LeapFrog Writing Desk

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 both upper and lower case modes, in order to teach the recognition and writing of both sets of letters. A hugely adaptable toy with plenty of educational play value. At this recommended age range in Britain, more emphasis is given in identifying lower-case letters by their sound, rather than their name. Having said that, this desk is a super learning aid--its basic focus on showing children the correct way to form a letter, how to build a word up from letters and sounds and recognition of the alphabet has a lot to offer British as well as US youngsters. All children who used this test sample were mesmerised by the brightly coloured alphabet and the "magic" drawing screen. The desk is chunky and durable, the games are innovative and they do really help to make learning fun. Supplied with demonstration batteries only, requires 3 AA batteries. Browse our full range of batteries for this and other toys. (Suitable for children aged 3 to 7 years).--Susan Naylor

There is a lower case and capital switch which will encourage children with writer's block to speed ahead. My four-year-old son is an enthusiastic reader but barely showed any interest in writing before he used the Phonics desk, and he now spends hours with the "magic pen" in his hand. These skills have been transferred to the classroom, and writing has become less of a threat and a chore.

There are endless reading games included in the phonics desk, and I'm sure we are still discovering new ones. This toy is certainly excellent value for money, providing entertainment and vital skills. Batteries are included for in-store purposes only, so have 3 AA batteries handy. The parent guide is useful, but you may find that your child is a better guide, and will soon be telling you how to write. --Jo Fitzgerald

If your child is ready to learn the letter names and sounds, and to start making letter shapes with a pen, then you couldn't choose a better teaching toy than the LeapFrog Phonics Writing Desk. This was an absolute hit with my four-year-old from the outset, and even better he has returned to it time and again. It has been very cleverly designed to cover several different aspects of early literacy skills in a format which the children find easy to follow and genuinely interactive.

The Writing Desk has a button in the shape of each letter of the alphabet, as well as a small LCD screen and a screen of the "magic-slate-type", complete with an attached pen to use on it. There are six different modes to choose from, including identifying letters by name and sound, spelling out a given word, and at the most difficult level the child can pick out his or her own three-letter word which the Desk will read aloud.

The LCD screen draws each letter step by step to show it is formed and the child then has the opportunity to practice that formation on the "magic-slate" screen. The voice is English and extremely clear, giving plenty of encouragement and reinforcement of correct answers. The Desk can accommodate both upper and lower case letters and has a volume control and even a Help button for clues.

This is an easy-to-use educational and fun piece of equipment which has the excellent feature of supporting both reading and writing skills--unusual for an electronic toy--and I would recommend it as a worthwhile buy. --Caroline Parsons

This is a variation on the usual press and listen phonic/letter boards. As well as doing the usual (reciting the letter names and sounds when pressed), it also has a small screen on which the child writes the letter that is being learned. The screen is marked clearly to help size the writing correctly, and to encourage clear ascenders and descenders. The letter can be wiped by pushing a button. Of course, you have to check that your child is forming the letter correctly, but it is a great encouragement.

My little boy, aged four, has had great fun with this. It has a volume control, so it is bearable in the car. His sister, aged two, has also enjoyed pressing the letters and scribbling on the screen. --Rachel Elvidge

The Phonics Writing Desk by LeapFrog is an award-winning toy that helps children practice their writing skills as they learn the alphabet, through phonics, spelling and creating words. The desk layout includes a slide-along selection handle, which enables the user to choose from six activities (discovering letters; finding letters; discovering sounds; finding sounds; spelling; and creating words), an LCD screen which shows capital and lower case letters, raised letters for the child to press through the exercises, a friendly help button, and a "magic" writing screen with pen for children to practice their writing skills. The child is guided through the activities by a little frog who gives encouragement and praise with a cheerful voice saying things like, "You can do it!", "Amazing!", or "Let's play!", in an English accent. The friendly help button prompts our little friend frog to offer words of encouragement like "Do you need a clue? The letter 'O' looks like this"… and then the LCD screen demonstrates accordingly by showing how the letter is written. My daughter very quickly took to the learning toy and her favourite features seem to be the automatic erasing button, and the little frog making very funny faces with hilarious froggy noises when you make a mistake by pressing the wrong letter. This last feature seemed to be just too funny--encouraging our toddler to deliberately press the wrong button to get the extreme reactions from the frog--but that's OK, it's a fun learning experience. The battery powered (3 AA alkaline, supplied) electronic toy has a carry handle which makes it easily portable. Although recommended for four years and up, slightly younger children would also benefit from it. --Sarah McNamara