Teaching my son to read #schooldays

Last updated on November 19th, 2023 at 12:30 am

We are a bookworm family and from the moment my son was born we have read to him, with him and now teaching him to read back to us. He started Reception class this past September knowing a little bit about reading and letter sounds but has come on so much since then. At home we want to further his education on top of what he learns at school so we try our best to pick games and toys that educate him while he plays.

I am ever so excited to be a LeapFrog Ambassador this year to test out some amazing educational toys and games for my kids. We have been using the LeapReader for a few weeks now and I have already had feedback from parents evening from his teacher that B’s reading has really improved. The LeapReader is a reading and writing system that helps children ages 4-8 years old how to put sounds together, the correct stokes to write letters and builds comprehension along the way.

B has long been obsessed with the movie Disney Cars and he was ecstatic that his very first LeapReader book was Disney Cars. It only took him a few minutes before he was reading along with Lighting McQueen and Mater, squealing with delight. Using what kids’ love most to further their reading and writing skills is brilliant. I was worried he would play with it a few times and than never use it again but he has read his Disney Cars book to every person that comes to visit the house. He loves showing them what it can do from sounding out the letters, saying the words, to reading full sentences back to him; it really does have all the various functions of learning how to read.

I was impressed with how many different books there are available to keep him from ever getting bored of reading the same book. It was so easy to install and setup on my laptop. Once we got the batteries charged and worked out the menu buttons, B took it upon himself to learn how to operate it. He can do it now all on his own whenever he wants to have story time. He knows what all the symbols represent on each page which is good practice for listening skills too. Bonus. It gives Mommy a quiet moment to get some work done too, next to him.

Being a big brother he loves to be able to do things that his sister can’t do so that he can be her hero. B’s new favorite big brother tasks is to read his Disney Cars story to his sister. She looks up to him so much and thinks he is genius with his new LeapReader pen. It’s way too cute watching them together.

Sometimes the continuous homework in his workbook from school gets repetitious so we alternate with his LeapReader and workbook every night after dinner. I like the variety in ways to teach him. Everyone learns differently, at different rates and in different ways. Some learn more from writing and seeing things written on paper and others are more audio and learn better from hearing things over and over. The LeapReader is great because it has all these functions and much more.

The reading and writing system comes with a Sampler Activity Book which has B knowing all the parts of his body already in three days of playing with it. Also comes with a Learning Paper Writing Sheet which got him to start writing his capital and lower case letters the right way. It makes it easy to connect and charge with its USB cable and Quick Start Guide. It also comes with an Audio Book, one music album, and one fun facts trivia challenge. While B loves to read, write and listen to music he is so competitive already at his age and the trivia challenges and activity books are his favorite. He loves to keep pushing himself to score high and get more facts right. I don’t mind him playing on it because he is learning so much in the process.

Have you used LeapFrog products to help further your children’s education? They have so many options for all ages it’s definitely a brand I would recommend for educational toys and games.

While it seems B was only a baby yesterday, he is now a school boy reading stories to me when it wasn’t long ago I was reading stories to him. Life seems to go so fast as they grow up but I am enjoying every minute of it.

*We were sent this product as part of a Testing Panel for 2016 but all opinions are our own.