless time searching for a missing pen!

Things Georgia, Kyle and Guinevere like about the LeapPad 2:

They all enjoyed making videos taking pictures and editing the pictures in ‘Photo Lab’

 Some examples of their work, self portraits!

Guinevere and Georgia both enjoyed drawing, though Guinevere did find it frustrating when her hand rested on the screen, but she enjoyed it enough to persevere and improved greatly!

Kyle liked the game ‘Roly Poly Picnic Game’ Roll: spin, tilt and shake your Roly Poly through 36 levels of mazes and spelling challenges to gather food for the picnic. Practice letter and phonics skills to keep rolling toward your destination. Tilt your tablet to navigate around obstacles and shake it to get unstuck.

For the short time I played I liked Stretchy Monkey. Help Stretchy Monkey bring food to his family by solving matching and pattern problems as you swing through 20 levels of captivating physics-based gameplay. Use the LeapPad touch screen to stretch out your monkey friend, then let go and watch him fly through the treetops!

The only downside for me is the amount of batteries it goes through, but given the activity there is no wonder. It is well worth buying an adaptor or rechargeable battery pack to save a fortune on batteries!

I have only managed to touch on a few of the great features of the LeapPad 2.  It has been to the supermarket, in the car and used as an incentive to finish homework. The main advantages for us have been making reading more attractive and fun for Georgia, who isn’t a great reading fan! Guinevere has traced letters and pictures improving her control with a pen and Kyle has enjoyed all of it in every way! They have enjoyed playing with the LeapPad 2 as much as their hand held consoles, if not more! We have much more to learn with this ….