Learning New Skills With LeapFrog’s New Interactive Learning System, LeapStart

I received the product below to review in exchange for sharing my honest opinion.

I have been a LeapFrog fan every since my oldest, who is now 9 years old, was born. In these past nine years we have owned numerous LeapFrog products and I have yet to be let down by one. From the small play toys to the big, musical toys to the tech toys, LeapFrog someone keeps coming out with new tools in the form of toys that help kids work on their skills.

The newest toy from LeapFrog is called the LeapFrog LeapStart. It is an interactive activity book system for preschoolers through First Grade, so basically ages 2-7 years old. The system is not a tablet, but rather a device that kids put a certain actual LeapStart book in and then tap around on them with the attached stylus. The stylus too is pretty neat how it is ergonomically designed to work for both smaller and bigger hands.

To start off with the LeapStart, you get the LeapStart device and one sampler book. You will want to pick up extra books to keep your child engaged and two AA batteries. Each actual book is packed with over 30 activities all that fit within skills kids are just learning. From STEM topics to social skills, LeapStart books cover a little of everything.

The different LeapStart levels include:

Level 1: Preschool

Teaches early fundamentals like ABCs and numbers as well as shapes, colors, creativity, music, and problem solving.

Level 2: Pre-Kindergarten

Introduces early key skills like phonics, writing, counting and critical thinking as well as introducing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math), and social-emotional skills for starting kindergarten.

Level 3: Kindergarten

Complements school skills like reading, math, science, and geography with life skills like logic and reasoning, global awareness, and health.

Level 4: First Grade

Covers fundamentals like vocabulary and fractions plus helps grow interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering &Math), space science, and problem solving.

So first you have to decided which LeapStart is right for you. For me with my daughter just turning 5 years old, I received the LeapStart Preschool & Pre-Kindergarten Interactive Learning System. The design between the two varies just slightly and all the books work interchangeably between the two models. So even though I started with the younger LeapStart, I can still use the books through 1st grade with it.

My first thought when I saw this was that it can do what my daughter’s LeapPad tablet can already do, but I think it comes down to preference and cost as well.  A LeapStart is just $40 and even though the books cost about $13, they do cost about the same to buy or download on the LeapPad tablet. As far as preference goes, while I embrace technology and teach my kids to, I am also a book lover at heart and love actual books. Having the LeapStart using actual books where you physically flip the pages is hopefully also encouraging a love of books for my daughter. Yes it is a lot bigger too than a tablet, but it is also more durable and budget-friendly. It also teaches kids great hand-eye coordination with the stylus.

These are additional books I received:

My 5 year old lays on the floor daily with her LeapStart and just taps all over the various books. I love that she is able to get so much out of the books that they are still keeping her entertained, and she has played them a lot so far. The various activities are able to be played again and again as well as some are designed to grow with your child’s level. It is seriously amazing how much is packed into these books. Everything is fun but engaging, truly meant to teach kids.

Once your child is done, they can store one book inside and that is it, so you will probably want to keep this in a tote bag of some sort along with their additional books. The durable plastic handles make it easy to carry around otherwise. There is a headphone jack as well if they want to use headphones, or rather you’d like them to use headphones!

To give a better overview, I made a video to go more in-depth into the LeapStart:

LeapStart Preschool & Pre-Kindergarten system (MSRP $39.99, ages 2-4) and LeapStart Kindergarten & 1^st Grade system (MSRP $39.99, ages 5-7) as well as the 16 LeapStart Activity books (MSRP $12.99 each, ages 2-7) will be available at major retail locations and online in the U.S. in early August.