LeapFrog® Leapster® Learning Game: Scholastic Math Missions
This is a great game. I hope Scholastic puts out more cartridges for the Leapster platform.
Save the stores of Spectacle City and develop real-world math skills as you complete orders at a candy store, build a skyscraper and more! Earn reward money by solving math problems, then spend your hard-earned cash on exciting arcade games. Leapster2 players can connect online for extra activities and rewards. And with the LeapFrog® Learning Path, parents can see what their child is learning. Appropriate for ages 4 years to 8 years. All Leapster games work with all Leapster systems.
- Real-world mathematics challenges await you in Spectacle City as you use your skills to save local stores!
- Don’t let trouble multiply at the seafood market–select the correct fish to balance the scale.
- Complete mathematics problems and earn money.
- Spend your hard-earned cash playing three exciting games at the arcade.
- Teaches addition, subtraction, multiplication, money and geometry.
Save the stores of Spectacle City and develop real-world math skills as you complete orders at a candy store, build a skyscraper, and more! Solve hundreds of math problems that build addition, multiplication, problem solving skills and more in real-world environments such as a candy store and a seafood market. Earn money by solving math problems, and then spend your hard-earned cash on three exciting arcade games! (more…)
Categories: Electronic Games & Toys Tags: Game, LeapFrog®, Leapster®, Learning, Math, Missions, Scholastic
Leap Frog Leapster2 Learning Game System Pink
The Leapster2 is a nice, stylish game system that is age-appropriate for young children. It is easy to handle and, for the most part, easy to use.
Put innovative creativity and fun at your kids’ fingertips — and watch them learn in the process — with the The LeapFrog Leapster 2 Learning Game System. This battery-operated handheld game system goes where your children go, and brings plenty of learning fun along. It comes with two pre-installed educational games, and many more are available: purchase an optional SD card separately for access to additional online games and to take advantage of other online features; or you can purchase game cartridges to add to your Leapster 2 repository. The included games have skill levels suitable for children ages 4 to 8.
- The preschool gaming handheld that connects to the LeapFrog® Learning Path, an online experience that lets you see what your child is learning.
- Play and learn school skills on the go or connect online for extra activities and rewards.
- Library of over 30 exciting learning games featuring characters kids love.
- Included and additional games teach skills in a range of subjects, such as language arts, reading, mathematics and science.
- Parents can connect online to the LeapFrog® Learning Path to see what their child is learning. Kids connect online for extra activities and rewards.
The console has a comfortable, curved shape, although it may be a tad large and heavy for smaller hands. It features a full-color touch screen and sound that’s a far cry better than the beeps of old-school handheld consoles. (Parents will appreciate the volume control and a jack for headphones!) Control and manipulate the console with the included stylus and with the videogame-style D pad and other buttons.
We found the initial set-up to be relatively easy: install the four required AA batteries, and navigate through the self-explanatory screens to create user profiles for up to 3 children (which come in handy for accessing online features). After this quick set-up, a menu screen will appear, where you can choose to play the pre-loaded games, go online, or insert a game cartridge.
Fun and Learning
Leapster 2 games are designed to grow with your child ages 4 through 8. The console is pre-loaded with two games: The “Dragons to the Rescue! Learning Game,” is a “video game” type activity with four different levels, the first helping kids identify letters and numbers, the most advanced giving them spelling and multiplication practice, all while navigating a dragon past monstrous storm clouds and scrambling to collect magic crystals. The “Creativity Castle Art Studio” is a rather low-tech art program. Players can select a background scene to “color” using the stylus and “decorate” with fun animated stamps. While it does foster creativity, this program is somewhat clumsy — your Paint program on your PC does a much better job. But “Dragons” was fun enough to keep even an adult tester enjoyably diverted.
Unfortunately, an SD card is required for taking advantage of much of what the Leapster 2 has to offer — which is a drawback, because it must be purchased separately. Without the SD card, which offers more memory, you cannot save artwork, download new games, or take advantage of the online “Learning Path,” which will be available August 2008. (This online program allows you to register and upload your children’s Leapster 2 profiles to show you their learning activities and their progress.)
In the meantime, without the SD card, you can still purchase game cartridges. And you still can plug your console — with the included USB cable — into your PC for your children to view and print “rewards” for completing different game levels (for Dragons to the Rescue, they’re certificates of achievement) or to print pictures to color with actual crayons (to encourage some “old-fashioned” creativity!) You must first install the Leapster 2 software on your computer, which comes on the included CD-ROM. (more…)
