LeapFrog Read With Me Scout

If you have a young child you’re probably aware of LeapFrog’s popular line of Scout learning products that includes interactive plush friends such as My Pal Scout and My Pal Violet, My Own Leaptop and Chat & Count Smart Phone toys. My 4 year old has a My Pal Scout whilst my 2 year has her very own Violet. They really enjoy these kind of interactive toys which is why I was happy to try out the latest addition to the range, Leapfrog Read With Me Scout (there’s a Read With Me Violet too), a cute interactive plush puppy designed to build early reading skills.

I try to encourage my son as much as I can whilst he starts his learning journey. He attends nursery attached to our local primary school and since Christmas he has been coming home with a new book to read each week. He’s recently been given books without words to read at home and they’re just starting phonics too! I was interested to see how the Read With Me Scout would fit in.

Read With Me Scout and Read With Me Violet offer an interactive story time experience filled with learning activities that build early reading comprehension, listening and vocabulary skills. The Scout and Violet pals respond to every pet, pat, hug and kiss as they read stories aloud.

Children simply press a button on the collar and choose one of the five books. As the pals read them the story aloud, children build comprehension skills and early vocabulary. They also learn about the relationship between print on a page and the story as they turn the pages and listen to 70+ spoken questions and audio responses. There’s also a Sleepy Time mode to select a read-aloud story or eight minutes of lullabies which is great for bedtime.

The five board books cover different areas:

1) Rhyming—helps children learn about the sounds of language and build phonological awareness
2) Learn-about—learn about the world through reading
3) Narrative—learn about how stories are put together, with characters, settings, and a sequence of events
4) Pattern—learn with rhymes, refrains and repetition to predict what comes next
5) Concept—explore concepts like colours to label and classify new information.

My 4 year enjoys playing with Scout. He likes to show his younger sister how he works and I love watching them playing with Scout and listening to stories. I think it has helped him develop his listening skills and I love the fact that if he starts to play with the buttons Scout firmly tells him to finish reading the story!

Read With Me Scout and Read With Me Violet (RRP £29.99, for children 2 to 5 years old) are available online and at major retailers. For more information, visit http://leapfrogstore.co.uk/