Leapfrog Shopping Cart
Leapfrog Enterprises
What a blast our testers had with this shopping playset. Using a play scanner, even the youngest shopper can be just like Mom or Dad at the market, filling their cart with goodies. The cart features Tad, a friendly frog companion who loves coming along for the ride, and the assortment of items to buy represent a nice spread of products from all the major food groups. There is a fun shopping game which talks to your children with encouraging, helpful advice. There are also good skills covered here such as counting, nutrition, colors and more. Parents told us that they liked these aspects of the toy almost much as they enjoyed watching their children make shopping decisions and role playing.
Recommended Age: 2 and up Retail Price: $59.99
Practice
Makes Perfect: Shapes & Sizes
Teacher Created Materials, Inc.
By utilizing a nice variety of techniques this Practice Makes Perfect title offers a great way to reinforce shape and size concepts with your child. The exercises are comprehensive with clear instructions. Throughout the book you will find pages that cover math standards that cam be used either during the school year or during vacation time.
Recommended Age: 4 to 6 Retail Price: $4.99
Turbo
Twist Brain Quest
Leapfrog Enterprises
The Brain Quest system has been a winner of the Seal of Approval throughout its various incarnations. It has won as a travel quiz game, a software program and now, in its latest version, as part of Leap Frog's Turbo Twist line; it's a winner once again. The game show concept of challenging kids with questions in a variety of subjects is perfect for the slamming fun of Turbo Twist. By twisting the controller and slamming the end when you come upon the right answer, kids were entertained and engaged. With the optional Mind Station cartridge, you can log on to the Leap Frog web site and download various grade level content. This kept the challenges and the fun coming.
Recommended Age: 5 to 12 Retail Price: $29.99
Test
Success: Level 2
Teacher Created Materials, Inc.
The comprehensive nature of this practice lesson book really impressed both our parent and teacher testers. Teachers told us that they felt the practice sheets would help prepare any student for standardized testing. The lesson coverage is complete and age/grade appropriate. The practice tests in the back of the book, which included filling in the bubbles, just like the real thing, were viewed as excellent pre-cursers to the real thing.
Recommended Age: 7 to 9 Retail Price: $14.95
Test
Success: Level 5
Teacher Created Materials, Inc.
This test preparation book offers thorough coverage of much of the 5th grade curriculum. You can be comfortable knowing that your young student will be drilled and quizzed effectively so that they can be better prepared for standardized testing when it inevitably rolls around each year. Teachers felt that if a student time to practice with this book that the test itself would not feel so overwhelming. They told us that they believed students would be more relaxed as a result of having spent time with Test Success.
Recommended Age: 10 to 12 Retail Price: $14.95
Numbskull
- The SAT Prep Game
Late for the Sky Production Company
The build up and anxiety about the SAT's is one of the most anxious aspects of adolescence. Each year there are classes, cram sessions and a ton of chewed up Number 2 pencils. If your child is preparing to take THE test, you may want to help lighten the load while allowing then to still stay on task. This game is a diversion from traditional book study and sample test taking. Ideally designed to be played in groups, the questions run the gamut (a word of warning to parents, your confidence will be severely shaken when you realize how much you've forgotten!) This game is perfect for students who want to excel on the SAT. There are silly stunts for remembering things during the test that many of our high school testers scoffed at, but some will appreciate. Just about every student told us that they felt it was worth the time and was way more fun than studying alone.
Recommended
Age: 14
and Up
Retail Price: $29.95
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Last Update: August 16, 2002