The Leapfrog Party. Or, how I lost my purse and still made out like a bandit

Being a blogger has its perks, but I've never been as blown away by corporate generosity and thoughtfulness as I was yesterday at the Leapfrog party hosted for Chicago Moms Blog contributors.

To crib from the Passover seder, had they invited our kids over to run riot in a KinderCare indoor playground but not painted faces, that would have been enough.

If they'd painted faces, but not hired a caricature artist to draw their faces, that would have been enough.

If they had hired a caricature artist but not served us pizza and salads, brought in developmental experts to talk with us about choosing toys for our kids, let us schmooze with our bloggy friends and interact with all of their electronic playthings, that would have been enough.

But we got all that an an armful of toys to take home! Z added two new books to her Tag Reader collection and our beloved Fridge Farm now has neighbors, the FridgeTalk Wordplay Recorder and the FridgePhonics Magnetic Set (which we had borrowed from a neighbor years ago but had to return). Plus, Z asked one of the representatives from Leapfrog to send her a pink Leapster2, the Gameboy-like handheld you see her playing with in the photo.

Yes, that's my child using a stylus. And I don't mind. You see, there was some spirited discussion among the moms about the appropriateness of electronic learning toys. In general, the moms of younger kids fell into the "all wood, Montessori or Waldorf for my child" camp and the moms of older kids threw up their arms and said they'd surrendered to the computer, the Internet and the Wii long ago. Resistance is futile; particularly when you kids reach school age.

I'd like to think I fall somewhere in the middle. Z gets heavy does of hands-on, all-natural learning at her very traditional Montessori school, but as long as she's reading real books, drawing her own pictures and acting out her rich imaginary life with dolls and cardboard boxes, I'm happy to mix things up a bit with an interactive toy that reinforces her critical thinking and phonics skillss. Unlike the Vtech video game system that I dissed for throwing a letter-match challenge over a driving game, the Leapfrog products don't use "educational" as window dressing to make mom feel better about buying her kid a video game. They seem genuinely designed to keep small minds challenged and engaged. And if you don't believe me, check out the online Learning Path, where parents can see how often their kids are playing with toys like the Leapster and Tag reader and how well they're doing on the interactive games and quizzes.

So it was a great party. We had fun and scored toys. But somehow I managed to leave with two kids, two coats, my backpack, my cell phone, my car keys, the Ergo carrier and an armful of
free toys. Leaving behind my purse. Yes, again.

Fortunately one of the lovely ladies from Leapfrog drove my purse to my house (!!!), thrilling Z, who thought she'd come to deliver her Leapster.

If you're in the market for a Leapfrog toy, save $10 on a Leapster 2 or Didj orders of $50 or more. Use code HY8BHPR at the Leapfrog.com checkout before 11/15/2008.

More than you ever wanted to know about early learning

Some parents want to give their kids every edge. They'll buy flashcards for their babies, consult with preschool admissions advisers and send their elementary school kids to storefront tutoring centers.

I'd like to think I'm not one of those mothers.

Sure, I'm paying a pretty penny to send Z to a Montessori school instead of a traditional play-based preschool or one of those we-don't-care-about-reading-we'd-rather-hug-cloth-dolls Waldorf academies. But that's because I think Montessori curriculum is a perfect match for her inquisitive, self-directed personality.

But I don't think her school is 100% responsible for what she learns. I want to provide enriching opportunities at home, and I'm always on the lookout for suggestions for books to check out from the library, ideas for art activities and tools for fostering an interest in math and science (not my strong suits, honestly). And I recently learned you can find all this (and a whole lot more) at a site called The Savvy Source for Parents, a resource-filled website for the parents of preschoolers (thanks for the hookup, Parent Bloggers).

Check out the quiz on the right-side of my blog. Seriously, try it and come right back. I completed all of the questions (yes, there are a lot) and got a breathtakingly in-depth look at my preschooler's knowledge and skills across a variety of subjects. For example, Z can't yet "observe and talk about art." When I clicked through to SavvyPicks for toys, books and activities that might strengthen this skill I saw two books we already owned and I made a mental note to share Harold and the Purple Crayon and Dancing with Degas with my daughter again soon.

You can find suggestions for activities, crafts and toys that help enrich each skill area (and again, there are a lot). It is a little overwhelming, honestly. But motivated moms can print the free activities and create and share wishlists with grandparents for puzzles, block sets and much, much more. Even if you don't take all of the quizzes, you can browse activities by category or by your child's age. Here are the ideas for 3-4 year olds.

The SavvySource quiz is being sponsored by Leapfrog, which sent me their brand new Tag reading system to review. Now as a general rule, Josh and I don't buy electronic educational games. I figure if I managed to escape childhood and become a professional writer without a Speak N Spell, my children can survive as well. So color us shocked when, just hours after we powered up the "pen," both of us were determined to buying more books for the system. It's that good.

So what is this miracle toy? The Tag reader is a pen-shaped electronic device that "reads" books from the collection, which includes many classic titles as well as crappy-looking licensed character books. Our reader came with Ozzie and Mack, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and a Kung-Fu Panda book. In order to get the books to "read," we had to first download software to our Mac and connect the reader to the computer with the included USB cord. You transfer stories from your computer/online library to the reader much like you'd add songs to your iPod. It holds five books at a time. And, like an iPod, you can attach a pair of headphones to the reader and keep your kid quietly occupied in the car or at the doctor's office

Z immediately figured out how to get the pen to read the stories to her. Imagine--a tool that responds to her commands to "read to me!" without an "after I unload the dishwasher, honey." She really got a kick out of the word games embedded on pages throughout the book and doggedly worked to master levels 1, 2 and 3 (pretty good considering the toy is rated for 4-8 year olds)! And come August I'll be able to monitor and track her progress via the Leapfrog Learning Path.

LeapFrog's Tag Reader retails for $49.99 and comes with one book. Additional books cost $13.99.