February 7, 2012

Hot Holiday Toys: LeapFrog Peek-a-Shoe Talking Octopus (Winner Announced)

WINNER! Congrats to Rondah who won the LeapFrog Peek-A-Shoe Octopus! Thanks to all who entered!

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Here’s the bad news: We’ve come to the final holiday LeapFrog giveaway. But the good news is that one of YOU will win! You’ll want to get your hands on this latest releases from LeapFrog – all 8 of your hands if you have them! The LeapFrog Peek-A-Shoe Talking Octopus is a fun, interactive, hands-on activity toy geared for kids 9 months and older.

2011 Winner of the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Toy Award!

Drop the ball into Octopus’ open arm or hat and then guess which of his 5 colored feet the ball is hiding under. Encouraging words help while the child searches for the ball and celebrates when they find it. A switch on the blue collar lets you turn it on/off and control the volume (the toy also auto-shuts off after a few minutes of inactivity.) Another switch lets you choose between counting and color mode. The third central button plays fun, educational songs and instrumental music. Designed to help your child develop and reinforce motor skills, the Peek-A-Shoe Talking Octopus also teaches colors, numbers, counting and sea animals.

My 16-month-old had a blast dropping and searching for the balls, and I love how it encouraged his hand-eye coordination and searching skills. I also love that it’s a toy that my two older sons (5 and 3) like to play with him. Fun for all!

** GIVEAWAY ** Win a Peek-A-Shoe Talking Octopus of your very own! To enter, just leave a comment below telling us your favorite part of the holidays. Entries must be received by December 9th 11:59pm, PST. One winner will be picked via random.org and notified via email. Sorry, no P.O. boxes. US residents only.

MWS was not paid for this review. LeapFrog provided a sample of the product for review.

Kate Bayless is a writer, editor and loves holiday music. Her work has appeared in Parents, American Baby, Fit Pregnancy, iVillage and other publications. Visit her at www.katebayless.com or @katebayless.

Hot Holiday Toys: LeapFrog’s My Own Story Time Pad & #Giveaway

WINNER ANNOUNCED! Congrats to Ada Miller who won the LeapFrog My Own Story Time Pad! Thanks to all who entered!

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Giveaway #3 is here! This time it’s LeapFrog’s new My Own Story Time Pad – an easy-to-use tablet for little LeapFroggers. Perfect for kids 2+ years (though fun for younger kids too), the Story Time Pad is a lightweight tablet that includes stories, songs and activities that can be personalized for your child! Scout, Violet and the other LeapFrog friends educate and entertain as your child learns about letters, phonics, storytelling, music and more.

One of the coolest features of the My Own Story Tim Pad is the ability to personalize a number of the activities. Using LeapFrog’s Connect Application, you can have Scout or Violet say your child’s name, customize parts of stories and songs, and create pretend emails and messages from friends or family members. Toddlers will get a kick out of hearing Scout call them by name, mention their friends and talk about their favorite places.

My Own Story Time Pad comes pre-loaded with 1 story, 1 email, and 3 songs, but by connecting to the LeapFrog Connect Application you can download additional stories and songs (up to 5 stories, 10 songs and 3 emails at a time).

Some of my favorite feature:

- No tablet envy. I love that the tablet looks and feels similar to LeapFrog’s LeapPad tablet and other adult tablets but is geared for younger learners. No more arguing over who gets to use the tablet! With the My Own Story Time Pad, my 3 year old can have a tablet geared just for him.

- No wrong buttons. Whenever I give my kids my phone to play a game, I inevitably find stuff rearrange, reprogrammed or downright missing. One of the great things about the Story Time Pad is that there are no wrong buttons! Kids can press buttons is any order, at any time and the tablet will not delete content, harm the activities or self-destruct. Plus any button they push will likely make a sound, start a new activity or provide some kind of giggle-inducing feedback.

- Durable. LeapFrog makes stuff for kids. Kids that drop stuff. So they’ve made the My Story Time Pad out of durable plastic that can handle the bangs and bumps of life.

- Lightweight. The tablet weighs in at just over 1 lb. and is easy for a child to hold in the car or fit on his lap.

- Multiple volume settings. The Story Time Pad features two volume settings which is nice, but unfortunately no headphone jack which I wish it had.

Visit Leapfrog.com to learn more and purchase a My Own Story Time Pad – available in white or purple for $29.99 (Be sure to sign up for LeapFrog’s emails to hear about great holiday deals and sales too.)

** GIVEAWAY ** Win a My Story Time Pad of your very own! To enter, leave a comment below telling us what tech gadget is on your holiday wishlist. (And be sure to check out Whitney and the other Gift Guide Girls‘ post on innovative, adorable and drool-worthy tech gifts here!) You can earn additional entries by doing any of the following – be sure leave us separate comments to tell us you did! 1) Like LeapFrog or Mommies With Style on Facebook, 2) Follow LeapFrog or MWS on Twitter, 3) Follow me on Twitter, or 4) Tweet about the giveaway with the hashtag #MWSgiveaway. Entries must be received by Monday, December 5th 11:59pm, PST. One winner will be picked via random.org and notified via email. Sorry, no P.O. boxes. US residents only.

MWS was not paid for this review. LeapFrog provided a sample of the product for review.

Kate Bayless is a writer, editor and is hoping Santa brings her a tablet. She has been very good this year. Her work has appeared in Parents, American Baby, Fit Pregnancy, iVillage and other publications. Visit her at www.katebayless.com or @katebayless.

Check out my Holiday Column on LeapFrog.com This Week

Check it out, guys!  I have a featured article on LeapFrog.com this week – all about holiday crafts, printables and fun activities you can do with your kids during the holiday season!

Hot Holiday Toys: LeapFrog Tag Solar System & #Giveaway! (Winner Announced)

GIVEAWAY WINNER – Congrats to Autumn who won our LeapFrog giveaway of the Solar System Adventure Pack. Thanks to all who entered!

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Back again with another hot new holiday toy (and a giveaway!) from LeapFrog. I’ve already written about my love of LeapFrog’s Tag Reading System here and here, and one of the great things about the system is that they keep expanding and adding new products like this – the Tag Solar System Adventure Pack.

Available as a bundle with a Tag pen ($53.98, but on sale for $49.99) or on its own ($13.99), the Solar System Adventure Pack extends your child’s learning to the stars! Literally! Much like the Tag World Map and United States Map, the dual-sided, interactive Solar System Map offers over 40 different out-of-the-world learning activities on the planets, sun, orbits, moon phases, seasons, asteroids and more! It contains the “basics” but also goes beyond to talk about things like the deposed Pluto and other dwarf planets plus a section called “How Do We Know” that tackles questions like life on other planets, and how we know how far away stars are.

In addition to the map itself, the Solar System Adventure Pack also comes with a “Passport to the Stars” sticker book that helps reinforce the learning and is just plain fun for sticker-loving kids. Plus, the stickers interact with the Tag pen!

Some of my favorite features:

- Size: While we own the World and USA Maps as well, the Solar System map folds down to the same size as a traditional Tag book which means it’s easier to bring along and to store with our other Tag books.

- Multiple levels: LeapFrog does such a good job at creating toys that offer multiple levels of play. The Solar System Map offer two levels of content so both my older boys can use it and be challenged.

- Information variety: The entire Tag series does a great job of packing in the information. From facts and data to games and activities, the Solar System map teaches and reinforces the learning through a variety of methods.

GIVEAWAY! LeapFrog is giving away a Solar System Adventure Pack that comes with their latest Tag Reader! To enter, leave a comment below telling us why this would be a hit with your kids. You can earn additional entries by doing any of the following – be sure leave us separate comments to tell us you did! 1) Like LeapFrog or Mommies With Style on Facebook, 2) Follow LeapFrog or MWS on Twitter, 3) Follow me on Twitter! Entries must be received by Saturday, November 26th 11:59pm, PST. One winner will be picked via random.org and notified via email. Sorry, no P.O. boxes. US residents only.

Hot Holiday Toys: LeapPad by Leapfrog & Giveaway (Winner Announced)

AND THE WINNER IS….Congratulations to our lucky winner of the LeapFrog LeapPad giveaway – Marcia Campbell.  Thanks to all who entered and check back soon on Mommies With Style for additional holiday products from LeapFrog! More giveaways of new LeapFrog products coming soon!

* CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED *

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I am thrilled to be working again with LeapFrog this holiday season to bring you some sneak peaks and great giveaways of LeapFrog’s latest releases. Today we’re starting with their hottest new item for the holidays: the LeapPad.

Just like you want an iPad, your kids are going to want to get their hands on a LeapPad. Even better, I have one to giveaway to one lucky MWS reader! Read on…

The LeapPad Explorer Learning Tablet is the newest all-in-one device from LeapFrog. You can play games, draw pictures, read books, hear stories, watch videos and even take your own pictures or movies! My boys have been fans of the Tag Readers and the Leapster Explorer, but the new LeapPad offers the best variety of activities. Here are just a few of the reasons you’ll love the LeapPad.

Variety. Numbers, letters, shapes, words, adding, subtracting, comparing, problem-solving, time, coloring, drawing, measuring, logic, reasoning, patterns, charts, phonics, geography, foreign languages. What can’t you learn on the LeapPad? With a library of over 100 games, ebooks, apps, videos and flashcards, the LeapPad provides an endless supply of learning opportunities.

Durable. LeapFrog makes stuff for kids, and they know how kids treat things. Keep teaching your kids to be careful, but know that the LeapPad comes with a sturdy, yet sleek, outer shell, a scratch resistant screen and 2 stylus pens (though you can use your finger too).

Compatible. One of the big complaints about LeapFrog products in the past is that they kept coming out with great products! Well, that wasn’t the problem as much (Apple seems to have survived this flaw), but that the games you’d buy for one game couldn’t transfer to the new device LeapFrog was coming out with. They heard the complaints and adjusted, and the new LeapPad is compatible with all the Leapster Explorer games – and vice versa. Already own Leapster Explorer games? They’ll work on the new LeapPad. And if you buy games of the LeapPad, you can load them on your Explorer too.

Adaptable. My oldest boys are close enough in age that we have few toys that are clearly for one child or the other, but they are not at the same level academically. With the LeapPad (and many of the the LeapFrog products), you can create different log-ins for each child and set the games for each child’s level. So both my boys can help WALL-E sort trash or explore the ocean floor with Dory on the Pixar Pals game, but can answer questions and do activities set to their specific level.

Snap & Record. While previous LeapFrog products had cameras as an add-on device, the LeapPad comes with a camera and a video recorder built-in. These are fun just by themselves, but add in a few apps like Story Studio which allows you to create your own story and record it or Photo Studio where a simple photo can be stamped or drawn on to create unique final products and the fun is endless. Parents can even share their kid’s creations via Facebook or email.

Follow. I think a lot of parents may not utilize LeapFrog’s Learning Path software, but I highly recommend it. You download it onto your computer and then whenever you plug in your child’s LeapPad to update it, download new games, etc, it will track your child’s progress. Learning Path can show you which activities your child spends the most time on and which they never play, which kinds of questions they get right and which they struggle with, which skills they are learning and which they need work on. I love that while my son is enjoying playing games, reading books and doing activities on the LeapPad, I can get an individual look at different academic skills he’s developing or struggling with.

What’s in the box?

LeapPad Explorer Learning Tablet (with 2GB Storage)

Built-in Camera & Video Recorder

Pet Writing App

Story Studio App*

Art Studio App*

Free App Download*

USB Cable

LeapFrog Connect CD & Quickstart Guide

Extra stylus with tether

2 App Center Download Cards (value of $40 total)

1-year limited warranty

*To download these apps you must install the LeapFrog Connect Application and complete registration.

LeapFrog also sent along two of their new games – Disney Pixar Pals and Pet Pals 2. Pixar Pals has games with the characters of WALL-E, Toy Story and Finding Nemo. My 5-year-old has been loving learning about recycling and the environment with WALL-E while my 3.5-year-old is more enamored with washing, feeding and caring for his pet dog on Pet Pals 2. He thinks he’s playing with a cute computerized puppy; I know he’s learning how to count, add and subtract.

The Less Than Great. I’ve always been impressed with LeapFrog’s products, but the LeapPad truly is my favorite to-date. The two things I’m less than thrilled about are  the battery life and the price of the game cartridges. The LeapPad requires 4 AA batteries and it eats through them pretty fast. You can purchase a separate AC adapter if you know you’ll be using it at home a lot, but since we always bring these in the car on long trips, the battery life can become an issue. As for buying additional content, most of the apps you can download about $5-$10, but the game cartridges are $24.99. My kids aren’t into true video games yet, so maybe this is cheap in comparison, but this was higher than I was hoping for.

The LeapPad retails for $99 and you can buy it individually at places like Amazon, but I recommend buying one of the bundles through LeapFrog.com. You’re going to want additional games and activities and the LeapFrog’s Store offers a number of different money-saving bundles to suit your needs – Reading & Writing, Reading & Math, Ultimate Boys Bundle, and bundles with $40 in app downloads. Definitely worth it.

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WIN! Here’s your chance to win a brand new LeapFrog LeapPad of your very own along with Disney Pixar Pals, Pet Pals 2 and $20 in download credits. To enter, tell us in a comment below what feature you’re looking forward to the most on the LeapPad. You can earn one additional entry for each of the following – leave a comment below to let us know you did: (1) follow LeapFrog on Facebook or (2)  Twitter, (3) tweet about the contest using the hashtag #LeapPad, (4) follow MWS on Facebook or (5) follow me on Twitter. Entries must be received by Saturday, November 5th, 11:59pm PST. One winner will be picked via random.org and notified via email. Sorry, no P.O. boxes. US residents only.

Giveaway: Win With LeapFrog

I’m a huge fan of Leapfrog’s educational toys for kids. Thanks to their Tag Readers and books, our frequent 7-hour car trips to see the grandparents are a bit more bearable – and educational at that. But Leapfrog is about a lot more than easing my long car trips. Their recent Tag. Give. Read. campaign to donate Tag Reading Systems to schools was a HUGE success – $1.5 million in Tag Readers and book to the classrooms of more than 10,000 U.S. Kindergartners.

And they aren’t done yet.

Celebrity style maven, designer and Access Hollywood personality Jayneoni Moore was so impressed, she’s using her foundation The Jayneoni Moore Children’s Fund to join forces with LeapFrog to launch “Tag You’re It!” to get Tag Readers into the hands of even more kids. With the help of her celeb friends, Jayneoni and LeapFrog have been raising money to supply Kindergartners around the U.S. with the Tag Reading System.

Jayneoni and her celeb mom pals have been buying Tag Readers to give away to classrooms in need, and want to encourage you to donate as well. For every Tag Reader donated, LeapFrog will donate 5 books to accompany the Reader. And on November 14th, all these celeberity moms and their little ones will gather at a packing party to box up “Tag Kits” for classrooms.

And now LeapFrog wants to get YOU in on the fun too.

LeapFrog is giving away a Tag Reader and their newly-released USA Map to one lucky MWS reader. The double-sided map helps kids 4-7 years old learn about map skills, geography, landmarks and other state facts with more than ten interactive games.  A perfect holiday gift item!

But there’s more!

The winner also is entered into LeapFrog’s nationwide giveaway of an all-expenses-paid trip to Hollywood, CA to meet Jayneoni and her celebrity mom pals at the Tag Reader packing party!  LeapFrog will take care of all travel arrangements and expenses, including transportation from home to the airport and back, transportation from airport to hotel, accommodations at the luxurious Beverly Hills boutique hotel The Peninsula (where the “packing party” will be held), and incidental expenses for meals and refreshments.

But you have to act fast! The contest to win the Tag Reader and USA map and to be entered into the Hollywood trip giveaway ends Saturday, November 6th at midnight P.S.T. To enter, leave a comment below that answers:

“What most helped you develop a love of reading?”

One entry per person. Contest open to US residents only. One winner for the Tag Reader and Map will be chosen by random. That winner will then be entered into the Hollywood trip giveaway – winner of that contest will be announced on November 10th.

Top Holiday Pick: Leapster’s Explorer ($64.99 on Amazon)

We’re definitely a tech-friendly family.  I run a blog for a living and I think my kids are more computer and Wii savvy than I am some days.

But I’m sometimes reminded that my almost-4-year old is still just that, a young kid and aging a lot faster than I sometimes would like him to.  Being the younger brother and being the youngest in a tech-savvy house makes him advance technologically beyond the recommended age on many products.

I was recently reminded of that on a road trip when each boy brought a DS/DSi.  I was reminded that Cole’s hands just aren’t there coordination wise – not compared to his 6-year-old brother.  Not to mention that the DS is not always so educational.

Recently one of his little girlfriends received a Leapster Explorer - LeapFrog’s latest product release. (Fall 2010)  I was intrigued to check it out because I thought this might be a better handheld option for him given his age.  My wonderful contact at LeapFrog sent me over a sample product to test out and I’m impressed.  I’m saving this one for his birthday next month but here are the details about this product which is sure to be a hot pick this upcoming holiday season:

*Recommended age for this product:  Ages 4-9
* It’s educational but fun.   It comes with built in games (over 40) and you can download apps from the LeapFrog website – LeapWorld.
* Touch screen
*Additional cartridge games available for purchase with favorite characters like Dora, Ben10, SpongeBob, the Disney Princesses and more
*Parents can track what their children are doing on the Explorer with the LeapFrog Learning Path software
*It has a built in camera for the kids to take pictures – it can store up to 1000 photos

It retails for $69.99.  Get it on Amazon right now for $64.99 with free shipping.

25% off sitewide at LeapFrog for five days, plus 20% off coupon code

A couple of years ago, I had some bags stolen when I was out shopping on Black Friday.  It was my one and only attempt to ever shop on that day and I swore I’d never do it again.

Thankfully, with online competition and Cyber Monday, there’s really no need for me to brave the crowds anymore.  Folks like LeapFrog are doing deals for both days.  You never have to leave your home when prices like this online!

Starting Black Friday, LeapFrog will be offering 25% off site-wide on all their products through November 30th.  Stock up!  This is a sale you can’t miss.  Get select Leapster games for as little as $5, Tag books for $5.49 and much more!

Can’t wait?  Shop today through Friday and use coupon code HOLIDAY20 to receive 20% off your entire order on the LeapFrog site.  Free shipping on orders over $50.

Leap Into Learning Vowels With LeapFrog’s Tag

tagpar61137image350We’re huge fans of LeapFrog products in our house and our latest craze has been with the Tag and Tag Junior reading systems. While the Tag books teach everything from reading comprehension and listening to spelling and rhyming, two new sets of books for the Tag will take your kids’ learning even further.

The newly released Tag Learn to Read Phonics series has two collections to choose from – Short Vowels and Long Vowel, Silent E and Y. For $19.99, each set includes 6 separate books that teach vowels sounds, phonics skills, word recognition, and reading basics.  These sets are geared for kids age 4-7 though I can tell you my 3-year-old has loved exploring the books – even if he hasn’t quite grasped vowels yet. These books are a bit shorter than other Tag books, but are still chock full of activities and learning fun.  Plus since they are smaller, they don’t take up as much room on your Tag. (I think I was able to fit all 6 Short Vowel book on plus 4 other regular Tag books.)

Don’t have  Tag reader yet?  Right now at www.leapfrog.com Tag readers have free shipping! The new model ($49.99) includes a larger memory to store 10 books and is also available in pink. Or pick up one of the original size Tag (holds 5 books) for only $39.99.

Media Round-Up: Lots of Great Halloween Movies

Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie DVD: Gift Set with Plush Pooh – Such a cute gift idea for a Halloween birthday. Look for it in-store because it may be kind of tough to get online (Amazon seems to only have Amazon Marketplace buying options), but if you can find it – this bundle of Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween movie Gift Set with a plush Pooh Bear (dressed as Tigger) is adorable.

Hit Entertainment: Trick or Treat Tales – my kids love these assorted show DVDs that come out seasonally from Hit Entertainment. This one includes Bob the Builder, Barney, Fireman Sam and Fifi in various Halloween-related episodes.

Shaun the Sheep: Little Sheep of Horrors – more Halloween with Shaun the Sheep’s Little Sheep of Horrors.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002DYJTVW?ie=UTF8&tag=mommieswithst-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B002DYJTVW

Spongebob Squarepants: The First 100 Episodes – An awesome Holiday present this year fort the Spongebob fan would be Spongebob Squarepant’s First 100 Episodes box set.  It releases on September 22nd of this year but you can pre-order it on Amazon for $64.99.  (it’s retailing for $100 so although that price sounds steep it’s actually quite a discount!)  I don’t know how anyone could get through 40+ hours of all Spongebob, but hey, anything’s possible with sick days and snow days, right?

Little Einsteins: Fire Truck Rocket’s Blast Off – releasing tomorrow, September 8th, is the latest from our pals the Little Einsteins.  And releasing right along side it on the same day is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Adventures in Wonderland.  Always good for our little preschool friends.  (Hint – get them both together on Amazon to receive a discount.  Stocking stuffers!)

For all you Bluray fans, Disney Princess – Enchanted Tales: Follow your Dreams is being re-released with a special Bluray edition.

iCarly: Season 2, Volume 1 – I’m sure tweens and teen fans alike will be happy to collect the first release of iCarly’s second season, which released August 18th.

Bakugan: Heroes Rise, Vol 4 – I’m just waiting for it here.  Earlier in 2009, my 5-year old had a huge obsession with Bakugan.  I think he fried out on it a bit as right now he’s currently into other things.  I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before he’s right back into the Bakugan world and asking for this latest DVD release, Bakugan: Heroes Rise, Vol 4. (Note that these episodes are from Season 1)

LeapFrog: Let’s Go to School – loving all of these new educational yet entertaining DVDs from LeapFrog including this Let’s Go to School release.  It’s a steal at only $8.99 on Amazon and it’s a good video for any kids who entered a new school this fall or are dealing with a school transition.

Bob the Builder: Call in the Crew – there are 5 episodes in this latest release from Bob the Builder.

LeapFrog provides the little guys with something too: Introducing the Tag Junior

You may know about LeapFrog’s Tag Reading System, which was a hot pick of ours for the 2008 Holiday Season.  The Tag is recommended for kids between ages 4-8 and is a great learning tool for early readers.

Now, LeapFrog has announced a new product to cater to the younger crowd — the Tag Junior Book Pal.  Geared for toddlers and preschoolers, the Tag Junior helps encourage early reading skills.  Tag Junior books help children learn the alphabet, teach counting and more.

The age range for this one is 24 months-age 4.  It’s a great little toy to have for a younger brother or sister who sees an older sibling using the regular Tag.   You have to buy the books separately – all of the books for the Tag Junior are board books.

Organizational tip:  Be sure to get it with the Storage Case too, it’s easiest if you keep the book together with the actual Tag system and having the case is key.  We’ve found the same with the regular Tag.

It sells for $34.99 on Amazon and ships for free.

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