Leapfrog Read With My Scout
James has been at school now for a term and a half but he has struggled a lot with his reading. He just isn’t getting on as well as the other children in his class. When we were asked to give Scout a new home I hoped that this would help and give James the little push he needs to learn easier.
Scout is an interactive toy, he is suitable for children aged 2 – 5 years old. He is extremely cute and James is now so taken with him that he has a special place in bed with him on a night (I have to keep checking he is turned off as he gave me a fright a few nights a go when he suddenly came to life singing a song and chatting away when James pressed one of his buttons in his sleep).
Scout loves to read, sing songs and talk. The 3 core learning skills Scout aims to help a child learn are comprehension, early vocabulary and book and print. He requires 3 x AA batteries to operate. He comes with these included so he is ready to play straightaway. Scout does have 2 volume levels. You will find this on the battery holder inside Scouts tummy. He is is priced around £29.99 and is available to buy from most good toy suppliers both instore and online. Prices will vary depending on where you choose to purchase him.
Scout has 5 activation spots on his body. Each one responds to touch. You can pet his back to answer
questions, kiss his cheek and hear him say you’re his best friend, press his left paw to hear songs and if you press his right paw you can hear more responses.
When Scout is reading as he finishes a page, he will ask your child a question. Over all 5 books there are 70 + questions. The 5 books are highly illustrated and have bright colours throughout. Each book has something new to teach your child. On the back of each book there is also a tip for parents. This is a great idea I think as it helps us mums and dads to encourage our children to learn more. There is also a little sentence saying how each book helps each child develop.
As James can already read a little, he could easily follow each book and loved patting Scout’s head when he was told to do so by Scout when he had finished reading each page. In fact he was happy to do everything Scout asked him from to touching his cheek, his back or his head. He loves the fact that Scout reads the story to him and he found book 1 very funny when they came across an elephant and the two horses.
Scout has 2 modes of play. He has story mode and a Sleepy time mode. If in story mode you can press one of the numbered buttons on his collar. Scout will then read the corresponding story. He will tell you the number, colour, title of the story and who is on the cover. This helps your child to recognise the different books. Each story is short so keeps a small child’s attention. As they get older they can answer the questions that Scout asks. In Sleepy time mode Scout will tell you one story then ask you to press his paw with the musical note on it to play some lullabies the music will then play for 8 minutes. This is definitely a great mode for children that you want to get into a good bedtime routine. James loves listening to a story before bed and after I have read him a story he asks for scout to tell him one too.
James adores Scout and loves following the stories. He likes answering the questions that Scout asks and has most definitely taken more interest in reading.
*I did not receive a financial payment for writing this review. However, I was sent this product for the purpose of this review, all thoughts and opinions expressed in this piece are my own*
love leapfrog products – so clever with cute designs 🙂