Insect Lore Child Development
Offers
Reviews
Insect Lore Child Development Reviews
 |
Inspiration Works Peppa Pig Fun Phonics
by jo1976 My boys have all loved the Peppa Pig TV series, shown regularly on Nick Jr and Channel Five. Even adults can't fail to love the cute Peppa Pig and her little brother, George. I purchased this Peppa Pig branded Phonics game as a Christmas present for my middle son when he was three years old. At that point, he had just been ... introduced to the phonics system of learning sounds and letters at nursery so this system seemed like an ideal gift, particularly as I picked up at half price for £9.99. This game sounded really promising as it includes eight different modes of phonics-based learning games so it has the potential to grow with a child from the recommended age range of three to five years old. Unlike some Peppa Pig branded products, this game is suitably unisex, being made from a cheery bright yellow chunky plastic. It is light enough for a child to carry about, with the help of the in-built handle, but robust enough to withstand life in our toy box alongside regular falls and generally being bashed about. There is one major disappointment with the overall quality of this toy, however, and that is the use of stickers to represent all of the letters and the different game modes. These stickers did come ready applied but are of incredibly poor quality and become loose very easily. I noticed the first sticker becoming loose within a week of purchase and that was without any real game play whatsoever. I will admit that my boys can be quite rough with their toys but these stickers just come away without any deliberate attempt to remove them, which is very disappointing for a game with a supposed RRP of £20. It would be much better if the letters were actually printed on the game itself. Having owned this toy for a couple of years now, we are missing several stickers which does make it more difficult to play the games properly. It is perhaps just as well that my middle son very quickly lost interest in the game and never really concentrated on the activities in the way they were intended to play - preferring just to press buttons at random and switching between different modes rather than concentrating on completing any one activity. One of the main issues with this game is that many of the activities are very repetitive and also very similar to each other, so despite having eight different modes there aren't really as many different elements to the game as this might suggest. Many of the modes involve the child pressing one of the keys and the game will say what the letter sound is and what the items pictured is. There are a few different variations in this game but they are fairly similar and not interesting enough to maintain my son's interest for any length of time, even now he is five years old and developing into an independent reader. The most complex activity is a mode which involves the child actually spelling out individual words. Whilst this is clearly educational, I think this is a little ambitious and too challenging for a child within the age range likely to still be interested in the Peppa Pig branding. Whilst some of the words are fairly simple, such as Cat and Dog, it also includes far more complex words such as Guitar which I think would be a challenge to children much older than the target age range here. One of the positives of this game is that there is a clear link between the toy and the Peppa Pig programme with the images used and the spoken voice being clearly recognisable as Peppa herself. Lots of the popular characters from the series are also featured on the stickers. The drawback to the use of Peppa Pig's voice within the game is that it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish exactly what is being said, which can be confusing for children. My son was always adamant that he was being asked to find a 'lap' rather than a 'lamp' and I must admit that Peppa's voice does make it sound more like 'lap.' He was also confused by the game in which he has to find the first letter of particular words, initially being convinced that he was being asked to find the fourth letter! The one saving grace for this toy has been that my youngest son absolutely loves it. He has enjoyed pressing the buttons and twisting the dial (repeatedly) from around nine months of age. He clearly doesn't appreciate the educational element of the game, even now at two years old, but remains fascinated by the flashing lights, the familiar Peppa Pig images and the fun sound effects and music. I think there is some merit in a child as young as this using this toy as I often observe him pressing the buttons and repeating the sounds and words to himself, helping with the development of vocabulary and recognition of sounds. In all honesty, my youngest son has had by far the most use out of this game and, for that reason, I would suggest that the minimum age recommendation is slightly too high and three and can see no reason why this shouldn't be used by a much younger child, particularly as the child is likely to outgrow the toy long before their fifth birthday. From a parent's perspective, the lack of a volume control is a little irritating as I do find this toy to be very loud and the music can get more than a little grating, particularly when repeated over and over again by a toddler! The game also makes a particular sound whenever the wrong key is pressed so it makes this sound very frequently when played with by a two year old. Fortunately, the dial does have an 'off' setting and, despite needing three AA batteries, these seem to last a long time and have only needed to be replaced once. This phonics game has recently been produced in a new shape but both the new and this original version are available on Amazon for a similar price. (This version is currently £15.29 and the newer style is £17.95.) In all honesty, I wouldn't particularly recommend either version as I don't think it has enough variety to maintain an older child's interest for any length of time. Younger children may well enjoy playing with this but there are other toys on the market specifically designed for toddlers that are just as good if not better. In either case, the poor design and quality of the stickers makes me reluctant to recommend this game as it becomes damaged far too easily. Read the complete review |
 |
Inspiration Works Peppa Pig Fun Phonics
by Shoptillyoudrop The Peppa Pig phonics is another one of the many Peppa Pig toys that my daughter received last year, for her 3rd birthday. It is made out of yellow plastic and of an oval shape, with a handle at the bottom for easy carrying (it is also quite light and not too bulky). At the top there is a switch which you turn anti clockwise to select ... the required mode (there are 8 different modes altogether), or to turn it off. There are 29 different coloured buttons altogether, 26 of these for each letter of the alphabet, 1 that you can press and Peppa tells you the whole alphabet, 1 that you can press to repeat a question (quite useful in case you missed or didn't hear that question) and 1 that when pressed plays a tune. Each of the 26 buttons that represent a letter has a sticker above it showing the particular letter (both capital and small which I think is quite handy) and also an object that starts with that letter. The eight modes are as follows: Mode No 1 - you are told to press a key, and when you do so, the sound for that particular object is made and you are told what the object is (so for example if it's the B/ ball button you will hear a bouncing noise Mode No 2 - you are told to press a key, than Peppa reads out that particular letter and tells you you what it stands for (the object in the picture) Mode no 3 - you are asked to find an object, so you have to press the sticker which depicts it Mode no 4 - you are asked to find the first letter of the word Mode no 5 - you are asked to find a particular letter Mode no 6 - you are asked to spell a word, so you have to press each letter that spells it Mode no 7 - a sound is made and you have to press the object that makes that sound Mode no 8 - in this mode you are told to just press a key, and the sound for each object is played. When my daughter first received this at the age of 3, she would just press buttons at random and didn't seem to show much interest in it. I actually had to sit down with her and try to show her what she needed to do. However, her attention span was far too short to actually listen to the instructions and use this toy properly. A year later, she has actually got more patience and will play with it for short bursts of time, but unfortunately she can only use certain modes. For example modes 4, 5 and 6, she cannot use, and I think these are more suitable for slightly older children, who are perhaps in reception and are actually learning the full alphabet. I am not actually sure what ages this toy is aimed at, but it is certainly not for pre-school children! My daughter has now kind of grown out of Peppa Pig so I think by the time she gets a bit older and can use all the modes of this phonics toy, she will probably no longer be interested in it. I do think this toy is educational and would be suitable for a young child who is very forward (some of the kids in Iona's nursery can actually spell many words), but I think that most children would have probably grown out of Peppa Pig by the time they can use it properly. I have actually seen a Disney Princess phonics tablet and I am considering buying her that instead as I think that it will be a long time before she grows out of the princess phase! I personally think that a nice touch would have been the addition of some kind of lighting (for example if when you pressed a button the object lit up), as I think little ones do prefer toys that light up. Apart from this, I also think that the stickers are proof of a cheap and quickly thrown together toy. It would have been so much nicer if instead of these, the letters/objects had been painted on, and to say this toy has not been used that much, a couple of the stickers are already peeling off! Overall 3 out 5 doyoo stars from me! Read the complete review |
|
|
Inspiration Works Peppa Pig Fun Phonics
by cha97mw My boys have always liked Peppa Pig on the telly, but not really been grabbed enough for my to buy them any of the toys out of the range. I spotted this one however, and I felt that they would like it as it features all the characters they know and like, but from my point of view it is quite educational and supporting learning phonics, ... so I thought I would get it my youngest son in May last year for his birthday. After an initial push of some buttons it got shoved under some other stuff and not played with. I wondered if that was because they didn't like it or they had just forgotten about it, so periodically I have forced the issue and got it out and said, look, let's play with this now. I even took it with us when we went away in the summer, thinking if it were one of the only toys they had, they would then play with it, but even then, it hasn't been a bit hit with either of the kids. I think perhaps it is a bit too prescriptive for them in what you have to do. My young neice was enthralled with it when she saw it with all the flashing lights, but as she was only 11 months when she played with it, she wasn't really getting best use out of it, and just pushing the buttons to see the lights flash. The toy itself is pretty nice. It is quite lightweight and has a carry handle so it is portable enough. It is also a nice bright yellow with lots of flashing lights to grab the attention. There are buttons representing every letter of the alphabet with an image which is cartoon style and on the whole related to the show, such as P is for Peppa Pig, Z is for Zoe Zebra. It is easy for a child to switch on with a dial at the top of the console, where you can swap from off to one of 8 modes. This sounds as though it should be really good but in reality, it is not that great, as some of the modes are fairly similar and a bit confusing. Mode One - here, you are asked to press a key. This confuses my 3 year old, as the letter K is for Key, so he always presses Key, then it prompts you to press a key again, and he keeps pressing Key. I've tried explaining to him that key means button in this case, but he doesn't get it so this mode gets boring after a couple of presses of Key, and being told it is a Key. Mode Two - Alphabet. This is quite similar to mode one as it tells you what the button is, but this time instead of saying for example, this is a key, it would say K is for Key, or O is for Orange. This is slightly better from my point of view as it is not just stating the obvious. I would argue that mode one is completely unnecessary. Mode 3 - Find the Item. Here you are prompted to find an item that Peppa asks you to, eg. Find the Jug. It repeats it if you don't press a key, and if you get it wrong it asks you to try it again till you get it right. This mode is ok and can hold the attention a while. Mode 4 - Find the first letter of the word. Here you are prompted to find the first letter of the word you are given. The words are taken from the console buttons, so really, when asked to find the first letter of the word you are really being asked to find the picture. Mode 5 - Find the letter. Here you are asked to find a letter, Can you find F for Fish. In my eyes, this again is the same as mode 4. I don't see the point in having it there if it just asking you the same thing again buy in a slightly different way. It is just boring for kids having all the repetition of something that is not that exciting in the first place. Mode 6 - spell the word. This is one of the better modes but it really is a bit tricky for a 3 year old, asking them to spell words by pressing the keys in the right order. My 5 year old is only just at the stage where he can try this really, and by 5 a lot of kids will not still be interested in Peppa Pig. Mode 7 - Follow me. The child is encouraged to press the lights as they appear on the console. My kids like this mode, but it is limited to only 4 buttons in a row if they get it right. I think this would grab their attention a lot better if they could complete as many as they could concentrate on with some reward like, well done you got to ten, or perhaps if it counted as they touched a key. My 5 year old is obsessed with counting as far as he can at the moment, and he would carry on till he got to 100 if he could. This is quite limiting in this mode, and not that interesting once done a couple of times. Mode 8 - A sound mode. Here, you get a sound associated with that letter of the alphabet, so an elephant trumpeting for Emily Elephant, or a jug pouring water for Jug. This has not really been a hit either. Once you have pressed them once or twice, the fun has gone really. I thought at first this would be a music mode, where pressing a key made a note you could then play a little tune with, but no such luck. There are additional buttons at the bottom that the child can also press. The alphabet buttons take you through what all the buttons say in order of the alphabet. The repeat button makes Peppa repeat what she just asked you, and the music button plays a tune, which thankfully isn't exactly the same each time. For the parent, it is not as educational as I first thought it would be, as it does not interest them long enough to get anything from it. Thankfully there is an off button, though no volume control so it is all at one level of noise when playing. If you have any interest in this toy after this review, as I am sure some kids must really like it, you can get it at lots of places, such as amazon, tesco, argos. It is availbale between £15 and £22.50. I bet you could pick up a barely used one second hand for less, and I am sure I saw it for more like £12.50 at Tesco in the summer. It seems a popular toy as it is out of stock in quite a few places at the moment. Other information that might be useful for you is it requires 3 1.5V AA batteries, which fit in a compartment at the back with a small crosshead screwdriver. The batteries have lasted a long time in our house through lack of use. Read the complete review |
Insect Lore Child Development |
||
|---|---|---|
|
13 reviews Brand: Inspiration Works / Child Development / Age: 3 Years+ / Type: Reading / Writing - The Fun Phonics game comes with eight activities and finds room for Danny Dog Rebecca Rabbit and Zoe Zebra while the Magic Mirror has built-in sound effects from all the main Peppa Pig characters. Peppa teaches sounds, le... |
|
|
Brand: Insect Lore / Child Development / Age: 4 Years+ / Type: Science |
|
| Insect Lore Child Development Recommendations 1 | ||
| dooyoo Results 1 - 2 of 2 | ||
