LeapFrog: Learning DVD Set

As my son was headed to Pre-K, he had not shown a great interest in learning letters or sounds. We had done lots of activities to spark an interest, but it never lasted long and we hadn't gotten very far. A friend recommended the Letter Factory DVD after her son had learned all of his letters and sounds by watching it. I was HESITANT to go in the DVD direction to do this, but I knew it would motivate him because he does love to watch TV (even though he only watches 1-2 hours a week)and I thought this would be a great way to make those minutes more valuable than just entertainment.I am so glad I didn't let my hesitation get the better of me because within a week, he knew all of the letter sounds. The letter names took a little bit longer, maybe 3 weeks. He LOVED practicing with the flashcards that came with it. I liked that the flashcards had the visual from the DVD on one side and the standard type on the back. The flashcards also have all sorts of extension ideas for each of the letters, like making the letter with your body, naming something that you wear that starts with the letter, etc. As a reading teacher, these "real world" connections are so important in developing true understanding.He has now started watching the Word Factory and is already starting to sound out words. He has also picked up on rhyming from watching the DVD. He takes a lot of pride in knowing and sounding out letters and words and it was all sparked from watching the DVDs and practicing with the flashcards.The only thing that I didn't love with the Letter Factory was the pronunciation of the "L" sound. It was more of an "uhl" sound instead of just an "L". I may be picky because I'm a reading teacher. I was really happy that most of the letters that are sometimes incorrectly said with an extra sound "duh" for D, "buh" for B)were said correctly in the video.Overall, I couldn't be happier with the results of the DVDs. My son still sings the songs from the Letter Factory and his 16 month old sister is catching on! Truly a great investment if you want to give your child a head start in reading!

All three of these videos are great the first day of school video is about the froglets going to preschool and being nervous. They walk into the classroom and realize the classroom supplies are nervous too. This video introduces number order and value, letter sounds, and animal family names. In Letter factory Tad roams the letter factory and runs into Professor Quiggly who introduces him and your child to all the sounds of the alphabet. Each letter has its own special training room. At the end Tad gets to present the letter sounds to the letter factory owner. The word factory has Professor Quiggly again helping Tad make words with the talking letters for a newspaper fill in the blank contest. Each video has an interesting story line and keeps our son entertained while he is learning foundational concepts. He loves the songs and often repeats the information long after the video is over. My only critique is the videos are short. I would like all three to be on one dvd so they can play back to back.

Leapfrog products are so effective. I first bought Word Factory about a year ago, which I found very good, however, it was at the time too advanced for my 2 year old. In the summer in preparing for Pre-School, I decided to get the Leapfrog DVDs as I bought several leapfrog toys and found them so educational. I had also bought other educational DVDs and found the Word Factory more engaging.In a week, my son who could interestingly sound the alphabet but could not name them, could identify them. The flashcards that came with the Learning DVD set was a big hit. He would match the letters with the ones on the screen. He then wanted to play the Alphabet Game. He would hold up a card and we would take turns naming and sounding the letter; then he would turn it around and identify the capitalised and lower case versions of the letter. He enjoys this and his face is aglow! He is now writing the alphabet. It is a delight to see the joy and excitement for learning. He has watched the Letter Factory a hundred times or more, and this is no exaggeration! He can identify it from his huge collection.He is now ready for Word Factory. He has picked up very well from the Word Factory, since he has been exposed to it for quite a while and since he knows all the letters and sounds. He will soon be reading. He has lots of books which he loves and this will only increase his love for reading and books.I love the Let's Go to Preschool as it explores colours, shapes and numbers, however my son is more interested in the Letter Factory and Let's go to the Moon which is part of another Leapfrog Collection.I highly recommend this Set to parents who want to give their children a head start to learning, and kindle and maintain their love for learning.

I gave these to my 3 year old for christmas. He absolutely loves them. I love them as well. The Letter Factory has been an amazing resource in learning his letter sounds. I had never practiced letter sounds with him before this. After about 3 days, he knew all his sounds. Everywhere we go he is practicing his sounds. The song and animations are extremely helpful. There are games on the DVD as well. He has even started spelling words by sounding them out (and we're only a week into watching it)!!! The flashcards have been amazing. We take them in the car with us. And I think they really helped to gain his interest in watching the movie the first time. The school DVD is fun to watch. Although not as AMAZING as the letter factory, definitely good reinforcement for my son who has never been in daycare or preschool. We've watched the Talking Words factory a couple times. It is really cute. It has helped him grasp the concept of words. he has learned his vowels. These are must haves. There is no way I could have taught him this information alone and so quickly and have gotten this much enthusiasm from him.