Leapfrogging to New York

Leapfrog hosted an event for mom bloggers from the area city blogs, including about 40 bloggers who write for the New York blog, D.C. blog, New Jersey blog and of course, us Philly Mom Bloggers. The Mom bloggers were as diverse as mom bloggers can be but everyone had great input and the discussion was informative and interesting. Most seem to be from the 30-something to early 40's demographics and some nursed their babies while at the meeting. A few brave husbands ventured into the mix.

Jo-Lynne from Musings of a Housewife and I decided to brave the travel from the suburbs of Philadephia and headed up via the Trenton train station. Lynette from LynetteRadio found us on the train and we had a great time chatting and getting to know her on the way to the big city. We were excited to learn that she had already met our husbands, the Handyguys, at a Philly podcast conference. The marathon made transportation a little tricky but the weather was lovely and made up for the delays.

While Jo-Lynne bemoaned her heels, Lynette guided us expertly through the subway and Uptown to the event, or was it downtown? We felt very fortunate to have her experience leading us all the way, whichever way it was.

Arriving at the Four Seasons, after skirting under and around the marathon, we headed upstairs where we met other bloggers waiting for the big shindig to begin. Soon we were invited into a room with delicious and delightful sandwiches, pastries and drinks. Mimosas were served on trays and water came in glass jars. I was impressed. That doesn't take much but this was definitely HIGH CLASS!

Taking our loaded plates with us, we sat down in the next room while Cathy and Elliott from the educational advisory board of Leapfrog shared with us the latest in Leapfrog educational endeavors and took our questions and answers about the newest products on the market. They also noted our suggestions for future product advances. They informed us that Leapfrog was an educational company, not a toy company.

Some women shared that their boys were late readers and the girls were early readers. Another blogger shared that the pressure to have your child read early had lessened for her since moving away from New York. Another wanted more Bob book like material which focuses on certain sounds until those are mastered and then move the reader to the next level. Yet another wanted easy reading material for late bloomers that wasn't so "babyish." Elliott shared that the Leapfrog toys use a scaffolding model from educational resources that starts the reading process then fades away the props so that the child is reading before he or she even knows it. Many women shared their desire to learn more about the Leapfrog products while some, like myself, had already had a number of them and were growing into the older child categories. I shared that the partnership with pop culture characters like Scooby Doo increased the lifespan of the LeapPad in our house. Leapfrog is now partnering with Disney to connect with kids and their interests.

We were then given a VERY generous assortment of cool Leapfrog items including Crammer, Digj and other items that I knew I would use for my 10 & 11 year old girls, as well as ones that would be great for my younger niece and nephew including Tag, the newest audio reading tool since the LeapPad that my kids grew up on.

Leapfrog wants to meet children at every level and give them something to enjoy and learn from at the same time. I know I enjoyed learning from them today and I believe my kids will enjoy the new items! (I almost said TOYS! oops. They will enjoy their new age appropriate educational learning devices!)

Do you use Leapfrog toys? What are your favorites?

Comments

[Lynette {Radio}]

I had the best time navigating the NJ/NY public transportation with you both! I could tell I was the veteran subway rider by my utilitarian flat shoes vs. both of your cute heels. ;)

My daughter is 7 and now in love with the Didj. We picked up a game for her the other day (havent given it to her yet) to see about reinforcing her math skills. My kid is one of those freakish-early readers, but would give you a $100 bill for a candy bar and not expect change. Heres hoping Mommy get her $99 back from that Snickers bar...

[Mozi Esme's Mommy]

Sounds like an event I would have loved! A friend has the Leapfrog my first computer or something like that, and Esme LOVES that keyboard. Another friend has a stuffed animal with alphabet buttons on it - another favorite.