These games have been well thought out to develop the necessary motor, perceptual and reasoning skills, as well as language development, exploration and creativity which children of this age group need to encourage their learning and development. A parents' guide and instruction pamphlet accompanies the desk, which is very clear and easily understood.

In "Letters" a child can press a letter and the Desk will name it and demonstrate how it’s written on an electronic screen, in order that the child can copy on the magic erasable writing screen. In the "Letters Quiz", youngsters will be asked to find a letter, and the method of writing it will then be demonstrated to them.

As well as aiding writing and letter recognition, the Writing Desk is great for teaching phonics. In "Phonics" mode the letter is identified and then the sound it makes is given, for example, "Let's learn the sound that the letter makes" "M, says mmm, this is how you write the letter M, now it’s your turn to write the letter M." In the "Phonics Quiz" mode the Desk says "Can you find the letter U that makes the sound ooh", once the letter is found, "this is how you write the letter U, now it’s your turn to write."

In Spelling mode, the Desk prompts, "Let’s spell, make the word bus by pressing the letters b –u--s, this is how you write the word bus." The appropriate letters are all demonstrated on the LCD screen and children are invited to copy. In yet another mode, children can construct their own three-letter word, write the word, press the letters and hear the word you’ve made.

The Desk can be used in b