Here’s what LeapFrog is up to (from a press release):

Another school year is underway, Education Nation has launched, Waiting for Superman is on movie screens, and we all want to give our children the best possible school experience. Knowing that literacy statistics in recent years have been discouraging at best, in 2009, LeapFrog decided we had to do more to help our youngest kids get started on the right foot—in Kindergarten, the year when “learning to read” usually begins.

So we donated $1.5 million in Tag Readers and books to the classrooms of 10,000 Kindergarten students nationwide. And after using them for a few months, here’s what teachers told us:

o 99% of them said they’d recommend Tag systems to other teachers and to parents, because it makes a real difference.

o   96% said their students’ attitudes about reading improved.

o   95% said their students wanted to spend more time reading.

o   97% said their students’ reading skills improved.

WELL. We felt confident that Tag would have a positive effect in the classroom, but even we were amazed by this feedback. Because teachers have made it clear that Tag helps them and their students, LeapFrog has launched the Tag. Give. Read. program, empowering anyone to “give the gift of reading” by putting Tag materials into the hands of 30,000 more students.

2 ways to get involved:

1.   GIVE TO A TEACHER. LeapFrog has donated $100,000 to DonorsChoose.org, to match donations, dollar-for-dollar, made to teachers who request Tag for their classrooms. This is teachers’ opportunity to post a request for Tag Readers and books, being sure to reference “LeapFrog Tag Readers” in the request. And it’s everyone else’s opportunity to help a teacher out. Everyone can give, no amount is too little, and LeapFrog’s gift effectively doubles every dollar given.

2.   “LIKE” LEAPFROG ON FACEBOOK. LeapFrog will give a Tag book to a Kindergarten teacher for each new Facebook fan we get—it’s what we’re calling our “Virtual Book Drive.” That way even someone who is unable to contribute financially can lend a hand by becoming a fan.

Pretty cool initiative, huh?

THE PRIZE:

Tag Reading System + US Map and 2 additional books for YOU.

Tag map

Tag Reading Sytem

PLUS, choose a Kindergarten teacher to receive a Tag kit for classroom use, consisting of 2 Tag School Readers and headphones, along with 2 copies each of 15 Tag books.

TO ENTER:

♣    “Like” LeapFrog on Facebook, then leave a comment here with your Facebook name. Limit one comment per person.

WANT BONUS ENTRIES?

♣    Suggest to 10 of your Facebook friends that they “Like” LeapFrog on Facebook too. The more “Likes” LeapFrog gets, the more books they get to give away! Leave a comment here telling me you did this.

♣    Subscribe to my blog via RSS or email, then leave a comment letting me know.

♣    Tweet this giveaway and leave a comment with the link. (You can do this daily.) Optional phrasing for your Tweet: I’m entered to win a Leapster Tag Reading System, U.S. map & 2 books from @MomofTwinsPlus2. Check it out: http://tinyurl.com/25jov9h.

♣    Post on your blog with a link about the giveaway and leave a comment here with a link to your post.

♣    Follow my blog on Networked Blogs and leave a comment here letting me know.

♣    Become a fan of Parenting By Trial and Error on Facebook and leave a comment here letting me know.

PLEASE READ: Giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. Central Standard Time, Sunday, December 19, 2010. Any comments left after this time will be deleted. Open to residents of the U.S. only. The winner will be chosen using random.org. Winner will have 24 hours to respond to notification with shipping info. If no response, another winner will be chosen.

GOOD LUCK!

Renee Thielen

on winning last week’s giveaway of a LeapFrog Tag Reading System bundle.

I hope your child loves the Tag as much as my kids do.

Keep checking back in for more giveaways, discussions and fun!

So today I did that, finally, using Random.org. I haven’t heard back from the lucky winner yet, but as soon as I do, I will post her name.

A big thank you to everyone who signed up for the giveaway. I hope you all had as much fun as I did!

I’ve made no secret about my love of LeapFrog products — my boys have been using Leapsters for a couple years now — and the Tag Reading System is absolutely no exception.

The Tag Reading System

According to the LeapFrog website, the Tag has won 28 awards in 6 different countries and is the best-selling reading system in the world. LeapFrog graciously sent us a Tag to try for ourselves, along with a Spiderman book, an I Spy book and both of the Learn To Read Phonics Book Series. Both my boys were beyond excited to test this brand new educational toy and they have already spent many hours with it, reading the books over and over.

I’m impressed with how intuitive the Tag is. Maybe I’m showing my age here, but I find it more than a bit amazing that it recognizes any word or series of words you choose, including the names of the authors. There are different reading options so kids can have the Tag read the entire page, or they can read word by word/ bubble by bubble (character voices included). There are also games on a lot of the pages, which keep kids involved and engaged in the story. I’ve also seen already how much the Tag helps with word recognition.

The Tag holds 10 books and comes with Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat. For other Tag books, all you have to do is connect the Tag to a PC with the included cable and download the appropriate book from the website. It couldn’t be easier! (Note: You need the actual Tag book for your download to do any good.)

I haven’t done this yet, but you can also set up what’s called a free Learning Path for your child on LeapFrog.com. This allows you to track what your child is learning and see his/her accomplishments when online.

All in all, I am very impressed with this LeapFrog product and highly recommend it. This would be a great Christmas gift for kids ages 4-8 this year. With over 30 books and games for the Tag, there are plenty of choices, plus you can even get the reader in pink for your little girl.

Personally, I feel really good about my kids playing with LeapFrog toys because I know they’re spending their time well rather than mindlessly (video games, anyone?). Learning with LeapFrog toys is so much fun that they don’t even realize that’s what they’re doing.

Would you like a chance to win your very own LeapFrog Tag Reading System? Enter here!

Congratulations to the lucky winner, Debbie Abrams Kaplan!

Hope you enjoy your Tag, Debbie!

We absolutely love LeapFrog products in this house. We first got hooked around 6 years ago when the girls received LeapPads for Christmas. Ever since then, we’ve had an ongoing supply of LeapFrog products and I’ve been very pleased with all of them. We haven’t tried the Tag yet, but it looks like another gadget must-have to me!

The Tag Reading System has won 16 awards in 8 countries and the Toy Industry Association named it the Best Educational Toy of 2009.

TO ENTER:

♣  Check out the review on About.com of the LeapFrog Tag Reading System HERE.

AND

♣  Return here and leave a comment on this post describing what you liked the most or what you learned from the review. You must follow these steps in order to qualify for the drawing.

TO QUALIFY FOR BONUS ENTRIES:

♣  You can receive a bonus entry by also posting here that you signed up for LeapFrog’s One Million Hours Reading Pledge, where you can earn discounts and prizes, as well as download a coupon for $10 off the Tag Reading System.

♣  Receive another bonus entry by leaving a comment confirming that you have linked to my contest on your blog.

♣  If you’d like yet another bonus entry, subscribe to my blog using the links on the home page, either by email or RSS feed.

♣  Bonus entry for following me on Twitter (@MomofTwinsPlus2).

♣  Tweet my giveaway with a link to my blog, http://tinyurl.com/c6krwh, and receive another entry. Leave me a comment with the link to the tweet. You receive one bonus entry per Tweet and you may do this daily until the giveaway is over.

THE PRIZE:

A LeapFrog Tag Reading System bundle, which includes Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham.

Retail value of $77.97

I will draw a name and announce the lucky winner here the morning of Wednesday, March 25, 2009. The prize bundle will be shipped directly to the winner from LeapFrog.

You may also enter the contest on one of the other 9 blogs LeapFrog has chosen:

3 Carnations

So Much More Than A Mom

Goddess In Progress

What About Mom?

My Sweet Baboo

Verbatim

Miss Britt

Stop, Drop and Blog

Callapidder Days

Some of these may not have the contest posted yet, so keep checking back for more chances to win!

Please be sure to include a valid email address with your comment so that I can alert you if you’re the lucky winner.

GOOD LUCK!

(All photos courtesy of LeapFrog)

]]> http://www.parentingbytrialanderror.com/2009/03/10/leapfrog-tag-reading-system-giveaway/feed/ 316