Leapfrog: Talking Words Factory

I got this DVD for my kids (ages almost-4 and almost-3), because they really liked their Letter Factory game for Leap Pad, and the Letter Factory DVD. This series is great. They really enjoy watching it and much of the material is presented in catchy songs...I hear the two of them singing from the back seat of the car, "We're A, E, I, O, U; we're the vowels, we're the glue! We're very sticky letters! We stick the words together!" Thanks in great part to the Letter/Word Factory DVDs, they can each identify every letter of the alphabet, make its sound, and name objects that begin with it. They can each spell their own names and the elder one can write her name. I also hear them spelling out/sounding out words on signs we see, like EXIT and STOP. I'm very impressed with the way LeapFrog makes learning fun and gets them used to combining letters and sounds in a way that helps their comprehension. I recommend "Letter Factory" for kids 2 and up; once they get the hang of "every letter makes a sound," give "Word Factory" a try - they will naturally keep going on the way to reading for real.

My expectations: Fun songs my son would enjoy while learning Not annoying for me to watch if it ends up going on more than once a day Results: My son has already started singing some of the songs after watch it handful of times. It is a very cute video and I believe he is understanding it and learning (he turned 2 recently). Grandma bought this as a birthday gift and it is being well-used. I don’t mind if we watch everyday honestly - it’s pleasant to watch as an adult as well. I’ve also started using some of the sounds they make when we do letter flash cards. Hopefully that helps things flow better, too. Reminder: this is only 35 minutes long so if you’re expecting a couple different shows on this one DVD, then this is not your kind of DVD. I will say it’s worth the money.

My son was diagnosed with Pervasive Development Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified when he was 3. PDD-NOS is on the Autism spectrum, and children with this diagnosis often have developmental delays. My son had a speech delay and other developmental delays. His speech is great now...no one can detect that he has this diagnosis. However, the delays have, understandably, affected his learning in some areas. While his spatial skills have been way above average--as has his grasp of science (such as planets and their attributes)--he has resisted reading. He gets tired and frustrated. Well, trying many approaches for helping him, I thought I'd take a chance and get the Talking Words Factory from Amazon.com, especially since the reviews were so good. I am very, very pleased with this DVD! My son watches it quite often, and he's now reading books on his own. I can see a marked difference in a matter of WEEKS. Before, he had to think about how some of the letters sounded. Now, he rattles them off like a pro--as well as 3-letter words! This DVD also teaches about vowels and consonants, so he's learning how the vowels are sticky like glue, holding words together (thanks to Professor Quigley's Sticky-Ick-O-Rama machine!). The Word Whammer machine shows children how to put the consonants and vowels together, and how they sound. I like the fact that they'll switch around the vowels with the same beginning and ending consonants, to highlight how a vowel sounds within a word. Talking Words Factory also teaches rhyming, which is a bonus. Highly recommended!

Leap Frog products are always really good and this DVD is up to their standard. I think this is a great program for kids who know their letters and the sounds they make. My kids are in preschool and kindergarten and they both love(d) watching the Leap Frog letters and words DVDs...and they really helped them learn their ABCs and sight words. I can see them forming sounds and memorizing sight words along with the shows and I like how it highlights the sounds of the letters as they are put into words so it helps them learn to transition to sounding out other words too. My oldest didn't respond well to sight words on flash cards and Talking Words Factory was a nice way to mix it up so we were both less frustrated with learning to read. My kids learn very differently, but these DVDs have helped them both. Over the past several years they have watched quite a few of the letter and sight word DVDs from both Preschool Prep and Leap Frog. Both products are very good, but they are completely different. Preschool Prep has no story line and the animation is very minimal on white background. They absolutely work, and they work quickly, but they are insanely annoying for parents and my kids only seem to keep good focus on them if we were in the car or at home for 10-15 minutes instead of the whole show. The Leap Frog DVDs have a cute story line and the animation is just like a regular DVD so they pay attention a lot better, but with all of the extra stimulation it doesn't seem like they pick as much up as quickly, but it also seems to help them think outside the box a little with the sounds of sight words and not just memorizing the sight words, which is great as they transition from memorizing sight words to actually learning to read. I guess my point is, if your child needs an immediate focus to help them pick up their letters or memorize sight words quickly, then Preschool Prep might be a better option, but if you aren't in a rush and your child gets bored quickly, then the Leap Frog series is a better fit for you. If you are like me and you want some strategic focus to get the basics down, some fun to keep them interested, and some time to mix it up...by all means do both.

This is a wonderful resource for teachers or parents wanting help a child to build and blend letters into words. My Kindergarten class love it.

Wife was an elementary school reading teacher and we watched this many times with grandsons before they were school age.

Mint condition. Fantastic. My kids were so happy as we had a scratched up version that was not watchable.

I bought this for my 4 and 6 year old sons and they love it. It's a great way for them to learn and practice their phonics, blending sounds etc. Fun and educational, Leap Frog is a always great. Beware though that this a US import so I couldn't play it on my DVD player, we play it on our laptops but that's not an issue, it's still a great DVD to have.

Great dvd for helping kids after they have learned their letters from the first dvd The Letter Factory. I use this series with my kindergarden class.

Kids can learn phonics both of the story and the game. Honestly, the animation is rough and I myself don't like it, however, my kid likes it a lot. He plays the game and learn words. He asked me to buy another series of this. I guess I need a few more of this series!

Order arrived late.It was sold here for 24pounds. Same item is sold for 6pounds on ebay. It comes in a format that cannot played my my DVD and Laptop. Its a rip off. It contain only35mins of video content.I paid so much for less. I wont recommend this to anyone.