LeapFrog Scribble and Write

This is a great way to practice writing for pre-schoolers! I tried making my own workbooks for my daughter to trace letters and numbers but my efforts were always met with boredom. My 4 year old daughter uses this tablet all the time. It teaches her the sounds of the letters, how to write the alphabet (both upper- and lower-case), and numbers 1 thru 10. The tracing pad is a wonderful tool; there are two levels. In Level 1 the tracing pad lights up a completed pattern of dots to trace for a selected letter or number. A voice instructs how to trace - where to begin, how to move the stylus, and where to stop. After a letter is written correctly, the voice teaches the sound of the letter. When a number is traced correctly, the voice comes up with some activity (stomping feet, clapping hands) to do as many times as the number traced. Level 1 is a great introduction to letters and numbers and a beginning practice of writing. In Level 2, the writing pad lights up a path that the child must follow to correctly write the letter or number. A voice guides the child through where to start and how to move the stylus, but only one dot is shown until the child traces over it. So instead of tracing a pattern, the child is following a path to write the letter or number. While Level 1 is more accepting of writing outside the lines, Level 2 will not continue if the child has veered off course. Level 2 is great for an older child to practice writing clear handwriting. My daughter enjoys using the tablet to practice writing letters and numbers. It is much more engaging than my homemade worksheets. I like that both upper and lower case letters are being taught, and the corresponding sounds are emphasized as well. As she learns, the second level will help refine her writing skills. This isn't something that would be grown out of quickly. I really think this is a great learning toy and I'm very happy with this purchase!!

Disagree with the negative reviews. I saw some of the not-so-positive reviews before ordering, but ordered it anyway, and am so glad I did. The quality of the toy is excellent. My 3-year-old is totally enchanted with this thing - he's using it a LOT. As I said, we found no issues with quality - with normal writing pressure and room lighting, the lines appear just fine, and disappear with the easy-to-use eraser slider. I'm wondering if another reviewer is referring to the small adjustment period where the kid learns that holding the stylus is not quite the same as holding a pen or crayon, and during those few minutes the kid may have a hard time writing with appropriate pressure? Yes, fingerprints smudge it, but I haven't seen that intruding on the experience for the kid. I mean, if the screen gets cluttered with stray marks, it's easy to use the eraser and start the exercise over - which sort of surprised me, because I was expecting it to be like other toys and require a complex sequence of programming selections after the kid makes a mistake. Which brings me to one thing I really like about the toy - it's simple. It's not trying to be a computer. It's a writing tablet with limited playing options. Yes, that's a bonus from our perspective. The kid doesn't have to learn a complex set of options and selections before using it. Another great thing is that each exercise moves at a pace that is just right for the kid to follow - not so quickly he can't follow the instructions, and not so slowly he's sitting there yawning. But the best, absolutely best thing about this toy is how CLEAR the speaking voice is. Most kids' electronic toys have fuzzy recordings that can only be "best-guessed" by a kid who's already familiar with the order of the words - like the letter "f" sounding like "s" and "m", and only being identifiable as "f" because it comes after "e". Not this toy. Every word is well articulated. It's so great to see my kid understanding everything and NOT just listing to the toy's music because the sounds are nonsense. I was kind of afraid the toy would replace writing on paper for the kid, but I don't think that's going to happen. The toy provides some positive feedback (the fireworks are a particular favorite), which offers incentive. But it's not a replacement for paper, since there's not room enough on the screen for whole words with little-kid-sized letters. But there IS enough room for the kid to do small doodles and exercise his creativity. This toy is not totally the ideal dream toy, yes. I agree it would be nice if it had numbers practice, although that might take away from the "simplicity" aspect I like about it. And I'm embarrassed to admit it took me forever to figure out how the toy can be used just for doodling creatively, with no lights and sounds (the answer, of course, is to turn the toy off - duh! - so maybe this is something that should be included in the instructions for not-quite-gadget-literate parents like me). But for the price, and judging by what a hit this thing is with our kid, it's really great, and I'd not hesitate to get it for other young kids as a gift.

I recently purchased the LeapFrog Scribble and Write for my little one. This interactive toy makes learning to write letters and numbers so much fun. The design is bright and inviting, which immediately captures my child's attention. What I love most is how it combines play with education. The Scribble and Write encourages my child to trace letters and numbers, providing guided support while promoting fine motor skills. The variety of activities keeps them engaged, and the fun sounds and lights add an extra layer of excitement. It's also easy to use, making it perfect for independent play. I've noticed my child’s confidence in writing improving already, and they enjoy showing off their new skills. Cleanup is simple too, as it’s lightweight and portable, so we can take it on the go. Overall, LeapFrog Scribble and Write is an excellent investment in my child's early learning. I highly recommend it for any parent looking to make the writing process enjoyable and interactive!

We just bought this for our 3 year old son for Christmas. It is far and away his favorite--he's very interested in letters and drawing, and the Scribble and Write seems to be his idea of the perfect toy. It's easy for him to navigate, and holds his attention for a long while. I love that he can practice upper or lowercase letters on the same toy, and that the keyboard has both the upper and lowercase version of each letter represented. I've been surprised at how many educational activities or toys we've had so far that do not have both upper and lowercase letters. This toy is obviously not going to appeal to every child. Our 4 year old son is much more mechanically minded, and completely enamored with legos and anything requiring building, etc. He enjoys the Scribble and Write for a short while, but it's not a complete attention grabber for him. I'm not sure he would've been more excited about it even when he was younger and possibly more into these types of toys. It does, however, seem to spark his interest in trying to write letters far more than crayons and paper. For that, I call it a home run. The only cons to the Scribble and Write, and thus the reason for 4 stars rather than 5, are: 1. The slider gets jammed on one side easily. It's annoying and makes me think this particular one may not last long., However it's not worth it to send it back and wait for a new one--we'd have a revolt on our hands, as it's such a loved toy. Just be aware that the slider may feel flimsy. 2. Volume control. Although it offers two levels, they are both quite loud and it would never be appropriate to take on an airplane, for instance, unless you were perfectly willing to incite violence. I REALLY wish that a silent option was available, as the verbal cues are meaningless in any case ("Good job! Way to Go!", etc.) Speaking of the verbal cues...other reviews have been very critical of the canned positive responses. They can be annoying, yes, but they're not something that really bothers me. That's where we parents come in...A product that could actually track if the child was forming letters correctly, and then offer any sort of corrective advice, would likely be fairly expensive.

I bought this for my 2 year old grandson, and at first he used the stylus cord to drag the device along the ground. Apparently, he wasn't quite ready to learn his alphabet or numbers. Now that he's approaching 2.5 years old, he's suddenly taken an interest in this device. He uses it to write all of the letters of the alphabet, as well as numbers. He loves to draw the shapes of the letters, and is fascinated by the verbal response from the computerized voice. This is a great educational tool for learning and practicing the alphabet and numbers. Since this item has been subject to extreme abuse, and it still works perfectly, I can attest to the fact that it's quality built. The bottom line is that this is a fantastic item for young children. It will teach them writing, listening, and hand, eye coordination skills. Learning the alphabet and numbers is the first step to a lifelong skill, essential to all. I rate this a 5 star product for both durability, superb educational potential, and ability to maintain a child's interest. It's a fantastic, fun learning tool for numbers, the alphabet, and a host of other essential skills.

I love this Scribble and Write by LeapFrog. It is so easy to use. My son took to it at once. He's 3 years old and it is one of his favorite gifts from Christmas. Best Christmas gift I've ever bought. It is basically teaching you to write by tracing the lights. It teaches you Upper cases and Lower cases of the alphabets and the numbers 1 till 10. It has 2 levels which you can find on the left. The right one is the power button and the sounds. Low and high. It engages your child. If you didn't trace the letters right it will tell you and advised you to try again. The screen at the bottom can be used for just drawing as well, if you don't power it up. My son has a great time playing with it. And then just slides and erase. We are still working on how to hold the pen or stylus though. This is very interactive. I have provided a video below on how it works. It uses 3 double A batteries which are included but it was advised that you changed it since it's only for a try me. The stylus is very easy to grip and it is attached and you can store it the back so you won't worry that it will be lost. My son has dropped this a few times and it still works great. It is very sturdy and durable.

I have a difficult time motivating my child to play with this toy on her own. She selects other toys over this one. However, when I sit with her and we both engage, she'll play with it for a little while, according to some minimum I set (e.g. "We're going to do 3 capital letter, 3 lower case letters, and 2 shapes, okay?"). About 5 minutes later, we're all done. The idea is great, and I love to see her tracing the letters and working on her writing skills. The picture drawing game is good, and guess the letters is fun. But I think my 3.5 year-old needs more rigorous involvement with this toy; it's not something she's going to play with for 20 minutes on a trip in the car. That part is disappointing, but my simply be a function of my kid's likes/dislikes rather than the toy's inspiration. Seems durable. Screen, sliding eraser, and tied on pen all seem to work well. All in all great concept and design, but appeal to my kid for self-motivated play is low. OCTOBER 2010 UPDATE: Daycare began emphasizing writing a lot more, and I made an effort to present this toy to her and work with her on it about the same time. VIOLA! She uses it, unassisted, about 10x the amount she was using it when I wrote this review. So, hang in there if your child doesn't take to it right away and try to re-present it while using with the child down the road....

This is a great concept, but I have been less than impressed in its execution. I thought that the toy would be more interactive, but it really is just a talking eraser board. The toy instructs the child to select a letter, than talks the child through tracing the letter, then the child has to press another button to even let the toy know they've traced the letter! Then the toy spouts out some generic "great job!" message. There isn't any connection between the child's actions and the toy's responses or directions. I kind of expected a LF product to be a little more technologically advanced than that. I mean, Fisher Price could just make a talking eraser board, and it would be the same thing. It's hard to describe, but unlike a standard erasable writing board, the stylus does not make a clear, solid mark like in the display picture. It's a faint gray tracing, which doesn't even need the stylus to imprint. I can make a mark just by touching the board. You can make a clearer mark with your fingernail on thermal paper receipts. Also, the other modes include tracing basic shapes and lines, but the screen is so small that the selection of shapes and lines is limited. There literally isn't any room for greater creativity. My daughter can free-hand way more complicated drawing elements on her huge magnetic drawing board, and does. I think that feature is there just to give the toy more modes, when it could easily just be a more interactive game focused solely on writing letters. All this being said, my daughter does seem to love this toy. She enjoys the tracing, and without the interaction, doesn't seem to notice or mind if she doesn't actually trace the letter correctly, or follow the prescribed method. Heck, half the time she just like pushing all the buttons and listening to the toy say the letters. So basically, if you want an electronic thing that your kid can monkey around on, this is perfect for you. However, if you want your child to start learning to read and write letters, you're better off to just sit down with them and teach them.