Editorial Review

Designed for children in preschool through second grade, and easily portable, the Leapster multimedia learning system offers educational games, reading exercises, art tools, and interactive videos in one electronic device. Atop an ergonomic silver body sits a 4-inch, 12-bit color backlit display protected by a blue rubber shield. Slide a Leapster cartridge into the slot, and learn letters, sounds, colors, shapes, numbers, and more, using the touch-screen stylus and multi-directional control pad. This unit comes with a bonus cartridge of six learning games; other Leapster cartridges are sold separately. Control knobs let you adjust volume and brightness; there's also a stereo headphone jack. Required are four AA batteries, not included. --Andy Boynton ... Read more

Reviews (293)

Best $$ ever spent-just bought 2nd
I wouldn't be able to praise this toy enough. We gave it to our oldest daughter last Christmas when she was 3 1/2. We were concerned because of the price but compared to a GameBoy we prefered the educational aspect. We have never regreted the purchase. She loves playing with it and has even mastered basic math skills well ahead of time. We had a problem with the screen not responding after about 6 months but it only took a quick email to Leap Frog and they replaced it with our only expense being a few dollars to ship it to them. They have excellent Customer Service. We would have even invested the money to buy a new unit if they hadn't replaced it. <br /> <br /> We have just purchased a unit for our 19 month old daughter because she always wants to share big sister's. I know the age is 4-10 but our little one just loves the characters and even though she doesn't totally understand what to do, she still loves playing. It has helped her to master control of the stylus and she is now much better at coloring too. We have a few extra cartridges and plan on expanding for Christmas. <br /> <br /> We haven't had a problem with battery consumption. This toy definitely hasn't eaten batteries nearly as quickly as others and my older daughter plays with it almost every day. She would play with it more if I would allow it. But we still plan on buying the recharging system too.<br /> <br /> I highly recommend the investment in the carrying case also.<br /> <br /> You just can't go wrong with this toy.

my grandson
I purchased the LeapFrog Leapster for my grandson as a Christmas gift when he was 2 years old. His mom gave it to him when we was 21/2, he absolutely loves it and has learned so much. I like the durability, educational theme and the add ons, it just keeps getting better and better.

Love It
My son was given this on his 4th b-day, he absolutely loves it and so do I! It has taught him alot and the only reason I rated a 4 and not a 5 is because of the battery situation!! Ouch!

Battery Eater!
My son got this toy for his 4th birtday. He truly loves it, but it's a battery eater! I cannot believe how quickly this toy drains 4 AA batteries. Thank goodness they are coming out with a recharging unit soon or we'd go broke!

BEST $ EVER SPENT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've never written a review before, but feel I have to about this product. It is the BEST money spent on my daughter ever!!!! My daughter got this for Christmas when she was 3 1/2 years old. She has played with it every day. At night we read books to her and then let her do her Leapster for a little while. We just purchased The Letter Factory for our last trip....and she already knows ALL the letter phonics....it is just amazing!!!!! We have never had a problem with it in 7 months...and we just put new batteries in it for the first time. I so highly reccomend this toy!!!!! ... Read more

Editorial Review

Well-designed with lots of terrific detail, Learning Resources' Calculator Cash Register completely satisfies a young child's hunger to play with bills, coins, cash drawers, and big numbers. The chiming cash register features a built-in solar calculator as its keypad, thus allowing kids to act as bankers, shopkeepers, and accountants all at once. A large cash drawer holds life-sized bills in four denominations (1, 5, 10, and 20), and four coin holders make room for embossed plastic pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. There is even a credit card slot that dings when you correctly slide the faux VISA card through it.A suggested-activities booklet is included. Requires a 1.5V button cell battery (included) to make the chiming noise. No assembly required. Winner of awards from Dr. Toy, FamilyFun Magazine, and Oppenheim Toy Portfolio. ... Read more

Reviews (21)

It's the most popular toy at my house!
This cash register is a favorite at my house! We often have children from ages two to six visiting, and this is the first toy that many of them go to. The calculator makes beeping noises that the kids enjoy, and the cash drawer opens and closes with a satisfying click. I've enjoyed teaching my son the value of money and how to use a calculator with this toy.

Can't Live Without It
We were at a friends house last night and she had this toy for her 3 year old son. My 2 year old daughter could not stop playing with it. She simply loved opening the drawer and handing out the money to each person in the room. She would then collect the money and put it back. This activity kept her busy for an hour and it would have been longer except for the fact we needed to leave. I have bought her other cash register toys but none have been as realistic or kept her interest as long as this one did. I am buying one for her now and can only hope that she loves it as much as she did last night.

This is the funniest toy ever
When I got this toy i played with it for such along time and still do. You only spend $29.99 on it and it is money well spent. You make the right choice if you get this toy. The age group i would say is probably 5-whenever. Let me tell you parents what when my mom and dad got this for me i lovedit and it made me happy for so long.Three words for this toy.
MONEY WELL SPENT!!!!!!!!! FUN
so you should get this toy. KNOW dont think twice get it...NOW
dont forget get the scanner and bar codes* that go with it.
*SOLD SEPARTLEY

A preschool favorite
I'm buying this toy for my son's 3rd birthday because he makes a beeline to it everytime we go to our parent-child preschool class. He usually sets up a toy phone nearby, too. I get to be the customer and bring a basket of toy food to him which he "scans" on the notepad area. It's nice when toys leave something to the imagination. He loves the play bills and coins and pretending to make change. I believe that this toy will grow with my child and still be fun for him in a few years.

I figure that if this toy has survived daily use by multiple 2-4 year olds, it will survive around our house. If it doesn't, then I will update this posting!!!

hits money learning right on the head
I bought this for my daughter five years ago when she turned 4... it is still a household favorite. The design is good and it has held up well despite its being knocked around a fair amount.

The display is large and easy to read. The play money, which was one of my primary concerns, is realistically sized and marked. There is plenty of it to play with and make change too. The credit card is a nice touch which slides into a slot with a beep.

The sticky note space isn't as useful or cool as I thought it could have been, but I think sticky notes tend to just get ripped off of the pad and spread across the room by most children.

Now that my daughter is older, she still plays with it as well as putting it to use while running her punch & shaved ice stand in the summer. I feel like this was a good purchase and I would recommend it as a sturdy playset with high educational potential. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

My son loves this toy!
My son received this toy for his 3rd birthday and he loves it! He carried it around with him all day and even brought it to bed with him that night. The songs are great but I do wish they sang the words to the popular kids songs. Although I don't find it especially educational, it's a great toy for a child who loves to listen and sing along to music.

Great fun for the next American Idol
Great fun for the little entertainer. I would recommend removing the microphone (long cord) if your child is under 3 years old.

It's ok
I thought this would be a cool toy but my kids don't seem to think so. It has been sitting in the toy room ever since we got it and very rarely is it touched. We don't even recognize most of the song on there. NOT a must have

We really like it.
My son is nowhere near the recommended age for this toy, but at 15 months he loves it anyway. I got it because it was on sale and set it on his toy shelf. He points to it and demands me to bring it to him. I take off the mic because the cord is a choking hazard. Other than that, the toy seems safe for him to play with. He loves pushing the buttons. He also likes watching the lights. I personally think this toy is more appropriate for a toddler than a four-year-old because I imagine a four-year-old would have moved on to toys like Leapster.

My gripe is that there are no lyrics to the songs that are played. They are very simple songs, like Pop Goes The Weasel, but I find myself going "All the cobbler's bench. A hum huma humahummm." because I can't quite remember the words. Also some of the songs are Leapfrog songs, for example "Upper case letter are big and tall" or something like that.

Basically, though the songs are cute. One that is in my head right now goes "Manny manny moo. Moo moo. Zanny zanny zoo. Zoo zoo." Simple, cute song.

3 year old loves it
Picked this up for my son's 3rd birthday. He has it in bed with him right now. Hasn't even needed the microphone for it yet (didn't want to worry about him strangling himself with cord in bed at this point). There are enough songs that he has only scratched the surface. He likes the animations (little red dots of light). Reinforces counting and the alphabet, introduces phonics songs. As he gets older, introducing the microphone and the singalong songs (Oh Susannah, I've been working on the railroad) will make the toy seem new again. Very happy with my choice based on the reviews ... Read more

Editorial Review

The iQuest handheld provides a customized learning experience that revolutionizes the way students study for tests and quizzes--by making the process fun, fast, and effective. iQuest is the hip handheld that prepares students for tests in math, science, and social studies with study questions based on their textbooks. Small enough to fit in the front of a backpack, the iQuest also keeps students organized with a scheduler, address book, dictionary, and calculator. Use the Mind Station connector (sold separately) to download textbook chapter outlines and audio quiz questions onto a cartridge. Then insert that cartridge into the iQuest to learn chapter materials through two game modes: Pop Quiz, the fun beat-the-clock mode, and Chapter Challenge, a thorough review of textbook material. iQuest comes with instructions, a 4 MB reusable cartridge with 1,000 questions, and a snap-on cover/faceplate. Four AA batteries are required but not included. ... Read more

Reviews (58)

THE COOLEST STRUDY GUIDE THERE IS AND WILL EVER BE!!!
The Iquest Handheld and the new edition are the coolest things ever made!!! I got the older edition when I was is 6th grade. Im now in 8th. I LOVED IT! Now with the new edition its not as big and bulky and it has a cool look that you can personalize with nameplates! <br /> The Iquest gave me a reason to study and I didnt have to read all those long tedious chapters I once did.<br /> PARENTS THE IQUEST IS GREAT AND WORTH ALL THE MONEY! I GUARENTEE THAT IF YOUR CHILD DOESNT LIKE TO STUDY, HE/SHE WILL AFTER JUST LOOKING AT THE IQUEST! ITS A GREAT X-MAS PRESENT TOO!

Great for Middle Schoolers
My kids and their love the iquest. They can sit for hours learning and having fun. We tried it with the online downloads atfirst. My son's were available while he was in middle school and that worked really well. I found that I had to disable all the other palm pilots and devices for the downloads to work but then it went real easy. If you are going to download the materials I would definitly suggest buying the bigger cartridge and if you have more than one child using it I would get one cartridge for each child. My daughter has different textbooks than my son did and they weren't available so we substituted other books from the website list and she studied from them, it worked pretty well but was more work. We still use the iquest but we buy the cartridges instead of downloading. I am amazed at how much it still gets used! My daughter has her address book filled in with all her friends' phone numbers and she uses the dictionary quite a bit as well.

iQuest
I think this is a wonderful learning toy. It is very easy to use. One of the features the iQuest has is a built in Marriam-Webster 75,000 word dictoinary. My favorite thing to do on the iQuest is the chapter challenge. The iQuest comes with a cartrige for the levels 5-8 grades. You can pick which level you want after you select the game you would like. I also find the iQuest to be very convenient because there is a calender and a schedule were you can put the time in and what you need to do, there is an address book, and any time you need to look up someting in the dictionary, you can just type the word in and you can adjust the volume to 0 to 100. Additional features are pop quiz, notepad options and setup, and calculater. I think this would also be helfull to adults. I really enjoyed this toy, and I think you will to. I rated this item 5 stars for durablity because I think this toy will last a long time if you take care of it. The iQuest takes 4 AA batteries.

Absolutely wonderful!
I got one of these for my son last year, and it has been an amazing tool for him both to study with, and to look up words with. It doesn't completely replace a good dictionary but it's very portable and easy for him to use. The only problem I've had with it is that my 8 year old is more interested in her big brother's iQuest then in his gameboy, and tends to bother him incessantly when studying! I guess I need to get her one of her own. Great product.
I also find it incredibly amusing that the bad review I read about it used the word knot instead of not.

the greatest toy ever
I got this for an early christmas present and I loved it. I improved a lot in math,science, and social studies. I reccomend this toy for anyone who needs inprovement in school or whoever likes to learn. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great game for getting fast at basic math.
This game is pretty brilliant. It has addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. You first choose if you want a combination or just one. Then you can choose practice or a real game. It works with kids just learning and really challenges those who want to get faster. If your up to bat the faster you answer the question determines how good you hit the ball. You answer really fast you might just hit a home run, and it you miss, then of course you strick out. When your playing out field, you determine how fast you get the other team out by how fast you answer the questions. It's very fun, and easy to learn. I didn't like how they reexplained things every time you change from out field to infield or started a new game, but then we found that if you hit I think it's the home key then you can pass that up, and your fun doesn't get interupted. I think it should also be known that this game is plenty of fun for kids from ages 6-11, and even longer if your kid just needs to strengthen their speed of their math, which coming from a High school math teacher is very important in Junior High and High School math. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

NOT WHAT I EXPECTED
MY DAUGHTER IS A FIRST GRADER AND SHE DOSE NOT LIKE IT THE CATRIDGE WHAT COMES WITH IT IS NOT EDUCATIONAL AT ALL SHE PLAYS WITH IT MORE FOR FUN I WISH THERE WAS A BETTER CHOICE IN CATRIDGES IT ISA LOT OF CASH TO SPEND AND THE CHOICE OF CAT IS POOR I THINK THE LEAP PAD IS MUCH BETTER SYSTEM SHE JUST FINDS NOT CHALLENGING THNAKS

great for 5-7 year olds!~
My son is in kindergarten and is enjoying his leapster!~! Along with the cartridge that comes with the leapster he also recd 1st grade! although it is not totally curriculum based he has the skills needed to use it without help!
The screen is very easy to see!! the pen is also easy! The touch screen feature is great and the directions are easy to follow!~! WE love this toy!!

A little less educational than I thought...
Though we love Leapster, I was a little disappointed in this cartridge. I do not believe the first grade cartridge addresses enought first grade skills - i.e. limited phonics skills, and only the very basics of first grade math. I didn't feel this cartridge challenged my child like I wanted it to, and having taught first grade for many years, I thought the cartridge would address a broader range of skills reaching to the end of first grade materials. It seems to only hit on beginning first grade skills and here we are in the middle of the year! It is fun and he does enjoy it... but I am already waiting for the second grade cartridge to be released because he is ready for more.

Leapfrog has done it again!!
Awesome games. Awesome Education...Awesome fun. What more do you need for your child!!

The best cartridge so far!!!
I have loved all of the cartridges so far (I have 4). But this one is so educational and fun my daughter won't put it down. She doesn't even realize she learning. So many levels it's great! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Very educational but not very fun....
This toy has the look and feel of a real laptop. It is purely educational and not very fun at all. It claims to have 120 games but there are several of the same games which are seen 4 or 5 times each but in different catergories. Ours was purchased for our kindergarten son on his sixth birthday so most of the activities are much too advanced for him. His eight year old friend picked it up and became bored and put it down within 5 minutes. ... Read more

Reviews (58)

THE COOLEST STRUDY GUIDE THERE IS AND WILL EVER BE!!!
The Iquest Handheld and the new edition are the coolest things ever made!!! I got the older edition when I was is 6th grade. Im now in 8th. I LOVED IT! Now with the new edition its not as big and bulky and it has a cool look that you can personalize with nameplates! <br /> The Iquest gave me a reason to study and I didnt have to read all those long tedious chapters I once did.<br /> PARENTS THE IQUEST IS GREAT AND WORTH ALL THE MONEY! I GUARENTEE THAT IF YOUR CHILD DOESNT LIKE TO STUDY, HE/SHE WILL AFTER JUST LOOKING AT THE IQUEST! ITS A GREAT X-MAS PRESENT TOO!

Great for Middle Schoolers
My kids and their love the iquest. They can sit for hours learning and having fun. We tried it with the online downloads atfirst. My son's were available while he was in middle school and that worked really well. I found that I had to disable all the other palm pilots and devices for the downloads to work but then it went real easy. If you are going to download the materials I would definitly suggest buying the bigger cartridge and if you have more than one child using it I would get one cartridge for each child. My daughter has different textbooks than my son did and they weren't available so we substituted other books from the website list and she studied from them, it worked pretty well but was more work. We still use the iquest but we buy the cartridges instead of downloading. I am amazed at how much it still gets used! My daughter has her address book filled in with all her friends' phone numbers and she uses the dictionary quite a bit as well.

iQuest
I think this is a wonderful learning toy. It is very easy to use. One of the features the iQuest has is a built in Marriam-Webster 75,000 word dictoinary. My favorite thing to do on the iQuest is the chapter challenge. The iQuest comes with a cartrige for the levels 5-8 grades. You can pick which level you want after you select the game you would like. I also find the iQuest to be very convenient because there is a calender and a schedule were you can put the time in and what you need to do, there is an address book, and any time you need to look up someting in the dictionary, you can just type the word in and you can adjust the volume to 0 to 100. Additional features are pop quiz, notepad options and setup, and calculater. I think this would also be helfull to adults. I really enjoyed this toy, and I think you will to. I rated this item 5 stars for durablity because I think this toy will last a long time if you take care of it. The iQuest takes 4 AA batteries.

Absolutely wonderful!
I got one of these for my son last year, and it has been an amazing tool for him both to study with, and to look up words with. It doesn't completely replace a good dictionary but it's very portable and easy for him to use. The only problem I've had with it is that my 8 year old is more interested in her big brother's iQuest then in his gameboy, and tends to bother him incessantly when studying! I guess I need to get her one of her own. Great product.
I also find it incredibly amusing that the bad review I read about it used the word knot instead of not.

the greatest toy ever
I got this for an early christmas present and I loved it. I improved a lot in math,science, and social studies. I reccomend this toy for anyone who needs inprovement in school or whoever likes to learn. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Wants educational toys
My 5 year old daughter received this for Christmas last year and LOVES it. She takes it in the car on trips or anywhere else we go. She will sit in her room for hours playing on her "computer. I love the fact that it has taught her the basics to start kindergarten this fall. But I have noticed that it has a place that you can add discs to it, but I can't seem to find out what kind of discs go to it. Overall, I would recommend this.

Should be seriously updated with today's technology!
This computer was not durable at all. My 5 year old(was 4 at the time) got it for Christmas, had it for about 2 months before breaking it, and trust me she is not hard on stuff. The mouse worked sporadically and like a real mouse (i.e. it gets dirty very easily). The LCD Screen is very very hard to see, and the volume/sound is of poor quality.. my little sisters had better Vu-Tech computers for kids 10 years ago!!! I expected a lot more from this. We ended up just throwing ours away! I would also not recommend this for younger children (toddlers/3 years old), it's somewhat too advanced for them.

I will probably find another computer/laptop for her, but until I see one I really like, I'm just sticking on Leap Pad books and Hooked on Phonics for now! :) Hope this helped!

barbie think pink is bad
This looks like a real computer but it stinks. the mouse doesnt work , either does the directional cursors. Even if you follow the instructions word for word it still doesn't work. I only had it for maybe a 1/2 hour and my mother said she would return it. Not worth the price at all.

Mind challenging
I purchased the b-book with only 50 activities. The 60 activity version came out the next month. My 5 year old received this for her birthday. While most of the activities are still a little advanced. The initial ones in each catergory, provided challenging questions for her. She calls it her "Kindegarten laptop". I am glad that it a toy where she can continue learning, not just Kindergarten level items. It's probably better suited for a 5-1/2 yr old and up. I also have a Leap Pad and she plays both with equal challenges. I wish I had waited for the 60 activity version. It included Spanish!

The Barbie B-Book Laptop Is AMAZING (5 stars)
The Barbie Think Pink B-Book Learning Laptop is amazing. My 5-year old sister got it for Christmas and she loves it. She plays with it almost everyday and she really enjoys it. this is the first toy that she enjoys this much.
It has 43 eduactional games divided into 8 useful catetgories. it also has 4 games and 10 spanish games. The eduactional games are deived into the categories of Vocabulary(5 games), Logic(5 games), Music(5 games), Spelling(5), Math(9), Grammar(4), Memory(6), and Keyboarding Skills(4). the ;aptoppp also has 3 tools. The tools are a calculator, a screen saver, and a Animation Center. The laptop also comes with batteries and comes with a mouse and mouse pad. ...If you have a 5-7 year old in the family, this is a great, fun, and educational gift. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

dont buy this laptop!!!!
This toy is a waist of money, dont bother with it. When I seen it I walked away. It dont play games, and it is Not a colored screen. This toy is miss leading & this biggest waist of money!!!!! ... Read more

Editorial Review

This talking book comes with an interactive "magic pen" that works like a hand-held computer mouse pointer. Children can opt to turn the paper pages and listen to the story read with different voices for each character. Or they can interrupt the read-aloud session to play with the magic pen (permanently attached with a wire). They can point the pen tip to any word on a page and hear it pronounced, or touch a picture and hear a sound effect (such as "Strike one!" for the baseball bat). Very similar to the popular Living Books computer games, this 10-by-11-inch book is more portable than a home computer. Stories in this set include Lil's Loose Tooth, Richard Scarry's Best Word Book Ever, and Winnie the Pooh in A Sweet Good Morning. The set also includes a paper piano keyboard and map and human anatomy games.--Gail Hudson ... Read more

Reviews (365)

Not as great as we thought it'd be...
I got this for my son when he was about 4, and it was a great learning tool before it started falling apart. The quality of it was terrible, and it didn't last more than a year after normal wear and tear. This product was definitely a disappointment, especially after spending a lot of money on books and cartridges shortly before it bit the dust.

fun for all ages
I bought a leap frog for my son when he was 4 and he loved it. He liked the pictures and sounds. It is also great for older kids, the leap frog book that came with his had activities for all ages. It is very educational and a great item to take on trips in the car.

great for my preschooler as well as older childern
I purchased a leappad for my 3 1/2 year old about a 1 1/2 years ago for christmas and it was a hit!! She loved the noises it made and she could write with the pen. The book that comes with the system is broken up into different age groups so the first book didn't have much she could do as for learning, but my older children (then 9 & 11) found a few pages that interested them as well. We soon purchased a couple of addition books that were age appropriate for my daughter and she began to learn numbers, letters and shapes. My sons even got a book to help them in the areas such as bones. My daughter turned 5 yesterday and she still carries her leappad where ever we go. She has moved up to learning sounds and sight words and hasn't even started kindergarden yet. She loves the games and the interaction since it will tell you (or beep/buzz you)when you have made a wrong answer. This product allows my husband & I, as well as other family members, to sit down and spend time with my daughter learning and ITS FUN for us all!! She can even entertain herself when we are unable to sit with her because of how user friendly it is.

We have had NO problems with our leappad and believe me it has been around and used.

I highly recommend it for a child that is eager to learn new things. If I had to find a fault with it, it would be that due to so many different books available, we sometimes misplace the cartridges. I have ordered her a backpack to keep them all together to solve this problem.

Beware Of Leap Frog Products
We are a family of 5. Our 3 children are 6, 3 1/2, and 2. You can imagine how many wonderful Leap Frog products we have in our household. We have a lot. We want to provide our children with a great educational start in life and what better way to do it than with these wonderful Leap Pad products right? Give me a break. Educationally they are great. Durable you ask, no way. Leap Frog only warrants their products for 3 months. We had 2 LeapPads. One still works great, we've had it for almost 4 years. The newer one we bought for our 3 year old stopped working in 4 months. It wasn't product misuse, because my son was only allowed to look at it with an adult. We only used it about 3 or 4 times a month, that's about 12-16 total uses, before the right side of the LeapPad stopped working. Several emails to Leap Frog resulted with no reply from them. They make these products but only warrant them for 3 months. Now I know why. Our Explorer globe flopped out after only 6 months. I will admit that the Leap Frog preschool toys we own have held up great, especially with all the banging around that they get, but their expensive products like LeapPad, Explorer Globe and Leapster have not. I'd look into buying educational products from a company who is willing to stand behind them and has the necessary means to make repair work on expensive products that no longer work. Leap Frog is a company I will no longer spend any more of my hard earned money on.

Fantastic even for age 3
My three-year-old received this leappad for his birthday, which he wanted very badly, and just cannot put it down. He carries it with him throughout the day and it's the first thing he looks for when he gets up in the morning. He saw it at toysrus and just absolutely loved it so he was very excited to get one of his own. He loves learning his abc's and numbers, and loves it when his favorite characters talk back to him. This is such a great tool - if you're trying to decide between this one and the Fisher price one, go for this one. The gal at toys rus said that the fisher price one is just for preschoolers whereas the leappad will grow with the child until age 8. Not bad! ... Read more

Editorial Review

This magnetic calendar is undated, so it can be reusedmonth after month, year after year. Use the month magnets to identify themonth, and then stick the magnetic numbers on the appropriate days ofthe week. Hinged panels fold out for hanging--the top half is acalendar, the bottom half is a blank white magnetic surface for storingmonth and year magnets and the colorfully illustrated "reminder"pieces. There's one for every occasion you can think of, so you'llnever miss an important date or activity--Test Day, Mother's Day,Canada Day, Kwanzaa, Go To Dentist, and so on. Consisting of 139pieces, the calendar measures 15.5 by 23 inches unfolded. --AlisonGolder ... Read more

Reviews (9)

We're still using it!
When my son was in kindergarten, my sister purchased this for him for his birthday. He took a lot of pleasure in it. He is now almost twelve and he still likes changing the dates and putting in the special magnets for the special days. This was a great gift. It doesn't make a lot of noise, or sparkle when you play it, but it is the one thing that we all still use after all these years. I'm thinking of purchasing another one to update our old one.

Great teaching tool
This is a magnetic, wooden perpetual calendar for children. The set comes with more than 120 magnets with which to create a customized, plan-ahead monthly calendar. The child who manages the calendar can affix the correct year, season and month and then can go on to show holidays, play dates, library book due dates, etc.

We use this calendar to teach time concepts to our young son. The calendar is colorful and engaging and conveys the meanings of the words year, season, month, week and day far better than any dictionary, book or video.

This is an effective teaching tool, and we were thrilled with the results. However, ours warped severely within three days of purchase. The manufacturer must have used green wood to make a particular batch of calendars. Be careful of shoddy workmanship. The product otherwise is good.

This Calendar Is Actually Fun!
Purchased this calendar for my 10 yr old son and he and his brothers fight over who is going to put the magnets on the calendar for the new month. There are great magnets for appointments, holidays, sports and parties. It also helps them learn about the seasons, months and various state and national holidays. I'm an adult and I enjoy it too!

Great calender, only a couple complaints
My 5yo son picked this calender to spend his birthday money on. It's a great calender. We love how there are not just event magnets but weather magnets. My only complaints are the

1) the grid boxes could be a little bigger. If you have a holiday, a birthday, & an event (or some other combo that would require 3 magnets) all on the same day the magnets cross over into the other day.

2) I really hope the company comes out with an optional pack of more magnets to buy separately. The calender only comes with one magnet for each sport (soccer, football, dance, etc) but when my son was in soccer he had soccer once a week. It'd be nice to have 4 or 5 soccer magnets to put on the calender at the begining of the month rather than moving the one soccer magnet every week. The optional pack could also include a couple more 'dining out' & 'movie' magnets, a 'school event' magnet, a 'family outing' and just 'outing' for hard to classify events. I also agree with the poster who said a 'start vacation' & 'stop vacaton' would be better than just one vacation magnet. Also a stay with sitter magnet would be great.

I'd still buy the calender again though. My son loves putting the magnets on & is learning the concept of time quickly with this visual aide.

Great for teaching young children to use a calendar
My recently turned 5 year old has begun asking about days, weeks, "how many days until X" type of questions. We are homeschooling so no other person or school had yet introduced the teaching of days, months, etc. to him. Seeing he was curious and ready to learn, I quickly purchased this calendar to use as a perpetual calendar to help teach him the concepts. He loves the calendar.

It is more fun than a paper calendar because it has the magnets with the activity notations on them. If you are looking for a consumable version you could just use paper and buy stickers. I prefer this magnetic version. It is more functional than a wooden perpetual calendar that uses blocks for the dates because it allows customization of activities, holidays and events that take place on that day.

I give the manufacturer credit for coming up with many creative ideas for the activities. There are Christian and Jewish religious holiday magnets. There are American federal holidays such as Veteran's Day and the big kid holidays like Halloween. There is one for Canada Day and one for Victoria Day. There is one for Cinqo De Mayo. There are activity holidays such as the popular sports for young kids, dance, soccer, martial arts, etc. There are school related magnets such as "school play", etc.

If you take the extras that don't apply to your family, you can customize them by writing on paper and gluing it on top of the magnets you don't think you'll ever use.

There are magnets for the years 2002 through 2007 and season and month magnets. It would not be a big deal to continue to use it beyond those years and simply omit the year magnet.

To make more room to select the magnets on the extra magnet board side, I took away all the magnets that we would never use for our family such as sports my child does not play. I also took away the future year magnets for fear of them being lost. I put them away for future use.

I hope in the future the manufacturer makes a supplemental kit for us to custom design our own magnets, perhaps by giving us loads of pre-printed stickers with a smaller number of magnets and allowing us to choose which apply to our family. This kit could also be used to replace any that may have become lost over time. Some blank stickers in the proper shape to fit the magnets could be for us to truly make unique magnets for our family. I'd like to have "vacation start" and "vacation end" rather than just one "vacation".

The cons: this is quite heavy so make sure you use the proper hanging hook and anchor it well. The pieces are choking size, so it must be hung high enough so children under age 3 cannot reach it (including guests and visitors). Placing it that high does not allow for eye-level viewing by a five-year old. I would have preferred the folding go in the reverse manner, that is, when not being hung it would fold inward so the magnets are protected inside it rather than having them on the outside because as it is moved, the magnets fall off. If it folded inward we could keep it folded up and open it to use it and then put it away again, if we didn't want to hang it on the wall. Another idea would be that I could hang it low for our family but when I have babies and toddlers visiting I could quickly put it away while they are visiting. Lastly, the size of the day-grid cubes for each day are too small to fit both the date magnet and 2 other activity or holiday magnets. I think it should have been designed slightly bigger so that 2 magnets easily fit on the grid.

Despite my complaints I am giving this a high rating. It is a one-of-a-kind product so there are presently no brand alternatives. Lights, Camera, Interaction makes high quality durable and educational products and this one fits that bill. The good things about this calendar outweigh my complaints! ... Read more

Editorial Review

Educational Insights brings a terrific idea to life in Math Shark, a combination skill-building tool and calculator. The shape, colors, flashing lights, and beeps--all reminiscent of a hand-held electronic game--will appeal to kids who may not otherwise be interested in practicing math. (Parents: the sound is unobtrusive, but can be turned off.) Math Shark offers eight different skill levels and seven skill groupings: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, decimals, fractions, and percentages. After every question a red or green flashing light and a corresponding beep let you know whether or not you answered correctly. If you get one wrong, the right answer flashes, and the question keeps appearing, along with any others answered incorrectly, until you get it right. After each set an encouraging comment--"You did it!" or "Way to go!"--comes up on the screen. The sets are timed, and your score, based on how long it took to answer all the questions correctly, appears at the end. When practice is done for the day, Math Shark becomes a handy calculator. Requires two AA batteries, not included. --Rachel Radway ... Read more

Reviews (7)

A Pleased Teacher
I ordered 5 math sharks for my inner city classroom. My students were having motivational issues and this really helped. I used it in centers and during indoor recess. You can turn the sound off if your student/child is using it during a quiet time. It tells the student what their score is at the end so they can keep track. My students were at different ability levels and they could choose something that was challenging for them. I did find that by the end of the year, the display was not as clear.

Great to keep in the minivan....
Our 6 yr old is enjoying this product. She needs help with getting quicker at drilling addition and subtraction and this is helping. She likes when the green light lights up to tell her she is correct. The levels are very good since my niece (8 yrs), nephew (10 yrs) and the adults have all tried it. If it's durable enough, it should last her for years as she gets to multiplication etc. She doesn't think it's FUN though - it's just something to do when she is bored. For this reason we keep it in the van. Our plan is working though because she climbs into her seat and immediately turns it on. We had it in our home for awhile but there were too many other FUN things to do besides Math! If your child enjoys challenging math facts, they will think it's fun though - our 8 yr old niece did and so do myself and my husband.

Good toy for practising math
I bought this for my 5-year old daughter. She really enjoyed using it and actually enjoyed the challenge of having to figure out the answers in the shortest time possible. The different levels of difficulty are useful so she can keep using it over the years.

Perfect - and fun - for kids
I bought Math Shark for my 3rd grader. You cannot imagine how quickly her math skills improved! The ability to pick different math functions (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) and different skill levels has allowed her to be successful as she continually challenges herself. The timing feature is especially fun because she sees it as a game and works hard to beat her previous time. With Math Shark, my child has gone from being behind in math, to now being at the top level - and enjoying it!

EXCITING FOR THE KIDDIES
I'M A COLLEGE STUDENT IN MY EARLY THIRTIES WHO IS HAVING PROBLEMS WITH PRE-ALGEBRA. I JUST RECEIVED MY MATH SHARK TODAY AND ALTHOUGH I HAVE NOT REALLY GIVEN IT A CHANCE, SO FAR I HAVE DISCOVERED THAT IT IS NOT VERY CHALLENGING FOR ADULTS, BUT SHOULD BE A WONDERFUL PRACTICE TOOL FOR YOUNGER KIDS AND TEENAGERS. I DO RECOMMEND THE MATH SHARK TO KIDDIES WHO ARE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH BASIC MATH SKILLS. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Wouldn't it be great to have a personal tutor, helping you study, challenging you to excel in school, even keeping you organized? Well, say "how do you do" to your new tutor and personal assistant: the IQuest handheld! This nifty little device allows students in 5th through 8th grade to prepare for tests--and have a good time while they're at it! The expandable study system, in partnership with the Princeton Review, includes questions (and answers) based on over 260 most commonly used textbooks. Kids can quiz themselves on math, science, and social studies, look up words in the dictionary, do basic calculations with the calculator, and keep on top of their school, sports, and social agenda with address book, schedule, and notepad. There's even an anagram game! The IQuest comes with three faceplates and one 1,000-question cartridge, but additional cartridges can be purchased separately for a truly expandable learning experience. Four "AAA" batteries required (not included). --Emilie Coulter ... Read more

Reviews (58)

THE COOLEST STRUDY GUIDE THERE IS AND WILL EVER BE!!!
The Iquest Handheld and the new edition are the coolest things ever made!!! I got the older edition when I was is 6th grade. Im now in 8th. I LOVED IT! Now with the new edition its not as big and bulky and it has a cool look that you can personalize with nameplates! <br /> The Iquest gave me a reason to study and I didnt have to read all those long tedious chapters I once did.<br /> PARENTS THE IQUEST IS GREAT AND WORTH ALL THE MONEY! I GUARENTEE THAT IF YOUR CHILD DOESNT LIKE TO STUDY, HE/SHE WILL AFTER JUST LOOKING AT THE IQUEST! ITS A GREAT X-MAS PRESENT TOO!

Great for Middle Schoolers
My kids and their love the iquest. They can sit for hours learning and having fun. We tried it with the online downloads atfirst. My son's were available while he was in middle school and that worked really well. I found that I had to disable all the other palm pilots and devices for the downloads to work but then it went real easy. If you are going to download the materials I would definitly suggest buying the bigger cartridge and if you have more than one child using it I would get one cartridge for each child. My daughter has different textbooks than my son did and they weren't available so we substituted other books from the website list and she studied from them, it worked pretty well but was more work. We still use the iquest but we buy the cartridges instead of downloading. I am amazed at how much it still gets used! My daughter has her address book filled in with all her friends' phone numbers and she uses the dictionary quite a bit as well.

iQuest
I think this is a wonderful learning toy. It is very easy to use. One of the features the iQuest has is a built in Marriam-Webster 75,000 word dictoinary. My favorite thing to do on the iQuest is the chapter challenge. The iQuest comes with a cartrige for the levels 5-8 grades. You can pick which level you want after you select the game you would like. I also find the iQuest to be very convenient because there is a calender and a schedule were you can put the time in and what you need to do, there is an address book, and any time you need to look up someting in the dictionary, you can just type the word in and you can adjust the volume to 0 to 100. Additional features are pop quiz, notepad options and setup, and calculater. I think this would also be helfull to adults. I really enjoyed this toy, and I think you will to. I rated this item 5 stars for durablity because I think this toy will last a long time if you take care of it. The iQuest takes 4 AA batteries.

Absolutely wonderful!
I got one of these for my son last year, and it has been an amazing tool for him both to study with, and to look up words with. It doesn't completely replace a good dictionary but it's very portable and easy for him to use. The only problem I've had with it is that my 8 year old is more interested in her big brother's iQuest then in his gameboy, and tends to bother him incessantly when studying! I guess I need to get her one of her own. Great product.
I also find it incredibly amusing that the bad review I read about it used the word knot instead of not.

the greatest toy ever
I got this for an early christmas present and I loved it. I improved a lot in math,science, and social studies. I reccomend this toy for anyone who needs inprovement in school or whoever likes to learn. ... Read more