When a game begins, the child uses the Zippity bopper and play mat to interact with the characters as they learn how to match colors, recognize letters and identify the concept of left and right. It’s also great for motor planning, which is a fancy way to describe a child’s ability to follow unfamiliar, multi-step directions.

When reviewing the product, I used the Zippity with two children, ages three and six, who both enjoyed the experience in different ways. There are 8 games provided in the original console, each game has two levels of play. There is also an ability to purchase different game cartridges with other Disney favorites such as Cars and Princesses.

The Level 1 games were perfect for the three year old. Whether she chose to play with Handy Manny or the Little Einsteins, because the directions to both games were similar, she could generalize a skill she had learned from one game to the next with almost immediate success.

As an adult, don’t get frustrated with the speed of the directions being slow, this is a great feature that makes it easier for children to understand the directions! For younger children I would encourage an adult to play along so that you can repeat the directions again if they have a hard time remembering them. Level 1 did include some directions such as using left and right, which can be difficult for children this age to understand, so you may want repeat the direction and encourage them to step on red for left or green for right instead.

The Level 2 games were easy for the six year old, but remember all children learn at different paces. He was able to feel successful immediately by quickly following the directions and operating the console completely by himself. We worked on the concept of turn taking, which worked out well and can be a good skill to promote amongst siblings and friends during playdates.

As is typical of many Leap Frog toys, you can use the Learning Path to experience in more detail other developmental skills your child is learning.

What I really like about the Zippity is that it provides dynamic learning in both the physical and mental sense. I personally love games that incorporate whole body movement and the Zippity is perfect for providing stimulation on a rainy day when children aren’t able to play outside. It’s a great game to buy for families with multiple siblings or children of different developmental levels.

The Zippity retails for $79.99, for more information visit www.leapfrog.com

Leap Frog provided the Zippity free for this review, but the opinions expressed in this review are purely the bloggers own.

One game I’ve had particular success with is that good old classic game of Memory. A quick search has found that our once cherished version of such a simple game, has also morphed to include the latest in childhood favorites with Disney Princesses, SpongeBob Squarepants, Dora, Go Diego Go, Spiderman, Little Einsteins, and the Backyardigans. Find the version that motivates your child the best, and here are some quick tips on how to modify this game:

1. I personally tend to find the character versions more challenging than the original version. For example, there are often several Spiderman cards with variations, causing even more attention to detail to be required, which can lead to some frustration.
To avoid this, have your child help you pre-sort the cards by matching them face up first before you set up the rows, look for matches that do not share as many similarities, and set those to the side for playing.

2. Start with a smaller amount of cards, such as 12 (6 pairs). Arrange those in the rows and play this smaller version first to teach the concept of the game and build their confidence with the skill. Simply add or remove pairs as needed.

3. I often tend to choose to keep even numbers of cards so that there can be a tie and there is not always a winner, in an effort to minimize the whole winner/loser concept. Pick your battles, our goal is to focus on the letter formation, and for that we need their excitement to participate.

4. Keep a small white board with a dry erase marker, chalkboard, Magnadoodle, Glodoodle, colored post-it notes with writing lines, or some good fashioned old lined paper nearby. Let your child choose which one they’d like to use.

5. When you make a match, you will then have to write the word for what is on your card. You will need to gauge your child’s skill level, but if you are simply wanting to work on reinforcing letter formation, write the word for them first and have them copy it (this method works well for those who have completed Kindergarten or are in first grade). When children copy from a model, they are more apt to focus on the letter formation and may not get as frustrated. For children in second grade and above you can suggest they sound out the word and write it independently, providing assistance as needed. Using the lined paper will add another component of reinforcing sizing, spacing and orientation to the line.