word whammer? good? bad?

[mom to little e]

DS has LeapPad Letter fridge set and has really enjoyed them (much to my chagrin regarding electronic toys). Thinking of moving on to the word whammer since he is now spelling/sounding out words at montessori.

Do you like this? hate it?

TIA!
Maryann
Mommy to Ean & Mia!

[kellyotn]

My DD got one for her third birthday. She doesn't play with it as much as she did the regular set, but she does like it a lot. Just not in that obessive-play age group anymore I guess. ;) She can spell four or five words with it from scratch (she'll be four in october). She mainly uses it to put her own words into. She doesn't play the game where it asks you to find specific letters. Not sure why! Maybe we'll work on that next time.

I moved the regular set to my office file cabinet where my younger son (he's nearly two) and I hang out when I work.

They've both been pretty popular at our house!

[squimp]

In a word, Bad. We tried it, but it seems hard to get one that is not defective. It completely defeats the purpose if your child is putting the "C" in the slot and it says "M"! I returned mine to Target. Many reviews on Amazon complained about this; some said it was better if you replaced the batteries, but I tried that, and it still didn't work correctly. Back to Tar-jay it went!

[eb1]

You could also get/make a bunch of letters for your son--several sets of Melissa & Doug's wooden magnet letters, or sets of foam bath letters, and let your son keep playing around with those. If he's inclined to early reading/spelling, he will enjoy playing spelling games with you and solo. And you won't have to hear that electronic yammering all the time! Honestly, I really liked the Leapfrog Talking Words video series, but the talking toys are just a bit too much for me so we never got them. :)

There are a lot of other spelling/early literacy toys that are not electronic, so if you prefer to avoid them, you certainly can.

[aim]

Well, ours is not defective at all and my son 2.5 loves it - he plays the games and spells and sounds out the words - he is a kid who is really into reading/letter/ all things verbal - so your milage my vary, but i think for some kids that it is a great toy (and it is the only electronic toys we have in the house.

Amy
DS Bennett