bethben Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 (edited) My daughter is very high energy and I am running out of it. I would like to give her some sort of electronic game system that she can play on her own to learn. I'm interested in games that actually do more learning through games rather than a "do a little learning activity so you can get to the "real" game" system. We have a Wii system and I have an Ipod (which also makes me nervous to give to her, but if I bought a stronger case?). Her older brother was also very high energy and the computer games really helped him continue to learn farther than I was teaching him. I'm not going totally hands off with her, but I have a feeling that like her brother, she could go farther with the games than I can with limited time. Leapsters? Which games? If possible, I would like to have her stay away from the computer due to the fact that her energy level causes things to break all around her.:glare: TIA! Beth Edited January 6, 2012 by bethben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Leapster. Not too expensive and the games do nvolve learning. But it won't last long - my boys had outgrown them before they turned 6. Or an iPod touch if you could swing it - lots of cheap educational games and much longer term potential for play - both for pleasure and learning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 If you go leapster, I'd go explorer rather than 2. You could get an OtterBox for the iPod and that would make it nearly impenetrable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Element Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Stay away from the Didj by Leapster. It was a big waste of money! However, my dd really enjoyed the Leapster 2. I would recommend it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I was thinking too, that you have to weigh that the cost of the games on the Leapster is high (plus they're cartridges that can be damaged or lost) vs. that the cost of the games on the iPod Touch are very low and stay with the device at all times because you just install them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom28kds Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Stay away from the Didj by Leapster. It was a big waste of money! However, my dd really enjoyed the Leapster 2. I would recommend it. I agree with the Didj, tried 2 of them and couldn't get either one to work. I'd go with the Leapster exploror. I think the ipod aps are too small. I let my preschooler do some educational games on my laptop while I'm working with the older kids. We call it "educational time", haha. He loves it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted January 6, 2012 Author Share Posted January 6, 2012 I have an ipod touch. Would an otterbox really protect the screen? I'm sure someone has put some good app listings for preschool on this site. She knows letter sounds, but really needs reinforcement with numbers, colors, and shapes. I can only play candyland SOOOO many times asking constantly what color she is going to. Again though - I have the child who knows how to unintentionally break things. She's the kind of kid where we had to take out the closet organizer because she kept trying to climb the thing and couldn't seem to understand why that was a bad thing. Sigh... Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy_of_4 Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 We bought DS a Nintendo DS. There are a lot of educational games believable for it. He has went though 3 leapsters and they all died. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristenR Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I've been letting my girls use our touch screen laptop since they were about 2 years old. We just stick to Starfall on it but it works perfectly. My 3 year old and 18 month old LOVE it. And since its touch screen I can just swivel the screen so they only have access to it and not the keyboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnMomof7 Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 An iDevice. You CAN NOT beat the prices of apps compared to game cartridges, and you can get a lot of them for free too if you watch a price drop website. What would cost $12-30 on a gaming system normally goes for $1-3 on a mobile device. iPods are tougher than you think :). Ours gets a lot of use from all our girls and hasn't busted yet - 8,5,3,1. An iPad is even better, but it is a bit heavier and more expensive so you might be REALLY nervous about letting them use it :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 We loved the Leapster. Also since we do not allow many video games, and seek to avoid too much electronic stimulation, the Leapster was better for us than the DS because when our kids grew out of it, we simply gave them away to a younger friend and that was it. But for that age and purpose the Leapster really served its purpose. The DS didn't work as well for us because there weren't many preschool games and the interface is not designed for 4 year olds. The Leapster is also nearly indestructible and our were passed down twice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristenR Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 An iDevice. You CAN NOT beat the prices of apps compared to game cartridges, and you can get a lot of them for free too if you watch a price drop website. What would cost $12-30 on a gaming system normally goes for $1-3 on a mobile device. iPods are tougher than you think :). Ours gets a lot of use from all our girls and hasn't busted yet - 8,5,3,1. An iPad is even better, but it is a bit heavier and more expensive so you might be REALLY nervous about letting them use it :). I agree. My dds have been working their i-phone apps and i-pads since very young ages. I am amazed at how well they can manage it and work on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 My daughter is very high energy and I am running out of it. I would like to give her some sort of electronic game system that she can play on her own to learn. I'm interested in games that actually do more learning through games rather than a "do a little learning activity so you can get to the "real" game" system. We have a Wii system and I have an Ipod (which also makes me nervous to give to her, but if I bought a stronger case?). Her older brother was also very high energy and the computer games really helped him continue to learn farther than I was teaching him. I'm not going totally hands off with her, but I have a feeling that like her brother, she could go farther with the games than I can with limited time. Leapsters? Which games? If possible, I would like to have her stay away from the computer due to the fact that her energy level causes things to break all around her.:glare: TIA! Beth The Leapster was our kids very favorite thing from age 3 to 7. I wish they still had older games for the thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 We bought DS a Nintendo DS. There are a lot of educational games believable for it. He has went though 3 leapsters and they all died. Wow, I am surprised. Both the original Leapsters we bought over 8 years ago are still working fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy_of_4 Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Wow, I am surprised. Both the original Leapsters we bought over 8 years ago are still working fine. They would all freeze up. We tried different games,replacing batteries and recalibrating it. Usually within a few minutes of recalibrating it, it would freeze again. I don't know if we somehow ended up a dud every time or what :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 My vote is either for Leapster Explorer LeapPad or just a regular Leapster Explorer. Leapster 2 is going out the door, so you can probably pick up one with games for pretty cheap on Craigslist. We have not had any problems with our Leapster products (we have Leapster 2 and LeapPad). Games are pricey, but you can usually pick them up for $10 during Christmastime. Just gotta keep your eyes open. ;) All of the games are pretty educational. At the very least, they teach logic. Otherwise, it's usually math or reading/spelling-related. You can usually choose from three levels of difficulty. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anmom Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 We have a Leapster and the kids love them. I get games very frequently on ebay for super cheap (around $5-$8), so it is very inexpensive and very educational! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Element Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Also since we do not allow many video games, and seek to avoid too much electronic stimulation, the Leapster was better for us than the DS because when our kids grew out of it, we simply gave them away to a younger friend and that was it. The Leapster is also nearly indestructible and our were passed down twice! :iagree: This is exactly why we went with Leapster over Nintendo DS or an i-device. We wanted them to grow out of handheld gaming. It's great for when the littles are driving you up the wall during the long ride to grandma's, but a 10 year old should not need electronic stimuli to keep him/her from throwing a fit during a 3 hour ride. The Leaptster served this purpose for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenjenn Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 (edited) My daughter had a Leapster for ages 4/5. When I first started homeschooling her, I'd let her use that as part of "school" time after she finished her curriculum work, which frankly only took 1-2 hrs. :001_unsure: I felt a bit bad about it at the time but she was too labor-intensive to do much else with during the time I needed to work with my older one on more rigorous academics, or even just for read-alouds for which at the time, my 5 yr old did not have the attention span to sit with us and listen. She played Mr. Pencil's Learn to Draw & Write and several phonics and math fact games themed with her favorite characters. (And Leapster wasn't her only diversion. I gave her some motor skill diversions as well during that time. Play dough, sticker mosaics, scissor skill books, paint-by-numbers, etc. She had a choice.) She LOVED it and honestly improved her penmanship, phonics, and math skills dramatically during that time. I'm not sure if the Leapster played a role or not, but it absolutely didn't hurt. She was in for a world of shock and disappointment though on the 1st day of First Grade (this year) when I "cut her off" from Leapster as an approved school activity. She still enjoyed the games even THEN, but frankly there was absolutely nothing for her to learn from it at that point.. her skills far exceeded anything the Leapster required for the games. Now, I do let her play BrainAge or Daring Game For Girls sometimes during her free time, on her DS, though not nearly as much. She did basically learn how to proficiently deal with money playing Daring Game for Girls, running her faux "business" in the game. She can now answer pretty much any basic money word problem easily, and easily keep up with teens/adults playing Monopoly, making change and working through the game's necessary calculations without breaking a sweat. Edited January 7, 2012 by zenjenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnMomof7 Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 These are military grade cases tested to a 6 foot drop onto concrete - I'm going to get one! Should help with finding the little beast too (pink and white pink and white!) http://store.griffintechnology.com/ipod/ipod-touch/survivor-ipod-touch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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