VTech My Laptop

...laptop has been made by VTech and is designed for pre-school children aged 3-5 years. They do make other models suitable for older children and I think they also make one for younger children as well.

We purchased this from Woolworth's for a great price of 15 which I think is an absolute bargain for such an education toy.

For more information on this laptop then you can contact VTech on 01235 546810.

I ... more

We bought this as a Christmas present for our 3 year old as his big brother had a similar and we knew he would want one of his own.

THE LAPTOP

The laptop is an oval shape and has an orange lid with a yellow and orange base.

The lid is opened by a push button on the right hand side of the lid, the button is a green colour so it can easily be seen.

Upon opening the laptop cover you will find that the keys are on the bottom. The keys are different from a normal keyboard and are all attached and just stick up slightly. We have found this a very good idea for our son as he cannot pull them off! The buttons are yellow and are on a blue background. Above the keys and numbers are some buttons which correspond to different categories. There is also the on and off switch.

He inside of the lid has a small screen which measures 7cm by 3cm. The screen is surrounded by a blue background and to the left and bottom of the screen are the categories and games numbers and to the bottom right are two sliding switches which adjust the volume and the contrast.

The laptop runs on batteries and this model takes 3 size AA or pencil batteries.

CATEGORIES

There are 4 different categories on this model which all have smaller games inside.

1 - Letter fun - the games in this category are

Letter sounds

In this game you are shown a letter on the screen and you have to try and press the correct letter on the keyboard. As you progress up the levels you will be asked to type maybe 2 or 3 letters. After pressing your letters you have to press the enter key.

Letter names

A boy or a girl appears on the screen in this game holding a kite and on the kite will be a flashing letter, it flashes 3 times and you have to press the correct letter on the keyboard.

Alpatastic Fun

In this game we have shapes appear on the screen which turn into letters. The letter appear in a sequence and you have to then enter the next correct letter and then the enter key.

Magic Letters

In this game you have to match the smaller letter to the capital ones which are shown on the screen. You have to use the arrow keys to match up the pair of correct letters.

Lost letters

In this game you are show a word which has the first letter missing, you have to press the correct letter on the keypad to complete the word. The first level shows a picture of the word and also a voice says the word which you have to complete but as the levels progress the help is not there so it has to be done by the child with no help.

Spell-O-Rama

This game starts by showing you an object on the screen and the when it disappears you have to type in the correct missing letters from the name of it.

2 - Maths Dash - the games in this category are

Number crunch

Level one of this game involves you pressing any of the number buttons and they will appear on the screen and a voice will say them to you. As the levels go up you are shown the word corresponding to a letter and the aim is to press the correct number.

Secret numbers

In this game an aeroplane flies across the screen towing a package and to find out what is inside the box you have to type in the correct number which flashes on the box.

Number Chain

A dog is shown on the screen and to get across to the other side he jumps on the number but you have to help him get to the other side by filling in the missing number.

Crazy counting

Objects will appear on the screen and you have to count how many there are and they press the correct number key and then the enter key

Add it!

In the first level of this game you are shown two amounts of things and you have to add them together and enter the correct amount but as the levels go up then the sums get harder.

Take away!

This is the same as add it but using subtraction instead

3 - Games Gallery - the games in this category are

Magic Words

A picture appears on the screen and then you are shown a choice of words. You have to select the correct word for the picture.

Looks alike

This game start by showing you several pairs of items on the screen and then they are covered, you have to use the curser keys to correctly find and match the pairs.

Falling rocks

In this game the screen is split into several channels which all have falling rocks and jewels. You have to collect the jewels by using the arrow keys but try to avoid collecting the rocks.

Type in time

There is a car in this game which is trying to race to the finish line but to do this you have to type the correct letters which match the ones at the bottom of the screen and do it quickly so the car can get to the finish.

Workbook

This game works along side the workbook which comes with the laptop. More about this further down the review.

4 - Music Box - the games in this category are

Groovy jukebox

In the juke box there are 10 different song which your child can dance or sing along to, you select the song you want by pressing the correct number on the keypad to the one shown in the train which appears on the screen.

Code Breaker

A tune is played and a key is shown at the same time on the screen, the object of this game is to try and remember the tune and then play it back.

Melody maker

This game is great fun as you can make yup your own tunes by using the musical note keys which are found on the same keys as the numbers.

WORKBOOK

The laptop comes with great workbook. The book is called On Safari and is red in colour with some fun pictures on the cover. The book is filled with questions and all of the answers are multiple choice.

To use the workbook with the laptop then you just select the workbook category and this allows you to type in your choice of answer.

The book is well presented with the pages all having different themes relating to the On Safari title. At the top of each page it shows you which buttons you need to press within the Workbook category to be able to input your answers.

MY OPINION

This has been a very welcome addition to our toy collection.

The laptop is very hardwearing and stands up to a lot of wear and tear. Ours has in fact been thrown onto the floor once and has not got a mark or scratch on it.

We did find it a bit difficult to see the screen at first but once we had been using it for a short time we soon got the hang of how it look and how the letters and numbers appeared.

We have found that the activities are designed to work alongside the basic curriculum which is great as this is the one which he is using at pre-school so we have found he is picking things up a lot quicker.

The volume button has been invaluable to us as for the first 2 days all my son wanted to do was turn it on and off as there was a lovely little tune played when he did so. All of the activities are accompanied by tunes and speech which is very helpful and does keep the child involved in what they are doing instead of sidetracking to do something else.

The handle at the top of the laptop is great as it makes it easier for children to carry it around and take it with them.

The only downside to the laptop is that the battery compartment is on the bottom and it is not sealed by a screw, it can be easily opening by a small child which mine has done on several occasions and has taken the batteries out.

The laptop does come with a full instruction sheet which tells you all you need to know bout getting started and accessing the games.

After you have completed any of the games then your score will appear on the screen and the voice will also tell you what your score is. My sons loves hearing what his score is as he knows if it is high or if he gets full marks it plays a great tune.

Some of the games are very hard for my 3 year old to play on his own as they are very advanced but with a lot of help from me he is slowly mastering them and learning what he has to do. Once your child has mastered the easier levels they soon start to advance up to the harder ones and I have found that he is now asking for less help and trying it more on his own.

I have found that the workbook which comes with the laptop is very advanced for my 3 year old so it has been put away until he has mastered his numbers and sums and then he will be able to answer the questions in it. I would say the workbook is more aimed at the top end of the 3 to 5 year age range which this model has been designed for.

INFO

This laptop has been made by VTech and is designed for pre-school children aged 3-5 years. They do make other models suitable for older children and I think they also make one for younger children as well.

We purchased this from Woolworth's for a great price of 15 which I think is an absolute bargain for such an education toy.

For more information on this laptop then you can contact VTech on 01235 546810.

I would highly recommend this laptop for all pre-school children as it is so fun and educational at the same time. 

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