Finally got a Leappad

So, I finally got a leappad... after vacillating whether to get one or not, this post convinced me...
"Leappad: the completely rubbish tablet you have to get"

It convinced me that even though it is slow, and expensive, my son would love it. And yes, my son does love it :) And yes, the cost of the apps are the most annoying part... (and the slowness of the leappad -- but I'm an impatient techie...). Admittedly, I really only finally got one because I became obsessed with it and my husband told me to get it so it would shut me up... oh dear.

I got one for my son who just turned 3 in March, and who (of course I think) is a little advanced for his age. I would agree that the recommended age of 4-8 would be best for most kids, yet my son will become better at it as he gets older and will have it mastered by 4. The games I got were Tangled (he loves the movie -- and so do I!) which is too short of a game in my opinion... especially for $25. And a little too advanced for my son to play by himself.

I also got him Mr. Pencil saves Doodleburg which I love for him! It's great. the educational content within the story/game is perfect. I love how they teach him how to draw as well as the terms like "horizontal" and "vertical" lines, and shapes...

The downloadable extras called "micromods" are a bit lame, (- mostly 'stickers' you can stamp onto a page when you're free-coloring) and the fact that I have to pay an extra $7.50 for an extension to the game I spent $25 on is pretty shocking too.

But, one way of legitimizing the cost, and what I am keeping in mind, is that Leapfrog as a company has more educational support and knowledgable developers behind their products as opposed to someone who knows how to write an app and just wants to make a quick .99c x 1000 from the Apple app store... the "mile wide but an inch deep" argument...

The Leappad comes with a free 4th game that you can choose when you're setting up your leappad. I got the dinosaur book that my son couldn't care less about. I should have gotten the train game, perhaps. But there's no going back once you've done the initial set up.

Also, there's 2 free apps wondering around online on multiple blogs since November, 2011:
"The book of super awesome stuff" ebook code: 5813-1140-1518-1413
"Alphabet stew" game code: 5813-0790-4610-4973
I cant wait, and expect, there to be new free codes for other games, books, and videos!


I wonder about the many bloggers who got a free one with games already loaded onto it. How did they get that? Did they have to write rave reviews on their blog of other leappad toys? Anyway. Im jealous... That toy is s'pensive! I want some free stuff! :)

Sunday School Cool?

So, I've been trying to look for some cool/fun/intelligent Bible lessons to do with my kids at home and I haven't really found anything... have any of you had the same problem? Even Bible games for preschoolers to play online... disneyjr.com and nickjr.com have really good games to play for preschoolers... are there any good Christian or Old Testament/Tanakh sites?
The websites for the free printables are not designed nicely, the illustrations are done by people whose skills aren't particularly honed, and the lesson content is pretty shallow -- even if it is for a pre-schooler. Unfortunately, even our church Sunday School coloring pages that my son brings home are pretty strange...

And then there's the whole other topic of historical accuracy of the Bible lessons we're teaching our kids. If we start off teaching our kids wrong information how should we expect them to have an intelligent faith? Why do we think its okay or do we not think its important? For example, what Christmas story coloring page would be complete without Joseph leading a very pregnant Mary on a DONKEY? Did you know that only the elite and regal owned a donkey? And an "inn" was a guest chamber in most peoples' homes... I could go on for. ev. er... this is a major problem with the way we're teaching our youngin's...

Might I need to do a better job myself? Or is there anything already out there?

Here's the top hit I got from google:
biblestoryprintables.com/

And this is a google books excerpt of a Bible story book for children that has taken too much poetical license regarding the historical accuracy of the story.

Bible Stories for All Ages