|  This
is a truly fun and very educational electronic toy from
Neurosmith. It can be played in so many ways that it makes it a
superior learning aid for children from as young as 2-3 and up to
7.
Phonics
Tiles features slots for 26 alphabet tiles (both uppercase and
lowercase letters). Children place the tiles into the Learning
Board at top, which allows them to create words as long as 5
letters. There are 4 modes of play: kids can hear a song about
letters and letter sounds, play a game (finding a letter or a
picture), explore sounds and build words, or spell requested
words.
Whether
or not your child has placed a real word onto the Learning Board,
it will be sounded out. If it is a recognized word, it will be
read aloud after it is sounded out. Furthermore, the toy tracks
learning progress. So if a child has just placed the word
"ran" on the board in Explore mode, Learn mode might ask
them to spell the word "pan".
We
had a few small complaints: for one, if a child
continually misspells a requested word, the answer is not given.
Instead, they unit moves on to another word. For another, because there
is only one tile of each letter, that limits the words kids can
build. Otherwise, it
provides a pleasant interactive experience. Although pricey,
Phonics Tiles is a superior learning toy. It can be placed on the
ground or hung on the wall. Volume control comes in dial-form
which gives users more control over the sound. And, speaking of
sound, it is crystal-clear--an important feature for toys of this
nature! Undesirable words are "bleeped" out.
[For
more information, user reviews, or to buy:
Phonics Tiles]
Back to
Toy Guide
| Educational Toy |
By: Neurosmith |
Ages 3-7 |
2002 |
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