iXL Learning 6-in-1 Learning System

You thought you had seen it all by now, right?


Well think again.

Fisher Price. You know it. You love it. So many of us grew up with it.  Now our children are growing up with the brand, and it's wonderful.  You can still buy the simple classics like the Chatter Telephone, Pull-a-tune Xylophone, the stacking rings, and the shape sorter....

Well. Weeeeeell.
Fasten your seatbelt. Fasten a couple seatbelts.

What would be your most perfect toy to not only help you teach your child, to help you entertain your child on long car trips, and to help you teach your child creativity?

Enter the iXL Learning System.

This little device has SIX different modes; Digital Reader, Game Player, Note Pad, Art Studio, MP3 Player and Photo Viewer.  What does that mean? It means you and your child can read books on the iXL 6-in-1 Learning System. If they come across a challenging word, they can just click on it and the iXL will say it for them! Children can also set the iXL on Read-to-Me mode, or they can learn about what they are reading in Interact-with-Me mode.

The iXL also has a game mode, making it a hand-held portable game system that teaches numbers, letters, and sequencing.  Children can draw, stamp, and color in the art studio, and they can listen to FOUR HOURS worth of MP3s (it IS headphone compatible!!).  In notepad mode, kids can trace upper and lower case letters, and numbers.  Last but certainly not least, they can import and view photos from any PC or Mac (usb cord is included).

Licensed software is available ($24.99 each/sold separately): Ni-Hao Kai Lan, Disney Princess, Handy Manny, Batman^TM, Toy Story^TM and SCOOBY-DOO!^TM , Shrek^® and SpongeBob SquarePants^TMsoftware CDs currently available; 

The iXL Learning System is recommended for children aged 3-7.  Check out some cool video of this product in action at http://www.youtube.com/fpixl.

All opinions are 100% mine, Fisher Price provided me with an iXL Learning System to help facilitate this review. No monetary compensation was received. 

Leapster Explorer

Oh, the things they come up with these days!!! Leap Frog is at is again with cutting- edge technology that is laced with fun and learning.  Today's exciting review is of the LeapFrog Leapster Explorer Learning Game System
.  The Leapster Explore debuted this summer and is promising to be one of the IT toys this holiday season.  Recomended for children ages 4-9, the Leapster explorer is a fully portable system that boasts a beautiful, bright, easy-to-see touch screen (I don't know about you, but thanks to our ipad, ipods, phones, etc, my daughter already knows how to scroll through touch screen pages!). 

With the Leapster Explorer, you can insert game cartridges which are sold separately and range in price from about $18-$30.  The games range in age and skill level and feature many popular characters and movies such as Toy Story, Tinker Bell, and Spongebob.
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The Explorer is much more than a hand-held game system though, just like mommy and daddy's high tech toys, this is fully compatible with apps! Children can read e-books (great for trips!), download apps, play online, do flashcards, watch videos AND there is an accessory that will give the Explorer Camera and Video Recorder capabilities!!!! Love, love, love it!!!!

A huge thank you to Leap Frog who provided me with a Leapster Explorer to help facilitate this review. I was not compensated monetarily and all opinions are mine only.