Fridge Words Magnetic Word Builder
by LeapFrog
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Toys and Games Reviews of Fridge Words Magnetic Word Builder
Customer Review: Tinny sound, but still worth it
Summary: 4 Stars
I was delighted to find out the magnets from the Fridge Phonics Magnetic Letter set also work with this! So if you have both, you can spell out double lettered words (such as "dad" and "mom" (and it is programmed to read those words, as well!)
The only problems we've been having with it are related to the tinny sound. The Fridge Phonics Magnetic Letter set sounded nice, but the Word Whammer sound quality is poorer. I know I had a hard time telling "Find the 'F'" from "Find the 'S'". Lucky for us adults, if we know what word it wants us to spell, we know which letter, but it confounds the kids.
If it weren't for the sound quality the toy would be *perfect*. It is really well designed, and very effective at keeping the kid's interest long enough for them not to realize they're learning while they're having fun. If you don't mind needing to translate what the machine said every so often, I highly recommend this.
Customer Review: Everybody's Happy!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this about 4 years ago when my daughter was 1. It was really great while I was cooking dinner. My daughter would bring a little step stool into the kitchen and sit on it and learn her letters sounds and words. I don't know exactly how much it contributed to her learning but by 18 months she knew all her letters and sounds and by about 30 months she could read pretty well. My son is now 3 and can read. He also used this toy almost daily from about 18 months until, well, now! Both my kids could use this independently and it kept their interest. It has held up very well over the years, and even with almost daily use the batteries inly had to be changed, uh, maybe 3 times a year... if that. It has been dropped many times and even survived a juice spill. We lost a letter A (which is a vital letter!) and we were able to buy a replacement on Ebay for $1. I would definitely say one of the best toy buys I've made!Customer Review: My son loves this toy
Summary: 5 Stars
We bought this toy for my 3 year old son who knows most of his letters already. It was great because one of the games you can play with it, ask him to find letters to create words. Within a couple of weeks, he is spelling some 3 letter words on his own! (His favorite is ZOO)
We then bought the lowercase letter expansion pack for him. We thought that soon he would learn to identify lowercase letters, and we were right.
I have a daycare in my home and all of the children love this toy! One little boy I keep is getting ready for kindergarten in the fall and I recommended this toy to his mother for letter and sound recognition. He is already doing so much better. The kids love the fact that even if they don't create a real word, the word whammer will still say, "That is a great sound!"
I recommend this one to anyone with preschool age kids, especially children ready to enter kindergarten!
Customer Review: So disappointed...
Summary: 1 Stars
I wanted to love this product. My family has had wonderful experiences with other LeapFrog products, but this one simply was not of the same quality I have come to expect.
Like many of the other reviewers, our first Word Whammer did not correctly identify the letter placed in the first slot. The only letters it recognized were C and Q. I returned it to the store and bought another one, hoping for better luck. The second one had the same problem with two of the three slots. Some of the little tabs in the slots (which read the letters) are partially depressed, thereby preventing letter recognition. I found that if I used my fingernails to pick at the tabs prior to inserting a letter, it would sometimes work, but that eliminates any possibility of my son being independent and spontaneous... I hate to say it, but I am returning the second Word Whammer and looking for an alternative product.
Customer Review: Great product that needs just a little tweaking.
Summary: 4 Stars
This is almost a really perfect product. I think these improvements need to be made:
1.) Sound clarity. Some of the letters are hard to distinguish.
2.) "Word Hunt" and "Word Builder" would be greatly improved if a sample sentence were included. ESPECIALLY since the sound is a bit slurred.
3.) If a child isn't reading yet (which I assume is the point of the toy), the labeled mode switch at the bottom is meaningless. I would prefer icons that allow kids to use the product independently.
4.) I'm a little concerned that a toddler could get choked on the pieces. They are small enough to fit in a mouth.
Overall, though, I love this product line. It makes learning tactile and fun. My son loves taking the plane off the fridge and soaring it through the air. Great concept, and I'm excited about using it to teach him the foundations of reading.