Friday, August 20, 2010

Awesome Toy Alert! The Alphabet Apple

Believe it or not, I'm not a giant fan of electronic kids toys. That is hugely hypocritical of me, as I was raised on the Atari 2600, Coleco's handheld electronic football game, and Simon. But I love the simple old toys: blocks, Lincoln Logs, Tinkertoys, so when we buy toys for Jack we usually lean towards the basic and the classic.

Except when something awesome catches our attention.

We decided to buy Jack a little prize since he had a really rough week last week with his high fever and then a bump on the noggin (rolling baby = faceplant), so we checked the toy aisle at Wal Mart and came across the VTech Alphabet Apple.

The Apple immediately got Jack's attention, so we investigated it a little more and liked what we saw.  The Alphabet Apple has 26 light-up buttons - one for each letter of the alphabet - and each corresponds to an animal.  The Apple has eight different play modes, including lessons on time telling, spelling, animal sounds and music.  The Apple quizzes children on spelling (and gives hints by lighting up the appropriate letters, when needed) and rewards correct answers with applause.  It teaches time with an analog clock (love!  I can't believe that so many kids don't know how to read anything but a digital) and the animal sound matching game is both fun and educational.  The music mode plays different songs accompanied by elaborate light patterns.


The Apple is definitely meant for pre-school aged kids, but Jack loves the sounds and lights.  I see this as being a toy that he will learn from as he grows and enjoy for years to come.  We paid $21.97 at Wal Mart, and I think it is worth every penny.


mbj

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I saw that toy once...and I loved it! Jack, hang on tight! I might ust have to steal it. hehe -Abi-