I. Love. LeapFrog. That pretty much says it all. The company has sent me their Tag Reader and Tag Junior to review on Boutique Cafe’s Daily Dish and adore them both, as do my kids ranging in age from 2 to 12. Okay, so maybe the 12-year-old doesn’t use the Tag Readers but she did think they were super cool. Basically, whenever LeapFrog has a new product they want me to review on the Daily Dish I’m all over it…because I know my kids will be too.

The latest addition to LeapFrog’s line of electronic learning products is the Zippity Learning System. This not-so-little gadget is sort of Dance Dance Revolution meets Wii meets old-school Atari controller–but for 3- to 5-year-old children. The set consists of an interactive mat and “bopper” plus a small console that plugs into the television. The console has places for extra games but already comes with 8 games (2 levels each) featuring fave Playhouse Disney shows like My Friends Tigger & Pooh, Handy Manny, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Little Einsteins. (Anyone else absolutely adore Little Einsteins?!?!) You can also purchase separate games with other popular characters like Lightning McQueen and those ever-effervescent Disney princesses.

George was so excited to try out his new Zippity he kept asking how soon ’til Dad was home he could play it. (Yes, I could have set it up but I love giving Dad a chance to get involved with these reviews.) But George couldn’t wait so big sister got it all plugged in and set up for him. After that it only took a few false starts to help George understand how the mat and bopper worked and away he went trying out each game (easy level only) and finding out his faves; he really enjoyed making June and Goofy dance and helping Handy Manny’s tools fix things. Don’t believe me? Here’s a little video for you:

And just like the Tag Reader and Tag Junior, the Zippity offers the built-in Learning Path so you can track the skills your child is exploring as they learn and play. It’s really pretty cool. Though I love the Zippity I will say a couple things bothered me. One, the amount of batteries this puppy takes. I think it’s like 4 C batteries for both the console and the mat…and I have yet to find rechargeable size C batteries. (We’re big fans of rechargeable batteries around here.) And two, even though the games are geared towards 3-year-olds and up, the easy levels moved a bit too slowly for both George and me. Touted as an “active” learning system, the only time George really got moving was when he free danced with June, and he was moving way too fast for the game to keep up with him!

But all in all the Zippity is a huge hit at our house and would make a great holiday gift for the preschooler in your home. Even Livi had a great time taking a turn on the mat–after she gave her sister the count of three to do something. (Who do you suppose she got that from?) Check out this outtake video:

*** Giveaway!!! LeapFrog is giving away one (1) Zippity Learning System to a lucky Daily Dish reader (and $80 value)! Here’s how to enter. You can do as many of these as you’d like. Each one is worth one entry into our giveaway:

•   Visit LeapFrog.com and leave a comment telling us your favorite LeapFrog product.
•   Become a fan of LeapFrog on Facebook and leave a comment telling us you’re their newest fan.
•   Follow LeapFrog on Twitter and leave a comment telling is you’re their newest follower.
•   Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment with the URL of your tweet.
•   Blog about this giveaway and leave a comment with the URL to your blog post.

Include a valid email address for our drawing. We’ll draw the winner from the comments and contact her via email. Deadline: November 12, 2009 (midnight). The winner will have 24 hours to claim her prize or a new winner will be chosen.

* Congratulations to Sky S., the winner of the Zippity giveaway! Thank you to everyone who took the time to read the review and add a comment. Keep reading the Daily Dish for your chance to participate in more giveaways!

tags children's games, children's toys, LeapFrog, learning systems, videogames, Zippity

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 1:00 am and is filed under Daily Dish. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.